Posts by Muddy Waters

36

Rant #77

by 00DAD in

this isn't actually my 77th rant.

i've completely lost track of all my rants.

i'm quite sure i'm way passed 77 by now.

Muddy Waters

00Dad -- your post(s) break my heart…. I am so sad and frustrated with you at having to go through being shunned by your own children.

To think that once upon a time I used to be as blind and believed everything the GB/FDS/WTS ever said. :(

One can only hope that your children will eventually come to their senses!

It sounds like you're trying to remain calm and reasonable, and that is a very good thing. If they see you become angry at their "stand", it may only serve to alienate them further and convince them even more in their mind that "you have been over-reached by Satan…" *ugh*, I know. :(

It seems that JWs as a whole are very frightened of anger. At all the meetings, assemblies, conventions, etc., everyone is quiet, organized, directed, shunted here and there, all speaking in agreement, all smiling, all friendly, all nice. And there's a lot of comfort in that. I used to find it comforting. It is nice having peace and orderliness… a sense of belonging, a feeling that you really do have a "world-wide brotherhood". So there's a LOT to contend with when dealing with any JW when it comes to leaving that nice, secure place.

But the MENTAL BLINDNESS is so frustrating! It's almost impenetrable.

May I share an experience…? It shames me to this day. :(

Once upon a time, when I was a zealous dubbie, full of self-righteousness (only I didn't recognize it as such of course!), zeal, the whole and total indoctrinated JW-ishness way of being -- there was a time when people delivered things like bread and milk to your home. My "bread-man" just happened to be a JW, who had gotten himself DF'd.

But for the longest time, I did not know this. So I was always polite to him, asking about his day, and he was always friendly and good to our family. He would even give us discounts on older bread and do other many nice things for us. Then one day in field-service, someone mentioned that our bread-man was DF'd.

I was shocked! It seemed like he suddenly grew horns on his head. Such a "nice" person couldn't really be nice! He must have some hidden agenda somewhere, he must surely be lurking in some way to destroy my faith at any moment. I knew immediately that I must tell him never to come to our home again, even if our contact was only business. (I was a very strict dubbie… it makes me physically ill to remember this now…. :(

I will never forget what happened. He came to our door, as usual, on his weekly bread-delivery route. He was his usual, friendly smiling self. I was my super-strict, frowning, self-righteous, critical, judgmental JW self. --Yes, this is hard to write. :(

I waited until I'd gotten our bread delivery and paid him. Then I said, "Well, I guess this will be our last bread delivery."

He looked surprised and asked, "Oh, are you moving?"

And I puffed up with full JW righteousness and said my stupid, cruel, heartless spiel. "No, but we're Jehovah's Witnesses, and we can't have any dealings with you henceforth." Something stupid and brainless like that. Chills me now to think I spoke to this kind man that way.

But I remember HIS REACTION, and in my JW mind, it confirmed all the worst I'd ever heard about DF'd people and apostate people. He looked at first so shocked and hurt, then anger came over his face. He actually stumbled as he turned in his hurry to leave (no doubt to stop himself from saying something horrid to me). He sort of crashed his way into his bread truck and I could tell he was furious and that I'd hurt him.

At the time, did I feel remorse? Did I run to tell him, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me…" Oh no, of course not. That would be weakness. That would be acting like a decent, loving, compassionate human being. I actually felt a SELF-RIGHTEOUS piety, like I had totally done the right thing in being "faithful" to my God. His anger only confirmed to me that he was indeed, a terrible person deep inside. His friendliness was only a facade.

So, 00dad, you surely don't deserve to be treated the way your children are treating you. But they are lost to the WT right now…. things that helped me finally wake up was the society's own duplicity, lies, hypocrisy, doctrine changes, and yes, cruelty to DF'd persons. I hope your children come to their proper senses and will eventually see through the mean, unloving, and extreme teachings of the WTS. Hang in there.... keep hoping.... don't let it eat you up too much...

I sure wish there was an easy way to "turn on the light!" for them.

Love, Muddy

22

For JWs: Bible Verses Contradict Watchtower

by ABibleStudent in

have you ever wanted to have a witty comeback for a jw's thought stopping platitude or slogun, but couldn't think of one to plant a seed of doubt in a jw?

please share your witty comebacks and a bible verse(s) that contradicts watchtower thought stopping platitudes and slogans.. here are a couple of mine.. 1) watchtower thougnt-stopping platitude - "where else will we go?".

response - "don't you mean to whom?

Muddy Waters

Marking, thank you! :)

32

Who is the Real faithful and discreet slave?

by mtwtf in

who is the real faithful and discreet slave?

he ceases to exist once the meeting is over;.

Muddy Waters

I also don't understand the WTS's dishonesty regarding their "new light" about the FDS class. Because if the FDS=GB and was appointed in 1919, as they now claim, how can this be when the GB didn't even come into existence until the mid-70's??!!??!!?????????

38

After A Day In Field Service, Did You Get Euphoric Or A Spiritual High?

by ÁrbolesdeArabia in

i know this might sound silly but field service did provide a strange type of good feelings after i was done.

i called this the "halo-effect" because i felt so "righteous, obedient and good" for taking the weirdos or "the friends" in my station wagon.

vans and station wagon owners in the congregations often get used hard, pile up seven whacks and your off!

Muddy Waters

"Look in the trunk of the average JW's car and its got piles of months old mags that they are afraid to throw out. At least thats how it was when I was still going in service."

Ha! You should see my basement! I've still got boxes and boxes of stupid old magazines & literature, yellowing and dusting! But naturally I thought I was the "only one" with these secret piles of guilt!

38

After A Day In Field Service, Did You Get Euphoric Or A Spiritual High?

by ÁrbolesdeArabia in

i know this might sound silly but field service did provide a strange type of good feelings after i was done.

i called this the "halo-effect" because i felt so "righteous, obedient and good" for taking the weirdos or "the friends" in my station wagon.

vans and station wagon owners in the congregations often get used hard, pile up seven whacks and your off!

Muddy Waters

At first, I really thought I was doing "the Lord's work!" Used to exclaim to everybody at the hall how wonderful it was, that it was "just like being a disciple!"

I really thought and believed that Jesus' disciples actually did this kind of door-to-door thing. *ugh*

But after things went on, and you're knocking on empty house after empty house (and walking past people on the street!! What's up with that?? I could never understand how so many JWs could do that... I was one of those super-zealous, annoying JWs who wanted to talk to everybody and who leapt out of the car to talk to somebody if they were walking on the sidewalk toward us.

I was in field service for a WHOLE YEAR before I saw anybody place a magazine with a householder. So all those assemblies and conventions (or should I say sales meetings!) that interviewed people who placed dozens of magazines and literature always mystified me.

I used to wonder at the lack of urgentness and spirituality of my brothers and sisters in field service.... it seems like so much time was WASTED! Why the long coffee breaks? (I brought my snack and drink along with me!) Why walk so slowly to the doors?? Why drive round and round in circles when we should be OUT THERE witnessing to people who could DIE at any moment!! Armageddon was coming!! Their blood would be on our hands!!

All the preparation, all the paraphernalia, all the changing literature, all the tracts/brochures/booklets/magazines.... you'd just get one presentation worked out and accustomed to it and it would change all over again. This was frustrating. Placing different books all the time was frustrating. Trying to keep track of service time... and YES, of course I was one of those honest-earnest people who reported their EXACT time, beginning with the first knock on the door. (When I first started, I wouldn't even count this time UNTIL someone actually answered the door!) It took a lot of work for me to count even the minimum of hours.

So it wears you down. And at the meetings, you're told to do more! More!! What's wrong with YOU?? MORE!!!! MORE, MORE, MORE!!!!

Field Service became drugery... I began to dread it. Even packing a service bag was tiresome. The field service groups were horrid. And I'd get terribly car-sick at times. Oh, gawd, it could be quite awful. Come home and feel like you've wasted a whole morning.

I am SO GLAD all that is O-VER!!

29

How the Governing Body Solved Another Problem

by Cameron_Don in

jw
friends

that interpretation had caused a problem that the governing body was never able to satisfactorily explain.

they needed to be able to show that there has always been a functioning faithful and discreet slave in one form or another ever since.

but they were never able to provide any evidence for the existence of an ongoing 1900 year-old slave prior to the appearance of the watchtower society.

Muddy Waters

Excellent points in this thread, love it. Yet the reaction of most JWs is that this new understanding of the FDS/GB makes perfect sense!!

47

Whats happened to Commentary Press

by BlindersOff1 in

is it planning to reprint rays books?.

Muddy Waters

*marking*

Thank you!

:)

15

JWs Could Learn A Lot from the First Baptist Church

by jamiebowers in

jw
friends

the other day i found a red plastic bag hanging on the knob of our exterior door.

it contained a calendar with beautiful landscape scenes and scriptures for every month of the year.

i'm not a bible believer, but i hung up the calendar because of the pretty pictures.

Muddy Waters

The WTS does put out calendars, but they are small, ugly useless things with photos of the organization's sales force out and about distributing the rags and lit.

I have never liked them.

66

WT Elders school: Look how cute that kindly old elder is! Too bad the Talmud says we have to stone our victim anyway

by sir82 in

jw
friends

more haphazard thougths on the recently concluded elder school..... a big chunk of time was spent on a video which traced a judicial case, all the way from the confession to the elders through the decision to disfellowship the guy.. here is a very brief synopsis of the video:.

tearful late-teen or early-20's publisher confesses to 2 elders that he committed fornication with a "worldly girl" who is now preganant and wants to marry him.

the elders give him some "homework" to do prior to his judcial committee - read psalm 51 and an old wt article.

Muddy Waters

The unloving, uncompassionate, horrid way I and my family were treated once upon a time at my JC helped remove the blinders from my eyes.

The elders have become Pharisees, they go way beyond what is written, they encourage people to shun someone when that person needs help the most. They kick you when you're down. They don't even consider the ramifications to others involved (as in this example with the pregnant girl and unborn child). AWFUL! Terrible! Despicable!!

I agree this video s/b put out there for public consumption. Why do they hide these things when truth and love "casts fear aside"...? They (The GB and others in control) must know their actions are smutty and reprehensible!!

198

Rutherford's smear campaign (a must read)

by Leolaia in

there has been some interest recently about the moyle case, and how it may have set a precident in what became the society's disfellowshipping policy.

in july 1939, the chief legal counsel of the watchtower bible & tract society, olin r. moyle, resigned from his position in a protest over conditions at bethel and rutherford's mistreatment of workers.

he did not want to continue living under those conditions and he felt he could effect positive change for his brothers by taking such a stand.

Muddy Waters

Leolaia: Thank you for the work you've put into this. This has been a great summation of the shabby way Moyle was treated by the egotistic, bullying and narcassistic Rutherford.

Is there more to this account, or have you concluded your summary and research into this? Would love to hear more!