i'm a bookworm and would love to hear some of your recommendations.. besides the traditional coc, in search of christian freedom, etc.
books that help facilitate one's journey out, please feel free to share the titles you found helpful to your own growth after leaving the organization.. thanks a bunch!
Kristen,
One book I recommend that really made me question 'the truth' was 'The Postman.' Don't see the movie with Kevin Costner (terrible!).
The book affected me because of the hard times people had protecting themselves from survivalist groups.
I visualized a jw putting themself in the protection of the group yet refusing to help anyone. It seemed cowardly to me.
Anyway, it was one of the best books I've read. The author is David Bruin, I believe and it's in the science fiction section.
patio
the society used to be critical of christendom for.
producing "rice christians" in china.
go snap, crackle, pop when milk was added!).
Those are interesting numbers, Metatron.
I wonder what spin the WTBS will put on that besides stats don't mean anything to Jehovah. There will probably be lots more talks about doing more, more, more service, etc. And the ones who are doing it will feel browbeaten.
However, I don't know if anyone really turns in 'false' time, but maybe i'm being naive.
patio
i'm taking a class in marketing.
one of the last chapters in.
the textbook discusses personal selling.
Sorry I'm responding so late to this thread! Been busy!
What really annoyed me a few years back was when the 'Kingdom Ministry' suggested that we ask any return visits if they knew of any one who would also appreciate us calling on them. That seemed like such a blatant sales tactic!
Patio
janh,.
i have noticed several times when you refer to americans you use the phrase 'merkins'.
now as far as slurs go that one is pretty lame, really i have lived here all my life (32 years) and i have never heard any american talk like that.
Jan H,
We are not composing business letters here and most Americans are very good grammarians (please don't ask me to prove it!).
As far as pronunciation goes, 'mericans' does sound familiar in some parts of the U.S. But in a nation this large, as in the UK, there are many accents and dialects.
It sounds as if "merkins" comes from the president, Lyndon Johnson, who was known for starting his address, "My fellow Americans..." He hailed from Texas and had quite a drawl, so it may have sounded like 'mericans.'
A Brit at my work has poked fun at my pronunciation of words like 'quarter' as quarder and 'daughter' as daughder, which I was forced to admit was true in the SW US.
By the way, is 'mercans' meant as a slur?
TTFN,
Patio
for those interested the los angeles times ran a story about recent archaelogical finds supporting the notion that the story of exodus is, for the most part, a legend, and how a rabbi shared this information with his congregation for the first time, even though religious scholars have known this for 10-15 years or so.
of course, there is no consensus.. the story can be found here: .
http://www.latimes.com/news/columns/colone/20010412/t000031433.html.
Thanks for that! I missed it, but now will be printing it out. Also, the book referred to has been mentioned on this forum before.
When I was a jdub (just 6 weeks ago!) that's one thing that bothered me so often, was that reading of newspapers, science magazines, books quoted even by the WTS often led to a conflict in my "faith." And since I've had doubts forever, it always fed into them.
Finally, I had the courage to withdraw from WTS and investigate the real news.
TTFN,
Patio
i am a new to posting on this board though i have been actively reading your posts the past while and i thank some of you for the interesting viewpoints that you have verbalized and that i have enjoyed thinking on.
i am still an active jw, in fact an elder of 20 years standing hence my need to limit information about my personal circumstances.
i have served in a number of countries in europe as a pioneer and elder over the past three decades.
Well, it's into the fray, but it seems to be winding down now.
Welcome HS to the board--it's great!
Tina and COMF, your points seem to be well taken and constantly muddied up by HS.
HS, you are not by any chance a writer for the WT, are you? You do have a knack for muddying clear points and defending the indefensible.
TTFN,
Patio
i am a survivor:.
i was born in one of the largest cities in the us, lived there for the first few years of my life, during that time i was molested twice, once atthe age of 3 and again at the age of 4, the second .
time being a group thing.
Thanks, Caspar, for your story. It's so interesting to see others' stories.
I'm sorry that you have to fight so much guilt. I left jws only about 6 weeks ago, but have always had agnostic/evolution leanings and am now investigating it.
One thing it does not do is lay a lot of guilt all over everyone as religion is wont to do. It also makes you want to use your life more to the full.
Since I left the WTBS, I've found I have much more respect for so-called "worldly" people. Maybe that's why religion appeals to some: you are "chosen," you're one of the select that are going to survive/go to heaven, everyone elese is following the devil . . . . Maybe some people need that kind of elevation, I don't know, but I have a lot more respect for non-jws now!
Keep on keepin' on,
Patio
i just wanted to point out that questioning every belief one has always held can be very unsettling psychologically speaking.
i wasn't even raised to be a jw so i can only imagine the depth of the indoctrination for those who were.
please remember that too much too soon may not be a good thing, in fact it usually isn't.
Mark,
I loved your subject title! I thought to myself: now why can't I ever think of something so clever??!
But I didn't quite get your points in the post.
Patio
the elders are coming this saturday to do their yearly.
shepherding .. .
i desperatly need a couple good "questions" to throw at.
Caspar,
I'm in the same boat with you and sometimes just want to tell all of them off, but my wiser sister said "hold up!"
Really, you owe no one an explanation nor defense. It's a personal decision and WTBS has been ruling our lives long enough. It's also an assertive technique not to defend yourself, as if you owe that person an explanation.
I had an elder and his wife stop by recently because I was "sick" (which I often am), but I didn't go in to any of my real reasons! Besides, it could be then you may be viewed as a heretic (read apostate--LOL).
TTFN,
Patio
if you are a loyal, zealous witness, please listen to me.. i'm going to tell you straight from my heart, right out of.
my hard-won personal experience, how to avoid unhappiness.. here it is:.
don't bet on games you can't win.. let me illustrate.
Metatron,
Thank you for such a good post. I was Sister Nobody whose kids got df'd in a flash! It was an oppressive culture to live in.
Now I really enjoy my evenings and weekends without giving all of my best time to trying to recruit new members.
Welcome to this forum!
Patio
