i'm a born in, baptized as a young teenager, whole family is jw.
i just recently woke up after the new understanding of the fds was announced and it seemed to me to smack of power-grabbing.
i started looking at all the websites we're not supposed to, and now i know why.
Welcome, great advice so far so I'll just second the above!
jgnat recommended Hassan's books. In particular, the second one, Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves, is very useful. Also it deals with JWs specifically (in addition to many other cults and codependent relationships).
00DAD
well it was a very long discussion.
the elder knew nothing about the scandal, but he stated that he had no issue with it since when the case was brought to light, the society acted immediately to right their course.
in fact he thought it was a sign that that the organisation was indeed the "truth".
DesirousOfChange: You might still find the original ariticle from (I think) the Guardian Newspaper (UK) and at least that would not be from an "apostate" source.
You asked for it, you got it:
Stephen Bates , religious affairs correspondent
The Guardian, Sunday 14 October 2001 20.28 EDT
i'm so excited-my hubby who faded over 30 years ago finally lurked here on jwn!.
i've been posting on a few threads here and there for a while now, but have not officially introduced myself.
i have told bits and pieces of my story already.
Wow, what a story.
Welcome and thanks for sharing!
Glad you're finally on a road that is the real life: your life.
00DAD
star trek claimed to be fantasy and in fact, was fantasy.. wts claims to be the sole truth on earth and in fact, is fantasy.. star trek had spock who solved problems with logic.. wts has a gb who solves problems with bullshit.. star trek had a pompous ass charismatic leader whom everyone loved to watch rant and emote.
wts had three pompous ass charismatic leaders whom everyone hated to watch rant and emote.. captain kirk was always saving his people from new disasters.. wt leaders are always leading its people into new disasters.. star trek made money by always giving its fans the stuff they wanted.. wts makes money by always charging its fans for stuff neither they nor anyone else else wants.. people had fun when star trek came on.. people would rather have a root canal when meetings come on.. star trek was all about making the cosmos a better place for all.. wts is all about making the cosmos a better place for a few and killing everyone else.. people love to go to star trek conventions.. people would rather be in an earthquake than go to wts conventions.. star trek had a transporter room.. people in meetings wish they also had a transporter room.. star trek had lots of insane villains.. wts had judge rutherford and fred franz.
same thing.. star trek also had lots of good guys.. good guys are banished from the wts.. star trek had the klingons who spoke a bizarre language.. wts had fred franz who spoke an even more bizarre language.. star trek had all sorts of devices which could cure most any medical problems, but of course, they were science fiction.. wts had the electronic radio biola which it sold and said could cure most any medical problem, but of course, that was science fiction.. star trek had floppy disks, computers you could talk to and flat screen monitors all of which were about 50 years ahead-of-their time.. wts had vaccines which were called "filthy animal pus", humans hearts which were the seat of all emotions, organ transplants which were cannibalistic, human personalities which were also transferred with blood transfusions and black people turning white by reading their literature, all of which were 100 years behihd-their-time.. if you missed a few star trek episodes in a row, no one came by to harrass you.. if you miss a few meetings in a row, you are in deep shit.. star trek tv shows and movies are still played all the time, even after 47 years.. wts dramas never even play a second time.
This must be why one Circuit Overseer said it was wrong for JWs to watch Star Trek
on my way in to work this morning (saturday), at 6:05 am on a commercial business street in chicago, i saw two sisters and a brother bundled up in winter clothes and doing "street work.
" it wasn't that cold, so i guess they started even earlier when they needed their scarf and gloves.
there was absolutely nobody else walking and all the businesses were closed.
OTWO, I agree.
When you're in JW-land the talk is all about being a "witness to all the nations," but in reality most of the show is for each other.
JWs are all about appearances, for each other!
"Look how spiritual I am!"
00DAD
well it was a very long discussion.
the elder knew nothing about the scandal, but he stated that he had no issue with it since when the case was brought to light, the society acted immediately to right their course.
in fact he thought it was a sign that that the organisation was indeed the "truth".
awakening: He said that wasnt the point, the issue was a matter of faith.
That's right. He has put is faith in a organization run by duplicitous, deceitful, hypocritical men that never, ever admit when they are wrong. For this elder to acknowledge that would mean the HE has to admit that HE has been wrong.
Cognitive dissonance is a bitch. Denial is easier.
Just give your brain the rest of your life off.
i had the following conversation with a brother ex-bethelite ,left in good standing to start a family and currently a po in his congragation .he regularly gives talks in district and circuit assemblies .we go way back so he tollerates my comments but he is a die hard .we had the following conversation recently.
me:" have you heard about the new light for the fds?
elder:"...is that something you read in an apostate website?".
How about this: "If this New Light about the identify of the FDS, then that means the WT Leadership has been wrong in their understanding of their own prophetic identity for the last 93 years! If it was right before, then it is most certainly wrong to change it."
Either way .... [wait for it] ... they're wrong!
star trek claimed to be fantasy and in fact, was fantasy.. wts claims to be the sole truth on earth and in fact, is fantasy.. star trek had spock who solved problems with logic.. wts has a gb who solves problems with bullshit.. star trek had a pompous ass charismatic leader whom everyone loved to watch rant and emote.
wts had three pompous ass charismatic leaders whom everyone hated to watch rant and emote.. captain kirk was always saving his people from new disasters.. wt leaders are always leading its people into new disasters.. star trek made money by always giving its fans the stuff they wanted.. wts makes money by always charging its fans for stuff neither they nor anyone else else wants.. people had fun when star trek came on.. people would rather have a root canal when meetings come on.. star trek was all about making the cosmos a better place for all.. wts is all about making the cosmos a better place for a few and killing everyone else.. people love to go to star trek conventions.. people would rather be in an earthquake than go to wts conventions.. star trek had a transporter room.. people in meetings wish they also had a transporter room.. star trek had lots of insane villains.. wts had judge rutherford and fred franz.
same thing.. star trek also had lots of good guys.. good guys are banished from the wts.. star trek had the klingons who spoke a bizarre language.. wts had fred franz who spoke an even more bizarre language.. star trek had all sorts of devices which could cure most any medical problems, but of course, they were science fiction.. wts had the electronic radio biola which it sold and said could cure most any medical problem, but of course, that was science fiction.. star trek had floppy disks, computers you could talk to and flat screen monitors all of which were about 50 years ahead-of-their time.. wts had vaccines which were called "filthy animal pus", humans hearts which were the seat of all emotions, organ transplants which were cannibalistic, human personalities which were also transferred with blood transfusions and black people turning white by reading their literature, all of which were 100 years behihd-their-time.. if you missed a few star trek episodes in a row, no one came by to harrass you.. if you miss a few meetings in a row, you are in deep shit.. star trek tv shows and movies are still played all the time, even after 47 years.. wts dramas never even play a second time.
What's the difference between a Trekker and a JW?
[scroll down ...]
Trekkers know that Star Trek is fiction!
apostates are a figment of the jw imagination.
not necessarily the dictionary definition of the word apostate, which simply means a person who leaves their religion, for by that definition everyone who leaves a religion to become a jw is an apostate--but the jw conception of the apostate, both as an individual and as a 'group' is imaginary.. .
for starters, the watchtower goes beyond the definition of merely leaving the religion, if a person disagrees with a doctrine or practice of the organization, even if they dont voice it, that is a thoughtcrime called apostasy.
Great post Londo!
Yes, they need enemies or they can't be persecuted:
2 Timothy 3:12 - In fact, all those desiring to live with godly devotion in association with Christ Jesus will also be persecuted.
If no one persecutes them they cannot prove they are Christians.
If no one is persecuting them, they need to make some up or piss people off to fulfill their worldview.
The WTBTS must love Danny Haszard.
well it was a very long discussion.
the elder knew nothing about the scandal, but he stated that he had no issue with it since when the case was brought to light, the society acted immediately to right their course.
in fact he thought it was a sign that that the organisation was indeed the "truth".
It's more than just the hypocrisy of the WTBTS, they are the ones that "identified" the UN as the Scarlet colored beast. They are the ones that "identified" false religion as the Harlot riding the beast.
We didn't make this stuff up, they did.
