Posts by joey jojo

92

Only a few days ago I was entirely lost and without hope the rug was pulled out from under me

by elderess in

jw
friends

only a few days ago i was walking around the house in a mindless wander thinking if i needed to seek professional help.

then i got the courage to seek the comfort of complete strangers on the internet and found a world of support here on this website.

thank you simon and whoever else has made this website possible.

joey jojo

Hi elderess,

Thanks for sharing your story, I admit I had tears in my eyes as I was reading it and I can only imagine the weight that came off your shoulders as you and your husband poured your hearts out to each other.

May I give a word of warning in regards to your kids? I don't know if you grew up as a JW or came to it in later years but be prepared for your kid(s) to resent you for turning your backs on the religion you raised them in.

From a child's point of view, you usually believe everything your parents tell you and they may view you as hypocritical for raising them as jw's, possibly missing out on a lot of things other kids took for granted, only to see you do the exact opposite of what you taught them, when it suited you to leave.

And then, there's the whole brainwashing - 'OH-MY-GOODNESS-YOU-DONT-BELIEVE-IN-THE-TRUTH-ANYMORE-AND-ARE-BAD' thing.

Thanks again for sharing and all the best for the future.

98

OKAY, GAME OVER! The number one reason the New Testament amounts to bunk

by Terry in

for me, the dead giveaway is this.

jesus wrote nothing.. stop and think about that.. if jesus were the authentic messiah, his ministry would not simply be local.. his instructions, his mission, the details of his teachings would be too precious to risk leaving it in the hands of "men unlettered (illiterate) and ordinary (blue-collar yokels).".

jesus, were he the one and only hope of mankind, would be absolutely certain to write down with great simplicity and specificity the exact owner's manual necessary to rescue mankind.. never happened!.

joey jojo

I agree with Terry about the question of bacteria.

1Tim 5:23 encourages people of the time to 'drink wine instead if water' for their 'frequent stomach problems'.

If Paul had 'special knowledge', why didn't he warn everyone about the dangers of drinking contaminated water and eating contaminated food?

It is estimated that drinking contaminated water has killed more people than all the wars in human history!!!

It wasn't until the 19th century- almost 2000 years after Jesus's time, that people figured out the connection between cholera and drinking water.

That makes all the 'exciting stuff' like wars, pestilence, earthquakes etc, seem inconsequential compared to the humble vibrio cholerae bacteria.

Why didn't ANY of the prophets throw the human race a bone and save millions and millions of people from untold grief and heartache?

That really doesn't make any sense to me.

98

OKAY, GAME OVER! The number one reason the New Testament amounts to bunk

by Terry in

for me, the dead giveaway is this.

jesus wrote nothing.. stop and think about that.. if jesus were the authentic messiah, his ministry would not simply be local.. his instructions, his mission, the details of his teachings would be too precious to risk leaving it in the hands of "men unlettered (illiterate) and ordinary (blue-collar yokels).".

jesus, were he the one and only hope of mankind, would be absolutely certain to write down with great simplicity and specificity the exact owner's manual necessary to rescue mankind.. never happened!.

joey jojo

62

Ladies: Circumcision or not?

by Wonderment in

the topic of circumcision has been brought up a few times recently.

then i wondered... .

how do women really view circumcision?

joey jojo

Hi Kate.

Im not a scientist but I have done some *cough* private research, for purely altruistic reasons and I can assure you that the foreskin is the most sensitive part of the penis- from a sexual point of view.

It also protects the end of the penis, maintaining the sensitivity of that part of the anatomy.

The best way I can explain it is if you can imagine your eyeball without an eyelid.

Wash, rinse, repeat just like any other part of the body and everyone's happy.

Something else to think about, a womans vagina is a mass of folds and wrinkles that also needs to be kept clean but you don't hear us guys complaining.

56

A fresh start

by FormerlySandL in

after the worst introduction i could ever make on the forum i would like to reintroduce myself and make a fresh start on the forum and hopefully over time i will be able to redeem myself.

i have changed my user name which was over dramatic and ridiculous in the cold light of day but for transparency and to show i am not trying to hide anything i have adapted the original name and it now has a more positive feel.

after reading a lot of posts on this forum i am feeling more optimistic about my future.

joey jojo

Hi there.

In your original thread, Tornintwo offered some excellent advice. Spend some time searching through the forums on this website.

This site is a gold mine of logic, real-life experiences and scholarly reasoning that should be of benefit to anyone in your situation.

Do some research here before you make any big life changes.

There are a lot of us here who understand completely what it's like to realise that everything you thought was real, was only a dream.

34

Was Adam "born" Circumsized ?

by RubaDub in

i guess we have to assume that jesus was circumcised on the 8th day but what about adam?

he was "perfect", so did he have the weenie cut or not?.

i would like to bring this question up at a "get-together".. rub a dub .

joey jojo

Everything I've read concerning the Islamic stance on circumcision usually quotes Islamic scholars saying that it is obligatory for men unless there is a physical condition that may harm them if the procedure is carried out. It is also said to be 'an honour' for women. While perhaps not a technical requirement from the quran, any reader would be left in no doubt that muslim men are required to be circumcised regardless of the age they convert. My impression is that non- circumcision for muslims is definitely the exception, not the rule.

When I read modern 'studies' about the benefits of circumcision, almost always, the names of the doctors/ researchers are usually jewish, indicating that the research is carried out with the goal to justify a procedure that is deeply embedded in the jewish culture.

In litigious societies , like the U.S. , surely its only a matter of time before circumcised boys seek damages from their parents for forcing on them an un-asked for medical procedure that is potentially dangerous and if done incorrectly, can cause life-long physical problems, (scarring, pain). In 2016, the fact that a parent has the right to request a physically altering medical procedure on their children based solely on their religious beliefs is hard to believe.

34

Was Adam "born" Circumsized ?

by RubaDub in

i guess we have to assume that jesus was circumcised on the 8th day but what about adam?

he was "perfect", so did he have the weenie cut or not?.

i would like to bring this question up at a "get-together".. rub a dub .

joey jojo

How much energy have religious 'nuts' (see what I did there?) wasted on getting all worked up about circumcision?

The foreskin is a normal part of the body but somehow has a bad reputation because it is associated with uncleanness.

If your parents thought it was a good idea to have your foreskin hacked off, I have some very sad news for you that you probably already know.

The most sexually sensitive part of the penis is on the foreskin, on the underside of the penis.

Like any other part of the body, if its functioning normally, why remove it?

Was the original idea behind circumcision really a health concern, as zealots continue to say, or was the real reason to deaden sexual sensitivity?

11

Survey

by Reborn93 in

i was recommended to this forum by a member of jw recovery.

i am a former jw studying a psychology degree in the uk.

i am conducting a survey looking at former and current jehovah's witnesses and their beliefs.

joey jojo

Q: How many psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: Only 1, however, the lightbulb must WANT to change.

23

So Long Palmyra NY Hall

by mrquik in

jw
friends

ah just more evidence of the work "speeding up during the time of the end".

i helped build this hall.

was appointed as an ms & elder there.

joey jojo

No better feeling than donating for years to assist the local congregation only to watch your hall get sold.

All your contributions over the years amount to nothing and then the kicker is from now on, you will have to drive an extra 30 mins each way to attend your shiny new cong that has been merged with 3 others.

19

Where are they now?

by Sabin in

geoffrey jackson.

terrence o'brien.

vincent toole.

joey jojo

I was actually sorry to see Vincent Toole caught up in all this to be honest.

Maybe its just nostalgic memories from a kids point of view but out of all the C.O.'s I ever had ( and I had a lot due to moving around a lot while growing up) he was by far my favourite. I remember him from the mid 80's as intelligent and charismatic and the guy gave great talks.

Those from Australia might recall an audio tape of a public talk that did the rounds back in the day called 'The master craftsman' that Vincent Toole gave. It was an interesting historical talk based around the blending of paganism and Christianity.

I hardly recognised him on the ARC vids.