Vidiot

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Posts by Vidiot

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  55

  Longtime lurker - first post

  by applehippie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  been listening for quite a while to the many conversations found here on this forum.

  i'm a good listener as my friends will tell you.. i am a born in jw, inactive for at least 2 years now.

  i originally joined this forum to find out what my husband was "up to".

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  Vidiot

  beksbeks - "I never married a JW man..."

  Are you married? I only ask because (like that sexy poopsiecakes) I've seen your picture.
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  55

  Longtime lurker - first post

  by applehippie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  been listening for quite a while to the many conversations found here on this forum.

  i'm a good listener as my friends will tell you.. i am a born in jw, inactive for at least 2 years now.

  i originally joined this forum to find out what my husband was "up to".

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  Vidiot

  applehippie - "...eventually I decided that I needed more help and ended up going to the "worldly authorities" which didn't go over well but got the results we needed."

  Hiya, hippie chick!

  Yeah, it's a bit of a mindf**k when you realize that following the WTS's "Five Rule" principle doesn't always help meet one's needs. It's an even bigger mindf**k when you realize how much it chaps the WT leadership's ass when "Satan's World" is able to give justice, comfort, support, and hope to an individual after the WT is unable or (for ideological reasons) unwilling to.
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  34

  The role of the Home Bible Study arrangement in JW brainwashing

  by MrMonroe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've just started reading "year of doom, 1975: the inside story of jehovah's witnesses" by english author j.c. stevenson.

  it was published in 1967 as basically a memoir of his years in the dubs, including time as a pioneer, and an explanation of the methods used by them to make the organisation grow.. it's not the best "insider" book i've written, but there is a section i've uploaded below that makes some interesting points about the home bible study procedure and why it is so effective at turning interested people into baptism candidates.

  reading through this, i see myself back in the mid-80s sitting there getting led, week by week, into the trap.. this section is from chapter 2, "the seed is watered" in which he explains the typical process following a few return visits.. .

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  Vidiot

  Murray Smith - "Since leaving WT the old beliefs are still there...buried under a pile of dust sure...but I don't believe I forsook them entirely."

  You can take the boy out of the WT, but it's a lot harder to take the WT out of the boy...
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  34

  The role of the Home Bible Study arrangement in JW brainwashing

  by MrMonroe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've just started reading "year of doom, 1975: the inside story of jehovah's witnesses" by english author j.c. stevenson.

  it was published in 1967 as basically a memoir of his years in the dubs, including time as a pioneer, and an explanation of the methods used by them to make the organisation grow.. it's not the best "insider" book i've written, but there is a section i've uploaded below that makes some interesting points about the home bible study procedure and why it is so effective at turning interested people into baptism candidates.

  reading through this, i see myself back in the mid-80s sitting there getting led, week by week, into the trap.. this section is from chapter 2, "the seed is watered" in which he explains the typical process following a few return visits.. .

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  Vidiot

  Listener - "No wonder they haven't changed this method of WT literature teaching."

  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

  What's really interesting is that I remember an elder on the platform once actually acknowledging the fact that the JWs' goal should be to take charge of the study's direction, that the publications were specifically designed to do just that, and that that was a good thing. At the time I thought "wait, that doesn't seem very fair", but my JW conditioning argued that since it was the Truth(TM), it was justified.
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  24

  The fair and balanced reporting of Fox News

  by keyser soze in

  1. social
  2. current

  check out this clip from the bill o'reilly show.

  supposedly it's of protesters at the capitol in wisconsin, designed to show how volatile they are becoming.

  notice the palm trees in the background.

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  Vidiot

  flipper - "Really eye opening how they definitely lean to the right on all subjects and interviews."

  "Lean to the right"? More like "careen to the right".

  villabolo - "Fox is psychopathic in nature in the full blooded clinical sense of the word. If conservatives want to be represented by a hate mongering, violence inspiring, pathologically lying network then they should not cry when they get their teeth kicked in retribution."

  Will you marry me?

  villabolo - "What is truly bothersome, Freeman, is that you cannot see them for what they are."

  Methinks Freeman just might be an authoritarian follower-type; they have a tendency to defend the duly appointed representatives and spokespersons of their ideology no matter what.
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  33

  Prince Dancing with Apostates

  by Refriedtruth in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  prince dances with the (apostate) stars?o-kay take it from here posters am i reading too much into this or what?

  ?prince calls celebs on stage to party at nyc show.

  access atlanta.

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  Vidiot

  Refriedtruth - "Prince does for Jehovah's Witnesses what Tom Cruise does for Scientology."

  LOL!

  Seriously, though, I don't know if that's entirely the case; outside of his rabid fans, most people think Prince is pretty f**kin' weird. Cruise, on the other hand, is at least respected by some nonfans. Prince's antics can't help but be way more embarassing to the WTS than Cruise's eccentricities are to Scientology.

  Besides, Scientology's "theology" itself arguably gives people far more pause than the WT's; at least the WT's framework still contains some significant elements of standard Christianity. Here's some rhetorical questions to twist your noggins; is Prince weird because he's a JW or was he already that way? Is Cruise eccentric because he's a Scientologist or was he already that way? Were they attracted to their respective religions because of their own non-standardness or because the religions themselves were already non-standard?

  I remember when I'd first heard about The Purple One being a JW; I refused to believe it. "Never in a million years" was what I thought when I imagined him trying to get approved for baptism. Then it turned out to be true, and I was like "WTF???? What strange, f**ked-up paralell universe did I just slide into???"

  Here's a great zinger one could pose to any JW who comes knocking; "Prince is a baptized active JW; yet he's been photographed wearing a crucifix, sings songs about licentious sex, dresses and behaves in an extreme manner, and performs and associates with known XJWs a.k.a. "apostates"; why has he not been disfellowshipped by now?"

  You'd probably get the standard "not programmed for this question" facial expression, followed by the default "I'll do some research and get back to you" response. Nothing like planting an annoying little seed in the soft tissues of the brain, though, plus you've probably guaranteed yourself an unofficial "Do Not Call" notation.
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  20

  Conservative America and "The Meaning of the Flag-Draped Coffin"

  by SweetBabyCheezits in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  today i received a mass-fwd email from a fellow employee (down here in baptist country) entitled the meaning of the flag-draped coffin.

  i'm pasting the intro to it below the full email can be enjoyed by clicking the link.. all americans should be given this lesson.

  those who think that america is an arrogant nation should really reconsider that thought.

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  Vidiot

  "Conservative" America is becoming increasingly unhinged, IMO.
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  14

  g01 11/22 Speculates then tells us not to speculate??!?!? Wha?

  by punkofnice in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here's a little snippet from g01 11/22.

  "will god bring back life-forms that have become extinct because of mans ruining the earth?

  if the creator wishes to have extinct animal species reappear on the earth, he can certainly recreate them in the future.

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  Vidiot

  OnTheWayOut - "WTS is suggesting the members just don't think."

  Considering the corroborated reports that came out of the latest Elder's confab, I think they're doing more than just "suggesting" it these days.

  "All but demanding" might be a bit more accurate.
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  11

  Jehovah's Witnesses and Google

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was recently doing some keyword research with google's keyword tool.

  it gives you information about how many people search for certain things on google, the world's largest search provider.

  it's very useful for people who build websites.

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  Vidiot

  DT - "A lot of people seem to think that the JWs are Jehovahs or that Jehovah is some kind of adjective."

  Well, "Dick Cheney" is occasionally used as an adjective these days; why not "Jehovah"?
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  55

  Malawi — Savage Betrayal by Watchtower?

  by Marvin Shilmer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  malawi savage betrayal by watchtower?

  today i uploaded a new article presenting information about why jehovahs witnesses in malawi suffered brutal persecution compared to what watchtowers top leadership was doing at the exact same time.

  the article is titled malawi savage betrayal by watchtower?

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  Vidiot

  Franklin Massey - "Around here, there is an experience that comes up on occasion of a little boy, a toddler, who was learning to say his own prayers before bed. His parents would listen in and were perplexed as to why the boy was asking Jehovah to bless 'Wally'. After a while, they realized he was praying for 'Malawi'."

  That "experience" doesn't just come up in your neck of the woods; it's reached almost mythical status all over North America.

  There was another one about the toddler being taken to the back for a spanking who cries out "save me, Jehovah!"; everyone would laugh dutifully, even though they'd all heard it a gazillion times. By the time I started fading, I was as goddamned tired of that story as I was of hearing old-timers lament the fact that spanking in general had become so non-PC.

  Reminds me; when I was still in (and in an occasional badass mood) and one of said old-timers made that lament, I'd call him or her out on it. I'd say "gosh, you complain so much about not being able to spank anymore, you must have really enjoyed it..."

  The red-faced bluster and attempted backpedaling was always immensely satisfying to the giggling little leftist/anarchist in me; anyone who'd seen the little exchange would almost always give me a conspiratorial little smile afterwards...

  JWs in my orbit learned quickly not to express stoopid and opinionated statements around me. I still miss it sometimes, as a matter of fact.