Posts by Retrovirus

23

Depressing

by mankkeli in

jw
friends

isn't it depressing to believe that this is all there is to life?, an elder told me today that philosophers, apostates, free thinkers and many other enemies of the truth alike do not offer any hope for the future.

but this is the only organisation offering the hope.. what do you think?, the thought of living for just 70 or 80 yrs and not returning back is very depressing or do some other line of reasonings offer any hope?.

i am just curious..

Retrovirus

An elder told me today that philosophers, apostates, free thinkers and many other enemies of the truth alike do not offer any hope for the future. But this is the only organisation offering the hope.

As others have pointed out, the second sentence is not true. How is telling untruths consistent with the Bible?

"enemies of the truth" is name calling; ad-hominem. How is that consistent with the Golden Rule in the Bible?

Hope for the future. The future is in God's hands (if/however you believe in God). If God is our loving father, all we need to do is love, trust and live happily in the present. Where did you lose your faith? When did the elder lose his faith? Have any jws real faith?

57

CO begging for more MS's

by life is to short in

the co is at my husbands hall this week so i tied in to the meeting he was going on and on about how there are 140 elders in the circuit and only 80 something ms's.

of the elders 25 are over 75 years old.

of the ms's it was about 20 are over 75 years old.

Retrovirus

Just wanted to say hello and welcome to isojourn (on p2 of this thread)

It is so obvious they are desperate. My 78 year father (who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s over 6 years ago) was appointed elder over a month ago. Scary, but mostly sad.

That's a worry for you! Hope he's coping with the workload.

Retro

15

Did you find reading the Bible enjoyable but your enjoyment was later soiled by the watchtower's take on it?

by punkofnice in

jw
friends

i enjoyed reading the bible and my favourite was an asv i purchased at an a$$emby.. however, when i wanted to bone up on a passage or verse, i'd look at the insight or watchtowers and found the wtb$ really did ruin my enjoyment when they explained what i was reading.

i think it must have been the self serving spin the wtb$ put on the scriptures!.

anyone else get this and can comment why this happened?.

Retrovirus

I'd always enjoyed reading the KJV so the watchtower phrases grated on me. I'm not a bible scholar so cannot say about accuracy . . but "till time indefinite" and "taking in accurate knowledge" etc sound so dreary. Added to that the smug way they were pointed out,(perhaps you didn't know, but... ) it really diminished the Bible for that "study" session.

And what NRFG said - they were always right. If another verse seemed to contradict, it was "allegorical". No exploration, no scholarly sources, no debate. Sad.

27

WT Lexicon

by 00DAD in

jw
friends

i was thinking it would be helpful if we put together a wt lexicon for those that are not too familiar with wt terminology.

it's important for them to understand these theocratic expressions so that they too can understand and speak the "pure language" of truth.

- zeph.

Retrovirus

Bible Study - Puppy training

47

For those who do not believe in the Bible: Why don't you?

by Chemical Emotions in

jw
friends

i don't believe in the bible either, but i'm just curious as to why others don't.

ridiculous misogyny and mass murder by a petty little god are two reasons for me.

(ilovehigh-lighting) .

Retrovirus

Because its about an all-powerful, loving, vengeful, jealous, ineffective God who can't tell a straight story, let alone prophesy.

24

Do JW's really do this?

by NY23brown in

Retrovirus

Right, just read your last post. Perhaps educate yourself about the crazy beliefs of this "religion", and then join your husband and the elders, and just ask a few questions. that's all it takes. The beliefs are quite impossible to defend.

Expect a lot of complicated replies that are not answers, but change the topic, want to know why you are asking, etc. . .Keep returning to the original question and don't let them off.

The later, with your husband, express disappointment, and say you really wanted to understand. The idea is to get him wondering and perhaps researching. . .

Good luck

24

Do JW's really do this?

by NY23brown in

Retrovirus

Welcome, NY23brown!

Like you, I've never been a jw. My former SIL is, and over the years has made many attempts to convert me. More importantly, her religion was the major factor in wrecking their marriage, although both tried their hardest to stay together for the children.

The trouble is that compromise with jws is never an option. They have the "truth" ( ) and we worldlies do not. And they are trained to put compliance with their elders well ahead of family ties.

Is your husband completely certain that it is not "the truth"? If he has the least uncertainty, you'll be recommended excellent books here, including those of Ray Franz. I'll just recommend that you both thoroughly check out jwfacts.

You can best protect your family by limiting involvement with your in-laws, and ensuring that your husband is not vulnerable to the attempts to get him back in.

And very well done for standing up for your child!

Keep reading and posting, Retro

9

Looking for some help

by manda-xo in

jw
friends

hey all :) i'm new to this website, just happened to of stumbled across it and learning lots from all of your posts!

i just need a bit of guidance, not for my self but for my boyfriend.

i myself have never been a jw but he has grown up in "the truth" and recently realized the real truth ;) both his mom, his dad, his step mom, and step dad are all witnesses and try to bring him back continuously, even though he has only gone to the odd meeting or 2 in the past 3 years.

Retrovirus

Hi and welcome, manda-xo!

I'm a non-jw with some friends and family in, and cannot even maintain regular contact with my two jw "friends", so don't know how helpful I can be.

I'd say whether your BF can maintain contact with his jw family will depend mostly on how hardline they are, rather than on him. This religion is quite effective at breaking up families, unfortunately!

Perhaps geographic distance could help; if his family doesn't constantly see him living a non-jw life it might be less of an irritant.

Most importantly, if you plan a future together, make sure he is really free of jw thinking and there is no danger of him reverting to the religion he grew up in. Keep reading here and you'll see exactly why. It's important that you understand the issues also.

Best wishes, and hope you stay around, Retro

34

Oh the weirdness: Observations from a study

by howdidtihappen in

i started studying jw with a work friend because she used to keep me at arms length and i knew it was because of her religion.

she and her family are such lovely people so i thought maybe there was something to it, how bad can it be, etc.

i was enticed by this girls friendship as she has been spending more time with me but continues to say "you're not one of us yet" which continually freaks me out.

Retrovirus

Hi and welcome, Howdidithappen!

I also "studied" and "failed to progress". Thank goodness!

What do i say to my study person (there has to be a term for that but i dont know it) who says "I know it's the truth because i've just been so blessed. I was down to my last dollar and pioneering and Jehovah blessed me with a part time job..."

Depends if you're trying to back out! My jw study conductor also had a fine repertoire of "Jehovah blessed me" stories and believed them implicitly.

With hindsight I can see what bothered her was that I lost my job, travelled, gained new friends and then a fantastic new job while she and her husband struggled with work and health issues. With their strange, literal religious perspective, jws are not pleased when things go well for worldlies! The only help God "should" give them is to bring the jws to their door. . .

Retro

35

What Is It That Really Troubles the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses?

by orangefatcat in

well i think what worries them the most is that more and more witnesses are becoming free thinkers and that is troubling them, it worries them that thinking freely will cause them to seek answers elsewhere and that is the last thing the gb wants.

they have pulled the reins so tight now how much tighter can they pull before many witnesss crack under their yokes.

what is your thoughts on this matter.. .

Retrovirus

I wonder if they fear the massive exodus of young people, especially those raised in? Or the lack of men willing to "reach out"?

Because as the jw population grays and Armageddon delays, these will translate into income drying up!