Posts by Spiral

13

Another stay in talk

by road to nowhere in

we got a local talk.

keep away from outside influences, and marginal witnesses(me?).

keep up prayer, study, all that.

Well, speaking as a "marginal witness" (at best, at least in the eyes of our relatives who live on the other side of the country) it looks like they are really tightening the screws. I wonder if this talk is going to be given all over. After all, many "marginal" ones are actually PIMO or POMO. If the JWs start talking to them, it would be like a disease that is catching fire. Perhaps it already is.

Meanwhile, this:

"Road to nowhere: Don't worry about a lack of suitable marriage partners."

Don't worry? DON'T WORRY? Nice to say coming from a bunch of old married men. I truly do not understand how the rank and file JW (especially 30-40 somethings who've never been married) can listen to this and not bolt for the door. There's obviously a "lack" (ugh) in the bOrg but it's okay for you just to suffer, because the GB has no solution.

17

Do You Use “ALEXA”?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i got the amazon echo dot and it’s pretty good.

do you use it for anything?.

Spiral

I use mine daily, including making video calls, turning on my Mom's (although, most days she can tell it to play her music on her own), and use it for music and bluetooth. She can also read books to my Mom. So, I find mine really handy. As mentioned above, as my phone already spies on me, I don't worry too much that Alexa will find anything else out.

65

Would You Ever Go Back To The Witnesses??

by minimus in

jw
friends

every once in a while you hear people say they actually “miss” their old witness friends and or family.

some would have even stayed in the organization if they became a bit more liberal and open minded.

.

Spiral

On the rare occasions I've had to go in the last 15 years (family, funeral, stuff like that) I wanted to stab my eye out within ten minutes of walking through that door. An odd physical experience that is, like your brain is screaming but you have to act nice.

So, no way, never, nope, not happening.

16

Were the JWs ever anywhere near a bona fide religion?

by punkofnice in

the religion/corporation has changed constantly since the start.

they appear more whacko than ever.. but, were the jws ever anywhere near a bona fide religion at any time?.

disclaimer: i think all religions are a scam.

Spiral

Religion: A set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Or: The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or Gods.

So, by these definitions found online, the JWs are a religion. They believe in a superhuman (notice, not necessarily righteous) controlling power, and they certainly are into maintaining a "moral code governing the conduct of human affairs."

Speaking for myself, I know that growing up I didn't think "our" religion was exciting. It was missing so much that other religions had: contemplative practices, beautiful churches or synagogues where impressive observances could be seen, wonderful holidays and worship days, schools and summer camps. Culture, art, and rich history could be seen, in my case, from afar.

Being a JW was like being in a bargain-basement religion, totally on the cheap. I was sad about this.

34

Circus Assembly Jaw Dropper

by Slidin Fast in

the co got on his hind legs for the public talk and repeated twice "tolerance promotes division".

then backed it up by saying that if one group march for some right, another group will march for the opposite.. so jws are intolerant and proud of it.

f@@@k me sideways.. may explain that the baptism tally was 0..

Spiral

This is probably underpinned by one of their new(er?) expressions, "listen, obey, and be blessed". [Notice thinking about anything is not a part of this equation.]

So everyone has to be the same. In that world, everyone would be lock stepped into the same life pattern.

Easier to control the rank and file that way.

Having said that, I'd also say that this particular CO isn't the sharpest tool in the JW box. A lot of people listening to this might question that statement, even JWs.

34

Circus Assembly Jaw Dropper

by Slidin Fast in

the co got on his hind legs for the public talk and repeated twice "tolerance promotes division".

then backed it up by saying that if one group march for some right, another group will march for the opposite.. so jws are intolerant and proud of it.

f@@@k me sideways.. may explain that the baptism tally was 0..

Spiral

Wow. I'm guessing that also means say goodbye to love and forgiveness and all that other Christian stuff. Perhaps disfellowshippings in his circuit will also lovingly increase.

24

Oh How Far I've Come

by pale.emperor in

so this weekend my girlfriend and i will move into our own place together.

it turns out that “a cord of three strands is stronger” is bullshit and two people in a relationship are perfectly capable of being happy without outside influence.

what a journey i’ve had since leaving 3 and a half years ago!

Spiral

Congratulations, Pale, that is the most awesome news.

Go forward and ENJOY all the wonderful parts of YOUR OWN life!

I'm sure you'll be a great Dad!

14

Dating within JW's

by 720Reddog in

jw
friends

how was dating in your congregation?.

Spiral

Dating in the congregation was always fraught with drama. Then it got worse once you had to have chaperones (what is this, middle ages kind of thinking). We knew couples who had never been alone or had a private conversation before they got married. Or, in one congregation, you could meet at a restaurant (separate cars) and the chaperones would sit at a table close where they could keep an eye on you. Then everyone leaves in their own cars (and the chaperones probably follow you home, IDK) Ugh..... many of those marriages didn't last.

But now I see there is a JWMatch.com website. (Perhaps there's more than one.) I'm sure the GB doesn't approve, but really, if they are going to make people so desperate about trying to get married, they should honor this as a choice. I wonder about the success rate of the marriages it produces.

36

The sky is falling- maybe

by joey jojo in

i am actually not a 'sky is falling' guy, but i wanted to comment on the australian bushfires.. you may or may not believe the science behind global warming, however i personally put more faith in verified, scientific data than the words of fat cat, self-serving politicians.

climate science has predicted, based on data, that we will see more prolonged, extreme weather events, higher average temperatures, rising sea levels due to ocean expansion and glacial melting.

and this is exactly whats happening.

Spiral

Joey Jojo, I agree. Everything is fine..... until suddenly it's not. It doesn't matter if you believe in global warming, climate change, or not, obviously, something significant is happening.

History is full of events that are created by a combination of situations. Sometimes, these inconvenient events have caused people and animals to die.

One would hope that in the "modern era" mankind could think logically and creatively and think of changes to be made to help things get better. If not, if mankind is too concerned with the status quo and selfishly making money, well, then, we might just go the way of all that unfortunate wildlife.

The universe won't blink an eye, and things will go on. Mankind, even one whole planet, isn't really that important on a universal scale.

I'm so sorry that's happening in Australia, I've been following the news and the events are just heartbreaking. I can see these are lifechanging events for all of you in Australia.

10

Question: When did the JWs start having judicial committees?

by Spiral in

i've been reading the book recommended by zing "soul snatchers, the mechanics of cults" (bought a used copy online) and one of the things mentioned was how cults police all aspects of their members' lives.

so it got me to wondering, when did the practice of three men (elders) having a hearing (or should we say trial) and passing judgment on a member start?

did the early bible students do this?

Spiral

Thanks for the information.

When you read a book about cults and look at this kind of thing through that lens, you wonder how anyone thinks joining a group like this (outside joining the military) is okay.

I can remember when I was young a talk about the Catholic Church and how confession to a human priest was wrong. How could confession to a tribunal of brothers be any different? At least at confessional, you're in a booth and supposed to be anonymous, from what I understand.

I think that the judicial committee practice is abuse.