Posts by Scully

32

It came in today's mail

by Virgochik in

it came today, the dreaded envelope containing my personal copy of "return to jehovah" from my elderly, desperate mother.

it included a small note asking me to read it over and to let her know what i think.

she got it at her assembly.. firstly, i'm angry that she continues to push her religion on me, given that i stopped attending meetings over thirty years ago, and very offended that she assumes that i still want to be a witness, which is her choice of religion, not mine.

Scully

Ask her how she would feel and what she would do if you started "sharing" with her any literature, websites, etc. that describe your beliefs.

You already know the answer to this. She has been instructed to not even open such material. In to the trash it goes!

You also know her motivation: She's hoping against all evidence to the contrary, that you might somehow be swayed to return to the JWs. She wants this for you because she loves you and wants you to be spared at Armageddon™ so you can Live Forever In Paradise On Earth™.

However, by asking her how she would feel if you did the same sort of thing to her, you can open a conversation about how disrespected you feel when she does this. She knows your position, and yet continues to disregard your feelings of being disrespected and offence by sending you JW literature.

You could say something like, "Mom, I love you very much, and I respect your beliefs enough to resist the impulse to try to change your beliefs or even try to talk to you about what I believe. I know what the Witnesses teach - you taught me very well - and I would appreciate it if you would respect my informed decision and not try to change my mind about this. We can talk about anything else you like, and I would prefer to keep our relationship without the strain that discussions about religion create for both of us."

PS - to reply to a post, simply scroll down to the bottom of the page to the box under the words "Have your say ... " and type your response. Click on the Post Reply button and you're done.

16

What is their position on IVF?

by voodoo lady in

for example, if a married couple had fertility issues relating to the male partner's sperm, could they use a donor?.

is it frowned upon in a more general sense because people should be preaching rather than procreating?.

Scully

And yet.... Jehovah purportedly transferred the life force of his Son, Jesus, to the womb of Mary, who was already betrothed to Joseph...

Seems like AI and surrogacy suited Jehovah just fine in that instance. It wasn't porneia then, was it now??

51

Best Argument for Atheism - In your view.

by LAWHFol in

if crisis of conscience is one of the top watchtower doctrine killers, what is the coc of theism?.

i'd like to read a book, or other material that does the best job logically arguing for atheism.. i've not read any darwin, however it is my assumption that his focus is primarily on evolution, is this correct?

if you were to recommend one book or a few pieces of reading material, which do the best job of defending atheism, what would they be?.

Scully

The Better Angels of Our Nature, by Steven Pinker. It's a very long read, but worthwhile. It disproves religious arguments regarding how the world is getting worse and worse, and instead shows how science has improved the state of the world.

I also agree that God is Not Great and The God Delusion are excellent choices too.

14

Breeding Ground for Sex offenders

by enigma1863 in

the watchtower would never claim that they want child molesters in their congregations.

no 'respectable' organization would.

that doesnt mean they are doing anything to prevent it though.

Scully

Here's a thought:

Anyone in the JWs with personal knowledge of a child molester in their congregation or circuit/district should boycott any official JW event (Meetings™, Field Service™, Circuit Assemblies™, District Conventions™, Special Assembly Days™) and cut off any financial support for the WTS. If the Elders™ ask you about it, you tell them that you have personal knowledge of an individual in the Congregation™/Circuit™/District™ and that you will not be associated with a group who allows such individuals such liberal access to children, both inside the Congregations™ and in the Field Ministry™, and that you do not wish to have your children exposed to such individuals, nor do you wish to be responsible for inviting outsiders to associate with such individuals or facilitate access to the children of outsiders to pedophiles. Your conscience does not allow you to perpetuate these practices.

When you play the Conscience™ card, a typical JW does not know how to respond to that, because if they expect/encourage/instruct you to ignore your Conscience™ on such an important matter, they would create a Stumbling Block™ for you, and thus become Bloodguilty™.

I've used this tactic a couple of times with excellent results.

32

Series

by Berengaria in

don't post much lately, but wondering what folks are watching.

i'm enjoying the heck out of "penny dreadful", "outlander", and "grace and frankie".

.

Scully

Outlander and Game of Thrones.

23

Article: Why More Young Women Are Leaving Church [65% of JW members are women]

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://national.deseretnews.com/article/4645/why-more-young-women-are-leaving-church.html.

stock photo a kulicki .

faith compiled by massarah mikati sunday, may 31, 2015 why more young women are leaving church.

Scully

Personally, the subjugation of women was something I just couldn't tolerate anymore. Not just for me, but for my daughters. I didn't want them growing up being taught that their being female made it permissible for them to be treated inappropriately on any level.

41

If you found out TTATT at 80 and spent your entire life at Bethel, what would you do?

by John Aquila in

would you do a ray franz deal and write a book or keep quiet and live out the rest of your life in bethel?.

would you keep reading the watchtower magazine?.

Scully

You wouldn't have to be 80 and living at Bethel™. If you'd spent the majority of your life as a devout JW, with all your friendships and social activity JW centric, and you've treated non-JW or faded/DF'd/DA'd relatives like crap for decades, there's really no point in leaving the JWs and starting fresh.

You might be able to mend fences with the relatives you've ignored/snubbed all those years, but the risk of being expelled and losing the remainder of your social/support system would be overwhelmingly daunting.

I wouldn't want to be in their position. It was hard enough leaving in my 30s and starting fresh. I'd hate to be the one who came to the realization that I'd pissed my entire life away on a cult, one that lured me in, compelled me to alienate family and friends, induced me to give my hard earned money to them and made them billionaires while I denied myself the pleasures in life.

I daresay that many of the elderly JWs realize, on some level, that it's all a scam, and have figured out a way to pull back financial support of the whOrganization while using the Meetings™ and Field Service™ as a way to have their social needs met. At the same time, they try to keep relationships with former JWs in their family on the down-low, knowing that some day they may need their assistance.

63

HELP - A Guide to Fade

by cognitivedizzy in

jw
friends

hey everybody, been here lurking for years now... i tired of all the gb 2.0 shit and need to fade successfullydo we have a guide, i am very tempted to go out with a bang, but i want my wife with me, she aint a strong witness and would happily trust me ... i love her a lot.

status as of now,,, read coc isocf, been through jw facts and am convinced this religion is bs, also a ms now :( damn.

Scully

One thing that really started to bother Mr Scully and me was the constant begging, pleading and bullying for money. Maybe it had always been there, and we just never noticed before, but it seemed like every week we were hearing about fundraising endeavours. For new Kingdom Halls™, for covering the expenses of the Circuit Overseer™, for covering expenses for Circuit Assemblies™, District Conventions™ and Special Assembly Days™. There were reminders about the World Wide Education Work™, the double dipping on Literature™ (pay when you pick up your materials, and turn in any Contributions™ received from Field Service™), etc., etc.

As a kid, I had it drilled into me that CT Russell stated words to the effect that when the WTS no longer received financial support, it meant that its purpose had been served. Clearly that viewpoint has changed dramatically over the last century.

Perhaps this can be one thing that you and your wife can agree upon. No more financial support for the Congregation™ or the WTS. Set aside any money that you would have contributed for say, the next 6 months, and use it to go on a holiday, preferably at the same time when a Circuit Assembly™ or Circuit Overseer™'s visit is planned. Say it's a holiday for your wedding anniversary if anyone asks. (not that it's any of their business...)

At the same time, start investigating child abuse scandals among JWs. There's plenty of them in news stories all over the internet, with court documents / testimony to back up the information. If there's one thing that your wife can't argue with, it's a conscientious decision on your part to stop supporting/boycotting an organization that pays lip service to protecting children from child molesters within their ranks. After all, the WTS bemoans the sexual abuse of children when it's Catholic clergy who are the alleged molesters... but when it's an Elder™ or Ministerial Servant™ or Pioneer™ who is accused of molestation, it's a completely different situation. The allegations are usually dismissed or not even investigated by Elders™ because there are not two eye-witnesses to the crime. How do you get the WTS's attention? You stop Attending Meetings™. You stop going in Field Service™. And, most importantly, you hit them where they live - by stopping financial support of the WTS at every level.

14

JW sighting while shopping

by Scully in

i was out today at the grocery store, picking up a few things for the weekend, when just beyond the pineapples, i spotted a jw lady i was once friends with.. i wasn't interested in engaging in conversation, so i just continued picking out fruit, when out of the corner of my eye, i see her look at me and recognize me.

she looked like she was panicking, and then darted behind a pillar in the store, trying to hide from me!.

my dd was with me and noticed what happened.

Scully

redvip2000

That's priceless!

How do you report to the Elders™ that you saw someone in a nudie bar without implicating yourself?? LOLOL

14

JW sighting while shopping

by Scully in

i was out today at the grocery store, picking up a few things for the weekend, when just beyond the pineapples, i spotted a jw lady i was once friends with.. i wasn't interested in engaging in conversation, so i just continued picking out fruit, when out of the corner of my eye, i see her look at me and recognize me.

she looked like she was panicking, and then darted behind a pillar in the store, trying to hide from me!.

my dd was with me and noticed what happened.

Scully

I was out today at the grocery store, picking up a few things for the weekend, when just beyond the pineapples, I spotted a JW lady I was once friends with.

I wasn't interested in engaging in conversation, so I just continued picking out fruit, when out of the corner of my eye, I see her look at me and recognize me. She looked like she was panicking, and then darted behind a pillar in the store, trying to hide from me!

My DD was with me and noticed what happened. She said "WTF is her problem?"

Now I have an earworm going, that's making me laugh myself silly:

"WE'RE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, WE SPEAK OUT IN FEARLESSNESS" (unless your initials are RM)... 'blah blah blah blah blah blah blah!"