Posts by truth_b

9

Does anyone here want to be saved or have the urge to worship?

by Half banana in

i don’t know about any of you but does anyone else share my lack of impulse to worship anything?.

i became a jw when still at school and had been puzzled at the time by the posters outside of evangelical churches telling me to repent and come to jesus and be saved.. for me it was an irrelevance, i never felt like being saved...what from?

i was happy as an exploring type of child, i never knew of anything wanting to be worshipped and i didn’t need to worship anything either..

truth_b_known

Most religions are based on the idea that only the body dies at death. Being "saved" is a reference to the concept that humans have an immortal soul that continues after death. This "soul" version of yourself does not get to choose where it resides. The saving part is a reference that your soul will be placed in a realm referred to as "heaven" or a negative place referred to as "hell".

Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in an immortal soul. They are caught up in a physical version of immortality. For them its one's future on a world ruled directly by God that they believe is at stake. So, either you die and are no longer conscious or you live forever. Not as dire stakes as other christian faiths.

The Semitic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have this common thread of falling from perfection, sin, and the need to gain redemption (being saved). I don't know of any other religion that teaches this. It's a horrible concept that puts needless guilt on people.

15

Observations from an Ex-Elder Part 3 - Why not create multiple Adam & Eve's?

by doubtfull1799 in

i saw a post the other day on another forum (think it was reddit) that put forward the idea that god should have created multiple couples, not just adam and ever.

this idea was so simple and brilliantly logical, that i wish i'd thought of it, but i cannot claim credit!

but it really got me thinking of the practical implications and benefits.... if god had simply created multiple couples instead of one, he would in one foul swoop have solved the problem of incest, as well as have prevented 6 thousand years of human tragedy and a ransom sacrifice being needed etc.

truth_b_known

Is Jehovah is omnipotent he would have known that an angel would fall and deceive the firs human couple. So why even bother?

26

Observations from an Ex-Elder Part 1

by doubtfull1799 in

i was thinking about the fog model this morning, particularly about the "obligation" part.

my mind went back to the last elders school i went to.

one of the parts in the section on appointments was discussing how we should not place too high a bar (human standards) for brothers to try and jump over when we are considering them for appointment as a ministerial servant.

truth_b_known

I had a friend when I was in that moved here from another country to marry a local sister. He was a MS in his home congregation. When he came here continued being a fine exemplary brother. However, his line of work (nursing) caused him to not be able to participate in Saturday morning field service.

Exemplary - Check

10+ hours of field service a month - Check

Those 10+ hours completed on a Saturday morning - No.

Oh, I'm sorry! You don't qualify to be a Ministerial Servant.

Right out of high school I was putting in 100+ hours of field service a month, made every meeting, was given every privilege a non-elder could be given in the congregation. However, there was always something I had to do more of.

My last assignment as a MS was handling the literature counter, which is a complete beat down. I was counselled by the body of elders because my book placement was not high enough. Plenty of field service hours. Placed dozens of magazines. Conducted home Bible studies. Yet, I was told, as the literature servant you should be exemplary in book placements.

What! Our field service reports weren't posted publicly. How was I not setting an example?

30

I Saw 2 JWs Doing Nothing With Their Cart Today

by minimus in

jw
friends

my girlfriend and i were walking along a seaside boulevard and lo and behold!

2 jws were standing by the pathway.

they made eye contact and said hello.

truth_b_known

This reminds me of the "street witnessing" that became so popular in the suburbs I lived in. Pioneers would stand in front of the coffee shop that was 1 miles from the Kingdom Hall for about an hour before the meeting for field service. They would just stand by the entrance like a statue while holding the latest Watchtower/Awake in their hand. I tried it once. The manager of the shop came out and asked us not to stand so close to the entrance. Fortunately, I never did that again. It was absolutely pointless other than getting 20 hours of field service in a month. Yeah, 1 hour a day X 5 days a week X 4 weeks a month = 20 hours!

36

Anyone know what this sculpture is of the "torture stake?"

by charity7 in

hey guys!

i'm new on this site and am a non jw here married to a jw.

my husband's family are active members and they daily post articles on facebook from jw.org which i know is meant for me to see and read.

truth_b_known

It looks like the poor fellow is not impaled to the tree, but bound to it by straps.

12

Heartbroken...advice please

by SPARKLEY in

i am a non-jw and have been in an unhappy marriage for a few years now.

i met a nice man at work, we had a laugh together and got to know each other.

we were both really attracted to each other.

truth_b_known

Sparkley:

This man is caught up in a cult that controls every aspect of one's life. This cult uses fear and guilt to control you. First, all of your relationships and support are to be fellow members of this cult. Then, if you violate one of their man-made rules, they will figuratively brand you in a practice they refer to as "disfellowshipping."

When a member is disfellowshipped it is made public to the rest of the members. No member, not even family, can speak with this person or render aid. When a member is disfellowshipped their entire life is turned upside down. This arrangement is considered "loving" in the cult and a tool to "readjust" the violator's way of thinking. Some members who are disfellowshipped desire to return to their regular status and can after a period of time, but only if they stop committing their "sin" and "repent".

Semitic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) use sex as a tool to control people. It is a well known fact that the majority of Jehovah's Witnesses who are disfellowshipped are done so for violating sex related beliefs. The number one sex related belief is that sex is to be had only between people who are married to each other.

One reason that this male companion of yours may be acting weird is that, deep down inside, he wants to return to being an active Jehovah's Witness. This would mean he would have to cut off all social ties with you, but especially in engaging in any form of physical intimacy. Sending sex related text messages to a married woman would be grounds for disfellowshipping on its own.

33

Three congregations dissolved and a kingdom hall sold within a 50 mile radius in my area...

by UNCONDITIONAL LOVE in

jw
friends

has anyone else heard of these situations with congregations and halls in your area?

i thought the ground breaking mandatory pledge a little while ago was to keep up with "immense" growth?

how soon they forget... looks really bleak for the future of the wbats, the jw gravy train seems to be coming to a slow and agonizing yet inevitable stop.

truth_b_known

If you don't mind me asking - what area is this?

19

My awkward elders hearing

by Andamormonjustbelieves in

i was baptized when i was 14 years old.

i hadn't had any real relationship with a girl up to that point.

but when i started going to high school i learnt the joys of experimenting with girls, so i did not stay a faithful member of the congregation for long.

truth_b_known

I've always found the practice of elders in a judicial committee involving fornication asking for detailed descriptions. Fornication is fornication. The more important questions would be -

How many times before you confessed?

Did you come to use or did someone else report you?

My story is similar to many - My JC was for fornication involving my wife and I. The incident happened just before we were married (engaged and wedding date was set). We went to the elders about 2 months after we were married.

I was completely floored! We were treated totally different than I expected. We were told by these 3 elders that they believed we were truly repentant, but they then said we had to be punished. Punished?!? First time offense that technically CANNOT be repeated! We lost all privileges. 2 weeks later, one of the elders on our JC who happened to also be our Book Study overseer asks me to read at the Book Study. WTF?!?

This truly opened my eyes. I knew then that the who process was BS.

29

The true cost of being raised as a witness

by stuckinarut2 in

how do you view your upbringing as a witness?.

most of us who were raised as witnesses would appreciate that some aspects of our upbringing were ok. a foundation and measure of stability came with it.. but, it struck me too, that we also lost so very much!

and we lost a lot of potential.. by this i mean, we need to look at not just what we lost, or what was deprived of us, but what that ended up costing us as adults into the future.. if i take $10 from you, you have lost just $10.. but, if you were going to use that $10 to buy something that would end up earning you $1000, then i actually took $1000 from you!.

truth_b_known

A strong moral code and the ability to study/read was the only positive takeaways for me. When I was in the sixth grade I tested at a high school senior reading level. I was fortunate that my college years were in the 90's when some higher education was approved of. I did go my own way. I ended up graduating with 2 degrees rather than just taking some college computer courses.

36

In Your Opinion Do Today's Elders Recognize That The Religion Is BS?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i always wondered that while i was in especially when i was an elder.

i recognize that some people,elders included are brain-dead.

but do you think that the average older today knows it's all nonsense?

truth_b_known

I grew up with a brother who went to Bethel, came back, and was appointed as an elder at a very young age. At a Circuit Assembly he gave a talk that had the usual "Armageddon is right around the corner" message. He walked off the stage and immediately said to my friend, "Armageddon is decades away."

truth_b_known

Posts by truth_b_known