Posts by BluePill2

42

A question for elders and former elders who have served on JCs

by slimboyfat in

based on your experience of judicial committees, how would you advise someone who is due to meet with the elders and has asked for the best way to avoid being disfellowshipped?

is denying everything ever a successful strategy?

does addressing a letter to the elders threatening legal action if they disfellowship ever work?

BluePill2

slimboyfat: very good advice here. They all seem to be Pro's

I served in well over 40 JC (lost count). Adding to the excellent counsel (hahahah) given on this thread, I would say that the most "irritating" thing for most elders (if they are complete utter Nazi-arseholes, there is nothing you can do) is to throw in depression. Man that works like a charme. Most JC I've participated get puzzled and side-tracked (they are dealing with a "sick person", they fear legal repercussions, suicide attempts, and lots of shit that can go wrong). I would say in 80% of the cases this worked out well for the wrongdoer(TM). But it must look real - if you are the most fun guy to be around and suddenly start to sobber, than they might not buy it.

But as others have said: it depends on the circumstances, who you are, who is on the JC, what proof there is, etc.

Best luck!

4

Jehovahs Witnesses under fire in Denmark

by pallemar in

http://www.dr.dk/nyheder/andre_sprog/english/2013/07/25/132435.htm.

and today in another newspaper, they addet this picture .

http://jyllands-posten.dk/opinion/?dt=true&articleid=5767677.

BluePill2

I applaud this

153

Shocking talk from 2013 District Convention urges parents to shun disfellowshipped children

by cedars in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yldwe_6jsu.

.

cedars.

BluePill2

Cedars my friend, I don't know how you pull this off but: Well made.

I am against organized (and unorganized) religion, but I like the cathedrals and churches for historical purposes. Some of them have great pieces of art and are part of human development (for the better or worse). The crutch has done its purpose, but no need to throw it away.

67

Another Suicide

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

there wouldn't have been any good way to hear the news i suppose.

it's just so strange to recall the conversation yesterday.

my "still in" parents are with me and my inactive sister having a pleasant conversation.

BluePill2

Good for you braincleaned! I am happy that you and me have now the opportunity to write on this board. We "dodged the bullet". Now it's time to live Life to the fullest. Also very well said: "most dispicable small group of mind-controlling motherfuckers on this planet." Amen to that.

25

Happiness/unhappiness

by lostinthought in

jw
friends

i was told by a family member the other day "if you want to leave jehovah, go ahead.

but don't think you'll ever be happy.

all the people i know who have left got burned by the world and they come back to the truth".

BluePill2

jwfacts: Loved your description of your daily commute. I almost wanted to jumg in a plane and go visit Australia (one of my dreams on the bucket list). I actually have thought about living/working in Australia. I only hear good things (I'm sure there are crappy things going on, but nonetheless).

MsGrowingGirl20: Wow! That is almost like a mission statement about freedom. I should print your comment out and hang it in my office wall. Very well written! Proud of you. That is the same tingling feeling I have ("yes, I did it, I broke free from oppression, I had the guts to go through with this, eventhough everybody said I would come back after a year.")

25

Happiness/unhappiness

by lostinthought in

jw
friends

i was told by a family member the other day "if you want to leave jehovah, go ahead.

but don't think you'll ever be happy.

all the people i know who have left got burned by the world and they come back to the truth".

BluePill2

lostinthought: That is EXACTLY what my mother said to me ("I can't say the names, I know a lot of people you don't know, but I am pretty sure they are unhappy.")

First: It's their lame a$$ excuse why they stay in ("cognitive dissonance").

Second: Hey mom, THAT's exactly the point. The WT forces their happiness down the throat. I don't have to pretend that I am happy. If I have a crappy day, then so be it. I can choose to be unhappy. It's part of being, no big deal. Why that obsession with happiness? (artificial at least). Overall I must say: guilt free, free of fear for the future. Yep. It's been a good Life since then.

67

Another Suicide

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

there wouldn't have been any good way to hear the news i suppose.

it's just so strange to recall the conversation yesterday.

my "still in" parents are with me and my inactive sister having a pleasant conversation.

BluePill2

Sorry to hear that Billy. Thank you for sharing, because it reminds anyone of us that there are people who will feel sorry and pain for this.

I was still in Bethel and left one day, without telling my former wife that I was planning to commit suicide. It was so strange and fuzzy, on the other hand I didn't have any fear, I just wanted to get through with it...obviously I couldn't and drove back to Bethel. To stay in there for another 2 years and to go through a long fade of 5 years that was bumpy and brought me once more to the brink of suicide plans.

Hearing this always helps to think about the consequences. The truth is we all will die anyway, why not enjoy the ride as much as you can as long as it lasts. Dying is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

My first Bible study - a young man in his 20s, got baptized and started pioneering and all. Then he started fading and avoiding me, eventually he got disfellowshipped because of his homosexuality (I knew about it because of our long conversations during our Bible studies). A couple of weeks later he threw himself in front of a night train. His family (not witnesses) started talking to everyone and even the press that the Witnesses had killed their son/brother because of their thinking (this was in Germany). I felt for years miserable and sick, because I was the one that "brought him into "the Truth"". I went to his apartment to help with his personal belongings and entering the bedroom was the creepiest experience ever - he had tons of photocopied Watchtower and Awake articles posted all over the walls, with thick underlining and fluorescent markings on specific phrases and paragraphs - very wild. They where all about topics like Masturbation and Homosexuality. He must have gone through mental hell.

My first sad encounter with the destruction of Lifes. I would come across many more, but that took years to realize.

22

MONEY!! I want more of it.... any ideas??

by wallsofjericho in

jw
friends

i am trying to come up with ideas to make some extra cash on the side.

ive got a few irons in the fire but i am always game for new ideas.. what do you do?.

-buy and sell from ebay?.

BluePill2

free2beme: LOL. Most of these are more difficult than you might think! Prostitution: the prices resemble the markets, here in Europe they are down, down, down, because any "neighborhood girl" is now into this (google Greece, Spain or Portugal & Prostitution!). This is a service market that responds to supply and demand. And right now the supply is over the top, hence drop of prices. The same goes for drugs. I meet a drug seller the other day (street seller) and he said he will go back to selling newspapers because there is so much competition and the demand is down (this is Europe, some countries have legalized drug consumption if it is for your own use).

Here is what has worked for me - no affiliation or anything. I gave this link to a couple of people and so far they are extremely happy. Some have started with as little as 50 US$.

www.etoro.com > Trading meets Social networking. You deposit money. Copy the most successful traders and they trade your account for you. There are security features to limit the risk. Very easy to use. Platform is really for "dummies". You can chat and talk in real time with the traders and learn why and how they trade. Really neat. You can also trade with "monopoly money" to test it out. Once you're there check out this guy: caraj51 (you can search for him). He is top notch, makes me in average 5 US$ per day on a 100 US$ account. Some days nothing, others more, but pretty reliable.

I've tried freelance jobs on Guru.com, but you are being hit by the globalization and the crisis everywhere (competing with guys from Bangladesh and India that know tons of programming languages for 1-3 US$ per hour. Not funny. Unless you want to hire people there and resell their jobs for a higher price in the US. That is something that I will look into. Opening a service office, get jobs from small to mid-size companies and hire your team on sites like Guru.com / elance.com / oDesk.com etc.)

Hope this helps. I use etoro myself, but always looking for more opportunities (my account there is too small yet). Wish you good luck. We will need it...

30

Leaving the Watchtower religion behind...are we ABLE to reconsider with FREEDOM what may NOT be "true?"

by Terry in

as we all now know, once you leave the watchtower religion you are exposed to the possibility of education for the first time.. an ex-jw discovers that the theocratic lessons they have learned were not all they were led to believe , i.e.

"accurate knowledge.".

is this story actually true?

BluePill2

Playing the devils advocate here (or: I know how my mother would have answered that).

Who was the one "listening"? "Oh, that is easy you faithless son. Jehuber was listening and taping everything with his giant, celestial tape recorder. Later on, some dude started writing the account and - ZAP - suddenly starts hearing voices or seeing some HD 3D movie on the wall of his Roman apartment. He quickly wrote everything down and voilá - book written. See? That wasn't too difficult."

Once you reach the depths of stupidity everything is possible. Heck, they will tell you that some dude made a wonderful chardonnay out of sea water. How can you refute stuff like that with pure, unadultered logic and facts?

30

Leaving the Watchtower religion behind...are we ABLE to reconsider with FREEDOM what may NOT be "true?"

by Terry in

as we all now know, once you leave the watchtower religion you are exposed to the possibility of education for the first time.. an ex-jw discovers that the theocratic lessons they have learned were not all they were led to believe , i.e.

"accurate knowledge.".

is this story actually true?

BluePill2

Terry, as always I love your deep thinking processes. Sometimes, after reading one of your comments I go out on a "investigation spree" . Thanks for that!!!

I have come across things that where so deeply ingrained into my mind and now looking at them with a fresh, unbiased view it is like re-discovering the world again. Sometimes it is startling and sometimes I enjoy the process of being surprised - at my age (42) - like a 15 year old kid. Sometimes it feels embarrassing!

It only has one positive thing: ex-JW have a enquiring mindset (most of us at least) and become more skeptical. Some of us start learning new things at an older age. I consider that a positive "side effect" of being an ex-JW.