i'll start with the first study article.. this study article deals with vows made to jehovah.
three main vows are discussed.. 1) your dedication to jehovah.
we are told that it is not possible to claim that our baptism was not valid .
"extreme endangerment of one’s life or spirituality by an abusive or apostate spouse."
In the past, living with an abusive spouse was not a big problem; put up and shut up. But if you couple "abusive" with the word "apostate", then that's a big problem.
due to last years success, i will post everything related to the 2017 regional convention in this thread.. to start us off.... thanks to exjw reddit user ich3b we have advance notice of the theme (this is not a joke!).
the theme for the 2017 regional convention is: "don’t give up!” .
as always, if you have access to confidential materials you would like to leak but need to protect your identity, pm me or email me: wifibandit1 (at) gmail.
2020: We Abhor Child Abuse
some facts that make the difference between you and me:.
1 - as a person raised by non jw family, my parents have never loved me based on conditions set out by a group of old men who they don't even know.
how does it feel to know that you are in the unique situation where your parents brought you into the world and said 'i'll show love to you.
To be fair, some JW's don't have it that bad. It highly depends on the degree of indoctrination. My JW brother has been quite liberal regarding education and material pursuits for his own children. So my nephews have had a rather good life in spite of all those meetings, long boring conventions, preaching, bible reading and crazy JW conversations. Today they benefit from a large network of young JW friends while they pursue worldly things that don't get you in a JC.
i got up today to listen to the shocking news that russia’s ambassador to turkey was assassinated at an ankara art exhibit, and assassin was acting in the name of god.. it seems things have evolved to the other extreme that atheists are doing the work of religionists and vice versa.
while religionists take delight in killing fellow humans in the name of god, there were many atheists who followed very elevated morality.
the french existentialists and writers jean-paul sartre and albert camus were some of them.
good JW's who adhere to the Watchtower's shunning policies are living proof of the quote above
i did not see a newbs thread to introduce myself, so my apologies if i'm in the wrong place.
i was a 3rd generation born in witness for 30 years until i was disfellowshipped back in 2007 for making a mistake.
my entire life up until that point was based on and circled around the society, and even though at first i really enjoyed my freedom (i still do), the fact is that i'm still struggling with cognitive dissonance, resentment, and loneliness.. i miss my family all the time.
I am Hispanic too. I know that Hispanics don't follow the shunning rules strictly. I know that relationships with the disfellowshipped cool down significantly, but never completely. Is that the case with you?.... that you still keep some minimum contact?
There's some great advice here. i am not the best in that regard. I just never lived the life of a JW, I just know it well as an observer.
I agree, the God of the Bible is an asshole, but studying the Bible in the proper context is a very interesting experience. Just in case you are interested, search Christina Hayes lectures of the old testament. Great professor.
Ask Russia and Cuba. They tried equality
has waking up ever made you physically ill?
perhaps because of the emotional strain etc..?.
if if so what were / are the symptoms?.
I had a resection of my small intestine six years ago and for the first four years, right at the time of my waking up I would feel very ill, an intense urge to run to the bathroom. It would be about five or six hours and four visits to the john before the feeling was gone, until next morning. Then the cycle would start again.
What do I do to get better? Eat bland, boring food. Forget Chinese or Mexican, those are recipes for disaster.
Don't believe your surgeon if he tells you that you will be fine after having three feet of your intestine removed. You won't.
as a witness i now realise how little control we really had over our life.
therefore naturally upon leaving everything became less certain.
this is because really leaving only happened when i let go of that past.
I believe as individuals we can contribute to our community, but as members in the Jehovers Witness organization we contributed nothing to our community.
They actually withdraw assets from the community. Because they tend to have low incomes, they are more likely to get all kinds of government subsidies, while withholding the talents and man power needed for defense (soldiers), science, security (police), professional work. The rest of us work extra hours that turn into more taxes for the public welfare, while JW's spend countless hours preaching, attending meetings and indoctrinating others... and when they realized they are short of money, then they go to the community's coffers to claim what they didn't earn.
aren't there christian denominations who do not make false end of the world predictions but who nevertheless believe that the world will eventually end and paradise (whether in heaven or on earth) will come?.
it seems the watchtower was just jumping the gun when they made false end of the world predictions but they are nevertheless the right: the world will eventually end and paradise will come..
was the governmental seat of Alexander the great circa 380BC
Alex hadn't been born yet.
jws like to think they have found the one true religion.
but like so many other religious people, it's usually the religion they were born into, the only religion they know because it's the first one they found or, at the most, one of two or three (typically the second one after they left their first / born-in faith).. the trouble is, there simply isn't enough time to explore and investigate each and everyone of the many thousands of belief systems, religions and sects around the world.. think of it this way: which is the best neighbourhood to live in where you would be most happy and most successful?
not just in the city or even the country you are in, but the entire world.. how would you ever know?
Great point and analogy!
