Cimarrona

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Posts by Cimarrona

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  14

  Worst things said in talks available online

  by usualusername1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hiya peeps.

  in my comedy routine i am keen to add some audio of the worst things jws have said in talks.

  tight pants tony.

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  Cimarrona

  Omg. Send me the link to #3 please. I've never heard them say it directly though we all knew that's what they thought.
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  29

  Why "fancy dress" and "theme weddings" were BANNED by our Congregation!

  by Witness 007 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  our kingdom hall was in a boring town of 30,000 people so to spice things up me and some special pioneers living with us decided to have a fancy dress up party!

  what could go wrong?

  nice clean fun, and no booze (oh crap!).

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  Cimarrona

  In our city, we had themed parties fairly often. Some older sisters would even host formal "balls" every year or two. It was never a big deal. Some even had open bars. It's interesting to hear the differences. I assume they're primarily cultural and geographical.
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  2

  Naming Infinity: A True Story of Religious Mysticism and Mathematical Creativity

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  during the time that the silver sword, the jw bible, was being examined in the russian courts as to whether or not it was going to be recognized as a "real bible" or be declared extremist (which it was), i did some research for historical context, trying to get a better understanding of the social environment that would be evaluating the jw bible.. the most crucial piece of information that i was interested in expanding and tracking down was how the jws' use of 'the divine name' in the bible would be perceived in russian culture.. i started from the premise that the act of naming denoted ownership.

  and i was interested in how that act would be interpreted against the backdrop of orthodoxy in russia, given that russian orthodoxy has had its own historical and controversial schisms over the rituals and interpretations of "the divine".

  even though we live in the 21st century and this drama is played out in front of us, how it is scripted is based on centuries of belief and ritual that are not present in the birthplace of the jworg.. i also thought that the org's habit of claiming divine favor based on "knowing" god's name would not play out well against the history and inherent religious biases that run deep within russian culture and so i wanted to know how the act of naming god might be viewed in today's culture.. anyways.

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  Cimarrona

  This is super interesting - the history of the relationship between mathematic theory and religious opinions about the use or non-use of a name for "God/s." Wow. Thank you for sharing.
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  12

  Self Intro

  by Cimarrona in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i've done a good deal of posting in my brief 24 hours here so far, figured i might as well provide a slightly more in depth narrative.

  second generation born-in.

  elder's daughter and elders' granddaughter.

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  Cimarrona

  I've done a good deal of posting in my brief 24 hours here so far, figured I might as well provide a slightly more in depth narrative.

  Second generation born-in. Elder's daughter and elders' granddaughter. I can't say I ever really believed the dubs, but I couldn't imagine a life without my family (especially as a young kid). My first talk was at six on the Hebrew Tetragrammaton (I must say I was quite the playwright). I got baptized at ten because my older brother (who never got baptized) told me I'd get presents. I had no idea what I was committing to. I tried to force my way through it - regular auxiliary pioneering, regular pioneering for a bit. I "served where the need was greater" abroad for months of every year; I loved traveling and learning new languages/experiencing new cultures. I had loads of "friends," though I always knew it was conditional. I always HATED "the ministry." And I tried every single form imaginable in search of something tolerable - early mornings, buses, letter writing, street corners, businesses, phones. And I HATED that ridiculous weekly routine, especially when there were three meeting days. I'd resist by pretending to be sick. But I loved the theater of meetings. I commented on every part I could comment on, I did all the demonstrations I could, I was on assembly parts. I basically wanted to be my dad, but - WHOOPS - had a vagina. No place for smart, eloquent women in "God's organization." Not to mention the racial issues in this self-purportedly post-racial organization that's always been run by a group of old white dudes (with one exception in 100 years). I left at 18 to pursue a life of letters (academic work around literature and visual art of the African diaspora). I'm generally happy but suffer the occasional bout of depression. I have my integrity and my dignity and a peace of mind I never had growing up. And I'm mother to a beautiful child who, born "out of wedlock," is surely a sign of my moral depravity to my former friends who are all either in unhappy and/or abusive marriages; can't find husbands because, well, there are only so many Bethelites; or have chosen to wait to have kids until after Armageddon lolololol. I'm good 💪🏾
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  40

  How Are Ex Elders Treated In The Congregation?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  are they pretty much left alone?

  are they respected for their having been elders at one time?

  are they treated like crap?.

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  Cimarrona

  My father was an elder from age 18 (appointed back when congregations were still segregated in the U.S. and they needed literate black men to lead) to age 73, when younger elders, new to the congregation he'd built (he was a special pioneer here when there was only one congregation, now there are 32; he designed the first KH here that was Society-owned and not a rented storefront; and my parents donated the property on which the KH I grew up in was built next door to my childhood home). All because of my apostasy supposedly. It broke his heart. He gave the congregation so much more time and attention than he gave us kids or my mom. My siblings are happy about it though (even those who are still dubs) - they say it's better for his health. He's still everybody in the cong's primary caregiver, fiscal sponsor, and spiritual adviser. Which I knoooow those new elders are so mad about. I do feel like he's stopped trying as hard to convert me since then though. He even made a passing comment to me about how 'different this new set is.' His contemporaries locally were not this backbiting and devious. In his altruism, he really was was unnerved by the ways in which these outsiders maneuvered. TBH I think the real reason was that they were scared of the power he had over the congregation. He studied with, married, conducted the funerals of pretty much everybody in this city. I still think that most of them would follow him if he left.
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  3

  Remember the First "Young People Ask..." VHS?

  by Cimarrona in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  do y'all remember the young people ask tape that came out in the late 90s about "bad association"?

  i was a fairly small child with teenage siblings and watched it often (with family and alone cause i thought it was the inside scoop on older kids).

  that was back when worldly was still very much so a part of dubspeak (i think they started encouraging people to stop saying it in the mid to late 2000s).

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  Cimarrona

  Do y'all remember the young people ask tape that came out in the late 90s about "bad association"? I was a fairly small child with teenage siblings and watched it often (with family and alone cause I thought it was the inside scoop on older kids). That was back when worldly was still very much so a part of dubspeak (I think they started encouraging people to stop saying it in the mid to late 2000s). Anyway, I've had JWs treat me a million times worse than any of the "bad" kids in that movie, before and after I faded. There was a convention right after I left and my absence was noted; you wouldn't believe how many ministerial servants and regular pioneers, single/dating/married, propositioned me via text! As if being a woman outside of their religion meant I was just open to having sex with whomever whenever whatever. IT WAS WILD. But that VHS was hilarious.
  
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  18

  Did anyone here ever meet Stephen Lett?

  by The Real Edward Gentry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what is he like in person?

  he seems deranged.

  do people get irritated at being spoken to like a 3 year old when they hear him speak?.

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  Cimarrona

  I remember he gave a talk at one of our assemblies and said, "parents, allowing your child to attend college is facilitating spiritual suicide." I still secretly applied and was out their house before the next assembly.
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  19

  AGM - Are they now teaching predestination?

  by Doubting Bro in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  another agm thought.

  in tight pants tony's part, he mentioned several times that jehovah draws those he chooses and only those rightly disposed would come in.

  and individuals that liked the literature but made no progress towards becoming jw were a "waste of time".. was he setting the stage for them introducing the thought of predestination?

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  Cimarrona

  In my lifetime, they've always maintained both ideas - that Jehovah "calls" those with the right heart condition to him but simultaneously (and contradictingly) that witnesses have to seek out sheep and, for themselves, constantly reaffirm their faith. I once asked my father: "Why am I being punished for Jehovah not calling me?" The man always has an answer for everything, but this time: silence.
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  2

  The First Young People Ask VHS

  by Cimarrona in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  do y'all remember the young people ask tape that came out in the late 90s about "bad association"?

  i was a fairly small child with teenage siblings and watched it often (with family and alone cause i thought it was the inside scoop on older kids).

  that was back when worldly was still very much so a part of dubspeak (i think they started encouraging people to stop saying it in the mid to late 2000s).

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  Cimarrona

  Do y'all remember the young people ask tape that came out in the late 90s about "bad association"? I was a fairly small child with teenage siblings and watched it often (with family and alone cause I thought it was the inside scoop on older kids). That was back when worldly was still very much so a part of dubspeak (I think they started encouraging people to stop saying it in the mid to late 2000s). Anyway, I've had JWs treat me a million times worse than any of the "bad" kids in that movie, before and after I faded. There was a convention right after I left and my absence was noted; you wouldn't believe how many ministerial servants and regular pioneers, single/dating/married, propositioned me via text! As if being a woman outside of their religion meant I was just open to having sex with whomever whenever whatever. IT WAS WILD. But that VHS was hilarious.
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  18

  The Ever-Changing Song Book

  by Cimarrona in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  the songs in the old brown song book were way better than these new ones.

  had they not changed the songs, i may never have left (halfway joking).

  they gave no feeling, no soul (but of course there's no such thing as soul or whatever)!

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  Cimarrona

  BUT DO YALL REMEMBER WHEN PRINCE DID THAT CD OF KINGDOM MELODY COVERS THOUGH??? They were all the rage. At least amongst black witnesses. That was until the GB sent out a letter ordering that we not listen to them anymore.