Posts by Xanthippe

17

Told my JW friend it's a cult

by Xanthippe in

so i said i would write about the 2014 convention program that you guys kindly posted here, to the jw friend who contacted me out of the blue after over 20 years since we d'ad.

sorry if you find this repetitive if you have already read my story.

this friend does not know anything about how my family shun me and i thought it is relevant in the light of the convention symposium talk about putting family in second place.

Xanthippe

Quick update. My friend replied to my letter. She made no mention of the convention talk. Did say she was still happy to be friends even though we had different beliefs and she respected my feelings.

Which I thought was nice until she seemed to reference the shunning and said she was sorry for what had happened to me which shouldn't have and that we will have to leave those individuals in God's hands. Those individuals, my family, are doing what the cult tells them to do. Seems to be saying they are doing it from choice! Nothing to do with their religion, and hers. Frustrated and as always when we come up against cult reasoning, it's depressing.

49

Seventeen-and-a-half glorious minutes with the irrepressible Mr Lett

by rory-ks in

jw
friends

can't...tear...my...eyes...away.... .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx8db7m5mzq.

Xanthippe

Showed it to my daughter and she said it looked like an infomercial, bad acting. I said that's a good description because he doesn't believe a word he's saying. I noticed he hardly ever blinks, a trick of people who think prolonged eye contact hides the fact they are lying through their teeth.

41

Would like all of your imput on this. Please

by Still Totally ADD in

jw
friends

both reopened mind and i are now in our early 60's and it seems our conversations lately have been on putting everything up for sale and buying a rv and travel until we can't anymore.

it has been a dream of ours for along time to see all the site's in the u.s. and canada.

we feel we could make money as we go by selling and teaching using herbs and gardening.

Xanthippe

My gut reaction is don't sell your beautiful home with that fantastic mountain view. Is there no other way you could travel cheaply? Also have you already seen the rest of the world? What about Rome, Paris, Florence, Switzerland, the Black Forest, London, the Pyrenees? Perhaps you've already done this.

35

Shunning Makes us Joyful - Another Blast on Jehovah's Trumpet

by cofty in

like all the best comedy this is hilarious and agonising in equal measure.. if you have not bookmarked the jehovah's trumpet blog do it now.. shunning makes us joyful .... "fiends, we are the happiest people on earth because of true worship, and this includes the practice of shunning our closest loved ones...".

Xanthippe

Soon after I firmly decided to be obedient to Jehovah by rejecting my mother, the opportunity to pioneer opened up. Clearly, Jehovah was rewarding me for passing this very difficult test. I’m proud to say that I shunned my mother for the next 20 years and didn’t even speak to her while she was dying. Shunning her proved to be a protection in the end. As my mother’s health failed, my godless sister had to disrupt her own life to care for our mother. I was not obligated to do so and was able to continue pioneering through the entire process.

Agonising, yes it is. Biting satire, very well written.

74

They continue to drop like flies

by suavojr in

jw
friends

yes, the jws continue to bleed their young ones, so far in my local kh 3 were dfd, one girl just turned 18 this month and packed her bags and said goodbye to the cult and her cultish parents, another young 18 year old man decided to have a non-jw girlfriend and decided to stop attending and is no longer a witness.

they continue to leave and wt leaders dont give a damn.

they dont do anything to help kids be successful and live a healthy life.. .

Xanthippe

They are leaving before they get completely screwed up by the cult. At that age I was really strong, the cult hadn't got me by the throat yet. As long as they get away early they will be fine. Hooray!

30

Today is my birthday !

by mrquik in

jw
friends

after missing 63 years of birthday celebrations, i'm making up for it in spades.

cake, presents & parties.

i tell everyone i meet that today is my birthday just to hear them say "happy birthday".

Xanthippe

Happy Birthday Mrquik, have a fabulous time

152

Something Big is Coming...

by notsurewheretogo in

the annual meeting of the governing body of jehovah's witnesses will be in october 2014.. .. in november 2013, just after the last one they published this now famous statement in the 15th of november 2013 watchtower page 16 paragraph 17 says:.

"at that time, the lifesaving direction that we receive from jehovahs organization may not appear practical from a human standpoint.

all of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.".

Xanthippe

They are just reminders to the sheeple that they must obey without question - the impression that something will happen is deliberate but does not mean they actually think something really will happen, they have been making people believe something will happen imminently (and you need to obey no matter what) for over 100 years

I agree with Fraz they are just trying to keep everyone in line. When you think about it the overlapping generations nonsense is the biggest thing that has happened that the R+F 'may initially lack full understanding of'. Mainly because it's absolute rubbish.

This year in particular they need to punch it home that you must obey us even when it makes no sense because people like my siblings have been expecting the new system within one generation of 1914 their whole lives.

23

Female Attendants

by Quarterback in

jw
friends

the best thing to come from the regenal convention this summer, is to see women used as attendants at the end of the program.

they were used in distributing the new publications to convention delegates..

Xanthippe

I remember being a volunteer at the baptism at a convention. The brother in charge insisted that sisters could not direct brothers. Trying to show guys where they were supposed to be without 'directing' them. Fun times. God it was crazy!

5

I want it to be the truth, but I don't believe it. Unless I do but don't want to. Huh?

by noonehome in

if i did believe, i think i could have what it takes to be what's considered a 'good jw'....being a missionary actually really appeals to me.

but obviously i couldn't live that life if i didn't believe in my heart it's the truth.

i'm young, and interested in doing some kind of humanitarian work... kind of a secular equivalent of "serving where the need is greater.

Xanthippe

Noonehome, great idea, if I was twenty years younger I'd do it like a shot.

Try this site,

www.workaway.info

There is an article about it here,

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jul/12/working-holidays-volunteering-breaks-lessons-learned

12

R and me, part 2

by Pistoff in

so i am at the funeral for the son of an old mentor of mine and my closet truth friends.. .

(i talked about r in a previous post, he was the most formative person in my life in the truth, and those of my family and friends.).

i was pulled aside by r's wife; she tells me that r wants to talk to me.. .

Xanthippe

Pistoff thanks for you two accounts, I really enjoyed reading them. Sorry for the loss of your mentor's son.

I can't tell him that all will be well, that soon the new world will be here and he will see his son again, though it crosses my mind that maybe I should.

It just struck me that now we are not in the cult we can't say things like this when people lose loved ones because what they believe is very personal and no-one would presume to say such a thing at a funeral the way JWs do.

It's really sad that these old 'oak trees' are lost to you. I don't know what to say. I lost everyone I knew my whole life too. It's not normal is it?