Posts by Marilyn

17

Great talk at the KH today

by searcher in

jw
friends

i went to a kh near me today, they had a guy from london bethel talking.

he had some interesting things to say.. he did the talk in two parts, in the first half hour he was comparing 'this system of things with the titanic, and saying a lot about how the people on the titanic were carrying on normaly when the ship hit the berg.

then he went on about people had to 1, believe that the ship would sink and 2, have faith that the lifeboats would save them.

Marilyn

he claimed that the most popular language study is cantonese, and told us that there are a lot of Bible Studies happening with chinese students who then (he claimed) go back to china and witness to family/friends etc.

__________________________________________________________________________________

I personally am very skeptical about this report.

Firstly it's only a very small area in china that speaks Cantonese. The main language spoken is Mandarin. Cantonese is spoken in Guandong province which is close to Hong Kong. I'm happy to be corrected on this, but I've lived in Hong Kong on and off since the begining of 1985. In that time the Hong Kong Chinese have had a big education program to use Mandarin because since the change over in HK to Chinese rule the local people realised they would need to use the language that most of China uses - for economic reasons.

Although there may be some who have converted to JWism, I can say with a certainty that the numbers would be infantisimal. If every JW on earth went to China to preach the good news they would not make any impression on China. We are talking 1.2 billion people. Divide 5 million into twelve hundred thousand million. You can see how long it would take the entire population of JWs to do the territory. So if they have managed to conert one or two thousand Cantonese speaking Chinese, who don't speak the language of 90% of China, I don't think their boast is too accurate.

Of course this is typical of everything JWs do so and say - they are always half baked in every thing. They quote a few inaccuracies and give them the stamp of FDS approval which makes them fact in the eyes of the great crowd (unwashed). The rest of us are cursed with reality.

Marilyn

34

Hoovahs at my Door ! (NOT Vacuum cleaners)

by refiners fire in

jw
friends

its true!!

oh happy day.

first time in 10 years.

Marilyn

Refiners, I'd love to know why the old heart pounds practically outta the chest when they call. Dammit. Anywho don't get your hopes up - coz no matter which way you play it, they eventually work out that you know too much and then they won't talk to you after that. The last lot that called on me did some very clever detective work - even asking other congregation members if they had had interesting talks with me. This was a wonderful excuse for them to stop coming coz they were reallys struggling with some of stuff I was throwing at them about blood. How cool is that? Oh she knows too much so we don't ahve to answer her hard questions now. Mmmmm.

Anyway it was a nice day to be out on the work today yeah? Poor buggers.

Marilyn

23

Disfellowshipping Changes

by UnDisfellowshipped in

jw
friends

paraphrase of the watchtower 1955, page 607:.

quote from the watchtower august 1st 1974 issue, page 465:.

quote from the watchtower august 1st 1980 issue, page 19:.

Marilyn

Lynette's sister later told her: 'If you had viewed the disfellowshipping lightly, I know that I would not have taken steps toward reinstatement as soon as I did. Being totally cut off from loved ones and from close contact with the congregation created a strong desire to repent. I realized just how wrong my course was and how serious it was to turn my back on Jehovah.'

>>>>Sounds like blackmail to me.

Funny coz being treated like shit had the opposite effect on me. I just knew I'd made the right decision to leave.

Marilyn

43

Why do elders not disfellowship inactive people?

by kenpodragon in

jw
friends

when i left the religion, i walked away and did not get df'ed or da myself.

in doing so, my wife left the religion at the same time.

in our life we have been very nonwitness in our life.

Marilyn

Dragon, My husband and I left off meetings in 1979. We stopped all association except family association. When visited and asked why we left the Org, we answered honestly that we had lost faith, and we were doubtful that God existed. We stayed to ourselves and made no effort to convince others that our choice was right for others. My brother visited us at our home a few times to try to debate all the issues with us. They were always enjoyable discussions but we resolved nothing. Over two years after we stopped meetings we were called and told that a judicial committe (sp?) was to be formed to discuss whether we were apostate. The committee was made up of two local elders and a visiting elder from another State in Australia. He was like a Nazi and he didn't like us much because we'd been close friends with his daughter in law whom he didn't like much either.

So they used an out of towner, which I thought was non WT policy. The other elders who knew us would never have been so hard line. I agreed to a Bible study (which I truly did not want) but my offer was rejected - in other words I made an effort to repent even though I had no faith left in me. And when we appealled the disfellowshipping, they denied it without forming another committee.

My feelings were that they wanted to make an example of what happens to people who leave. They also felt angry that we could just up and leave - that the brain washing or whatever it is, didn't work for us. I think they resented us reclaiming our freedom.

I know you mean well, but many many people have not been treated as you suggest we should have been treated. It's all very well to have rules but there is an extremely wide application of them and it can so often depend on how small minded and ignorant the local elders are.

My disfellowshipping, for doing nothing wrong, has caused my jw parents a great deal of pain. You can't even begin to imagine what we've been thru over the last 20 years and it totally pisses me off to know that other exjws have had no problems at all in leaving. It's so unfair to indiscriminately pick on some and not others. Though I don't resent your lack of trouble I'm pretty damned pissed off about mine, because I've been treated like a leper by my brothers and sister for all these years, excluded from family events with grown nieces and newphews I've never met. All because my jw family do exactly what the WT tells them and they don't think anything thru for themselves. If the WT labels you wicked, then that's the end of the story.

Sorry for ranting, but this is a raw subject for me. I've always felt really annoyed at how irrationally my husband and I were and still are treated.

Marilyn

5

Get Out of My House!!!!

by crownboy in

jw
friends

last night at meeting was the 2nd part to that rather odious km article on shunning disfellowshipped family members.

i guess the society can't take any chances in light of dateline, etc.

well, one of the paragraphs dealt with how you'd handle a disfellowshipped child who lives outside the home.

Marilyn

I read the stuff about how to handle a d'fd child when it was first posted on the net a few weeks back. It's absolutely shameful of the Society to dish out such guidelines. It's obvious that most of the people making up this crap don't have children. This advice is totally off the planet. Most self respecting teenagers would rather live out of garbage tins rather than subject themselfs to ranting lunatic parents who don't allow them to watch tv while they recover from illness. Actually any mother who has given birth and doesn't feel extreme anxiety about her child being fully recovered from pnemonia is clearly demented. This section of the KM is a clear demonstration of what truly warped and irresponsible people JWs are. Absolutely disgusting - SHAME ON THEM. I can't believe that parents sit there and accept this stuff as normal. Of course a Witness will argue that their kids disfellowshipping behavior was not normal - but then one should point out that Jesus was 29 when he was baptised - so why are JWs baptising kids who are so vulnerable still?

Marilyn

12

which bits allowed - blood

by Marilyn in

jw
friends

which parts of blood are dubs allowed?.

or should i ask which bit isn't allow?

isn't there only one ingredient they aren't allowed now?.

Marilyn

The blood debate isn't stale to those who are involved with family who need blood. It's not a matter of personal choice - but it should be. I see where you are coming from and quite frankly I think everything about the WTS is stale. It's just too tedious to be involving oneself in their thought processes. I wouldn't bother but for my mothers situation. She can't choose as she's been indoctrinated for years that blood will give her some dreaded disease. Like she doesn't have one already that might kill her at any moment.

As for desertflower, maybe the Awake about bloodless surgery is interesting. But I find it hard to read anything by the Society because I find their literature totally manipulative and dishonest. I don't need the WTS to tell me anything about blood. I keep informed about important health matters and I don't want their jaded slant on anything. I personally would not want a blood transfusion unless there was no other alternative and I was going to die. But then if you knew anything about the hospital system you'd know that doctors only offer blood in extreme circumstances. It is not offered lightly any more. The Organisation's systematic muddying of the waters with regards blood is a red herring. If my child was bleeding out and was going to die then I'd take my chances on blood. Just like Jehovah's armies ate unbled animals rather than starve to death. Clearly this is an indication that life is more important than the law.

regards

marilyn

12

which bits allowed - blood

by Marilyn in

jw
friends

which parts of blood are dubs allowed?.

or should i ask which bit isn't allow?

isn't there only one ingredient they aren't allowed now?.

Marilyn

*Factor VIII
*Gamma Globulin
*Blood Plasma Proteins
*Albumin
*Immune Globulins
*Rh Immune Globulin
*Hemophiliac Preparations
*Clotting Factors
*Synthetic Hormone EPO (Erythropoietin) (contains only "a small amount of Albumin")
*Autologous Blood (Autotransfusion) (Where your own Blood "flows out through a tube to the Artificial Organ that pumps and filters (or oxygenates) it, and then it returns to the patient's circulatory system")
*Hemodilution
*HemoPure (Cow's Blood)
*PolyHeme

Dear undisfed, Thanx for this. This is the info I wanted. Of course "Hemophiliac Preparations could mean anything.

I'd like to know what their intention is with what is allowed. Clearly it can't be as simplistic as it appears to be. They must have some reason why they think the above is allowable and the rest is forbidden. I spose what gets me is that Witnesses think that God Almighty is fixated over the liquid that runs thru our veins. One would really have to wonder what kind of all powerful God is so fascinated by this part of our anatomy. It's only when you understand that whoever wrote the Bible was making blood a symbol of the importance of life does it make sense. Life itself is sacred not the liquid itself. Talk about get it arse end about.

Anyway I'm kinda involved with this issue at the moment as my mother is a jw and her doctors have recommended she have a transfusion. I have no intention of interferring with a rule that has been drummed into head for years. She is 77 and has cancer. I see no point in upsetting her. I just wanted to know what was allowable in case it's relevent to her situation.

thanx very much for your comments. I agree with everything you said. But then I'm one who can see no good in anything JWs teach. I think they have everything arse a peak!

Marilyn

22

Is this therapy?

by larc in

jw
friends

i this place a form of therapy for you?

is it a place you have come to and found it a source of healing?

i know this is not therapy in the professional sense.

Marilyn

larc, It's all that's on offer for most of us. I don't find it fulfilling enough at times, like when I'm really troubled with my ongoing dub situation - like I am at the moment. I don't share this stuff because to me it trivialises it to share it here and have maybe one person comment on something that's deeply disturbing for me. But for generalised WT frustration, it's really good.

Marilyn

12

which bits allowed - blood

by Marilyn in

jw
friends

which parts of blood are dubs allowed?.

or should i ask which bit isn't allow?

isn't there only one ingredient they aren't allowed now?.

Marilyn

Which parts of blood are dubs allowed?

Or should I ask which bit isn't allow? Isn't there only one ingredient they aren't allowed now?

I have a family situation going on and would like to know for personal reasons.

appreciate hearing from anyone who knows

Marilyn

2

Back to School

by La Capra in

jw
friends

tomorrow all the kids come back to school.

the first day of school is something i always enjoy to its fullest, meeting all my new charges, wondering about all the things they will accomplish this coming year.

a few days ago i received what is called a "student snapshot" about one of my new students, an incoming freshman.

Marilyn

Dear Shoshana, I really enjoyed your post. Surely it's in all of us to want the best education
for our kids. Don't even jws have a secret yearning for this? I'm wondering if the Witness guy will
keep a low profile and hope for the best. That's what I'd do in his situation. But then I left the troof
when my kids were little coz I didn't want to screw up their lives with religion.

My husband is an educator. He's an exjw too. One of the comments that drove him nuts when
he still attended was that "teachers aren't interested in teaching anymore". He was indignant coz
he was the only slack ass teacher amongst his colleagues - and that was because of his divided
loyalties. The rest of the teachers were wonderful. Now he devotes himself to education. Guess
they'd find fault with that too.

Have a great year!
Marilyn