Posts by DanaBug

18

I am frustrated!

by JRK in

jw
friends

i have been talking to my jw mother.

about all of my angst.. it totally flies over her head.. the un is no big deal.

the generation is no big deal.

If it's any help, I know how you feel. I don't think there's any chance of waking up my dad or mom. Every time I try, it goes in one ear out the other. I feel obligated to try. It's torture, reading that crap looking for ways to use it to my advantage never knowing if I'm getting anywhere at all. But there will come a time when I'll just have to let it go and move on. I can't keep torturing myself, it's not good for my mental health. I don't know at what point I'll feel satisfied I've done all I've can, but I think it's coming soon.

So I don't have any advice for you, just compassion. Flipper and OTWO gave some good advice though.

12

Guy Pierce (of GB): Special Talk (Education)

by pirata in

i got some notes from a talk that guy pierce of the governing body gave in the past few years.

there was a good portion on eduation.

these are the relevant notes (not a transcript):.

DanaBug

That is the saddest experience I've ever heard. The guy gave up his life's work after studying with JW's. He gave up helping people to peddle magazines. Depressing.

85

University student's JW based honors thesis research. PLEASE HELP!

by honorsthesis in

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/defectedmembers_honorsthesis.

hello community,.

my name is brett w., and i am senior undergraduate student at the university of florida.

DanaBug

honorsthesis, you have a pm.

25

Movies you want to see when they come out

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

they aren't even made yet but the talk is there.

hobbits or whatever it will be called - prequel to lord of the rings.

1 or possibly 2 more bourne movies.

DanaBug

No, it's not a problem with my hearing. It's how my brain reacts. If I hear something else, especially if it's a noise I find irritating, I can't focus and understand what someone's saying. I hear it but it doesn't translate.

38

The WT Headship Principle (tm): Did you ever REALLY buy it?

by Open mind in

i believed that god was the big boss and his first-line supervisor was jesus.. .

everything beyond that got a bit shaky for me throughout my jw life.. .

but this bit, i never bought into for even an instant: the husband is the head of the wife.. .

DanaBug

I watched my mother with this. She had to ask to get her hair cut. I really think this principle is why I thought of her as less than...how do I say it? It was clear to us, by way of our dad, that she was more emotional than logical, and that was a bad thing. It wasn't as smart, kwim? But that was part of our lives too. I asked every year until I was 13 to get my ears pierced, then finally I just did it myself at home with some help from my mom. And the hair thing? Screw that! It's my effin' hair! So I never asked about my hair (already knew the answer), I just went and did it. But my mom never did.

To be fair, my dad wasn't abusively controlling, but he was controlling. That principle just made him that much more controlling. He was always right, always. He though very logically and thoroughly about things and made his decision, and no input from you was going to change that decision, because he'd already thought of it. It's really frustrating to live with and the main reason I did what I did to get df'd. I feel for my mom, I really do. I honestly think if it wasn't for this principle, she would've left him a long time ago or at least would've put her foot down about some things, and I think it would've been really good for her. It got to the point when I was a teenager, she had to ask him for money for every little thing as she wasn't responsible enough to manage it herself. Seriously.

And I'm so glad my SO has never heard this idea, lol! We're a team, not a hierarchy. I like it that way.

25

Movies you want to see when they come out

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

they aren't even made yet but the talk is there.

hobbits or whatever it will be called - prequel to lord of the rings.

1 or possibly 2 more bourne movies.

DanaBug

I loved the LOTR movies. Watching all the extras, they did the very best they could do, I think. I'm excited the Hobbit's finally getting made!

Kill Bill 3?? I'm going to have to watch KB 2 again, I thought the story ended there. Hmm...

I can't stand to go the theater--can't hear the movie for all the popcorn crunching, lol! So we wait till they come out on DVD. I want to see Black Swan, Losing My Religion, and Gnomeo and Juliet looks really cute.

20

Please help!! My friend is now a return visit / doorstep study!

by AiAi in

jw
friends

i have a friend that is a youth minister for a local church.

he has a very good understanding of scripture and we frequently have interesting discussions.

we have talked about jw beliefs before and he is always surprised to find that they can really believe what they do.

DanaBug

I actually just learned that a few days ago. Check out biblos.com and the lexicon for Rev 7:9. It's a lot faster than flipping pages. Have your friend note the definition for "before" that the r book gives and then have him ask where the angels are in verse 11 when they bow down before the throne. It can mean in the sight of or in the presence or face of, but which makes more sense especially considering how the same word is used to describe so many other things in heaven: the lamps, the sea of glass, the 24 elders, the dragon is before the woman when she gives birth?

If your brother brings up the paradise hope, Rev 21 describes the new heaven and new earth with the Holy City of Jerusalem on earth after Satan is abyssed. The nations walk by its light and the kings of the earth bring their splendor into it. How can they do that if the city's still up on heaven? I don't know how your friend believes, but a lot of Christians believe in a heavenly hope and then a paradise where heaven and earth are one. It doesn't have to be one or the other, it's both.

It actually makes more sense when you consider that hope for a paradise earth or a seperate class with a different hope isn't mentioned by any of the apostles. Their hope was for heaven. I think there's one mention of a new earth in 1 Peter but that still doesn't contradict Rev 21.

20

Please help!! My friend is now a return visit / doorstep study!

by AiAi in

jw
friends

i have a friend that is a youth minister for a local church.

he has a very good understanding of scripture and we frequently have interesting discussions.

we have talked about jw beliefs before and he is always surprised to find that they can really believe what they do.

DanaBug

Ooh, I love that topic! Does your friend have a lexicon? If look at the scriptures where the word "before" is used (as in the great crowd before the throne), you notice that the Reasoning book leaves out an important definition of the word. Another point is the seal that only the 144k receive, and then notice the 5th trumpet blast (Rev 9) where everyone on earth that doesn't have the seal is tortured. And then there's the word for "great crowd". Every instance in the NT is in reference to humans people. But the reasoning book says that the great crowd in Rev 19 is a crowd of angels because the great crowd that survives is on Earth, not in heaven. Why in this one place, out of all of them, would it be in reference to angels not humans?

33

The Pressure Is On to Pioneer in April

by dontplaceliterature in

jw
friends

i know there have already been a couple of threads posted about this, but i thought it made since to bring it up again.

i hadn't really heard any "oh my what a blessing, are you pioneering in april?

" talk right after the big announcement last month.

DanaBug

Reading that made me feel anxious! The pressure's on, no doubt about it. What's that scripture that says no one should do anything unless they're convinced it's the right thing to do because unless they're convinced, it's not faith?

And good advice you gave the 17 yr old. Maybe remind him that they use lawyers, doctors, and engineers at bethel. They had to go to college to be used at bethel. Isn't that a "blessing" from Jehovah?

ETA: I find it sooo creepy to say the direction comes from Jesus and ask people if they would die for Jesus. Blech! Makes me wonder if they're priming them for something.

8

Need advise... again...

by Expanded-Mind in

jw
friends

good morning.... on jan 3rd i posted that my son had recently contacted me and that i needed advice.

well, i need advice... again.... i have been very cautious about speaking with my son (a jw) about anything religious and have even been careful about talking with my daughter-in-law (who is catholic) about religion, but in a conversation i had with her a couple of weeks ago we had our first "real" conversation which included talking about why i left the jws and learning more about her faith and perspectives.

i did not intend to get into "religion" with her, but it was the normal flow of the conversation, since she is a very devout and active catholic and through her own reading before we even talked she had come to the conclusion that the watchtower is a cult (her words).

DanaBug

I totally agree with the above posts. Something else: your son is in an optimum position, imo, to get out. He's not involved in the indoctrination sessions, he has friends outside, his wife is aware that this is a cult. When he acts likes that towards you, does his wife point it out to him, how unreasonable and unloving it is? She can ask how he would feel as a parent if their child were to do the same. She can be like a mirror for him that reflects back his behavior and he may not like what he sees; eventually, he might identify what causes him to act like that and then he might change it. And we all know what the cause is. How do people who are in cults react when someone says they're in a cult? I think you've got a good opportunity here, better than most have; use it to your advantage.