Hey, if shunning didnt exist at least 60% of active JW's would probably never turn up the the Kingdom Halls again. Keeping the JW label but not really practicing it.
pale.emperor
JoinedPosts by pale.emperor
-
64
Mass JW exodus
by stockholm_Syndrome inmaybe there will be a mass exodus from jws when thinking people read feb 2017 watchtower telling them the governing body stuff up, shouldnt expect correct/ perfect information and basically make up guff as they see fit.....ya reckon?.
-
-
-
64
Mass JW exodus
by stockholm_Syndrome inmaybe there will be a mass exodus from jws when thinking people read feb 2017 watchtower telling them the governing body stuff up, shouldnt expect correct/ perfect information and basically make up guff as they see fit.....ya reckon?.
-
-
pale.emperor
I'm with David Jay on this. There's a change brewing, I can feel it.
On a side note there's a really nice brother in my old cong that was a member of the WCG and left when it changed its doctrine. So he went with the next best thing with similar beliefs - the witnesses.
-
19
Beatles poster was "Demonized". We had to take it down. How about you?
by Wasanelder Once inin 1967 richard avedon published a poster of his portraits of the beatles.
my jw aunt attacked it for being spiritualistic!
the "third" eye on george's palm was spiritualistic!
-
-
pale.emperor
Lets see, what was i not allowed to have?:
Star Wars - wasnt allowed to watch it because it had the word "Wars" in the title. So i never actually seen star wars until i was like 25yo.
Three Men And A Baby - because, apparently, there was a demon hiding behind a curtain in one of the scenes.
Crash Dummies - a toy collection i was really into, on day my mum interpreted a Watchtower as saying we shouldn't have them because they simulate death.
Smurphs - never knew the reason why until i visited this forum. Apparently they're demonic.
The Beatles - but only after 1966 because that's when they were druggies. Or so my mum said.
Michael Jacksons Thriller - for obvious reasons
Queen - Because Freddy Mercury was gay (but Elton John was ok, go figure).
Led Zeppelin - Because Stairway To Heaven had satanic lyrics in reverse.
The following symbols: Cross, pentagram, ying-yang
Magicians on TV - including Tommy Cooper, Paul Daniels and especially Derren Brown. Even though Derren Brown openly says it's all a trick and the supernatural does not exist.
-
64
Mass JW exodus
by stockholm_Syndrome inmaybe there will be a mass exodus from jws when thinking people read feb 2017 watchtower telling them the governing body stuff up, shouldnt expect correct/ perfect information and basically make up guff as they see fit.....ya reckon?.
-
-
pale.emperor
The Feb Watchtower wont make a difference im afraid. As a previous poster said, they will say something about "how humble and honest the GB are for admitting they're infallible. Not like the pope of the Catholic Church grr!!".
And as any ex-JW will know, a lot of them sometimes say things like "even if this isn't the truth, isnt it a nice way to live?". Which to me says they're having doubts but their thought stopping process has kicked in.
They're incapable of thinking anything ill of the GB. My only hope is the next generation are more curious about what's written on the internet and eventually this religion will fizzle out to a small size like Plymouth Bretheren or something. I've written off the idea of any of my family leaving. I know many would be happier outside but they're so afraid of the possibility of it being the truth they wont leave. And of course, what's there to lose? "It's such a nice way to live your life".
-
23
Standing for the National Anthem?
by eyeslice2 inwe are currently living in a country where at the cinema the national anthem is played before the start of the movie and it is law that you stand.
does anyone know what current jw thinking is on this?
i know there has been various changes over the years.
-
-
pale.emperor
I've never sang the national anthem of this country (England) but mostly because God Save The Queen is a song about the Queen, not England.
I work in immigration and there are foreign brothers who have become UK citizens... in this country you CANNOT get citizenship without swearing allegiance to the queen (or country) AND singing the national anthem at the citizenship ceremony. So obviously those brothers put their beliefs aside for day in order to get a UK passport.
On a side note I sang the German national anthem with a tear in my eye last time I was in Munich. Proud of my German ancestry. But that's just me.
-
34
Knock knock."Who's there? Two elders!!
by Darkknight757 inso today was a cold and snowy day in my neck of the woods and the wife and i were just chilling around the house waiting to go to the church tonight for a candle lighting service when lo and behold we get a knock on the door.
yup, 2 elders from my old hall.
i figured they were fishing for some time so i invited them in and gave them some coffee and we talked about everything that happened and why we walk away from the jw's.
-
-
pale.emperor
The answers to this thread is why I'm so glad I'm agnostic now. I don't know (or care) if a magic man in the sky created light and trees and the earth. But I do know I'll be dead one day and will either find out then or just become food for worms. That's "the truth".
-
12
Did anyone catch the irony in the December JW Broadcast?
by sir82 inthere was an interview with a 107 year old lady who had been a jw since the age of 10 or so.
remembers seeing the "photodrama of creation" when it was still a thing, etc.. so she's explaining about herself & her husband witnessing thru the years, 1930's thru now.. she says at one point, her husband called on a guy who said something like "the last time i got a call from a jw, it was 50 years ago in xyz village by a guy on a bike who said armageddon was coming soon.".
the lady was just so tickled, because the guy on the bike was her husband, who happened to run into the same guy (who remembered him) 50 years later.. and i'm thinking "wait a minute....her husband said 'armageddon was coming soon' 50 years earlier...obviously he was completely wrong.
-
-
pale.emperor
On the very rare occasions that my family will talk to me I tell them "one day when you're 80 lying in s hospital bed looking back at the 50 years you spent shunning me you'll realise what a massive waste of time it was"
-
16
There Were TWO Child Molesters Hiding In My Old Congregation
by pale.emperor init's come out in my old congregation that, not one, but two child molesters have been hiding in my old congregation.
i knew both of them and one of them, an old man, was regularly at my house for field service meetings on a weekly basis.. in my old congregation there's an apostate who was awake long before i was.
unfortunately he cant leave because his wife and children and parents are still full on believers.
-
-
pale.emperor
Scumbag 1 is dead. His wife is telling people it was a heart attack. Don't know how she's going to explain why his funeral won't be in a Kingdom Hall!
-
16
There Were TWO Child Molesters Hiding In My Old Congregation
by pale.emperor init's come out in my old congregation that, not one, but two child molesters have been hiding in my old congregation.
i knew both of them and one of them, an old man, was regularly at my house for field service meetings on a weekly basis.. in my old congregation there's an apostate who was awake long before i was.
unfortunately he cant leave because his wife and children and parents are still full on believers.
-
-
pale.emperor
It's come out in my old congregation that, not one, but TWO child molesters have been hiding in my old congregation. I knew both of them and one of them, an old man, was regularly at my house for field service meetings on a weekly basis.
In my old congregation there's an apostate who was awake long before i was. Unfortunately he cant leave because his wife and children and parents are still full on believers. Standing on carpark security duty one evening we got talking and he planted the seeds that got the ball rolling to my awakening. He called me this morning to tell me that one of the old brothers in the congregation has killed himself. Jumped off of his apartment building (like 12 floors high).
Lets call him Scumbag 1 - This guy was from South America. Very kind and knowledgeable about the scriptures. Always on the ministry. I mean, like, ALL DAY EVERYDAY. I noticed when i was in the congregation that he never gave talks or held any position. I asked my elder father in law a few years ago how come he isnt being used more. What he said then i never gave much thought about, he said "Bro XXX will never hold any position in the congregation. It's about his past. We all make mistakes and Jehovah has forgiven him but he'll never go any further than where he is".
This was the phonecall i got:
"Hey man. Just need to update you about something. Bro XXXX is in hospital. He jumped off the roof of his apt building. His wife is going round telling everyone he's in hospital because of a heart attack and people are getting confused and asking questions because they're trying to turn up to the hospital to support them but they're being told he's in a critical condition for blunt force trauma. His son reported him to the police last week for molesting him and his bro & sisters when they were kids. He was abusing <daughter 1> from age 8!! His son's little girl told her parents that Bro XXXX wanted her to keep secrets from her parents. Obviously the police were starting to pry into this and next thing you know he's jumped off his apt building. They reckon he'll be dead before the end of the day."
This explains A LOT. Not only does it explain why he wasn't allowed to go any further, it also explains that the elders must have known about this because he wasn't allowed to pioneer or hold any position.
His wife must have known about it because she's lying to the friends about why he's in hospital in the first place and surely all his kids must have mentioned something. Abusing all of his children all that time and she never knew?
And it explains why all of his children wanted nothing to do with him as soon as they left the family home. Which means the elders have allowed a pedophile to come into my home and be around my family and young children.
Then he tells me that there's more. Last month another brother was arrested and is now serving a prison sentence. The elders had to go into the prison to disfellowship him.
Lets called this one Scumbag 2 - He was kind of a loner. Always sat at the back by the sound desk. One of my "privileges" was sound desk so i used to make casual conversation with him. He always had a tan no matter what the weather. An elderly couple befriended him, this elderly couple cared for their teenage granddaughter of about 13yo and grandson of about 9yo. They were always going on days outs together, they'd give him lifts to the meetings, to conventions, to witness parties etc. Next thing you know he's been arrested. No one in the congregation knew why. He asked the elderly couple to go into his house to feed his dog while he was in custody. When the old brother went into his home to feed the dog he found "something" which deeply upset and disturbed him. Despite the impeccable rumor mill the JW's have, no one has of yet managed to wrangle out of the elders what it was. BUT... the teenage granddaughter was called into the backroom after the Sunday meeting. She left in tears. That's all we know so far.
My reckoning is that he's done something to her, or was planning to and it's been discovered. He's in prison most likely for molesting some other poor child. It's a sad sad state of affairs, not something im reveling over even though i hate the cult. I really hope the families see this cult for what it is and get out now.
-
9
My JW Sister Called Me Last Night
by pale.emperor inmy sister called me quite out of the blue last night.
she's a full on active jw and actively shunning me like the rest of the family are.
i dont quite know the reason why she felt last night was the right time to call but im glad she did.
-
-
pale.emperor
My sister called me quite out of the blue last night. She's a full on active JW and actively shunning me like the rest of the family are. I dont quite know the reason why she felt last night was the right time to call but im glad she did. Although it was basically her trying to re-convert me back.
Conversation went on for over an hour until her phone battery died at 12:05am. I wont give the entire conversation but the salient points were:
HER: You know it's the truth. You're just angry at the organization. Remember, men are imperfect. It's not God's fault.
ME: <holding in my laugh> No, i know it's not the truth.
HER: No, you used to believe it. You cant just stop believing it. You've been reading apostate stuff.
ME: When i was a JW, i used to study a lot yes. But only the society books and magazines. When i was DF i spent months just reading the bible. Nothing else. I'd come home from work and read until i went to bed. Then on weekends just read. I highlighted scriptures to look up. And topics to look up. Not only from JW.org but from real theological textbooks and history. You're religion is so not the truth. In fact, of all the religions claiming to be christian it's the most far removed from Christianity i've ever seen.
HER: You need to come back to the meetings. We miss you.
ME: If you miss me you know where i am.
HER: So you're not coming back?
ME: No. I will never. Never go back to that religion. (I avoided the world cult because a few months ago the last time i used it she got really angry and slammed the phone down).
HER: Ok so you dont believe in the religion. But you believe in Jehovah and Jesus.
ME: No.
HER: No?!!!
ME: I dont believe Jehovah exists no. I believe Jesus existed and was a charismatic man but he certainly didn't do all the things that's written about him.
HER: But the bible...
ME: But The Lord Of The Rings... shall i believe in Frodo and Gandalf? It must be true, it's in The Lord Of The Rings.
HER: Now you're just being silly.
ME: You have a man who can raise the dead, cure lepers and walk on water. And outside of the gospels no other writer of the time period wrote anything about it. Archimedes, Plato, Marcus Aurelius didnt do half the things Jesus apparently did. And there's an abundance of things written about them all through history.
The conversation went on for a good while. Standard JW nonsensical reasoning that, im ashamed to say, i used to use myself. Of course everything she said had a perfectly reasonable answer. Her phone died before we wrapped things up.
I wonder if she counted her time?