Posts by Quendi

7

Intersesting Halloween for the GTTM family

by goingthruthemotions in

well as i have stated before, both our boys do mma fighting and training as do i. this past weekend we had a good practice.

went to get a bite to eat and our way home our younger son said...hey, lets go look at the trick or treaters.

both me and my wife said ok. .

Quendi

Last year, my first as a regular high school teacher since leaving the cult, saw me take part in my school's Halloween celebration. I dressed up as Gandalf, much to the delight of my students, and had a great time at school. This year I am teaching at a different school, so I again donned my gray cloak and hood. Some kids guessed I was Gandalf. One, in light of my being his algebra teacher, dubbed me "Count Mathcula", which I thought was quite clever. Anyway, the point was I had fun with my students and did not get demon-possessed in the process.

As you say, GTTM, it is what you make of it and I am enjoying the holidays in ways I never thought I would when I left the cult. At first I scrupulously avoided anything to do with any of them, and while there are still some I don't have much to do with, I have embraced many and believe I am all the better off for doing so. They are events that can be fun and also bring a lot of joy into one's life. I am glad to be a celebrant again.

Quendi

49

A QUESTION FOR JW'S who say, "The brothers were overly zealous" about 1975

by Terry in

"what was the actual significance of that year, then?".

if jw's were overly zealous, what was the exact amount of zeal encouraged by the wts for a non-event which took up.

over 7 years of every jw's time?.

Quendi

Thanks for all the quoted material on this topic. I well remember the buildup to 1975 and how excited so many of us were as that year approached. But not everyone I knew got carried away with the craze. The man who studied with me cautioned me continually about it, reminding me that similar expectations had been held for 1914 and 1925 so I should not stake everything on 1975. And in my congregation in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, most of the Witnesses I knew lived as they had always lived. True, we all hoped (and prayed) that 1975 would see Armageddon and many of us felt disappointment when that didn't happen, but we swallowed it and soldiered on. Why? Well, many of us believed the WTS nonsense about a period of time separating the creation of Adam and Eve so it seemed reasonable that the same time would separate September 1975 from Armageddon. But that hope faded and finally died as the weeks turned into months and then years.

However, the situation in my congregation was not the norm. We heard of people everywhere who made radical changes in their lives, especially when 1975 arrived and then unfolded. The fall of Phnom Penh and Saigon to communist forces fanned speculation, as did the initial convening of the CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, forerunner to today's OSCE) and its "officially" ending World War II with recognition of borders and signing of agreements. Then, in November, the UN passed a resolution declaring Zionism to be a form of racism, causing some to believe that an international attack on organized relgion, the opening bell for the Great Tribulation according to WTS eschatology, was imminent. The WTS and its Governing Body did nothing but encourage the hope that the end was at hand even if that meant waiting a short period after 1975 had passed. I also remember the January issues of the magazines calling 1975 a "critical year."

Then it all ended with a whimper and while many came to their senses and left the cult, the majority of us unwisely stayed on. And today, the WTS has done all it could to wipe the slate clean, purging all references to its role from its online library and cloaking the subject in silence so that new recruits know nothing about it. Thanks for the Internet which has kept the subject alive and the research of those who have unearthed the evidence of the WTS role in promoting this false teaching. I think it will help some who want to know more about the organization's past, but I have to wonder how it will affect those still inside the organization who remember those frenzied years.

Quendi

16

Why JWs are a CULT - ULTIMATE POST

by Black Man in

jw
friends

hey all - i wanted to make a post to consolidate all the great info, posts, links about why jws are a cult (the signs, symptoms, everything, etc).. would love to have the definitions and specific examples of how jws fit those definitions/descriptions.. thanks in advance!

love you guys!!.

.

Quendi

Bookmarked and thanks for sharing!

Quendi

60

The hardship of being a gay Jehovahs witness.

by truthwillsetyoufree in

please spare a moment to consider the difiiculties faced by gay jehovahs witnesses.

i was raised and baptised as a very serious jw.

every waking moment of my day was lived for jehovahs and his organization and for nothing else.

Quendi

It is the homophobic WTS which doesn't understand love, dddcat. If you have left its control, stay out. If you are still a Witness, even an inactive one, get out and start living your own life.

Quendi

27

In your opinion: What is the average IQ of the Governing Body?

by LogCon in

i don't know if this question has been asked before,.

but, in any case,.

based on the comments of the governing body, at various conventions, annual meetings , info-mmercials, etcetara, etcetara, etcetera, [ i loved yule brenner in the king and i],.

Quendi

A person's IQ in no way indicates fitness for an office. I certainly saw that while living in Boulder, Colorado. Of the nine city council members, three held Ph.Ds. Yet they were among the most foolish people I have ever seen in government. They passed all kinds of outlandish ordinances and refused to listen to common sense solutions to problems. The council was composed of elitists who injected their thinking into international questions of the day while passing over some pressing problems dealing with inequality and huge income disparity right under their noses.

Let's not forget that highly educated and intelligent people have proposed, carried out, and cooperated with all kinds of crimes and injustices which have been perpetuated throughout history as well. It is a mistake to believe that if these kind of people were in charge, the world would be in much better shape than it currently is. This is not to say that they shouldn't seek office or high position, but only that we should be aware that they are fallible human beings like everyone else and have their own weaknesses and faults.

With respect to the Governing Body, I doubt that if well-schooled and highly intelligent men were in charge the organization would be much different from what it currently is. Intelligent men have heard the siren song of power before and not turned a deaf ear to it but have gladly embraced it. Being a member of the WTS ruling elite gives these individuals considerable power and glory. They are ably assisted by a legal and writing department which have some smart people in those positions. Some have pointed out these people are the ones really in control but they prefer the cloak of anonymity which enables them to operate very effectively, using the Governing Body as figureheads. Whatever the situation, I think it is a mistake to equate high intelligence with some kind of superiority. History has shown that such a correlation does not exist and that when placed in the nexus of power, many very intelligent people behave no better than their supposedly lesser-brained contemporaries.

Quendi

96

This weeks #2 & #3 talk on homosexuality

by granada35 in

jw
friends

after a one year sucessful fade and no longer associated with any congreation, i was visiting my sister this week (who goes to the meeting to please her husband for now; i am slowly planting seeds though) and they decided to year this weeks midweek meeting via the telephone.

since i was a guest in her house, i sat with them in the living room to hear the meeting.

to my surprise (especially growing up as a gay jw with still alot of anger in my heart over how i was treated), the talks 2 and 3 where on, of course, homosexualiy.

Quendi

The analogy I've been sharing with people about the growing visibility of LGBT people is not that we are coming out of the closet but that we are finally emerging from our foxholes. While there are still some snipers out there we must be wary of, the large scale shelling has ended and we are making our presence known and felt. For people and organizations like hard-core Witnesses and the WTS, these are frightening times. The external scene is bad enough, but what is happening internally is even more disturbing.

LisaRose has raised a point that I believe has been troubling the upper echelons of the WTS for some years now. I think that more parents are writing the Society and asking for help in dealing with their gay sons and lesbian daughters who have been born into and raised up in a Witness home. The first question they must be asking is how could this have happened? Despite strictly controlling their choice of friends in and out of the congregation, places they visit, entertainment they choose and other things, these young people are gay. The next question is what can they do about this? Haul their kids before a judicial committee? Seek professional help? Pray the gay away? Or do the unthinkable and accept and embrace their children?

The WTS leadership has no answers for these parents and their children. Their responses have, for the most part, been uncompromising, harsh and lacking in empathy and understanding. How can they be otherwise? Despite these failures they can count on the support of the rank-and-file Witnesses who themselves are steeped in ignorance and fear when it comes to LGBT issues. The b'Org will survive this crisis just as it has past ones. My hope is that the people most directly affected by its homophobia will wake up and leave it behind forever.

Quendi

96

This weeks #2 & #3 talk on homosexuality

by granada35 in

jw
friends

after a one year sucessful fade and no longer associated with any congreation, i was visiting my sister this week (who goes to the meeting to please her husband for now; i am slowly planting seeds though) and they decided to year this weeks midweek meeting via the telephone.

since i was a guest in her house, i sat with them in the living room to hear the meeting.

to my surprise (especially growing up as a gay jw with still alot of anger in my heart over how i was treated), the talks 2 and 3 where on, of course, homosexualiy.

Quendi

Thanks for the corrected URL, Island Man. The one I gave was to my personal YouTube account.

Quendi

38

WHY are Watchtower leaders OBSCURANTIST and how can we fight them effectively?

by Terry in

to read and understand this topic you will need to know two things.. following my telling you these two things you'll need to sit and think about them before you react and respond.. ************.

1. understand what obscurantists are and what they do and why .. 2. decide if want to be effective in refraiming your identity (the label given to you) as an ex-jehovah's witness in fighting them.

watchtower society obscurantist leaders.

Quendi

We have an obligation to speak out against evil and that I think is the point Terry wishes to make. For in my mind, the WTS is indeed evil as the trail of broken friendships, ruptured families and ruined lives leading to its door amply attests. Opposing the WTS doesn't have to mean breaking out torches and pitchforks to storm its different centers and campuses in New York state or even mounting public protests outside large Witness gatherings. But as sunny23 asserts, we should not stand idly by and see family members, friends and acquaintances unwittingly led to harm by the WTS. We should warn them lovingly but firmly that association with this cult is not in their best interests, and the same goes for active Witnesses who may be questioning their continued support. Sharing TTATT is really life-saving, in my view.

Quendi

71

Heading to Melbourne International Convention right NOW Regular updates live here!

by Witness 007 in

9.10 am on the train heading in..how late am i?

train is full of witnesses and comic book characters...they have a comic convention.

they seem to be having more fun.. .

Quendi

Yes, please keep the updates coming. I want to know just how retrograde the thinking in the b'Org is if for no other reason than to appreciate the freedom I now have and enjoy.

Quendi

19

A quick peek at the most embarrassing facts gleaned from PYRAMIDOLOGY and " Jehovah's Witness"

by Terry in

measuring the great pyramid of egypt reveals exact prophetic dates.. _______________.

that was the crackpot theory of so-called pyramidologists.. among the men who promoted this silly idea was the founder of the watchtower publishing corporation, pastor c.t.russell.. he did not originate pyramidology, but he copied the work of the astronomer royal of scotland, professor charles piazzi smyth.

as well as another fellow named john taylor (the great pyramid (1859) and built a grand bit of humbug theology.

Quendi

Ah, the beauty of the Internet! Thanks, Terry, for sharing this information. I thought I knew all about Witness history when I was a member of the cult. However, because I implicitly trusted the Governing Body, I accepted its sanitized, bowdlerized and whitewashed accounts as the gospel truth. I never wanted to believe that we would be deliberately lied to about the organization's past with respect to prominent personalities and leaders as well as doctrinal development (untruthfully called "new light" by WTS prebends). Without the Internet, much of this information would never see the dissemination it currently enjoys; and even though rank-and-file Witnesses remain blissfully ignorant, they can avail themselves of the truth if they will only make the effort.

Quendi