Brokeback Watchtower,
Night Owl did ask "who" controls our minds - not "what". To an extent our background, upbringing and life experience in general condition the way we look at things - but "who", as in a person or group of persons telling us what to think? I for one gave that away long ago!
Bill
last time i was at the kingdom hall they were praising themselves about all the growth in members they have been having.
is this "growth" they are having statistically accurate?or are a lot leaving?
Look to the BRIC countries that's where growth will be.
Strong growth in the " B " and the " R " parts of that acronym are likely enough - but in its " I " and " C " components (i.e. India and China)? Somehow find that hard to believe!
Bill.
this point was raised in another thread vaguely, and wanted to try and expand on it.. the wt has said (and rightly so in my opinion) "that excessive use of drugs and alcohol can ruin your life".
in my eyes this is a fact.. this is where it starts to get a little suspicious, as they also say (or subtly hint at) "that if you leave the wt you will becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol and will ruin your life".. its almost like a self fulfilling prophecy.
as there are a lot who leave the borg and they do start drinking heavy or smoking, or taking drugs...or whatever.. the wt capitalizes on the fact that people want more freedom, and they subtly ingrain the thought that.
There is a certain irony at work here, as alcohol abuse is rife amongst the JWs (noted already by others).
The "pioneer" brother who introduced me to the JW religion was very fond of his booze, and he also introduced me to the habit of boozing. I award him full marks as a teacher - he made a bloody good job of doing both! (From a kid who never used to touch the stuff beforehand).
There is simply no need to "Leave the Truth" in order to become addicted to the brown bottle:
- opportunities there are aplenty within "God's Organisation" to achieve that very status!
Bill.
That's a simple one to answer - nobody; and it has been that way for a long time, too! (And long may it bloody continue that way).
Bill.
PS: I am intrigued as to why you are making it sound like a given - i.e. that our minds are always going to be controlled by somebody? All I can say to that idea is "when Hell freezes over first!"
during the second half of the twentieth century, retirees generally found that they could afford a reasonable standard of living.
all except mugs like me who had an implicit belief in the biblical promises highlighted in the watchtower.
i'm not complaining about my lot, i take personal responsibility for my decisions to believe the rubbish in the bible, and by keeping on working during what would normally be retirement years i live ok. but it's no thanks at all to the yahweh/jesus combo god who filled my head with a pack of lies.. so what about witnesses these days?
I notice that my JW daughters are both very much planning for retirement " in This System of Things". I am , of course, very happy that some common sense has rubbed off on them:
- they must have drawn a lesson from what is happening now to their Dad, who once actually believed the bull$h*t in that 1969 Awake about "never growing old in This System", and as a consequence donated his retirement savings to the WTS.
At least they are not going to make that mistake!
Bill.
did you really believe in things as ;- the earth is only 6000 years old- the 144.000- 1914, based upon the destructiono of jerusalem- harmagheddon or the end of the world coming soon???
?i married a jw when i was an interested person and studying with the jw's ( not the way they wanted) but i told my wife before marrying her that " most probably " i would never have been a jw.she accepted me as i was and married me.
after that i had interrupted the study for one year, i started all over again with an elder of my wife's cong.
I regret to have to report that yes, there was a time when I believed all those things you just mentioned. Later on, it became a case of :
(i) wanting to still believe it was all true,
(ii) then desperately wanting to still believe that this was the truth.
(iii) and finally the realisation that I was just trying harder and harder to defend something that was indefensible!
Bill.
PS: Not in any way proud of all this. Like Cofty, though, I could never have remained with the JWs (or any religious group, for that matter) if I didn't believe their teachings.
i was thinking about this last night.
what would happen if.
someone new check out this site, what would they think?.
Many JWs are........lacking in intelligence.
I have known some JWs who had an IQ level so high that it was shared by only a few per cent of the population in general. One even had an IQ level clean off the end of the scale (which is 200).
However, they all shared one characteristic in common with just about everybody else in that religion:
- it was as if they were all equipped with a Bypass Switch to their brain, and whenever the matter of religion came up, this switch was immediately turned over to the "Bypass" position!
It has still got me puzzled how otherwise highly intelligent people can allow themselves to continue to be misled by such a lot of nonsense.
Bill
the "preaching work" they're so eager to brag about is just laughable.
they say their number is an indication of god's blessing.
oh, please, give me a break!
stand in the subway station like a statue holding up the magazines.
Yes, it is hardly disaster response, is it?
Of course, if this world is not really in imminent danger of destruction after all, then it hardly matters!
Bill.
hey guys,.
so, since my leaving i have been doing so much research on so many topics that it's been extremely enlightening.
not only have i learned a lot about the organization and what motivates it, but i have also learned a lot about the bible, god and most importantly, myself.. currently, i'm not quite sure where i stand, but i'm having some real issues with the bible and god.
The term "religioned out " best describes my position since leaving that lot 20 years ago.
Bill
so do you feel bad throwing away your old literature?.
what about your old song book or bible from your early days in the org?.
if so, is it because of sentimentality, monetary cost or because it might be 'sacred' ?.
Quite the contrary - it game me a feeling of great satisfaction to deal with the lot by using a box of matches and several litres of kerosene!
Bill
