Posts by Giordano

34

Do You Think Prostitution Should Be Decriminalized?

by minimus in

jw
friends

in the us there is a bill in the house of representatives to decriminalize prostitution.

what do you think about that?.

Giordano

For a long time there were temple prostitutes who provided sex. So there was organized events:

"Sacred prostitution, temple prostitution, cult prostitution, and religious prostitution are general terms for a sexual rite consisting of sexual intercourse or other sexual activity performed in the context of religious worship, perhaps as a form of fertility rite or divine marriage."

Wikipedia

This is when lipstick became popular. It was a form of advertising other sexual services.

Back to the subject at hand.............yes prostitution should become legal with some safety features.

24

Upon learning of a terminal illness would you return to being a JW to appease your family?

by NVR2L8 in

this is an hypothetical question...i am doing well.

but i was thinking about how my jw family, grandchildren and all will feel when their inactive grandfather dies with no hope of being reunited in paradise.

of course there would be immediate rejoicing if i came back to the "truth" and a surge of conditional love from the "friends".

Giordano

I live for freedom from religion which is the counter weight to the WT's beloved........ freedom of religion.

Among many of the ignorant the Jw's stand up for foolish and often deadly beliefs.

The WTBTS is a criminal religion that uses coercion to make people do what they ordinarily would not do.......like shun.

There is no going back and a reconverted person will gain little to no respect.

31

The Holidays Are No Big Deal Anymore

by minimus in

jw
friends

you used to hear christmas music blaring on every radio station.

not anymore.

people used to jam the roadways and malls to do their christmas shopping and now it’s no big deal.

Giordano

Since we have young grand kids in our lives again we make an effort with gifts and a Xmas tree.

But what our friends look forward to is our annual New Year's Day party.

A lot of us have aged and going out New Years Eve is not an experience that older folks can enjoy. Nor even stay awake for.

But it turns out to fit the bill to welcome in a new year with an afternoon party. Folks bring a dish to share and their favorite beverage.

We've done nine or ten of these events and we get close to a hundred visits.

Helps us to keep up with friends and make new ones.

4

Washington Post - Front Page Expose on Mormon Church Billions Tax Fraud

by POs Son in

the wapo has a front page expose on the mormon church avoiding taxes on billions of dollars under the cloak of religion.

link here: (need to disable popups).

washington post online.

Giordano

Thanks for sharing this Slidin Fast.

I read through most of this. Apparently they have amassed 100 Billion dollars which an income producing investing company, with close ties to the Mormon org, keeps this money growing year in and year out.

It is not used to feed the starving or clothe the poor. The 100 billion is not used for charity.

When I switched over to the Comments Section they sounded like pissed off ex JW's.....same point of view.

26

Need to vent. I am thinking of leaving my wife.

by goingthruthemotions in

i am so sick of this cult, this religion has such a grip on her.

since i left in 2014, things just are getting progressively worse.

and she it's just getting deeper and deeper.

Giordano

Yes she can get a divorce because of the spiritual lack of leadership.

I think every believing JW looks the other way when it comes to being a JW and getting rid of a mate who opposes the religion.

"In a healthy marriage, change is welcomed. It is celebrated. But in other marriages, change means growing apart. You no longer share the same vision for your day-to-day living or your future. You no longer share the same passions that you once did.

Your circle of friends changes. More often than not, you do “your thing,” and your spouse will go off and do “their thing.” It’s unfortunate. But it happens more often than you might like to think."

https://www.survivedivorce.com/common-reasons-for-divorce

26

Need to vent. I am thinking of leaving my wife.

by goingthruthemotions in

i am so sick of this cult, this religion has such a grip on her.

since i left in 2014, things just are getting progressively worse.

and she it's just getting deeper and deeper.

Giordano

Very good advice from Carla and truth b known.

Great questions from dubstepped.

"What are you putting up with? What is she putting up with? What happens if you're authentically you? You say that you don't think she cares if the marriage falls apart. Why do you say that? Be you. Let her be her. If that isn't tenable, and often it is the JW that can't abide by the ex-JW being themselves, then you have to decide if that is worth enduring more of for whatever payoff you see."

Just like you learned about the truth......it seems you now need to learn the truth about your marriage. Are you dropping small anti JW cluster bombs?

Does she make every conversation about the truth and the 'friends'.

There has to be boundaries established in every close relationship for it to thrive. Companionship is the key to having a reasonable marriage.

16

What if .... some thoughts

by menrov in

ok, to start, i no longer believe the scriptures are inspired.

may be some writers were influenced but that does not mean all what they wrote was correct.

does this mean there is no creator?

Giordano

Here's a saying that can clear the clutter:

"The natural language of god is silence. Everything else is just a bad translation."

19

"Get Over It!"

by The Bethelite in

jw
friends

this is what my children tell me... get over the whole jehovah's witness thing!

yes, they tell me they have gotten over the whole thing and they tell me that and i need to also.

my exgirl friend who was raised as a jw also has said the same thing.. my children say they got over it, however they are quick to point out how messed up their lives are now because of no college education and other missed opportunities.

Giordano

I got over it as soon as my wife and I, in our early 20's moved away from the small community I served in........ one of those places that was in need of a pioneer and public speaker..... etc. And someone that could serve in a variety of positions.

After reading Eric Hoppers book The True Believer at age 16-17 I had no respect for the Society as every trick they used to build their religion was in Hoffer's book. By the way he never mentioned the JW's or their Corporate overlords. He was writing about larger organizations like the Communists, the Catholic church and the new Christy Christians and cults that were starting to capture attention. You read Hoffer you learn every trick these blindsided corporate structures used.

I did like the friends as my wife and I were raised in the religion from our early teens .

In that day 1963 , 64, 65, you could just leave and no one had to shun you......... in particular close family. However we understood that the close friends we had grown up with would no longer be close friends. So while you could maintain close family relationships the friendships fell away.

Oddly enough we relocated to Fort Lauderdale Fla. and joined up with a bunch of ex JW friends who used to be pioneers and JW bystanders. So looking back we had an easier road to follow then many. We kind of helped one another to normalize and enjoy life. We went camping together, Rock Concerts, drank together and smoked pot though neither my wife and I liked pot.

No drugs........ I specialized in drinking brown liquor. Though now in my old age I stay with clear liquor.

How I landed on this forum some 9 years ago was I went online to find out how many JW's there were in the world............. that question led me to forums and I was able to understand everything Ex JW's or leaving JW's were talking about.

It was like I found my lost tribe!

6

Watchtower Propaganda Techniques

by Ding in

is there a book (books, articles, etc.

) that systematically examines and exposes wt propaganda techniques?

if not, do you think such a book would be useful in helping people escape the borg or in recovering from their own indoctrination?.

Giordano

The True Believer by Eric Hoffer. Never mentions the JW's but read the following from his book:

"All active mass movements strive, therefore, to interpose a fact-proof screen between the faithful and the realities of the world. ...by claiming that the ultimate and absolute truth is already embodied in their doctrine and that there is no truth nor certitude outside it. ...To rely on the evidence of senses and of reason is heresy and treason. It is startling to realize how much unbelief is necessary to make belief possible. What we know as blind faith is sustained by innumerable unbelief's.

Not only does a mass movement depict the present as mean and miserable - it deliberately makes it so. It fashions a pattern of individual existence that is dour, hard, repressive and dull. It decries pleasures and comforts and extols the rigorous life. It views ordinary enjoyment as trivial or even discreditable, and represents the pursuit of personal happiness as immoral.

This is what every cult tries to do........ including the JW's.

27

Make Shunning A Hate Crime

by Lost in the fog in

the humanist organisation in the uk wants to protect non-religious people who leave their church/religion from being punished for doing so.

they want the religious hate crime legislation in the uk to be extended to people who are not religious.

i hope they will succeed.

Giordano

You don't get to have freedom of religion without freedom from religion.

Stunning violates the law of coercion. The WT makes it's followers act in a certain way re shunning........ otherwise they in turn.......... will be shunned by close family and friends. It has evolved to a punishment for the innocent.

The question is if you didn't have this rule and your own fear of being shunned......... would you still maintain some level of contact with the person who has left the JW construct?

When you look at the history of 'the truth' according to the WT........ people were shunned for getting a transplant during that era and ongoing smoking a couple of cigs a day. Watching a little porno. ETc. and even if the policy changed that were never notified and welcomed back.

There is a deep sickness in the JW construct just like the Christian Scientists, Scientology, the Amish etc.

When a religion promotes negative issues it has little to no value.