Posts by doublespeak

55

Very Lost

by Jrjw in

hi i've been a jw for 12 years and got married 2 years ago.

i'm now separated.

my husband hid from me that he suffered from depression, extreme anxiety issues and a personality disorder.

Hello Jrjw,
You must feel so robbed. I know someone who went through almost the exact scenario. I don't know how she coped.
For yourself, it might be a terrible time to try to tell you that every cloud has a silver lining but I would wager that there is indeed one for you. If you've posted here on this forum, I would guess that you might eventually be willing to question the idea that you must remain lonely for the rest of your life.

These boundaries are only set by your belief system are they not? If you have the courage to really put into question your 12 years of study, if you are willing to confront some difficult topics, you will come out of this on top.
Hang in there Jrjw (and welcome to the forum)

24

Tight Pants Tony and the 1st international broadcast started a chain reaction that woke up an uber pioneer

by Bad_Wolf in

hopefully more are on the same path.

here is the story..... this person i know was the model jw, and them and their spouse could have really moved up.

they knew i was gone and awhile ago started asking me questions.

doublespeak

In a not so dissimilar way, I would like to express deep thanks to Stephen Lett,

For years I had denied myself any scrutiny of many things that neither felt right or sounded logical.

Sitting through a talk given by Lett was a watershed moment in my life, it convinced me to go and read CoC (which I had only heard of just days earlier)

It wasn't just that I saw him in the flesh, it was all the more poignant because his talk was being interpreted.

While his interpreter spoke the target language, Lett animated the interpreter's work with his infamous facial contortions. As I sat there I thought to myself, if I had brought along a study, what would this person be thinking right now? What would any reasonable person take away from the "performance" ?

40

Difficulty fading out

by Emily1987 in

jw
friends

this is my first post on here so i apologize that it is like an essay!.

my husband and i are currently 'fading out' of the truth.

we stopped preaching in may 2016 and limited meeting attendance in january 2017 and stopped completely in june 2017. my main reason for this was my whole life i have been doing things to please others, even getting baptized to please my mum.

doublespeak

Welcome Emily!

I had thought my fade was practically complete after a ramp down in attendance and activity similar to yours but I still got a call before the memorial which was indicative that they have not given up on me quite yet.

For those who still live in their former territory and wish to compare notes with faders from different congregations, I think this March/April call serves as a reasonable method of estimating your status.

90

So my PIMO Younger Brother Tried To Kill Himself Today

by pale.emperor in

we all know that this cult will drive those trying to leave to desperate measures, and today by brother was very nearly one of those statistics.

he slashed his thigh with a kitchen knife and was bleeding out until he called the police.. i got a call on my way home from work from a police officer, coincidentally it was one of my old friends from school who's now a cop.

he told me my brother is in hospital after an attempted suicide and has lost some blood but will be ok. but i should get to the hospital as he's asking for me.

doublespeak

Hello Pale Emperor, I wish to add myself to the long list of people thinking of your brother and yourself.

17

A religion or OCPD?

by Xanthippe in

i came across this paragraph about the causes of ocpd and it occurred to me that jws as a religion do reward ocpd traits.

they insist you adhere to rules and behaviours to the impairment of social and family activities.

perfectionism, strict moral code, lack of generosity.. so does this religion cause this personality disorder or does it recruit people who suffer from it?.

doublespeak

Yikes that list cuts a little too close to the bone... better read more on this.

Your post reminds me of certain stages of waking up.

I read in some novel the term "pathologically religious" and upon repeating it, got a few laughs from some in the cong who could differentiate between religious and spiritual.
Wilke Collins' The Moonstone made me ever so much more uncomfortable in the field service after reading chapter about Drusilla Clack's pamphlet campaign... dreadful

99

January 19, 2017 TO ALL BODIES OF ELDERS IN WALES Re: Prerecorded Memorial and Special Talk 2017 - Welsh

by wifibandit in

january 19, 2017 to all bodies of elders in wales re: prerecorded memorial and special talk 2017 - welsh.

doublespeak

I don't understand why it is such a big concern for so many people here what they spend their money on.

This little thing called undue influence and how after an awakening, people get very disappointed with the actions of an organization that still has major influence over the person's closest.

It might also be worth recognising that after learning about the administration of countries like Malawi & Mexico it is plain human nature to perceive everything as having been poisoned.

22

Absolute moral standards and fiction.

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

not all beliefs are worthy of respect, but when we read a book of fiction in my mind it's easier to travel outside ourselves and our absolute moral standards.

fiction allows our imagination to be free.

i haven't read " fifty shades of grey" but i read " romeo and juliet" at school,and juliet was 13, romeo i believe was supposedly around 18 or 19.

doublespeak

Hi Rebel, thank you for the post. Being a recent fader, I am now confronted with all these questions and I am grateful to read of the questions and thoughts of others

Morality, can it be time & circumstance dependent? (questioning absolutes) The good old ends justify the means
Does this call on holistic and reductionist philosophies?

In a holistic view of morality, is bombing location X, killing n innocent people but apparently saving n people at location Y proves to be moral?
Does a reductionist view make bombing location X and killing n people immoral, period?

Numerous posts on the forum call up God's morality in biblical times but exclude the ends justify the means indoctrination I now have in question.
If I acknowledge the existence of a grand creator but said grand creator acts unjustly for a greater cause, I don't know how to square it all up. I think I need a cup of tea and a lie-down.

PS If morality serves as the basis for law, it's interesting to note that common law rests heavily upon intersubjective validity. (an approach towards absolute?)

10

Disfellowshipping - Quid Pro Quo - Satan's Accusation

by doublespeak in

.

if under jw doctrine, satan's accusation is that a human serves god for the purpose of what he can get out of it, does the disfellowshipping arrangement, exercised to the degree that the governing body deem to be appropriate, support this charge?.

taking for granted the jehovah’s witnesses are god’s chosen organization; on the assumption that the angels (who apparently cannot read heart conditions) looking upon humanity who are making a stand for the issue of sovereignty , are unable to discern those who are in the religion because of their family and friends.

doublespeak

If under JW doctrine, Satan's accusation is that a human serves God for the purpose of what he can get out of it, does the disfellowshipping arrangement, exercised to the degree that the governing body deem to be appropriate, support this charge?

Taking for granted the Jehovah’s Witnesses are God’s chosen organization; on the assumption that the angels (who apparently cannot read heart conditions) looking upon humanity who are making a stand for the issue of sovereignty , are unable to discern those who are in the religion because of their family and friends.

7

Information Disparity

by doublespeak in

the scriptures reveal that god never takes advantage of the ignorance of anyone.. j.rutherford, jehovah, brooklyn, international bible students association, 1934, p.19.

would that the oligarchy followed suit.. tom..

doublespeak

Thank you Xanthippe. For some reason I cannot update my bio nor the avatar. So just briefly; Born in, thirty-something years later I finally came to terms with some life-long suppressed thoughts & doubts. I am now going through what seems to be a well told story on this forum. (grateful to be able to read about people in the same boat)

-----

careful, nice verse. I was thinking that poor old Job was pretty clueless too. (But for the record I am questioning the soundness of the Org's rationale)

Xanthippe, I am reading 1984 at the moment and I can't help but make parallels to so many concepts. Oceana invented all technology you know.

So it might be a bit dry to speak in terms of contracts but the Org accepts the dedication but withholds so much that really should be put on the table given the consequences of a baptized person discovering this information later.

Baptism being contractual in nature, I just searched the forum and found why-isnt-disfellowshipping-breach-contract

This is why I posted information disparity and why I feel so robbed.

7

Information Disparity

by doublespeak in

the scriptures reveal that god never takes advantage of the ignorance of anyone.. j.rutherford, jehovah, brooklyn, international bible students association, 1934, p.19.

would that the oligarchy followed suit.. tom..

doublespeak

The Scriptures reveal that God never takes advantage of the ignorance of anyone..
J.Rutherford, JEHOVAH, Brooklyn, International Bible Students Association, 1934, p.19

Would that the oligarchy followed suit.

Tom.