Posts by jwundubbed

42

What would happen to a JW for celebrating Christmas?

by Vanderhoven7 in

mark jones writes:.

if they were spied upon and it was reported to the elders they’d be “invited” to a judicial committee whereupon they’d be cross examined in a locked backroom by three men acting as judge and jury to decide if they are guilty.. .

if the elders decide that they are guilty, they’ll then decide if the person is sorry.

jwundubbed

Shouldn't Christians be encouraged to celebrate Christ's birth every day? In fact we should celebrate everything about Christs life and accomplishments... And yet Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot praise him or even thank him for his grace and mercy and sacrifice on our behalf.

Jehovah's Witnesses aren't Christians. They are Christian non-Christians. They think they are Christians... with a ton of cognitive disassociation. It's in the very name of the cult. Jehovah's Witnesses follow Jehovah, not Christ. By the very definition of 'Christian' that makes them 'not Christian'. It never ceases to amaze me at how many people leave the cult but fail to recognize that very important point. JWs don't act like Christians because they aren't Christians.

In answer to the original question... all the responses are correct but there are some exceptions to the rules. People who have one parent in and one parent out, especially if the one that is out is the husband, have some leeway to celebrate holidays.

Also, if you have a congregation with worn out elders they might not do anything to those that celebrate. I was in one congregation where people started celebrating Christmas and even talked about it at the meetings and the elders were too worn down to care. A young overseer came in and livened things up and people just didn't talk about what they celebrated anymore. But the congregation was worn down as well so people got away with a lot more than other congregations I've been a part of. People stopped telling on each other. A lot of the young people left and had no contact with their families. That actually wears pretty hard on people. You have a lot of that and people sometimes stop being so hateful to each other. I'm sure it has changed since then. That was a couple of decades ago.

75

Would you be able to survive a three day Assembly?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

the last assembly i attended was over 10 years ago.

the monotone speakers, boring talks, uncomfortable seats, long prayers and nodding off after the lunch break did me in.

i survived the morning sessions, but the afternoon sessions were brutal.

jwundubbed

I am going to admit a truth that I don't normally admit to. I loved the assemblies. But my experience wasn't the same as you describe. I loved the energy during intermissions. Even walking around during the talks held a level of awesome energy. The attitudes of people was so different to what they were during regular meetings.

I couldn't stay awake during Tuesday night bible studies or Thursday night one-hour meetings let alone during 2-hour Sunday meetings. I always knew I was going to sleep through most of the assemblies as well (that's the truth I don't normally admit). No one ever addressed my problem with this. I didn't snore. That probably helped. I tried to take notes, but invariably, I just accepted defeat and went to sleep. Looking back, I realize that it was really good sleep. I enjoyed it. I could do that again.

That isn't what you meant when you asked if we could survive, I know...

I could survive the experience in that regard. But I have learned that I can't be casual about attending something so dangerous. The muscle memory and nostalgia would make me welcome it. It was my normal, my default setting and that always feels so good. But that is a dangerous place to put myself. It would be mental warfare so subtle they wouldn't even know they were doing it to me. I wouldn't know it either, not until I caught myself singing an old bible song (I don't want to listen to the new trendy songs!! ew!) or thinking in JWisms. In that regard, no I could not survive it again and it wouldn't be worth it to attend just to see what it's like.

33

Let's talk business ...

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

i am thinking that this could be an interesting topic.

most of us never had a chance to go to college, many of us were involved in various service industries like cleaning and such, and we have had some limitations placed on us.

so i thought it might be interested to see what has worked for people, what hasn't, what the progression has been, where people went wrong and where they got it right.

jwundubbed

@jwundubbed, I grew up poor too. I'm sorry you feel so hopeless aside from the pursuit of education and possibilities that it holds, but I'm glad that you do have that thing to look forward to in the future.

Update: 2023 was an awesome year for me. My student loans were forgiven after 20 years of paying on them. I am no longer in debt over $5000. (The student loans were almost $100,000 because I could only pay minimum payments and the banks kept buying the loans and upping the interest rates) I never did go back for higher education... just certificates here and there that help me move forward.

I was hired at a medical manufacturing company in Quality Assurance and had permanent work and health insurance for a little over a year. It was a career field I had wanted to get into for a long time! My world view was content and so different from everything that I had experience previously that I was actually quite happy.

This year, 2024, I was laid off from that job. I don't even care. They gave a good severance package and so I took a vacation since I haven't had one in my adult life. After the vacation I got a new job, as a manager. It's a low-level manager position and doesn't pay well, but well enough to pay the bills and allow me to buy a car. I can work on certificates and education to get back into QA because I really loved that job in that career field. The current manager job will only give me more experience towards future goals.

What 2023 did for me was to give me a huge confidence boost. The work I did was challenging in the best way. I learned that I am very competent in a lot of areas. If I can get enough work, I might even be able to buy a house. That was never an option before now.

My outlook absolutely changed by having a good experience. And it is weird, but it turns out that you can make choices that have a good payout twenty years later. It turns out that I'm not good at making choices that give me instant gratification but that I am really good at making long term investment choices.

2024 isn't looking as good as 2023 but it i so much better than every year that came before. I am much more positive about my future. Now I only dream of DOOM! when I think it's funny... I have a dark sense of humor. Sometimes it hits me and I realize how profound it is to have grown up with a belief that doom is right around the corner and now to disbelieve that to the extent that I am making plans for my future... to live, to settle down and take root, to be a fully contributing member of a community in the worldly world. Life is good!

36

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

by jwundubbed in

i found out recently that michelangelo's painting of adam on the sistine chapel depicts him without a belly button.

i had never noticed this before and it makes sense that neither adam nor eve would have belly buttons, not having been born in the usual way.

then i realized all the first animals were created rather than born, according to the religious views of the origin of life.

jwundubbed

I just looked at that painting on Wikipedia and he certainly appears to have a navel.

I don't know what I don't know. The idea that the painting did not have a navel on Adam was on a Trivia TV show. It seems weird that they would get that wrong... but maybe there was more to the trivia that I didn't catch. Anyway the idea that Adam and Eve and all the animals were created rather than born, still makes me wonder why no one tries to use that as an argument for why the chicken came first... from A religious point of view.

I would be amazed at how many semantic jerks we have in this community, but as often as this group debates so many things about the tiniest details, it isn't actually surprising. And for those of you who feel that any religious point of view is moot to the argument because of Science!... I see your moot point and raise you the moot point of making a Science! answer in a Creation! conversation. Moot meet moo.

36

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

by jwundubbed in

i found out recently that michelangelo's painting of adam on the sistine chapel depicts him without a belly button.

i had never noticed this before and it makes sense that neither adam nor eve would have belly buttons, not having been born in the usual way.

then i realized all the first animals were created rather than born, according to the religious views of the origin of life.

jwundubbed

I found out recently that Michelangelo's painting of Adam on the Sistine Chapel depicts him without a belly button. I had never noticed this before and it makes sense that neither Adam nor Eve would have belly buttons, not having been born in the usual way.

Then I realized all the first animals were created rather than born, according to the religious views of the origin of life. So... the chicken definitely came before the egg. How come this isn't a widely accepted view of the question? I mean, lots of people who ask this question believe in God and are religious. I can't believe I never thought of it before. I get why scientists and atheists would still question which came first, but I would also expect them to acknowledge the religious point of view, if only to reject it. I've never heard anyone use a religious point of view to answer this philosophical question.

The chicken definitely came first!

23

Where Adam and Eve Vegan/Vegetarian?

by KerryKing in

jws seem to firmly believe that before the flood mankind eas vegan or at least vegetarian.. however, in gen 1:24,25 it says that god created livestock (domestic animals) and beasts of the eart (wild beasts).. why would adam and eve need livestock if they were vegan and naked?

wouldn't need wool or hide for clothing, nor meat for food.

possibly for dairy products only?

jwundubbed

Were Adam and Eve vegan/vegetarian?

No one can know what they chose to eat. But I would add to your documentation, the fact that humans have the teeth of omnivores. I think they ate meat. But who can possibly understand the nonsensical logic of the JWs?

Why would Adam and Eve need livestock if they were vegan and naked?

Obviously it was for sacrifice. You yourself cited that documentation. Duh. A coroner also knows all the best meat on any body... it doesn't mean he eats people. Any decent God would tell their believer what they want in their tributary sacrifices. A good writer can impart information without describing every single action. It's obvious that while the bible is literal it also leaves steps out. Telling us that they knew the best pieces of meat for sacrifice could be the writer's way of explaining that they had been told what they needed to know.

115

Vice President Kamala Harris…your thoughts??

by minimus in

jw
friends

good pick?

bad pick?

helpful to president biden?

jwundubbed

Let's be real. Harris is irrelevant standing next to Trump. The democrats need a vibrant candidate if they want to have a chance at winning. Even people that don't like Trump were impressed with how he handled being shot at. I'm not impressed with Harris even though she passes my initial bar for candidacy, but only just.

22

Radical shake up

by Mikejw in

imagine if all the governing body resigned and a new set of brothers came in and said we are very very sorry for all those who have been disfellowshipped and disassociated over the years.

we know many mistakes have been made.

we are really genuinely sorry to all those who have been hurt and especially those who have died and been hurt by these mistakes.

jwundubbed

Imagine if all the governing body resigned and a new set of brothers came in

But not to worry we will still be discriminating against women. We're different people... still men and only men... so not really different, just different. You know?

Dude... if you can't conceive of gender equality long enough to set your hypothetical in place... nothing can change. When you can't suppose a difference of real value, then there isn't a capability of change because the problem is so systemic that you don't even realize you are part of the problem yourself.

8

Elders get Paid??

by jwundubbed in

i just did a google search to see if i could find out if my old kingdom hall was still there, in the town i grew up in.

google has generated questions.

the first question asked how much jehovah's witness elders get paid.

jwundubbed

I didn't think they got paid. The Elders I knew always had hard work/low pay jobs. Maybe the website also assumes that JW Elders are the same as religious leaders in other religions?

8

Elders get Paid??

by jwundubbed in

i just did a google search to see if i could find out if my old kingdom hall was still there, in the town i grew up in.

google has generated questions.

the first question asked how much jehovah's witness elders get paid.

jwundubbed

I just did a Google search to see if I could find out if my old Kingdom Hall was still there, in the town I grew up in. Google has generated questions. The first question asked how much Jehovah's Witness elders get paid. Is this for real?

Zip Recruiter

Top Earners Annual Salary: $90,500; Top Earners Monthly wage: $7,541

75th Percentile Annual: $70,500; 75th Percentile Monthly: $5,875

Average Annual: $59,723; Average Monthly: $4,976

25th Percentile Annual: $49,000; 25th Percentile Monthly: $4,083