Posts by SummerAngel

14

Great music video from Apostate chick

by ToesUp in

https://youtu.be/cafygzb1geo.

maybe she can help out watchtower with their monthly videos.. great job.

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SummerAngel

That is brillient so spot on

13

Pale.Emperor Meets A Born Again Christian

by pale.emperor in

of all the religions out there one religion that's always filled me with exasperation was the born again christian belief system.

to make matters worse, the street preachers i see and hear here in liverpool always tend to be crack pot, loud mouths, attention seeking and just plain annoying.. this idea that "im going to heaven, you're going to hell" is enough to make me not want to worship their god even if he did exist.

but today i met two.

SummerAngel

I was in 2 minds about posting a reply to this as i have identified as evangelical Christian for the last 2/half decades which on this site isnt popular.

When i hear the stuff people encounter from cerrtAin faith groups i cringe. Unfortunately the fruit loops and fanatacists are always the most visable and the 2nd guy you spoke to although slightly inept is probably more representative of those i mix with. I dont know of anyone in the churches i have gone to that would shout abuse down the microphone in the street and ive met some pretty fundy christians

but im not doubting you. As regards evangelising myself i have a total adversion to both giving and receiving it and think its a dreadful witness. My church is heavily involved in community work which involves monthly messy church which gets around 40 kids and 20 adults, and an annual community week of entertainment usually for kids and families. Loads have joined from these. We had about 6 baptisms in the last year in a church of 60 people- bit better than JWs. All adults.

Regarding the comment about jesus giving him something to live for. I wouldnt agree with this, i have family, friends life etc i dont think his view is that representative but it may be that if that church encounters a lot of depressive suicidal people then that view is expressed commonly but i wouldnt say most christians i know would feel thar way.

I think what you encountered was one of the very fundementalist versions possibly new fronteers which tend to be more that way. Extremism of any type is ugly and there are plenty of extremely devout atheists on this site who can be quite offensive to those who do have faith too.

20

Normal things you missed out on as a kid (besides holidays)

by Are you serious in

since me and my siblings had to go to service every saturday, and i mean every saturday, i missed out on something so normal as watching good ole saturday morning cartoons from the 70's and 80's.

i remember wishing i could stay home just one saturday so i could watch cartoons.

but noooo we had to go save lives!

SummerAngel

Being an angel in the school nativity

decorating a xmas tree

Smelling and seeing a firework display for real

relaxed clothes

parties

attending dance classes they were saturday mornings

doing gym classes they were also saturday mornings

learning to do ballroom that involved dancing with boys -i was 7!!

12

Freak out over a magic 8 ball toy

by charity7 in

just had a jw freak out over some magic 8 balls that i have.

next thing you know i turn my head and it was thrown into a box to get rid of it.

is it because it has the word magic in it?

SummerAngel

My mum saw the Disney holiday handbook on the table which was entitled 'The little book of magic" she was then convinced it was about witchcraft. The cover had a picture of Micky mouse on it!

16

JWs + Chronic Illness

by Cimarrona in

i once asked my dad why, with all the power the wt insists on having so much control over its adherents' lives, they don't provide information about healthy eating habits or, like the adventists, wilderness training.

i mean, the gb encourage people to remain poor, and poverty is known to correlate with health outcomes, particularly those that are diet related.

i'd say most witnesses i knew over the age of 40 were overweight, had high blood pressure, heart problems, gastrointestinal issues, one kind of cancer or another (no doubt a result of eating their feelings if you ask me).

SummerAngel

I think some of it comes from short term thinking- if panda paradise is round the corner along with perfect bodies why treat your health with any respect. Likewise I think many including were told they wouldn't get old/sick and die so aren't emotionally prepared for it. Every sign of ageing reinforces the disappointment of no Armageddon.

I also think the very sedentary lifestyle as sport is discouraged or even having hobbies together with poor diet from low wages and not enough time have contributed. There is also a deep distrust of both medical and mental health professionals replaced by use of quack cures.

36

is armageddon starting ?

by stan livedeath in

the sky is so dark here in the south of the uk.

could be armageddon starting.. or then it could be dust particles in the atmosphere..

SummerAngel

Its hilarious that with so many atheists 1 funny colour sky and everyone thinks s""*t Armageddon's here maybe the JWs were right after all!!

21

Just Bumped Into My JW Sister And Brother In Town

by pale.emperor in

so im walking through town today on my lunchbreak and spot the unmistakable walk of my younger brother.

this is the one who left watchtower... well it turns out he's returned to the vomit after stupidly turning up to the 2017 convention and a few elders filling his head with seeing our dead dad in paradise and to "wait on jehovah".. a few meters behind him was my sister.

she spotted me first, then hurried up her step to my brother.

SummerAngel

Well worldlyness may be catching.

41

Things I Cant Stand Since Leaving Watchtower

by pale.emperor in

what a breath a fresh air to be free of watchtower.

now i can finally rant about the things i put up with that i'd never put up with now.. in no particular order:.

little kids in suits.

SummerAngel

Its been a while but here's some of mine:

Anything formal especially dresswise

The expression 'the truth' its anything but.

Passing big family occasions in order to go to a meeting

' we don't celebrate....' Was the buzz word when I was a kid for basically anything the petty rules forbid.

' you have been seen wearing/ doing/with......'. Doesn't matter if your on a remote mountain in Mongolia some idiot will see you and report you for wearing or doing something inappropriate. If there's a way of looking at a situation that could be innocent or could be guilty no prizes for guessing how it will be assumed.

Brother so n so, sister so n so. You are not related stop pretending you are.

Anything nasty is ' Jehovah's living provision" Noooooo its just nasty.

That's my venting done

72

What was the biggest thing that convinced you that

by Ponyo in

.....the truth was not the truth... ?

.

SummerAngel

I'm a bit unusual here because for me it was growing cognitive dissonance that something didn't fit then a few incidents.

I was there at Twickenham assembly when 1975 was announced from the platform. Although young I was old enough to know what was said and that it didn't happen. Some years later I innocently asked my study conductor for the WT from 74 that predicted it and they pretended they didn't know what I was talking about.

I played music in lots of churches as a teenager. I waited for everything the WT said about churches to be true. It wasn't. I did not get struck down, I just met lovely friendly people.

As an older teen I knew I hated being different and hated the restrictions. I faded through my uni years but still had a bit of 'maybe they're right' for a few years. The single biggest incident was really very minor. I was travelling and had spent a perfect day snorkelling off the barrier reef. I did a lot of thinking when I travelled and realised that the world is a truly beautiful marvellous place. The lie I had been sold that it was all dreadful outside the WT, that everyone in it was out to get you just didn't have any evidence. I looked at how beautiful it was and knew that armagefon was not coming any day soon if ever. I think it was the culmination of years of stuff not adding up rather than any specific doctrine. There was n Internet then to redirect you I just worked it out for myself.

18

How/when did you become a jehovas witness?

by Lewis1998 in

so i've been a protestant for most of my life, it's how i was raised, but recently i started questioning my faith more and more and now i feel like my beliefs resemble that of a jehovas witness rather than a protestant.

i don't know any jehovas witnesses, so i was just wondering how a lot of you found the religion and adapted to it?.

SummerAngel

I was born in and deflected to real Christianity about 25 yes ago. There are many differences but predominantly it is the cultural difference rather than belief difference. Ie I go to church to worship god and have fellowship. I can openly challenge leadership. I can not turn up for 5 yes at one point etc and I have no flack from management for that. Before joining you should read JW facts although his stance like many ex JWs is atheist he raises a lot of awareness about this cult and just what you would be joining.you could simply shop around amongst evangelical or baptist type churches or you may conclude that none is for you. Bear in mind everyone on this site and there are 20k of us left for a reason, many others want to leave but are trapped..Personally there's nothing to recommend this cult at all.