The definition of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The WT always tells JWs that life is horrible, everything is wrong, and this world is not something to enjoy. Yet, they're the ones that constantly beat them down by discouraging college education, encouraging working as little as possible to spend all of you time in field circus, racking on constant guilt by making them not feel good enough, forcing them to separate from "worldly people", constant focus on negative things that happen in the world and never gives praise to JWs hard work, and constantly working about what the other witness thinks. It puts such a mental strain on a person. The reason the average JW has such a hard time in life is because the WT makes it so. The rules they makes up serves the purpose to prove them right. Life as a witness is something to endure. The gag is... no payoff. Just a permanent dirt nap and a sales pitch funeral.
Posts by Sorry
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31Endure or Enjoy??
by stuckinarut2 inhave we ever noticed how witnesses are constantly being told that life is something that needs to be "endured", rather that "enjoyed"?.
life is always so tough, so hard, so difficult in "these last days".
"persecution and trials abound".
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What would you say to the HH if you could?
by purrpurr inok so there's no other jws in earshot and your on the ministry, the hh comes to the door, what would you say to them about jws if you could?.
would you explain why your there when you don't want to be?.
would you warn them about it being a cult?.
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Sorry
It's a trick I've been doing for quite a while, pretend to ring the doorbell and act like the person wasn't home (ironically enough I got the idea from a WT that said not to do that lol). Usually I get no answer, but on the off chance the person sees me and answers the door, I just do the usual presentation. Lately, I've been think about making business cards with jwfacts.com on it and giving it to householders. I want to use my time in FC to spread awareness so it won't be a complete waste.
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Sparlock is making his rounds again
by stillin ini was at the meeting last night and the dreadful video about caleb and sparlock was forced upon the audience.
honestly, i had forgotten how bad it was.
the mother's manipulative over-reaction and caleb's acceptance that his toy was evil.
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Sorry
The midweek meeting in general made me so uncomfortable. Such an over emphasis on obedience. This video truly made me sick. I heard a child behind me tell her mom that "It's just a toy. It's not real." Then her mom told her Satan is just trying to deceive her into practicing witchcraft. It's sad that a 5 year old has more common sense than these grown adults.
Either something big is happening or the Borg realizes they're losing their grip. Lately, most of the meetings go back to the central theme of obedience. Guess they're really trying to tie into the convention theme "Do Not Give Up".
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2017 Circuit Assembly: Lesbians at school demonstration
by darkspilver insteve2: is there some way this can be presented so that it is crystal clear what was actually in the demonstrations and what was added?
i guess some will think it should be obvious - but this is where misunderstandings arise because we end up wrongly attributing something to jw organization that was never said.. circuit assembly theme: maintain love for jehovah!.
note to speaker: warmly encourage young ones to prove their friendship with jehovah by observing his commandments and defending his standards.
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Sorry
The irony. This Sunday's WT specifically prohibits being deceptive, saying things you know people will take one way, but you meaning other. This little demonstration is the epitome of that.
"We dont reject homosexual people, just their conduct." The average non JW would take this to mean that Witnesses have a more tolerant view towards gays/lesbians. However, an indoctrinated witness knows not to keep close association with gay people. Even if there's no official punishment for their behavior, they will still be avoided like the plague if the truth about their sexuality comes out (look at the experiences on jwfacts). Isn't that being deceptive without outright lying? Oh wait, the rules of the rank and file doesn't apply to the higher ups.
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Why do you get upset about family shunning you?
by mr_doubtful ini understand people love their family but i also don't understand why you end up caring in the end.
i'm ready to leave and i 100% don't expecting my family to have any contact with me nor do i want them to contact me.
if they are going to chose a man made religion over me, that's their choice and i will sleep easy at night.
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Sorry
The strange thing is while I do deeply love my family, I'm not particularly close to them. If I were to move out today (and still be in), I really wouldn't contact them often and visit them annually like my sister does. I honestly think that if I wasn't so dependent on them, the prospect of them shunning me would sting a lot less.
However, I guess I'd just want the option of seeing them to be there. I'm only human. The thought of your own family, who are suppose to love you unconditionally, abandoning you for a shallow, unhealthy cult is a hard pull to swallow.
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What did you regrettably not do because you were a Jehovah's Witness ?
by minimus injehovah's witnesses cannot do a lot of things.
i remember pioneers having to quit their jobs because they could not work in a convenience store and sell cigarettes.
i know of a young man who was offered a scholarship to any college or university if he wanted to go to because of his football abilities.
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Sorry
I seriously regret not taking a summer internship and going to Washington D.C. for a writer's workshop. I had the money to send myself there, but I never told my parents because I knew it'd be out of the question. I'm still really young (as most people say) so I still have many more amazing opportunities I guess. But I just wished I could've brought the plane ticket without them knowing and lodged in D.C. for three months, writing and debating, as well as develop more skills for the workforce. Any other parent would've been happy for their child and encouraged them to go, but I knew mine would view it as a waste of time. Still, I think I could've rebelled or something.
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I think the CO just knocked on my door.
by schnell ini can't be too sure, because i didn't answer, but my mother had called me this morning and said this week is our co visit.. it's been a while since i last had elders at my door.
last time that happened, i posted about it, so it was only a few months.. i really don't want to talk with them.
is there a chance i'll be announced as "no longer one of..." after he's left if i don't?.
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Sorry
At least in my cong, every time the CO comes to visit, all of a sudden there's a need to do a "shepherding call" on the inactive or "spiritually weak". I know this for a fact because my best friend's father has been inactive since before I met them (which was nearly a decade ago), and every. single. time. the CO comes, they stop by their house to check on him. He's the KH social pariah and they wouldn't be caught dead glancing his way any other day, but they put on show whenever the CO visits. Since attendance has sharply declined in my hall and they can't blame it on the new KH being built anymore, it seems like it's their mission to speak with faders.
Depending on your reputation/how long you've been out, they'll probably just ask if you have considered returning to the hall and leave it at that. They don't even pry with my best friend's father anymore. If you are more well-liked or if you just left, keep your responses brief and deflective. Yes, he's actually discussed this with me before (he's advising me for my fade hilariously enough)
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106
So what caused you to have doubts in the first place?
by nicolaou ini had no doubts at all about the 'truth' untill a friend of mine in the cong' began falling away.
in trying to help him i had to ask questions and do research and that of course cracked the doors of my mind open for the first time in over thirty years.. years ago, when jwd allowed members to have signatures, i used the following quote from voltaire as mine.
i still love it.. doubt is uncomfortable, certainty is ridiculous..
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Sorry
I had doubts since I was in middle school (although I just chalked that up to being stupid or not having enough faith). It wasn't until I truly stopped and thinked for a second, "What is the origins of this religion? What did we do before then?" My parents always said "That doesn't matter." So I decided to research it myself. Then I discovered Russell and how he broke away from the Adventists. Then Rutherford took over and made it the opposite of Russell. This led me to discovering the numerous flip flops just by reading old literature. Then one of my internet pen pals directed me to jwfacts.com. The rest was history.
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45
New light in this weeks WT?
by Indian Larry inanybody have any ideas where they are going with the "new light" they have been pushing last week and this week?
for instance in this weeks study article one section reads:.
in years gone by, we believed that jehovah became displeased with his people because they did not have a zealous share in the preaching work during world war i. we concluded that for this reason, jehovah allowed babylon the great to take them captive for a short time.
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Sorry
I wouldn't put too much thought into it. They're only using this "Babylonian captivity" thing as a scare tactic to get more JW's in field circus.
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16
A Perfect Life Isn't Worth Living?
by Sorry inthink of your favorite tv shows.
what do they all have in common?
the answer is they revolve around some type of problem or conflict.
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Sorry
My friends brought up an interesting point today: a perfect existence isn't perfect at all.
Think of your favorite TV shows. What do they all have in common? The answer is they revolve around some type of problem or conflict. Whether serious or comedic, conflict and seeing how characters handle it interests viewers. It would get boring very quickly if there were no problems, if everyone was smart and nice, if everyone had that same perfect personality.
My best friend went on to say this applies in real life. If everything in the world was eternally perfect, what would there really be to live for? If you think life is purposeless now, just wait until the new system. Your only purpose is eating fruit, petting tigers and singing Kumbaya all day. No motivation to change or grow. Nothing would be interesting since we'd all be the same perfect people. Once the novelty wears off, it'd be boring to be perfect.
People devote their lives to something, whether it's fighting for equal rights, educating others or employing the scientific method to answer the unanswerable. Many have died for it. If everything is perfect, what's the point? You're just taking up space.
It struck a chord with me. Being a JW, perfection in eternity is the end goal. But when you really think about it (thinking isn't really the average JWs forte), it's just as unfulfilling as they try to make the 'world' out to be. Any lurker with doubts, please take this info consideration (unless I sound crazy, then just ignore me).