Posts by ttdtt

25

Nowadays How Does One Become An Elder?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i was appointed jan 1 1980 and back then it was a big deal to“qualify”.

i was the youngest elder appointed in the district!

i actually studied everything from the societies publications and listened to anything i was told to do.

ttdtt

Kiss ass.

I have seen the MOST unqualified men become elders by kissing ass and doing the 3 basic things you have to do.

I am talking guys who could not speak in complete sentences.

Guys who have NO command of the "scriptures" let alone understand their meaning.

Guys who do not have the judgment of an average 10-year-old.

And these are the ones educating and judging the sheep.
It was intolerable, and being in their company was crushing.

One such "brother" after proving he had NO right to even be a servant, over and over again, became an elder just because he had been trying so long, and the COBE just didn't want to say no anymore.

10

... are standing at trolleys every day - millions of hours every year - and never approach people with the "good news" - as per the instructions of the self-proclaimed "faithful slave" in the usa.. the forked tongue of the wt serpent speaks yet again:.

w16 may pp.

8-9 pars.

ttdtt

This scripture comes to mind.

We are, for we are not peddlers of* the word of God+ as many men are, but we speak in all sincerity as sent from God, yes, in the sight of God and in company with Christ.

18

The Repression and Expression of Anger Among Jehovah's Witnesses

by john.prestor in

something which i always found surprising when i attended the kingdom halls i studied was how angry, even vicious, many jehovah's witnesses could become when a watchtower study featured some persons and/or institutions the organization disapproved of, say, higher education and educators, christendom and its clergy, apostates, etc.

many seemed to sadistically enjoy denigrating these persons or institutions when the watchtower study conductor called on them and they were handed a microphone.

i wondered for a long time where this anger came from, and i've developed a hypothesis for explaining this.. according to a book i'm reading by alice miller called "for your own good: hidden cruelty in child-rearing and the roots of violence," children who are strictly controlled and abused (whether emotionally or physically) typically go on to unleash the anger they inevitably felt at their parents, but were never allowed to express, at their children or those around them.

ttdtt

I agree completely.

I can tell you I have seen many elders act so cruel to those they were supposed to protect. They live these lives where they control nothing and have been deprived of so much.

Well, the one thing they can control is the lives of the sheep. Love and understanding and forgiveness got set aside because of the frustration and anger that lives deep inside them, and they took it out on the sheep who needed love and care. Thus I saw how elders instead of showing understanding and mercy for a young sister who - dared to have sex - and then felt so guilty she confessed, called horrible things. Called "hot to trot" and "a sexpot". And funny enough I know that they lusted after her.

Frustration and anger in the hands of uneducated, power hungry, fearful men is a recipe for disaster and much pain.

I could go on and on with what I hated when I was an elder.

Oh, and by the way, I was not immune to these feelings and actions.

13

"We're involved in a life saving work"?

by eyeuse2badub in

as my wife left for fs this morning (aka gossip and coffee time with her friends) she mentioned to me that one of the parts in the clam meeting this week was:.

to remind the 'faithful' that, "we are involved in a life saving work!".

so i just calmly mentioned to her that if he really wanted to, jehoober could save thousands of lives every day just by controlling the weather or providing just clean water or just a just a few loaves and fishes!.

ttdtt

The JW from my Cong were doing the Tract work yesterday in on my block.
I was heading out so I said brief hellos to the 3 sisters who were right there.

Life-saving work ha.

Even when I was IN - I thought it was a colossal waste of time inviting people to the District Convention during the month campaign.

Seriously - we could NOT get RVs and Bible Study to come for a 45 min Talk in the same town, and we were going to get people in the town to drive to a freak show convention 1 hr away?

I was just happy doing it because it was so EASY to fake it.

I always HATED service - and faked it as much as possible - even when I was a Pioneer.

51

Without god what is the basis of morality?

by OneEyedJoe in

i'm sure most here who've questioned or left behind their belief in god have encountered this question - without god, what basis can there be for morality?

my exwife, when i admitted that i was an atheist, once asked me "if you don't believe in god, what's to stop you from going out and raping and murdering?

" previously, whenever i got this objection, i would tend to turn it around on the other person with a response along the lines of "if fear of god is the only thing that stops you from murdering, that makes me rather nervous to be around you.

ttdtt

Aurelius was a Stoic.

A cucumber is bitter. Throw it away. There are briars in the road. Turn aside from them. This is enough. Do not add, "And why were such things made in the world?"

51

Without god what is the basis of morality?

by OneEyedJoe in

i'm sure most here who've questioned or left behind their belief in god have encountered this question - without god, what basis can there be for morality?

my exwife, when i admitted that i was an atheist, once asked me "if you don't believe in god, what's to stop you from going out and raping and murdering?

" previously, whenever i got this objection, i would tend to turn it around on the other person with a response along the lines of "if fear of god is the only thing that stops you from murdering, that makes me rather nervous to be around you.

ttdtt

The god of the bible is in NO WAY a moral standard for anyone.
He is the embodiment of evil.

By the way, who invented the weapon that would slaughter millions and millions?

So he drove the man out, and he posted at the east of the garden of Eʹden the cherubsf and the flaming blade of a sword that was turning continuously to guard the way to the tree of life.

Thanks loving god, what would adam and eve have done without knowing about swords.

5

Climbing Out of The Box

by Lost in the fog in

i have been reading the blog of bruce gerencser, a 61 year old evangelical pastor who moved on to being an atheist and humanist.

his description of climbing out of that box and the reasons why he did so will, i am sure, resonate with many of us on here.

https://brucegerencser.net/2015/02/danger-box-makes-sense/.

ttdtt

You want a GREAT book along the same lines!
I could have written this from a JW Elder who became an Athiest.

https://www.amazon.com/Godless-Evangelical-Preacher-Americas-Atheists/dp/1569756775

40

Screwed up sexually

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

i was thinking about how the borg screws up and sexually neuters their flock by telling them when single to "deaden their body" and then boom as soon as there's a ring on the finger to not be denying eachother.. do any of you know of jws who have been screwed up by these teachings?

i know 2, 1 elder came back from honeymoon having a nervous breakdown unable to cope with the cd that sex produced in his head.

and the other called up her parents while on honeymoon, crying and begging for themto come and get her, since she was so shocked that sex hurt.

ttdtt

I have to say that it was a big issue for our marriage. The guilt that is piled on normal human activity. Nothing the WT touches is left without scars and sadness.

51

Without god what is the basis of morality?

by OneEyedJoe in

i'm sure most here who've questioned or left behind their belief in god have encountered this question - without god, what basis can there be for morality?

my exwife, when i admitted that i was an atheist, once asked me "if you don't believe in god, what's to stop you from going out and raping and murdering?

" previously, whenever i got this objection, i would tend to turn it around on the other person with a response along the lines of "if fear of god is the only thing that stops you from murdering, that makes me rather nervous to be around you.

ttdtt

Gods Morality included:
Genocide, Rape, Burning people, Polygamy, Stealing, Slavery...

So whats so moral about god?

36

Anybody here still believe in the bible?

by Mel Morris in

jw
friends

i'm a current bible student of jw's looking to chat with someone about biblical doctrine.

i'm not interested in talking with an apostate or a fader, i'm just a person looking for answers and wondered if there are any neutral voices in this forum who have good insights into the bible.

i currently talk with a couple of jw's on a personal level from my congregation and they are knowledgeable to a certain extent, but i dare not ask them certain questions because, as you know, the congregation has a culture of fear that impacts trust and openness, especially concerning biblical doctrine or the societies teachings.

ttdtt

No - and I am soooooo embarrassed I ever did believe it. :(