Posts by Half banana

15

Hello everyone 😊

by SuperMarioDiMaggio in

i was a jehovah's witnesses for 15 years (1983-1998) in pietermaritzburg and durban, south africa.

i was baptised in 1985; appointed a ministerial servant in 1987 (aged 21); refused military service on religious grounds in 1989 (served a three year community service sentence) and was appointed an elder in 1993 (aged 26).

i wrote to the governing body in brooklyn four times between 1992-97, respectfully questioning the nonsense they were publishing about science and evolution (you can see all my correspondence and their hilarious replies here: http://bit.ly/jw-md-letters ).

Half banana

Hello Mario, welcome to the site and thanks for posting your letters to the GB.

I can identify with your experience since I joined the cult when I was at school in the sixties and left about 1989. I also had curiosity for everything which became stifled by misplaced loyalty to the Watchtower.

As soon as I left I went whole heartedly into making up for wasted time and went to Birkbeck College for a course on paleoanthropology. I read scientific works and joined a university archeological dig to see for myself what the genus Homo was doing in the Old Stone Age. I also joined the Open university and later did other courses at Oxford for mature learners.

I don't know how well one can compensate for the utter waste of time and effort spent on this worthless religion? Your letters truly demonstrate that they have not got a clue as to an academic or scientific appraisal of knowledge. They are content quoting snippets of the Bible to 'prove' a point or to construct JW dogma, it is all so desperately superficial.

This naivete cannot last in the 21st century environment of better education and the cult is in fact is declining in the Western World. For how much longer do we have to put up with it?

(I loved the Mark Twain quote!)

22

How many of you would actually believe a child abuser would let his crime be watched by minimum two witnesses?

by Thinkforyourself in

in many closed religious cults, sects or globally widely spread religions, sexual abuse on big scale is revealed and covered up by the religious authorities.

in the jw, the culture is to deal with these matters within the org itself, and the rule is, "no crime can be proven without the presentation of at least two witnesses".

men made the rules, men commit these crimes and men defend them and even forse these children to meet and talk to their abusers.

Half banana

Welcome TFY, no there is no love in sticking to the Iron Age wisdom upheld by Jehovah's Witnesses.

At the root of the use of the "two witnesses rule" is the demand by the governing body that they control all information rights, which is an indication of their cultic nature.

They want to limit adverse publicity by handling serious sexual abuse matters in house. This usually means either dismissing the claims, disfellowshipping the abuser (unless an elder when his word trumps lesser members) and often the abused as well if past puberty. Police involvement would lead to scandal and exposure not only on the individual cases but of the whole repressive organisation.

The essence of JW Christianity depends on the governing body's use of quotations from scriptures.The interpretation can be made in any light the governance sees fit. Always the explanation is to the end of enhancing their own control over their flock and rarely is the quotation considered in its historical context or the original source meaning. If it suits their purpose it is used -- and the flock are trained to obey their leaders on the basis that they are using 'God's Word'. If a JW disagrees with the Watchtower then they are excommunicated.

The fact that two witnesses are required in these abuse cases, at least to my mind, demonstrates that while they are indifferent to the abused who suffer greatly, their interest is solely in their own squeaky clean public image. Logic and care are sacrificed for Biblical literalism and their dire conceit that they are the only true religion.

114

Riots one reason to own an AR15 and several 30 round or 100 round mags.

by phoenixrising in

i hear this from the leftist idiots all the time.

if someone breaks into your home 6 bullets are enough.

well if its a one of i would argue that i still my need more round for even just one person.

Half banana

From a British perspective it is more than worrying to hear people praising gun ownership.

P'rising, your obsessive pride and faith in gun ownership might well lead you to using your precious chosen weapon in a confontation and it's a 50/50 chance that the other gun owning obsessive will kill you.

No guns = no death from guns.

Human life is paramount as is the happiness which comes from mutual peace, not peace by the law of the bullet.

114

Riots one reason to own an AR15 and several 30 round or 100 round mags.

by phoenixrising in

i hear this from the leftist idiots all the time.

if someone breaks into your home 6 bullets are enough.

well if its a one of i would argue that i still my need more round for even just one person.

Half banana

Guns are for killing people not for solving social problems

38

Breaking: Beards in The Watchtower

by neat blue dog in

the latest issue of the watchtower shows a man with a beard praying.. .

i fully expected to see him 'progress' to clean-shaven in the following pictures, but instead he is still bearded when 'applying bible principles'.. .

i then realized that he was already featured on the cover itself.. .

Half banana

The objection to beards I suppose was when it still carried the idea that if you didn't shave you were a member of the great unwashed. The Wolrd Wars set the syle for minimal hair presence including being clean shaven. Militarism had no time for personal expressions in grooming when the demands of battle are focussed on obeying orders-- exactly as it is in the JW cult.

The really obvious symbolism of being clean shaven is the JW policy of cultivating the appearances of good religious people, if you look wholesome in a clean cut American way, then the religion looks attractive they think. Jesus condemned "appearances", whitewashed graves he called those who look clean and righteous but like Watchtower governing body policies, they conceal awful things.

By the way GB member Van Ambergh had a beard up until his death about 1947.

25

Tips for a Slow Fade

by Huxley1979 in

jw
friends

i'm a born and raised witness.

i was an elder for almost 20 years.

almost the same in fulltime service.

Half banana

Welcome to the real world Aldous and well done for seeing through the charade.

When I realised it was a fraud, I began fading to the point of no fs and not answering at meetings. Eventually I completely stopped going to the meetings, oh my! what a relief that was. When an elder friend called at my house six weeks later, I told him "It (the JW religion) isn't for me". That seemed to stop them taking an interest in me and they just announced at the congo that I was no longer one of J's Ws. That turned out to be the instructions to shun me. So although I was not disfellowshipped, the consequences were the same.

In your situation you may want to take it slower or looser and am I right you have given up being an elder? Anyway here would be three suggestions, 1 yes fade as slowly as you want, 2 never verbalise criticism of the org to JWs, 3 find good friends outside of the organisation.

Wishing you well on your journey and keep in touch, we would love to hear how you are doing.

40

Resurrection, Reconstruction? What is it? It never made sense to me. Your opinion.

by Wasanelder Once in

i never had much faith in whatever resurrection was.

what appealed to me about jw doctrines was the rejection of the "it's a mystery" defense of the indefensible.

when i would ask how going into non existence could be reversed when all the atomic parts of who we are had been scattered for thousands of years, the answer was "jehovah can do anything".

Half banana

Sea Breeze as a committed Christian, part of your faith involves an unquestioning belief in Biblical miracles. I am not trying to be offensive but this would disqualify critical thought because belief in the supernatural is belief in the impossible, when the impossible is acceptable then anything goes.

Your statement "nearly all critical and textual scholars" is not sound, (do not confuse "Bible scholars" with academic textual scholars) and even if you were accurate, it would not confirm the fiction of the last supper, trial and and death of the God man Jesus. There simply is no concrete evidence for this story, including the miraculous resurrection, outside of Christian propaganda. It is this propaganda and not historical fact which Habemas is quoting from.

20

In love with disfellowshipped JW

by Amberlou in

i started dating a coworker who is a divorced jw.

found out he was disfellowshipped, and he was trying to figure out how to make things work.

i am not a jw, and his family is not supportive of the relationship.

Half banana

Amberlou, welcome to the site. Sorry to say but however attractive your friend is, he comes with toxic baggage.

One of the methods of the JW cult is to enforce compliance by guilt and by family ties. Your lover will be getting the cold shoulder from his old friends in the religion and especially from his family. If he has few friends then be suspicious, he may be looking to you to resolve all of his troubles most of which will have stemmed from being a JW.

The JW religion teaches however that family come second to loyalty to the religion. Should you get together you must recognise that at some stage in the future when things are tough, his indoctrination might surface again and he desires to go back to the cult. This is very common -- and where would it leave you?

So just a gentle warning, before you proceed in your relationship, for your own safety and peace of mind, do make sure that he understands that the JW religion is a negative force within families and has deep psychological pull on those who have been there. Otherwise you are hitching up with an unreliable partner likely to ruin the relationship because of his earlier indoctrination.

Sorry but that's the JW experience.

40

Resurrection, Reconstruction? What is it? It never made sense to me. Your opinion.

by Wasanelder Once in

i never had much faith in whatever resurrection was.

what appealed to me about jw doctrines was the rejection of the "it's a mystery" defense of the indefensible.

when i would ask how going into non existence could be reversed when all the atomic parts of who we are had been scattered for thousands of years, the answer was "jehovah can do anything".

Half banana

@ Sea Breeze, the death and resurrection of the saviour figure was in people's minds in the first and second centuries, there were indeed eyewitnesses to the account of a good man, a healer and teacher who had twelve disciples who himself could resurrect the dead. He was indeed tried at two courts, spiritual and secular, humiliated, crucified and put in a tomb. As the Bible says he did absolutely rise from the dead, he was after all seen by upward of five hundred witnesses . . . very convincing, very compelling.

What a comfort for us all! The message is clear, the message is: we CAN overcome death!

Yes I believe every word is true and people really did see these events not just one or two but many many people saw it -- but where did they see it? How did they learn these things? How did five hundred people see Jesus risen from the dead?

The Bible accounts in the Gospels so compress all of the events taking place at the trial and death of Jesus as to lead textual scholars to realise that the Bible has included a transcription of a theatrical play. Habemas has only assembled 'facts' from these events within a play.

There is no other external evidence whatsoever that these things literally took place. No Roman or modern historian, or archeologist or textual scholar has the evidence to prove that the gospel is other than a fiction. Reinforcing this, most of the gospel events individually are culled from earlier literature.

17

According to History

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

according to history, now only a reichstag fire is needed to eliminate democracy.

it is very likely that this will happen.. g..

Half banana

Gorby I reckon your scenario is rocket fuel for JW beliefs.

You must remember that the only kind of news worth selling is the sensational.

Almost contrary to the news we receive, the world really does improve. Embedded in Western style democracies are the institutions designed for social good: medicine, justice, police, education, communications and employment. These are intricately built into the frame of our civilisation and because of the interdependence of each element, all bodies are designed to remain functioning. Everyone benefits.

There would be no gain from a total breakdown of society -- everyone loses, except the egos of conspiracy theorists