Posts by Mum

29

FROM FEET TO FINGERS: THE WATCHTOWER EVOLVES INTO JW.ORG

by steve2 in

jw
friends

with the official letter from the gb to all bodies of elders, a stylized jw.org banner can now be appended to kingdom hall signage.. what an auspicious year this will turn out to be for the organization!!.

among other outcomes, the "link" with the old, baggage-ridden "watchtower bible & tract society" recedes into the background.

furthermore, now you don't pretend to need feet trudging door-to-door - your worker is done at the press of a few directed fingers.

Mum

Somehow, I don't see how the "internet org" is going to work in their favor. How are they going to market a "religion" that turns people into automatons and sucks all the joy out of their lives? Their success in the past has been mostly because of one-to-one contact, IMHO. I remember my 9-year-old hillbilly self being quite impressed with the JW family (my dad's boss's family) who came and studied with us.

Avon Cosmetics used to be (and still may be) the #1 cosmetics company for the same reason.

I can certainly see people being turned off if they have those Sparlock videos or horrific coloring book for kids. Would you want to bring your kids into that kind of mentality?

In one sense, this internet business is just another flip-flop. Just a short time ago, the internet was considered all that is evil and a serious danger, as dangerous to JW's as to North Koreans. Now it's their shiny new vehicle.

34

Why is shunning wrong?

by noonehome in

consider an example i often hear.

youre sitting at a dinner table.

the topic of conversation is regarding your mother.

Mum

Shunning people because they have learned something else and believe differently from you or just want to be themselves (all JW justifications for shunning) is the heght of immaturity, stupidity and rudeness. I have a friend who hates Catholicism, but she doesn't shun Chatholics.

Once, years ago, I was watching a TV program about the pope visiting the U.S. The pope was sitting in a big chair behind a Catholic woman who was lambasting the Church for its treatment of women and proscription against birth control The pope was sitting very calmly and taking it "like a man."

In ths sane world, it's fine to leave one church and go to another. The family might try to get you to "see the light" and go back to their church, but they won't treat you as if you don't exist.

There was a post on this board years ago about a JW couple (I think one partner was "apostate") who had a child and were divorced. The JW member of the couple would not speak to the "apostate." Allegedly, a judge ordered them to stop being childish and to consider the welfare of their son or daughter.

There are extreme cases in which I can understand shunning and it probably is justified. If someone tried to hurt my child, I think I would avoid them and shun them. Even then, if I had something to say to them, I would say it.

17

Elder ignores me at Walgreens here in Milwaukee.

by Joliette in

jw
friends

a month ago i went to walgreens to get some snacks and a newspaper.

i was walking out when i noticed an elder that i grew up with walking towards me.

he kinda looked in my direction, the turned his head away and kept walking with his nose in the air.

Mum

I don't live near anyplace where I was a JW, so I don't really meet up with any of the ones I knew. If I did see one, I would give him/her a hearty "Hello!" Let THEM look like the asshole because they are the ones who deserve it! I don't hate or discriminate against them, and I deserve the same cvourtesy. If there is a judgment day, we apostates will be out in force to witness to the truth about these arrogant, self-aggrandizing, uneducated, ignorant hypocrites!

34

If You Can Get Out Of The Jehovah's Witness Religion---DO IT!

by minimus in

jw
friends

i realize some people feel they can't just leave the religion.

they have family, friends, position.. some elders mistakenly believe that they might be able to reform the cult from within.

the truth is, the religion is never really going to change.

Mum

It's not easy to leave, but SO worth it! I can no longer live my life in such a manner as to try to stay on the good side of some autocratic, petty demagogues! If you can't be persuaded to just leave, I hope you will break some of the rules to have the kind of life you want when you're away from the JW clan and their haunts.

Do whatever you need to do to make yourself happy. Life is short. We're alive NOW. Nothing else is certain.

14

What now?

by thedog1 in

i don't know if it has been a good thing or a bad thing to have found this site.

i stumbled on it about a year ago as i mentioned in previous posts.

it has opened my eyes to so many things, but right now all is confusion.

Mum

Your post reminds me of a guy I saw on 60 Minutes (an American "magazine" show, for those who don't know about it) who had been a 4th-generation prisoner in N. Korea. He had grown up in the prison and had no concept of life in the outside world. Even after years of freedom, he still could not understand the concepts of "love" or "romance."

This poor, deluded man actually turned in two family members for breaking rules, and those family members were executed. He stated that he really thought they deserved to die at the time because he had no other frame of reference.

Being in a closed society, cutting yourself off from regular, non-brainwashed human beings, and being required to turn others in just to survive, do not create healthy, happy human beings. Even though it's painful for you right now, it is a blessing to have a different perspective when attending the brainwashing sessions. Knowledge is power. I hope you will find the strength to break free.

Best wishes for a happier future!

61

Would you do this to your kids? Is this cold or am I crazy?

by BU2B in

my mentally in jw wife is trying to organize a "princess party" for my 4 year old daughter and her little cousins and friends.

she was looking at prices of a tent for the backyard party in case it rains.

she asked the hardware store how much and they said 90 dollars for the day.

Mum

LOL, berrygerry! Seriously, I cannot imagine having so little feeling for one's children or grandchildren! In my family, we take turns babysitting my great granddaughter for free while her mom works full-time. We love having her around and are constantly amused by her little "experiments." She's 1.5 years old and a pure delight (most of the time)!

Your in-laws' wiring is crossed or shorted out in some manner. Are they robots?

30

Denmark Assembly Hall and 7 KH for sale

by Viva la Vida in

jw
friends

this is the real estate page: http://propertysale.dk/salg/helsinkivej.html.

.

Mum

According to some poll I heard about, Denmark is the happest country in the world, i.e. the honest-to-goodness, really happiest. It must be hard to convince happy, secure people to believe conditions are deplorable and sell them on North Korean-like propaganda.

36

Women elders, what difference would they make?

by Freedom77 in

jw
friends

okay, let's do a big what-if: suppose the gb for its own unfathomable reasons suddenly got new light (tm) and decided to start appointing women elders and ministerial servants.

they would, of course, refer to the examples of junia (apostle), and priscilla and phoebe (deaconesses in wordlyspeak) in the greek scriptures; never mind what mental somersaults it would take to get them there.

stranger things have happened in wt history.. that being the case, would having women in positions of real authority make any significant difference in the congos or in the borg as a whole, and why or why not?.

Mum

Thanks, Birdie!

33

Coloring book activity for kids: Lot's wife dying

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

omg.

would you have your kids do this activity?

so messed up.. .

Mum

Darth the Sequel: Only 2 or 7 of each animal was taken aboard the ark, so 99.9999999-infinity percent of animals died, too. Animals are not inclined to "worship" anything, so maybe that's why. I think Billy the Ex-Behelite made an even stronger point about the animals aboard the ark. That is, how did kangaroos, koalas, platypuses and other marsupials get across the oceans and continents to be placed into that ark?

36

Women elders, what difference would they make?

by Freedom77 in

jw
friends

okay, let's do a big what-if: suppose the gb for its own unfathomable reasons suddenly got new light (tm) and decided to start appointing women elders and ministerial servants.

they would, of course, refer to the examples of junia (apostle), and priscilla and phoebe (deaconesses in wordlyspeak) in the greek scriptures; never mind what mental somersaults it would take to get them there.

stranger things have happened in wt history.. that being the case, would having women in positions of real authority make any significant difference in the congos or in the borg as a whole, and why or why not?.

Mum

I am a woman and have been a JW and an elder's wife, and have seen behind the curtain of the facade of "love" among the "brothers." Women have a different perspective on things, especially as it concerns children. On the one hand, I think child molestors might not get off so easily. I think DF'ing a teenager who was baptized long before he/she understood what he/she was getting into might be frowned upon a lot more, and the child might receive more "counseling" before being thrown to the wolves.

On the other hand, I think women would resist such appointments, as their ego is not so tied up with position and power. Women have a greater need, IMHO, to feel "qualified" for a position. My grandmother believed that Walter Mondale lost the presidential election because of "that woman," his female running mate. Women see themselves as inferior because we've internalized what society has told us about ourselves. A few women are breaking out of that mentality, particularly women of Generation Y. My granddaughter clearly does not see herself as inferior or subject to anyone's innate "superiority." (You go, girl!)

I used to be a doormat. As a result, I could no longer tolerate my life and had to start anew for the sake of my mental health. My elder ex-husband told me I "had a problem with subjection," meaning I had my own wishes and desires outside of being his personal slave.

It is not just JW's who have kept women "in their place." Almost all religions do to some degree. It would be very modern of them to buck tradition and have more equality among people. I agree that it could happen, but all hell might break loose if it did. Even "worldly" men hate it when a woman is the boss, or even given opportunities traditionally closed to women.