Posts by Amelia Ashton

21

Muslims and the Jehovah's Witnesses

by Tameria2001 in

first i want to say that i don't know very much about the muslims, and what i am going to say is not attacking anyone, but instead, it was something that was said to me by a muslim man a few years back.. back in 2004 my husband and i found ourselves in a homeless situation.

his job had ended because the plant that he was working at, had shut down, and was sent off to china.

at the time our two sons were still very young, so we ended up staying at a couple of different homeless shelters until my husband could find another job, which took a total of three months before he found a new job, in a new state.

Amelia Ashton

In Spain a large majority of the market traders are Muslims and we had the magazines in Arabic for them. We were taught to highlight the similarities of the 2 religions. In 5 years not one left Islam to join the JWs.

One of the best bosses I ever had was Muslim and we had some great discussions in quiet periods. He was semi practicing. During Ramadan he sent me to get his breakfast and the Muslim bosses in the other shops got their British assistants (also JW) to get theirs. I never told my boss his mates (uncles and cousins) were breaking Ramadan and I don't think anyone apart from me and other JWs knew he was either. My boss even had one of my neighbour's puppies but here in UK Muslims dont have dogs and my daughter's Muslim friends couldn't visit her at home because we had a dog.

My granddaughter married a Muslim. He too was anti dog because of his religion but he smoked weed which I don't think he was supposed to. I think Muslims only shun if you stop believing but you can break as many rules as you like.

So many variations of rules and beliefs. You would think an all powerful all knowing God could get his various fan clubs to at least have the facts straight about His rules and displeasures. :p

27

What’s the big deal with birthday cake?

by Addison0998 in

how strict were the jehovah’s witnesses you knew about birthday cake?

i knew a girl who saw a few pieces of cake in the break room at her work, and ate a peice, then found out later that it was left over birthday cake.

she felt so guilty and was scared about a bad impression she left on her work mates.

Amelia Ashton

I used to buy Easter eggs on sale after the event for my girls. One sister told me that I should also break them to make sure not to offend Jehovah but then asked why I bought them in the first place. She made me feel so bad for ages.

Talk about straining the gnat.

Cake is cake and chocolate is chocolate. I've eaten chocolate in far worse shapes than eggs since.......and it meant nothing. :p

38

A question for you women; what was it really like for you being in the Org?

by Tallon in

hi there folks.. i took a bit of time out from the forum, however i'm back again.. what was it really like for you, your experiences good or bad, etc, in the org?.

if you were granted a listening ear by the gb, what changes would you like to see implemented?.

Amelia Ashton

As a working single sister with children but no parents in the org every baptised male thought it was his place to tell me what to do because......their council came from the Bible even tho they did not have the experience themselves.

P*ss*d me right off especially if it was a 23 year old MS and I was almost 50.

49

Wacky Baccy Eh! Cannabis Now Legal in Canada

by Simon in

so canada has legalized pot / marijuana / cannabis and you can go to stores today and buy some.

the local news is covering it here in calgary with crowds of thousands expected at one of only 2 stores licensed in the city but last i saw, there were only 7 people in the line so who knows how popular it will be.

i imagine all the people who really wanted to get it could already get it easily so this is more about expanding the market to new users who will be less inclined to queue for hours on day 1.. apparently you'll also be able to purchase online with discreet delivery by canada post.

Amelia Ashton

I use CBD for pain relief here in UK. CBD is legal and classed as a food supplement.

It is possible to obtain THC/CBD combination oil which is better by post. The sooner it is legalised and regulated the better for many as it definitely improves quality of life for those with MS, PN and multiple other health problems. Currently medication is self managed but it would be so much more reassuring to have my GP prescribe and monitor me professionally.

8

Bible study my as& - It's a book study

by pleaseresearch in

so when we used to roll up to someones house for the book study group, we would study a book.

the jw's don't conduct bible studies, but book studies.

dipping in and out of the bible as they seem fit..

Amelia Ashton

Studying a non jw bible and without watchtower aids or meetings actually helped wake me up.

I realised as I read something that contradicted Watchtower doctrine I flipped the verse in my mind to the way I remembered it from the new world translation. Once I became aware I was doing it I concentrated on the verse and saw how different/corrupt the JW bible really is.

76

Family is now reaping what they sowed and they don't like it.

by Gemmel in

i resigned from the jw's in my 20's over 30 years ago, i was immediately shunned by my entire family and it's remained that way with a few exceptions ever since.

one of those exceptions was being contacted by a cousin a few years back and during that conversation i discovered that my mother had been and still was the prime mover in my complete and continuing shunning.

i then used what contacts i had left to confirm it.

Amelia Ashton

I fully understand your position as I have had no contact with my toxic parents for 25 years. At my father's funeral at the beginning of the year it would have appeared to those who didn't know that my parents had just the one child, my brother. No daughter at all.

My mother had a stroke and unfortunately now has no kind and caring daughter to care for her. My brother certainly won't.

What goes around comes around. Such is life. X

12

Review: Apostasy

by neat blue dog in

stan's recent post about the apostasy movie reminded me that i had watched it last month, so i thought i'd write a review.

please note this will probably contain some spoilers so if you care about that sort of thing hold off on reading this.. first i want to say that this is probably one of the most if not the most accurate and reasonable cinematic portrayals of jws.

however here is a list of little inaccuracies: an outdated view that preaching to all the world can 'make' the end come, jesus briefly portrayed with long hair, judicial reinstatement meetings being called "guidance meetings", a normal weekly public talk being introduced as "the first in a series of talks he's prepared for us", applause at the end of a local needs part, and a jw saying of god "you need to earn his love, it's conditional" ( i know this is basically true in practice but they'd rarely say it out loud).

Amelia Ashton

I watched it yesterday. It is very authentic and all so familiar that it gave me renewed appreciation for being free from all the control.

22

Blonde Jokes

by Bangalore in

blonde jokes.. two blondes went to the pound where each adopted a puppy.

the joy of their new best friend was quickly overshadowed when they got home and the first blonde said, "i think we're in trouble, how are we going to tell them apart?

" this lead to several hours of concentration until finally, the second blonde said, "i've got an idea.

Amelia Ashton

I remember hearing Irish jokes years ago and when we moved to Spain discovered the exact same jokes were used about the Argentinians.

These jokes can be used against anyone the joke teller wants to denigrate and belittle or perhaps make himself feel superior to.

If it's Jimmy Carr telling them tho......:p

21

The effect Crisis of Conscience has...

by pleaseresearch in

would love to read this book one day and give it to my mum and brother who are both in the organisation.. so many people i see on videos claim that this book was the nail in the coffin.

but do you know anyone where it had no effect on them?.

Amelia Ashton

I was already POMI when I read CoC although with lots of niggling doubts. Ray Franz book was like scales falling from my eyes but more. The guilt and fear left.

Don Cameron's book was affirmation I was free and I enjoyed it immensely.

60

Russia=King of the North, USA=King of the South? New info coming in from Annual Meeting 2018

by Jules Saturn in

it was announced in this year’s annual meeting that they believe that the king of the north is russia and the king of the south is us/britain.

for me this is the first time hearing from the society actually identifying the identity of the king of the north.

very interesting times!

Amelia Ashton

Any announcement about identifying Russia as King of the North is neither new nor exclusive to JWs.

Jehovah's speeding chariot is severely lagging behind the opinions of scholars and churches.