Posts by Cimarrona

26

JWs - Liberals or Conservatives?

by neat blue dog in

where they stand is a strange mixture.

yes, they don't agree with abortion and homosexuality, they believe in the bible and wear skirts and ties to church .

but in many ways they're liberal.

Cimarrona

The fundamental argument between conservatives and liberals is to what degree the federal government should weild power over the states. Liberals tend to be for "big government" - sweeping, national legislative reform to which all states are required to adhere as enforced by a monitoring agency (think: the Clean Power Act and the EPA or Housing Act of 1964 and HUD); while conservatives want to limit the power of the federal government and allow each state (read: the corporations that control state politics thru campaign contributions) to decide for themselves. Fiscal conservatives are rich mofos who want to tax income instead of assets (they couldn't give a fudge about religious ideals unless they can be manipulated to support business interests) and want to end New Deal era reforms. Social conservatives basically promote fundamentalist religious values.

All that's to say, neither. As far as the R&F is concerned, hypothetical political leanings are as diverse as those of the entire nation. Income, gender, race, ethnicity, location, education - all of these factor into political choices. It'd differ from region to region, city to city, congregation to congregation. They'd most likely mirror the statistics of the territory the congregation covers

The GB is most definitely conservative though.

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).

Cimarrona

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). How were they supposed to get thru Armageddon like that. Why weren't resources provided to help them better their health. Besides prayers and "comforting" visits lol. His response was, "That would be too invasive." But it's not invasive for them to tell you to shun your child. Got it.

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.

Cimarrona

Single men who know they're a minority and take that as license to treat women they call "sisters" like crap

Lunch with the CO and his wife

Standung in line to pick up literature

Preaching in any form

Singing those damn songs

Listening to those damn songs

Avoiding profanity

Reading about how a spirit without genitalia disapproves of oral sex

Constabtly lying to my parents about everything

Being a pompous ass

14

Worst things said in talks available online

by usualusername1 in

jw
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.

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.

29

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

by Witness 007 in

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!).

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.

2

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

by OrphanCrow in

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.

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.

12

Self Intro

by Cimarrona in

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.

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 💪🏾

40

How Are Ex Elders Treated In The Congregation?

by minimus in

jw
friends

are they pretty much left alone?

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

are they treated like crap?.

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.

3

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

by Cimarrona in

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).

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.

18

Did anyone here ever meet Stephen Lett?

by The Real Edward Gentry in

jw
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?.

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.