sabastious wrote:
they were going to die if you didn't "brainwash" them. I'd say you were being a protective parent which is a noble trait.
I keep trying to remind myself of that. Thank you for your thoughtful and kind answer. *sigh*
satinka
according to an ex-jw who still half-believes in the jws, we're all a bunch of bitter apostates that can't move on.. do you agree?.
.
sabastious wrote:
they were going to die if you didn't "brainwash" them. I'd say you were being a protective parent which is a noble trait.
I keep trying to remind myself of that. Thank you for your thoughtful and kind answer. *sigh*
satinka
the elders have been spreading lies about me to jw friends and they are panicked.
they don't know what to make of it.
i've never given them reason to doubt my faithfulness or to make them think i talk against the organization.
Wasanelderonce: I am sorry to hear what is happening to you. It happened to me, too. After I got disfellowshipped I heard through the grapevine of a rumor that was going around the congregation. It was blatantly untrue, but seriously...the elders and congregation members DO NOT want to know the truth. What they really want are reasons to believe that when someone leaves the congregation, they have turned "bad" and are "sinning" and all kinds of stories so that you will FIT INTO THEIR MOULD of what happens when members leave. After all, are you not a follower of Satan now?
The rumors provide a sense of "told-you-so" to all the remaining members. The elders happily enable the rumors to instill even more FEAR in the remaining members.
I had a good laugh --- and ignored the rumors.
Then I moved two provinces away.
Best thing I ever did.
satinka
with the continual emphasis that the watchtower places on following and trusting the fds and the gb in particular, one can only come to the following conclusion:.
the watchtower (and the jehovah's witnesses) are followers of a cult that worships the fds and the gb!.
essentially everything in the bible refers to the fds/gb.. everyone must listen to and follow what the gb says.. everyone must consume the "rich spiritual food" provided by the fds and the gb!.
blueweed wrote: are the spiritual food thats being provided opposite to the bible teaching?
I feel that Bible teaching as explained by JWs does not mean anything. It is their version of Truth TM . The JWs do not have exclusivity to truth. Thinking they do is just part of the brainwash.
bohm wrote: If the JW,s arent Gods true religion-which christian religion is?
Maybe none of them...? Christians all teach a punishing belief system. Where is the love? A father killing his son in a blood sacrifice sounds demonic to me.
satinka
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/former-witness-taking-on-watch-tower/story-fn6bfmgc-1226036543156.
former witness taking on watch tower graeme hammond from: sunday herald sun april 10, 201112:00ama former jehovah's witness is to launch a private criminal prosecution against the religion's world headquarters.
his action is in protest at its refusal to require church elders to submit to working with children police checks in victoria.
Sab... Is this a sex ad for the JWs...?
satinka
pull out a can of cheese whiz, top the bread with it, and take a nibble.. .
say really loud...."oh, wow!
jesus' body is really tasty this year!".
Even though, I have not attended since 2000 and have no plans to return.
satinka
pull out a can of cheese whiz, top the bread with it, and take a nibble.. .
say really loud...."oh, wow!
jesus' body is really tasty this year!".
Hi Rebel,
Loved these two!
- Sneeze as the crackers pass you by. Have some fake slime hidden in your hand and release it onto the tray as you sneeze. Act like nothing is wrong.
- Wear full Easter regalia--hat, suit, sandals, gloves.
The slime idea...imagine if you passed the plate onto the next person and watched the expressions as the plate got passed around. No one would dare stop passing the slimed plate! Too funny!
And from previous years, these are great!
- Arrange some grass fertilizer on the hall's front lawn in the shape of your choosing--the word DEVILS, a cross, pyramid, pentagram, etc. The grass in that spot will be much darker than the rest of the lawn for the whole summer.
- Drop a pregnancy test on the floor of the ladies' room that looks used...with a "receipt" for it with someone's name on it.
- Or do the same in the men's room except a lottery ticket.
- Put a personal "check" in the donation box, making it fake and stating "not legal tender". Amount donated: a pint of blood. Account number: 1914.
It would be nice in inject a little humor at those somber events!
satinka
according to an ex-jw who still half-believes in the jws, we're all a bunch of bitter apostates that can't move on.. do you agree?.
.
Maybe we are mirrors for your friend to see his own bitterness.
My family has been destroyed by that cult. I would like to learn how to forgive myself for brainwashing my kids --- so that when I left the organization --- they would shun me.
satinka
as time goes on i find it a real challenge to keep my sanity while still in "the truth" especially after considering all the rsearch i have been doing about the org.
that i have been very active in for almost 4 decades.
i have managed to be removed as an elder while staying in good standing (prayers-reading,mic carring etc.
Kensho,
Welcome to the forum! One day, your soul will know it is time to leave the WT.
And you will.
satinka
i have an old friend from jw's that has been trying to track me down.
she finally found me today.
of course to invite me to memorial.
Wow, Ilovebirthdays...amazing story. Sounds like she needs a friend and you might just be one who would be there for her.
Sounds like she has had a hard life enabling her alcoholic husband/elder to look good.
Perhaps one day she will be ready to leave the JWs... and maybe even leave her marriage!
I hope she gets some professional help because its not an easy road to travel.
satinka
speaking of the supernatural... if you do not already fully understand the beginning and development of the freemasons you might want to watch this 2005 series of videos (each about 10 minutes or less):.
i realize many of you already know that pastor russell who birthed the jws was a freemason.
so i thought you may find this of interest.. satinka.
Thanks for the link, Blondie. I note that VM44 responded on that link by quoting:
"In an address delivered in a San Francisco masonic hall in 1913, Russell made positive use of masonic imagery by saying, "Now, I am a free and accepted mason. I trust we all are. But not just after the style of our masonic brethren." He further develops this idea: "true Bible believers may or may not belong to the masonic fraternity, but they are all masons of the highest order, since they are being fashioned, chiselled and polished by the Almighty to be used as living stones in the Temple Built Without Hands. They are free from sin, and therefore accepted by the God of Heaven as fit stones for the heavenly Temple." Later in this address, Russell stated quite clearly that "I have never been a mason." Those who claim Russell was a freemason quote this address out of context without noting the rhetorical imagery.
Although Russell wrote about the pyramids and the Knights Templar, the pyramids are not a part of Freemasonry and Russell's understanding of the relationship between the modern Knights Templar and Freemasonry displays an outsider's ignorance of both organizations."
Thanks again Blondie and VM44...So, I concur...if Pastor Russell was not a FREEMASON, he was a FREEMASON-WANNA-BE!
satinka