Posts by Wayward

27

"Exodus:Why Americans are leaving Religion-and Why They'er Unlikely to come back.

by James Mixon in

religion news article by lauren markoe.. some interesting points in the article.

the study follows the publication earlier this year of a book.

by study co-author and prri founder robert p. jones, titled "the end of white christian america".. the name "nones" are people who claim no affiliation with religion, they outnumber any religious denomination.. according to the poll-which has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent-age points-the nones have.

Wayward

looter, do some research. The Scandinavian countries are WAY more secular than the US. And just so you know, the highest population in American prisons are Christians. Atheists don't even make up 1% of the American prison population.

Even if I were to change my mind and decide there was a god again, I still wouldn't go back to an organized religion. Too much hate mongering. Too much misogyny. Too many demands for my money. Mere men telling me how I should live my life and dictating every move I make. No thanks!

21

Why aren't there windows in the KH?

by longgone in

the last kh i attended, (faded) was built in 2014. there are no windows anywhere, although the front doors are glass.

.

it's nothing but a brown brick rectangle, as nondescript as possible as well.. any thoughts about why?.

Wayward

My former congregation's first KH had windows. The curtains were always kept drawn so no one could look out. 'Too distracting' was the explanation. When the new KH was built, no windows. Not one. The explanations depended on who you asked. Even doctors', dentists' and lawyers' offices have windows.

FedUp, your story reminds me of the time when local elders decided to lock the doors during meetings for 'security'. If you wanted to leave in the middle, you had to ask one of the 'attendants' to let you out. That lasted until someone tipped off the local fire chief who in turn read the elders the riot act. Turns out it was illegal to lock the doors in case of fire. They were courting a mass casualty disaster. I think they got off with just a warning.

10

When you were fully in, would you lie about how loving your congregation was?

by TTWSYF in

not long ago my elder brother got very sick.

he was hospitalized for a few weeks and his jw wife and children were at his side often.

also, his non jw family was also bedside with him, siblings and parents.. his recollection involves asking us "don't you remember all the jws that came visiting me when i was sick?".

Wayward

When I was a kid the congregation I belonged to (I was with the same one my entire JW life) really was a warm and loving place. Like an extended family, the way families should ideally be. Fast forward twenty years and the situation had changed. The congregation had become a colder, more rigid place to be. People were more openly judgmental. It had shifted to a more corporate mentality. I think that reflected changes in the Society itself. It's showing itself more openly as a controlling, rigid corporation and the congregations are just following Mommy's lead.

24

Oh the irony! The elder, a car accident, and me....

by stuckinarut2 in

oh this is just worth sharing!.

so , as many know, it has been two years since i have attended any meetings, conventions, etc....nothing...cold turkey.. the hassles and problems the elders threw our way were monumental....so many details i could share, but suffice it to say, we stood firm and kept our dignity and poise and reminded them of "appropriate boundaries ".

one elder in particular has since spared no effort in ensuring that malicious gossip and slander has been spread so that witnesses have avoided us like the plague!.

Wayward

Whatever that elder says or does, you did the right thing. "Return evil for evil to no one but pay back evil with good." Whatever your beliefs, its just basic human decency to want to help someone in need. Its a lesson the JWs could stand to learn.

Something similar once happened to me. A couple years after I went totally inactive, I came across a car stalled at the side of the road. Turns out it was a carload of JWs out in service whose crappy old car had finally give out. (Damn that Satan!) So I pulled over and offered to take the group back to my house, not even a quarter mile down the road, to wait for a ride or drive them back to the hall if they preferred (four or five miles out of my way). They chose the hall so I dropped them off there. One of the group was an elder who thanked you-know-who for sending me. No, I just happened to be passing by on a road I drove every day and stopped to help, like any decent person would.

12

JW Literature Trolleys Don't Carry the Book Of Mormon

by Athanasius in

this morning the jws set up two literature trolleys at our local shopping centre.

the trolleys were situated within 20 feet of each other with six jws attending them.

why they needed six jws on hand i have no idea as everyone was ignoring them.. anyway i thought i'd have some fun.

Wayward

Thanks, darkspilver. I was gone long before carts, tables, and booths were a thing so I don't know the specifics.

12

JW Literature Trolleys Don't Carry the Book Of Mormon

by Athanasius in

this morning the jws set up two literature trolleys at our local shopping centre.

the trolleys were situated within 20 feet of each other with six jws attending them.

why they needed six jws on hand i have no idea as everyone was ignoring them.. anyway i thought i'd have some fun.

Wayward

I saw a JW booth at a fair last week. The first couple times hubby and I passed it, he didn't know what it was for. I only knew because I recognized the JWs behind the table. The next night we were able to take a longer look. There was a banner on the front of the table BUT the JW.org was in really little lettering. That was the only clue as to who they were.

And there weren't any Bibles out. Maybe they were under the counter?

21

How the org will spin the Midweek meeting about Child Abuse in Australia

by tor1500 in

jw
friends

luke 21:11 says:there will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another food shortages and pestilences;+ and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs.

but verse 12 says:but before all these things happen, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you,+ handing you over to the synagogues and prisons.

you will be brought before kings and governors for the sake of my name.

Wayward

Slight off topic but does anyone else have the urge to laugh whenever they see CLAM? And Meeting Workborks? That's something grade schoolers do. Wow. This cult has really dumbed down from what it was 15 years ago.

5

WT “Study” for 18th Sept 2016 – “Grateful Recipients of God’s Undeserved Kindness”

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

“life is to short” has commented on the above study in terms of grace being translated as undeserved kindness in the nwt.

the analysis is quite interesting.. here in this thread, i will be opening up other facets of the “study”.

for example.... paragraph 11 applies the daniel 12:3 phrase – “those having insight” to the “anointed remnant”.

Wayward

Ah, 'undeserved kindness'! Nothing gives you the warm fuzzies like God telling you he loves you even though you aren't worthy.

583

What is the purpose of life?

by slimboyfat in

while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

Wayward

Do the lives of animals have a purpose? Beyond that of breeding and passing on their genes? Humans are just a higher level of animal. Why do human lives need a higher purpose?

15

Can GB be guilty of sinning against Holy Spirit

by Chook in

the crime is ,condoning the removal of and shunning of jw children ,who when older want to express freedom of religion and attend another church.

god created family unit ,gb destroys lives on all levels of family tree.

can this be the unforgivable sin?.

Wayward

I don't care what God thinks about it. Ripping families apart is unforgivable in MY book.