Posts by redvip2000

288

Is it just me or has this site become a Believer/Atheist warzone?

by BU2B in

jw
friends

i enjoy the odd thread about evoloution vs creation, etc but lately it seems that a large percentage of threads here devolve into fighting between atheists and theists and distract from what most of us here see eye to eye on, the wt and related things.

i wish things could be more civil here and fr people to realize that people will never see eye to eye on the topic.

it gets so tiring to see the contstant bickring and fighting on those threads.. they seem to go on page after page but very little of substance is discussed seeing as the existence or non existence of a god can be proven by anyone.

redvip2000

I fear that a doubting/struggling JW may come here and see the division and angry rhetoric here and think that the "society" is correct in the way they describe "apostates".

Perhaps.. Or it could be that they look at the open discussion and freedom of expression, and realize that they also would like to be able to disagree openly and speak their mind.

Look, when i first came to this website i was a full believer in God after leaving the WT. But after evaluating both sides of the issue, i simply can't sustain this belief any longer. When i left the WT organization i became determined to let logic and common sense lead the way, and belief in the God of the bible is never based on those.

At this point i'm still hanging on by a thread on the belief in a creator ( not the god of the bible), but maybe, just maybe a creator who put things in place initially but moved on has no interest in us. Even that belief is now becoming hard to sustain.

85

I'm Returing To Become A Jehovah's Witness Again

by Space Madness in

jw
friends

a little background, i faded in 2007 and have been out ever since.

i started studying at 18 and have no jw realitives.

i'm returing because my life is heading in the wrong direction.

redvip2000

I've seen this happen many times. People who after leaving, feel completely adrift and simply cannot handle setting their own path in life.

Incredibly, this even happens when people spend too much time in prison. They become confortable with living there and after being released are completely unable to cope with life outside, and end up comitting a crime just to go back to something they feel confortable with.

In this case, i think living a lie is a high price to pay for a few friends and a sense of belonging. As others have said here, you can get these same things in another church whether from another denomination or non-denominational, and the control over your life and thoughts will be minimal. Why not give this a shot?

My guess is that you will never fully fit in if you go back. Sitting in a meeting rolling your eyes as you listen to things which you know are not true, only to be able to chit chat people at the end and perhaps go to dinner with them is hardly worth it.

By the way..."the truth a la carte".. love it. I'll remember that.

26

How Long Will ARMAGEDDON Last?

by Cold Steel in

according to the jw doctrine, can armageddon happen any day now?

is it possible that it could happen tomorrow?.

will it last minutes, hours, days?

redvip2000

The UN will attack religion which starts the Great Tribulaton that Jesus spoke about

It's incredible that we actually believed this at some point. The UN attacking all religions... At a time when people are leaving in droves from all sorts of churches, i really don't think the UN would need to move a single finger. Organized religion is slowly imploding as it is.

61

Have you grown detached from caring about JW family and old friends?

by tootired2care in

jw
friends

after being out of the borg for a year and a half, weve dealt with a lot of nonsense from local elders stopping by unannounced, well-meaning do-gooders trying to encourage us.

somehow weve managed to get through this without getting dfd/dad.

for me the worst part of it all has been that much of my family has shunned me, and stopped talking to me, as soon as they heard through the grapevine that i wasnt going to meetings.

redvip2000

I think i'm one of the lucky ones. I have not experienced any real shunning. My JW family is now limited to my Mother, one Sister, and my little niece. My nephew is out with my help and my mother is a lost case, she will never wake up, but at this point i actually think it's better that she lives the rest of her days believing she was part of something special.

My sister on the other hand is still capable of leaving and i'm hoping that slowly i'll help her wake up. I'm going to stay with them for thanksgiving and hopefully i'll be able to plant a few more seeds in a subtle way.

Any friends i had still talk to me in a very civilized way, although i'm not invited to any gatherings or anybody's home as expected.

23

JWS moving into the 2010s: GREATER FOCUS ON "PUBLIC' VENUE PREACHING

by steve2 in

increasingly, jw.org and its print publications show lots of pictures of witnesses preaching one-to-one to "interested" passersby in public venues in contrast with fewer pictures depicting the door-to-door work.

sure, d-t-d is still the organizatrion's mainstay activity - but clearly it pushes at every opportunity the need for the rank and file to "go" public.. this push could be a two-edge sword: there is obviously a hard core of witnesses whose dispositions draw them to this type of social outreach: they almost rush out to do this public-venue work, prefering it to d-t-d. but i'd hazard a guess that for the bulk of those in local congregations, the public-venue witnessing would be a total turn off.. to date, in new zealand, i have seen no evidence of jws doing this public venue witnessing - despite the huge push on jw.org and in the publications.

kiwis just don't seem inclined to put themselves out in public places - or if they do, it is in a kind of very muted way (i.e., almost out of sight and unobtrusive).. this site has shown that in a few places, including mexico, at least a few of the more publicly zealous witnesses are doing the public work big time.. is the public venue preaching happening elsewhere, such as asia?

redvip2000

On that note, I was walking around yesterday with some friends in downtown Manhattan and i saw a group of Sistahz with a literature stand. This was at City Hall park right by the Brooklyn bridge on the other side of the River from Bet-Hell.( for those of you who know the area)

We stopped and spoke to them and they told us, that in Manhattan alone, they have 18 of these literature stands in different spots of the island.

We actually took a picture with them, but i'm having real trouble inserting a picture. On a side note, the "insert picture" feature here is not friendly at all. It asks you for a path to the file?? wow. Why not open a file browser window?

23

JWS moving into the 2010s: GREATER FOCUS ON "PUBLIC' VENUE PREACHING

by steve2 in

increasingly, jw.org and its print publications show lots of pictures of witnesses preaching one-to-one to "interested" passersby in public venues in contrast with fewer pictures depicting the door-to-door work.

sure, d-t-d is still the organizatrion's mainstay activity - but clearly it pushes at every opportunity the need for the rank and file to "go" public.. this push could be a two-edge sword: there is obviously a hard core of witnesses whose dispositions draw them to this type of social outreach: they almost rush out to do this public-venue work, prefering it to d-t-d. but i'd hazard a guess that for the bulk of those in local congregations, the public-venue witnessing would be a total turn off.. to date, in new zealand, i have seen no evidence of jws doing this public venue witnessing - despite the huge push on jw.org and in the publications.

kiwis just don't seem inclined to put themselves out in public places - or if they do, it is in a kind of very muted way (i.e., almost out of sight and unobtrusive).. this site has shown that in a few places, including mexico, at least a few of the more publicly zealous witnesses are doing the public work big time.. is the public venue preaching happening elsewhere, such as asia?

redvip2000

178

Honest survey question on effectiveness of 'apostacy'

by Simon in

jw
friends

it seems like lots of people have big dreams of 'destroying the watchtower'.

it's usually linked to a story of how they were wronged and want some revenge.

do these 'in your face' attempts to convince people that the truth isn't the truth really have an effect?.

redvip2000

I'm convinced that you cannot reason with anyone about religious belief because it is not based on reason or any logical argument whatsoever.

Very true. I have made this point countless times. It's an emotional attachment. It's almost like when a women is in love with a man who is a complete $hithead. Now, everybody can see it but her. You can tell her a thousand times and she still won't see it.

It is only when something happens that hurts her feelings that finally she realizes that he is a shithead and allows herself to see the truth. Many of us, have had this moment in the witness world, where the organization hurts you personally and finally makes you begin considering that it's not all you thought it was..

17

Advice on field service needed.

by DATA-DOG in

jw
friends

redvip2000

Trying to fade while telling the Eldumbs that they make up unscriptural rules for appointing Brothers in the KH, is usually not a good plan. When you are trying to fade, you usually want to call the least attention to yourself as possible.

In any case, i remember a good friend of mine was appointed as an MS despite his hours not hitting the 10 hour mark. He usually had between 4 - 8 hours a month. So he served for a few months, BUT when the CO visited the congregation and went through the reports and noticed his below average hours, he removed him... and told him that he would need to bring up his hours to be re-appointed again.

32

Im not sure how much longer i can take this

by DS211 in

jw
friends

i kind of snapped at my wife today...for no reason really.

and in my frustration ive been contemplating just spilling the beans...i know its not the best idea but i do t know how much longer i can lead a double life and hide the truth.

as i still believe in god i feel like a hypocrite.

redvip2000

I don't have too much info on your situation, or how much you've discussed this. But why not probe a lil? Don't spill the beans totally, but next time a subject comes up, very casually mention that " you know, i heard that..... " followed by " And then i looked into it and it was true because...."

That's how i did it. Don't come out as mister know it all, but instead be intrigued and she will be interested in it as well..

18

Why do we dress up for Meetings? - This weeks Cong Bible study

by KateWild in

because the gb say so, and they are guided by hs.. anyother offers from the brochure?

kate xx.

redvip2000

When the Watchtower starting using colporteurs ( as they were called) to sell their books, they followed the model of the door to door salesman, and so they dressed as a salesman, and it stayed that way.

What i don't understand is the rules that the Watchtower has developed around this over the years such as when you do the public talk, you must wear plain shirt with no pattern such as lines, etc etc.. WHY? it's completely silly... I remember at my hall we used to have a dress shirt in case the public speakers didn't have a "proper" dress shirt.

Also why can't women wear suits with pants?? Again makes no sense. It's widely accepted as formal wear for women.