NeverKnew

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Posts by NeverKnew

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  65

  Gay MS??

  by andysmiles in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  about me, i am being raised in a jw family.

  all of my family expect for one aunt, who had left but not disfellowedshiped thankly, are in jw.

  my father is an elder and so is my grandfather.

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  NeverKnew

  My thought?

  Welcome and hugs to you! :)
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  23

  Given your perspective, would you rank AA as a cult after reading this?

  by NeverKnew in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a very dear friend's husband is going to aa and has been successfully clean for a year now.

  he has attributed his success to aa.

  we are all very excited about his sobriety.

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  NeverKnew

  For those who did not go to the site, I'd love for you to do so. I hadn't thought of the implications of showing a JW the page. I have and I think it may have had an impact. Didn't have a long conversation, but I'm hearing feedback!

  The link is http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q0.html

  The author gives his opinion on how he believes AA scores on several cult classifications. These include the following....

  • 1. The Guru is always right.
  • 3. No Exit.
  • 5. Cult-speak.
  • 6. Group-think, Suppression of Dissent, and Enforced Conformity in Thinking
  • 9. Denigration of competing sects, cults, religions...
  • 10. Personal attacks on critics.
  • 11. Insistence that the group is THE ONLY WAY.
  • 12. The group and its members are special.
  • 13. Induction of guilt, and the use of guilt to manipulate group members.
  • 17. Instant Community.
  • 27. You Can't Tell The Truth.
  • 28. Cloning — You become a clone of the group leader or other elder group members.
  • 29. You must change your beliefs to conform to the group's beliefs.
  • 31. Dishonesty, Deceit, Denial, Falsification, and Rewriting History.
  • 32. Different Levels of Truth.
  • 33. Newcomers can't think right.
  • 38. An Impossible Superhuman Model of Perfection.
  • 49. The guru or the group demands ultra-loyalty and total commitment.
  • 50. Demands for Total Faith and Total Trust
  • 51. Members Get No Respect. They Get Abused.
  • 53. Hierarchical, Authoritarian Power Structure, and Social Castes
  • 55. Belief equals truth
  • 63. Separatism
  • 67. Don't Trust Your Own Mind.
  • 69. The group takes over the individual's decision-making process.
  • 72. Progressive Indoctrination and Progressive Commitments
  • 75. New Identity — Redefinition of Self — Revision of Personal History
  • 77. True Believers
  • 78. Scapegoating and Excommunication
  • 84. You can't make it without the group.
  • 85. Enemy-making and Devaluing the Outsider
  • 86. The group wants to own you.
  • 89. Demands For Compliance With The Group
  • 90. Newcomers Need Fixing.
  • 99. Total immersion and total isolation.
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  23

  Given your perspective, would you rank AA as a cult after reading this?

  by NeverKnew in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a very dear friend's husband is going to aa and has been successfully clean for a year now.

  he has attributed his success to aa.

  we are all very excited about his sobriety.

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  NeverKnew

  A very dear friend's husband is going to AA and has been successfully clean for a year now. He has attributed his success to AA. We are all very excited about his sobriety. Recently, she has found herself alone on many a night that were formerly considered "date nights." There's some work that I'm doing that involves AA. Wondering if pushing to un-involve them would be detrimental to some's sobriety. My stomach turned when I came across a site which gave 100 cult indicators and the ranking of AA to the indicator. http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q0.html I'm hoping a few of you will copy and paste the link. I seem to have lost the icon to make my url clickable. YIKES, I have NO formatting options!
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  24

  New

  by rod.henderson in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi,.

  completely brand new to this site and to witnesses.

  a friend introduced me to the jw and i'm just learning all i can..

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  NeverKnew

  Rod,

  I too am a non-jw. My interest piqued out of a love for a very dear friend. I attended a Catholic high school and college. I understand your doctrinal background. Like you, I see the value in a non-denominational perception of faith. I also am fascinated by other's beliefs. I believe most other non-jws respect and allow for variant perceptions of faith.

  You and I probably share an aversion to slamming other faiths. Many of my friends are uncomfortable with my "concerns" for we all believe in the inappropriateness of challenging other's religion. But this is not religion as we know it.

  Form your own opinion. Just know that I hurt for everyone this denomination touches.

  And welcome!
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  29

  New Arrangement: All Can Listen In to Bethel Annual Meeting

  by Red Piller in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a letter read at our meeting.. .

  our congregation is assigned a location (a nearby congregation) to listen (video, also?

  ) to the annual meeting.

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  NeverKnew

  Will the governing body lovingly make provisions for non-jws to attend? I'll go!
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  17

  How Many JWs Are Confident They Are Worthy?

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  which jws do you think actually feel confident that they would survive armageddon if it came tomorrow?

  gb members?

  bethelites?

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  NeverKnew

  This very subject really caught me off guard the other night.

  My friend just asked me if I believed I was assured of my salvation. I responded, "of course!"

  His response, "Well then you don't need me... or any church... or ANYBODY THEN! Why do you even bother going to church?" He demanded to know. I told him that he was right. I loved him, but that I would not be looking to him for salvation.

  I've read that in JW theology, there's no salvation guarantee but to hear the notion fall from the lips of a person you care about is hard. He's working himself silly to gain approval. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears that this notion is a key motivator to this acceptance of slavery.
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  134

  Another story... possibly final story

  by confusedandalone in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this is the exchange of text messages i had with my super spiritual brother.

  it is sad... it is pathetic... it has helped me realize that i have no connection to these people anymore.

  i feel free today.

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  NeverKnew

  I would have loved to have known how long Jehovah's kindess would have lasted had you "provided" a small monthly allowance towards their bills... Like $150.00 a month up to $10,000. At that rate, I'm thinking you would have had a 5 1/2 year extension on His kindness towards you.

  I'm really proud of you. :)
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  19

  Dysfunctional witness families

  by concerned2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  being raised as a jw i feel dirty even posting here.

  my life growing up was one filled with fear.

  armageddon was preached to us day/night.

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  NeverKnew

  Concerned2, it sounds like you are really mourning the loss of your father - the only normalcy you had in your life. I'm wondering if losing him brought your awareness of the dysfunction to the surface. Have you had a chance to seek counseling over this loss?

  OH! and welcome... I'm really glad you're here. :)
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  14

  10 Questions for Elders when they start annoying you

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  [if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng /> </o:officedocumentsettings> </xml><![endif].

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  [endif][if gte mso 10]> <mce:style><!

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  NeverKnew

  Numbers 3 & 4 are HILARIOUS!
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  1

  New pedophile case or is this already known on JWN?

  by NeverKnew in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  .

  http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/washington-jehovahs-witness-church-tried-5105919.

  washington church tried to keep child abuse secret16 jul 2013 09:18church elders at lambton kingdom hall in washington knew that a ministerial servant had abused a young girl but fought against giving evidence in court.

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  NeverKnew

  Sorry guys... I found it.

  It just came up today on my google news reel. I'm late...