Posts by snakeface

32

Does your heart still race when suddenly coming accross a JW?

by Fernando in

it did for me even though i eventually walked out on my terms and fully convinced of the apostasy of the watchtower pharisees and sanhedrin (governing body).. initially it was very confusing and bewildering since i was a 3rd generation born-in and the watchtower was the only "reality" i'd known for more than 40 years.. a psychologist diagnosed ptsd (post traumatic stress disorder) and recommended attending a cult conference and workshop for victims of psychological manipulation.

i learnt about "triggers" that cause turmoil and upset whilst one is suffering from ptsd.. for nearly 2 years i could not answer a phone without a minor panic attack.

i could only respond to voicemails.

snakeface

I have been out of the organization - oops I meant cult - for at least 3 years now. No one comes to my door when they're working my street. They know I have a goatee and that I have joined another church. But a couple of weeks ago I was about a block away from my house, walking home, when an elder and his wife were driving by. They slowed down, honked the horn, waved and smiled. (Maybe they never got the memo.) They seemed to be very happy to see me. I smiled and waved back. (Maybe they count that as a shepherding call now?)

Maybe it can help if you think of the witnesses and elders as coworkers and bosses from a job you quit long ago. Back when you worked for that company you obeyed that boss, and you supported the philosophies/goals of that company. You took pride in your job and recommended that company to other people. But then you quit that job and have been working in an entirely different career for many years. If you now see the old boss walking down the street, you know you have no connection to him or to that company; you don't care if that company is doing well or not because it has no effect on your life now.

33

What Are Your Hobbies Now That You're Out?

by lilbluekitty in

i've been getting really into cooking lately!

i do have most of the same hobbies i had before, (i've always been into art and reading and watching movies and travelling) only now i can do them whenever and don't have to worry about meetings getting in the way or people telling me i spend too much time with "recreation.

".

snakeface

I enjoy leisurely Saturday and Sunday mornings, making a big breakfast and spending time with my dogs. Reading magazines (yes, reading them, not studying them). Going out to karaoke, where I've made some friends with other regulars.

But my biggest hobby is aviation. Several years ago I took flight lessons and became a pilot. Even when I'm not flying I go to the airport on weekends and hang out awhile; instead of knocking on doors each Saturday to bring a false message to people don't want to hear it, I get to share my aviation knowledge/experience with flight students who are eager to listen and learn. I attend various aviation seminars and events where I learn more and network and meet other pilots. Through them I get to fly various different kinds of planes and fly to various locations with them. I have made so many great friends through aviation. It's as Aussie Oz says about his dancing hobby, "It got me back into life and made me some great friends. These people easily replaced the fake friends at the K/Hall." And these new friends include me in all their birthday/holiday activities; they are my new family. In fact I posted in my facebook profile that my religion is Aviation.

6

"Listen To God and Live Forever" brochure

by lilbluekitty in

i just recieved a "care package" from my mother (i'm inactive, haven't been to a meeting in a few months but haven't specifically said to her that i don't want to be a jw anymore) and in it, among other things, are 2 new brochures (one is simplified) called listen to god and live forever.. has anyone else seen these?

i think you can get them in pdf form on the jw.org website.

has anyone else noticed some of the weird pictures?

snakeface

Now your mother can count it as a placement!

But to answer your question, yes, they want to blame everything on Satan (and Adam & Eve) and use illustrations to explain everything, instead of just saying, "it is what it is."

4

Saturday mornings

by Think About It in

jw
friends

saturday morning i went and watched my 5 year old grandson play football for the first time.

it made me think about how when his dad was 5, his dad's saturday mornings back then were spend out in wts service selling the watchtower & awake magazines.

what it the hell were we thinking being a part of this crazy cult?

snakeface

Saturday mornings...sometimes I might be taking my dog to the vet (instead of having to take time off work during the week). Or I might be washing the car. Sometimes I get up at 6, let the dogs out and back in, have a big breakfast (pancakes/omelet/waffles/juice/coffee/fruit), then go back to bed from 8-11 or so with the dogs snuggled up with me - especially on rainy days. Sometimes I get up early, drive to the airport, get the plane out, takeoff as the sun is rising, land at some airport 100 miles away, have the breakfast buffet in the airport restaurant, then fly back home and be back in my house by 11. Sometimes I just don't wake up till 11, if I was out late the night before and got home at 4AM.

I work so hard all week. Saturday is my day off. It is so sad the JW children are robbed of having a whole day just to play and enjoy their childhood.

23

I'm growing a beard

by MrFreeze in

jw
friends

so i decided the other day, i'm tired of shaving.

so i've started growing a beard for the first time.

ever since i started shaving, i've never gone two days without shaving.

snakeface

You can even experiment with different looks. Goatee, full beard, soul patch...see what looks best on you.

59

What exactly are men at the back of the hall taking care of?

by howdidtihappen in

once people have come in, and the doorman and the mic men are in place, why are there a few other suits scattered about at the back?

i saw a guy get up, sit down, get up, sit down, get up and when i looked what he was up to he was reading the noticeboard and looking around, waiting for a bus.

i figured he wasn't doing much at that point, but anything to not stay seated.

snakeface

When I was a MS, sometimes I'd be an attendant. It was easier just to stay in the back and stay, to help latecomers find seats or to be ready for whatever was needed. However much of the time I and other MS would just stand around because we'd get tired of sitting. Sometimes during the Thur nite meeting we'd take turns taking naps in the supply closet. Sometimes just as the School was about to start I'd be asked to do a substitute talk. So I'd stand at the literature counter and work on it during the first couple of parts.

Since we were MS, no one questioned what we did. If a "publisher" were to be standing around during a meeting, you know the attendants would be asking him what's wrong. The publisher would be expected to provide an explaination (back ache, etc).

10

God must really be displeased over this little girl's birthday surprise.

by ThomasCovenant in

jw
friends

they cut out the beheading scene that takes place immediately after this.. .

http://fragg.me/video/lily-disneyland-surprise.

snakeface

They could have spent the morning cleaning the Kingdom Hall! This poor girl was deprived of a blessing!

37

COs visit sep 2011 - feb 2012

by dozy in

apologies if already discussed - the second cos talk discusses 4 "important" areas where jws need to consider the biblical principles involved.. answers on a postcode ( clue - one word - 2 letters - 1st letter is "n" ).

should a true christian?:.

(1) use a social networking website.

snakeface

I know they keep warning about the dangers of cell phones and the internet, but the last time I was at the Hall for the CO visit, the CO's wife had all the scriptures in her iPhone. Or maybe it was an iPad? She would pull up a scripture, then raise her hand and be looking at the device while commenting. She did not have a Bible with her.

233

Does the Issue of Universal Sovereignty make sense to you as an explanation for evil?

by gubberningbody in

jw
friends

it used to for me, and now it doesn't.. i'm not sure how i was able to accept that argument now that i don't, but perhaps it was connected with my increasing compassion for people and their personal suffering as i've grown older.. now it seems like a sick excuse.

more like a bar-bet with satan and all of creation suffers.. i read paul's words and he has no rejoiner except to say in effect "sucks to be a vessel of wrath...glad i'm not one, but who are you to complain anyway, huh?

who's bigger, smarter and more powerful than you, you, you complaining vessel of wrath, you.

snakeface

Never made sense to me. All it does is prove there is NO god. If there was a god he just would not allow wickness at all. Period.

12

Was being a Ministerial Servant a Prerequisite for Marriage

by Pitchess Co-Gen in

i'm asking this because when i was in ( disfellowshipped in 2009 ) some "sisters" wouldn't even look at you unless you had the title ministerial servant or worse elder.

i notice this when i was in because one of my friends thinks that by becoming a ms he could get the better looking witness girls.

tell me your stories of this..

snakeface

It seems there were some hotties who wanted the "bad boys" or the unbaptized ones who were studying. But I think most sisters wanted a brother with a title. I did have a few sisters show interest in me when I was just a publisher, but once I became a MS and was giving public talks I had sisters showing up at my house, calling me up (all the elders and MS phone numbers were on the information board) and stalking me. And some of those phone calls were rather, um, direct. They'd start saying how much they like to perform oral sex, and things like that.

Oh, and during the CO visit, you know how everyone shows up for Saturday field service and the CO asks about car groups, well the single sisters would tell him they wanted to work with me. The CO would then view me as some kind of undershepherd and assign me over them.