Posts by Muddy Waters

48

Matrix moment - what was it and when did you share it?

by MMXIV in

for those of you who had a moment like that from the matrix when you realised what you'd believed was fundamentally flawed or a lie - what caused that defining moment and how long was it before you could share your thoughts?.

mmxiv.

Muddy Waters

I had a few niggling doubts, but had always suppressed them. You know, didn't want to be "presumptuous", didn't want to be questioning, didn't want to show "independent thinking" or disloyalty. The generation thing bothered me, the blood fraction thing bothered me IMMENSELY (made NO SENSE to me!)..... Jesus only being mediator for the 144,000 bothered me.... all these things I suppressed because of course the GB were the only ones who could ever enlighten us.

But my "matrix moment" came when I was going to give my sweet precious little grandbabies the Bible Story book. I started looking through the book and saw it through their little eyes. (Why I never saw this when my own children were little I'll never know!)

"My Book of Bible Stories" is a HORROR SHOW. It is frightening, scary, terrible. The images are way too graphic for small children who can't read, thus all our little children have to go on are the pictures. Terrible and terrifying pictures. If you actually go through this book and COUNT how many pictures show violence, blood, people crying, looking angry, being hurt, being sad, being killed, being tormented in some way... it's almost the WHOLE BOOK. **UNBELIEVABLE** (Go ahead! Count them!! It's totally eye-opening.)

As I was looking through the book, becoming more and more alarmed at the images, I realized this book was written for children by MEN WHO NEVER EVEN HAD CHILDREN!!!(Excuse all my caps.... yes, I feel like screeching about it).

When my faith in the GB came into question, the whole structure started to crumble.

36

Sisters told they strictly can't wear slacks to Meetings to keep them submissive! Why?

by Witness 007 in

yes slacks and pants on women are evil.....the first step to wanting to be elders or even worse lesbians!

so the watchtower in it's wisdom put a strict bad on women wearing pants at meetings, even in siberia or alaska where it is freezing cold....i qoute the governing body who said: "we need to show these sisters who wears the pants in our congregations...literally.".

in the 70's when it was all the rage, my mum tried wearing slacks to the hall....."go and get changed" said the sister who studied with her.

Muddy Waters

I remember one time I injured my foot and couldn't wear my dress shoes, so wore slippers to the meeting. They weren't obvious, fluffy-bunny slippers (though now I wish they were!), they were like a moccasin type of slipper. I explained to an elder why I was wearing them, but the next week this very same elder gave a talk on local needs about dress and grooming and how we should ALWAYS dress appropriately for the meetings.... and he specifically mentioned not wearing slippers as this would not bring honor to Jehovah.

56

5/15 WT - WT Society Displays Condescending Attitude towards Marriage

by flipper in

jw
friends

as most of us know the wt society has always claimed that it's dissapproved in god's sight to marry a non-jw .

although they've never made it a disfellowshipping offense, any jw who marries outside the jw organization is looked at as " weak " or lacking " spirituality " and loses certain alleged " privileges " in the congregations.

they use scriptures in the old testament as support for this.

Muddy Waters

OOPS -- I'm sorry... totally wrong about Jeremiah. I don't know what I'm thinking of or trying to remember.... it wasn't Jeremiah. I thought maybe Ezekiel, but he was just told by Jehovah not to mourn the death of his wife....

So please ignore my earlier comment everybody.... somewhere I've got a screw loose or thinking of something that may (or may not) exist.....

56

5/15 WT - WT Society Displays Condescending Attitude towards Marriage

by flipper in

jw
friends

as most of us know the wt society has always claimed that it's dissapproved in god's sight to marry a non-jw .

although they've never made it a disfellowshipping offense, any jw who marries outside the jw organization is looked at as " weak " or lacking " spirituality " and loses certain alleged " privileges " in the congregations.

they use scriptures in the old testament as support for this.

Muddy Waters

Wasn't it Jeremiah who was supposed to take a wife from among the nations (to represent Israel's unfaithfulness or something)...? He was commanded directly by Jehovah to take a wife who wasn't a worshipper of Jehovah. Just have to figure out where that scripture is.... Jeremiah somewhere....

127

Be Honest---Describe your most prevalent feeling as a witness in ONE WORD!

by MsGrowingGirl20 in

lets's go!!.

.

suffocating.

Muddy Waters

Inadequate.

183

How many of you knew about the"Jesus is not your Mediator" teaching when you were JWs??

by Lady Liberty in

hi everyone.... just curious how many of you knew when you were active, about the societys official teaching regarding jesus the mediator.

i was floored to find in my research, that they teach jesus is the mediator for the 144,000 only.

and it is only by our association with them that we might have salvation.. i don't know about you guys but i was blown away when i learned they taught this.

Muddy Waters

In view of the upcoming "Memorial season" (April 5, 2012), thought this might be an interesting thread to bump up ....

19

[MP3] The District Conventions from the 1950s to the 2010s

by possible-san in

well, if you click the "theme" of each talk, you can listen to the talk by mp3.. in particular, with respect to the mp3s of the dcs in 2010 and 2011, you can listen to most of them.. .

http://www.centralprint.net/jwtalks/dc/conventions.html.

.

Muddy Waters

Oh my goodness.... those conventions in the "old days" were 8 days long... started around 8:00 am and went till 9:00 or 9:30 pm. Just looking at some of the day's programs from way back when.... wow.... can't imagine doing anything like that today.

38

''I love the organization''

by punkofnice in

..........said mrs punk!.

this was how she justified screaming abuse at me an slamming doors when she overheard me tell a bloke who was about to get baptized why i quit the meetings.

in fairness i wouldn't have said a thing but he asked me.

Muddy Waters

When I was an active member, I totally believed it with all my heart. I believed the WTS was truly being used by the most powerful creative spirit person in the universe.

I even believed that every word and direction from the elders was directly from Jehovah.

I gave up my whole youthful adulthood for the society, this giant publishing company, thinking they really were God's true respresentatives on the earth. I believed it with utter devotion and intensity (gag). Anything spoken against it was seen as though coming directly from Satan.

Oh yes, I was a true believer all right. The scales have been progressively falling from my eyes, but it's been a very painful process.

62

Bizarre statement in April 2012 Awake

by dozy in

as books go, it is tiny, but it is immeasurably great in its essence.

it can be carried in ones pocket,but if it were found in a library of 90,000 different books, it would probably turn out to be the most important one of them all.. wow a strong endorsement of the bible?

er no this is the wtbts we are talking about here.

Muddy Waters

Thank you, NoRoomForGeorge.... I looked up the "well-known writer in Mexico" and found this on Wiki.... the last sentence is quite "interesting"!

Juan J. Orosa is a Mexican writer, born in México City in 1969. In 1987 he began studying physics at the National University (UNAM), but a year later changed to engineering; two years later he founded his own company. Dissatisfied, Juan decided to leave everything and move to the beach at Chicxulub, Yucatán , where he started his formal writing career.

In 2003 he was awarded with Ramón Zorrilla medal for his short story "Inconsolable". In 2002 he finished his first novel, Los extraviados (ISBN 9685679002), and in 2004 the second Succubus (ISBN 9685679274), both published by Sexto Piso. His works are thrillers that show a sense of irony that evokes Stanislaw Lem and Boris Vian.

22

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 01-15-2012 WT Study (TEMPORARY)

by blondie in

jw
friends

they were strangers and temporary residents.

from the world, satans wicked system.

as temporary residents in this wicked.

Muddy Waters

Blondie, Thank you for your interesting comments and references!

I found your comments on paragraph 12 and 13 to be particularly enlightening (highlighting the actual cruelty and hard-heartedness of the Society toward its own faithful elderly ones) ....

***w06 6/1 p.6***

What, though, if an older brother or sister in the congregation is in dire straits, perhaps needing financial assistance? First, it would be good to find out if there are children or other relatives who can help. (and this includes non-jw relatives) This would be in line with what is stated at 1 Timothy 5:4: “If any widow has children or grandchildren, let these learn first to practice godly devotion in their own household and to keep paying a due compensation to their parents and grandparents, for this is acceptable in God’s sight.” It may be that the elderly one needs assistance in determining if he or she is eligible for any provisions that the government makes available.

Horrible! Shocking, astounding. They really don't want to care for their own, do they, when these older (or sick) ones can't be good producers for them anymore....

- Muddy