irondork

Joined

• started 131 topics
• posted 1,154 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by irondork

• 
  28

  Anyone Notice this in the New Brochure "Good News From God"?

  by Cadellin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if you look on page 10, "what is god's purpose for the earth?," you'll see an illustration of adam in the garden--with a belly button!!

  what were the wt artists thinking????.

  i'd post a scan but, alas, i'm unable to in my present locale..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  irondork

  Billy, I have to have a scan of the WT that theorized we wouldn't poop in paradise.

  Can anyone direct me?
• 
  28

  Anyone Notice this in the New Brochure "Good News From God"?

  by Cadellin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if you look on page 10, "what is god's purpose for the earth?," you'll see an illustration of adam in the garden--with a belly button!!

  what were the wt artists thinking????.

  i'd post a scan but, alas, i'm unable to in my present locale..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  irondork

  To heck with his belly button. I want to know if he was circumcised.

  Also, I have a fig tree in my yard and the leaves on that thing are enormous.

  Just say'n.
• 
  19

  ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE TO CHANGE

  by SethBridge in

  1. social
  2. family

  accept the challenge to change.

  that is the way we feel in the congregation, there is a missing piece, you.

  there are a lot of the friends who ask about you and tell us to tell you they love you and miss you.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  irondork

  Seth: So this was an obvious manipulation for her to add this in. So gross.

  When there is no legitimate foundation under a person's argument, the only tool they can turn to is manipulation in order to win over another's mind. That principle pretty much sums up your mother's letter.

  But it's not necessarily your mother's fault either. This manipulation technique imployed by the WTS is the only "art of teaching" your mother has ever known (speculating she has been a JW most her life). Likely, it has been the same with you. I grew up trapped inside that kind of sideways reasoning. It used to make perfect sense to me.

  QUENDI has a very interesting story about his exit from the cult and how he was able to dissect the literature. I never had that skill. I hope he shares that with you. Had it not been for the ill treatment from others, I might not have awakened to the reality of my situation.

  Realizing the manipulation used to keep you trapped in JW think is an essential step, but it's only one of the first steps. That's why I was suggesting that you learn as much as possible about the organization, how it works, thinks, operates, and yes, even lies. As you learn more, the grip they had on your mind, and might even still have to some degree, will melt away as they become more and more exposed for the frauds they are. Your self confidence will begin building a foundation - something I was desperately lacking my whole life and never knew it. You will find a sense of legitimacy when you realize God in fact does NOT hate fags. When you realize how wrong the WTS has been on so many other topics over the course of so many years, the spit and venom they have to spew about your filthy faggot butt will be meaningless and powerless.

  It's one thing to battle those concepts with other people. It's quite another to battle them inside your own mind, having absorbed and internalized their homophobia your whole life. Completely breaking your mind free from their destructive anti-gay dogma will refresh you in ways you can't imagine. The best part is, it will free you to realize God does value you in exactly the way he designed you, making you more eager to draw close to him and search him out.

  I think I'm safe in saying most people on this forum would recommend you first read Crisis of Conscience by Raymond Franz. All of these books are available at amazon.com.

  My next suggestion would be to read Homosexianity by Rommell D. Weekly. This author is a bit of a drama queen and I think he's kind of full of himself. But his arguments on the topic are sound and he stays true to the bible. He does not try to discredit the validity of the scriptures or manipulate them to make his point, but rather, embraces them.

  Also, In Search of Christian Freedom by Raymond Franz. A monster read. He could have used an editor. Kinda wordy, this one. But when you are finished, you will have a clear understanding of things.

  Don't be overwhelmed by all of it. Just take your time and enjoy the process. It'll be life-changing for you.

  Also, there is a gay christian forum full of whackos and freaks just like this one that I occasionally participate in. If you can stomach sifting through prayer requests for people who stubbed their toe or can't find a good parking spot, there is a lot of good information on that site. A good place to start would be to read the two essays. You'll see them when you get there.

  http://gaychristian.net/
• 
  19

  ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE TO CHANGE

  by SethBridge in

  1. social
  2. family

  accept the challenge to change.

  that is the way we feel in the congregation, there is a missing piece, you.

  there are a lot of the friends who ask about you and tell us to tell you they love you and miss you.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  irondork

  Hey Timothy! Nice to see you pop in.

  TimothyT: How are you anyway Jason?

  Well, I'll tell you. The dishwasher started leaking last night, the cat ripped my lip open with his claw, it's too stinking hot in South Carolina, USA, men are pigs, love is dead, nobody cares, I'm bitter, jaded cynical and deep in denial.....

  ... but it occurs to me that's probably not what you meant when you asked, is it? Okay, nevermind.

  I'm doing fine, little buddy. How are you?
• 
  19

  ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE TO CHANGE

  by SethBridge in

  1. social
  2. family

  accept the challenge to change.

  that is the way we feel in the congregation, there is a missing piece, you.

  there are a lot of the friends who ask about you and tell us to tell you they love you and miss you.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  irondork

  When I was a bartender in Wash. D.C., I had this regular customer, a black guy, who was the biggest bigot at my bar. He was eager to voice his abhorrence... FOR BLACK PEOPLE. He hated his own skin and would get visibly angry if anyone tried to remind him that he was black. I'm not joking. It was weird.

  I remembered thinking then, during my disfellowshipped years (later reinstated/later disassociated) that this must be the same psychological phenomenon that caused religious gays and lesbians to speak out so venomously against their fellow GLBTs.

  I guess the mind can be tweaked into just about anything.
• 
  15

  Applying Chapter 21 (“Captives of a Concept”)

  by Cameron_Don in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  note: i found the following experience where someone (rob) applied captives of a concepts chapter 21 when trying to help his father-in-law see some of the interesting he learned from the proclaimers book.. __________________________________________.

  this past wednesday night, the 6th.

  i met with my father-in-law.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  irondork

  tag
• 
  19

  ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE TO CHANGE

  by SethBridge in

  1. social
  2. family

  accept the challenge to change.

  that is the way we feel in the congregation, there is a missing piece, you.

  there are a lot of the friends who ask about you and tell us to tell you they love you and miss you.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  irondork

  Seth, buddy, you are smack in the middle of where so many of us have been and lived to tell about it. It was the deepest low for me because I knew I loved my family, I knew I loved God... but I also knew the crap I was reading in the literature was just that. Crap!

  Your mother wrote: I am enclosing some articles that show how people have changed. These are articles that show that there are many people who struggle with this as you have.

  What your mother copied and pasted is pure bunk. I would bet most of the "I'm cured! Praise God!" stories in the WTS literature is made up. It is SO unrealistic. I have NEVER experienced personally nor seen with my own eyes these miraculous healings from the "desease" of homosexuality.

  I have no doubt your mother is as sincere as she can be and that makes it even more painful for you because you DON'T want her to hurt. No matter how you slice it, this is going to be an emotional and painful time for you and your family. But the cause of all this turmoil is named Watchtower, Bible and Tract Society. They have your mother's brain in a grinder and she is hepless to act or react to you in any other way.

  Stay close here. There are several ex-jw gays and lesbians who are eager to walk you through this, helping out any way we can. One of the things that helped me put all of my gay related/ex-jw/family shuns me/god hates fags pain in perspective was to start educating myself about the WHOLE story of Jehovah's Witnesses. Learn their history, doctrines, mindset. Read Crisis of Conscience (which has a couple of derogatory comments about gays - just consider the source and move on). Read Steve Hassan's Combatting Cult Mind Control. Read In search of Christian Freedom. When you beging to get the full picture of how things were and are in that organization, it helps to compartmentalize so much of the specific "gay issue" related pain you are dealing with.

  It's not a fun roller coaster. But you will never regret having taken the trip. In the meantime, we remain here for you.

  Jason
• 
  8

  Jehovah`s Witnesses are a religion of HATE . And God is a God of love

  by smiddy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does that sound harsh ?

  well lets see now ,i was a faithful slave/servant/ member /volunteer (oops cant say that ) for 33 years , and i was taught to hate all that was bad , any and everything the watchtower said was bad , including my own shortcomings and sinful tendencies of youth , to be approved by jehovah i had to hate what was bad ,especially , false religion , not just any religion but false religion.

  now while i had my ups and downs with my own imperfections ,sinfull state and desires of youth , i maintained a steadfast hatred of false religion.. now who were they saying was false religion , why it was the various jewish faiths (which jw`s had a foundation on ) certainly the eastern religions ,hinduism ,shintoism ,the islamic , definetly the african demonistic practices ,as well as the south american superstitious religions,in other words every religion other than the jehovah`s witnesses.. but they have a special hatred of christendom and an even more pronounced hatred of the catholic religion.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  irondork

  Yes, there is a lot of hatred inside the ranks of JW. And anger. I think the only thing that keeps it tempered is the attempt to live by bible standards, which is a good thing in itself. But you take away that standard and what you have left is unbridled anger and hatred for anyone that does not meet with their personal approval and a willingness to lash out and attack anyone with an apposing opinion.

  Jehovah's Witness (mentality) Gone Wild!
• 
  24

  Kinda new here. A Backstory.

  by SethBridge in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  im kind of new here.

  i was a former member of this site, a little over a year ago.

  had planned on writing a backstory of what happened in the past year but decided to keep it simple.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  irondork

  So you were lovingly dealt with by Jehovah's people also, huh? Yeah, I got lovingly dealt with in the same way by the same kind of people... for the same reason.

  "Can you imagine thinking as a child, 'when I grow up I wanna be a QUEER!'" - visiting elder, Sunday talk [followed by a congregation of laughter] Oh, they are such a happy people, aren't they?

  Welcome to the forum.
• 
  2

  Help me understand

  by irondork in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  recently, baltar447 posted a copy of this awake article: g9110/8pp.4-6thesecretwoundsofchildabuse in this thread:.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/child-abuse/228286/1/help-needed-to-locate-two-old-awake-articles.

  third subheading down it says:.

  1. 
  2. 
• 

  irondork

  Now THAT is an explanation.

  Thank you, OGD.