Posts by Skeptic

20

Working with JWs

by Ivor Hope in

jw
friends

has anyone out there had experience of working for or with jws?.

is it just me, or are they the worst people to work with....they "use" anybody for their own ends, they expect everyone else to make allowances for their life style but are not prepared to make allowances for anyone else's, they do as little as they can for as long as they can and have absolutely no loyalty to their employers or fellow workers!!.

my recent experience is that they also will be "economical" with the truth (the real truth), as long as it benefits them.. maybe i'm a bit biased, but i would never want to work with or for another witness ever again!

Skeptic

Thank you, Carmel, for putting some balance in the discussion.

I have no doubt there are bad JWs to work with and for...a certain coffee company in Ottawa comes to mind...

But my experience has been fairly good.

My bathroom needed renovating, and my landlady told me to hire someone. I hired a brother who told us he would have it done in a week tops. since he was experienced and a nice guy, I hired him.

He took three weeks and worked long days! Every time we asked him when he would be done, he'd say, "About two more days."

Later, he told us he lied right from the beginning, and all along.

However, he did a fantastic job on the bathroom! It is beautiful! His work is amazing. I'd hire him in a sec, and just multiple his schedule by five...

I worked for a year and a half with a sister who was a "strong" JW. To avoid possible work problems, I presented myself to her as a worldly guy with "JW relatives, so I am an expert on JWs." I never bothered her about JW stuff. She witnessed to me from time to time, but was not pushy.

She was honest about different brother's weird traits and various cong going ons. She toured Patterson and told me it was luxurious.

She disagreed with any criticisms of the Society and had reasons to back her views. I don't agree with many of her reasons, but I can see why she thinks they are reasonable.

She was the office manager and worked long hours and very hard, including weekends. She would do holiday stuff though. She was honest, and a straight-shooter. She had one hell of a temper and I had to apologize at least twice to her.

the only things I did not like about her were: 1)She was very opinionated and told me straight out that she hated the fact I lived common-law with WindRider. 2) The way she treated her daughter for leaving the JWs. 3) the way she treated me for breaking a commitment I made.

She eventually asked me straight out if I was a JW. I told her officially I was, and asked if she was going to shun me. She said no as we were business associates and never socialized anyway.

She never shunned me or treated me badly in anyway afterwards.

Most of the office got laid off, including her and I. I told her to use me as a reference if she wanted to and that I would give her a deservedly glowing reference. I told she was a true Christian, in the best sense of the word.

Richard

3

God's Quality Control Questionnaire

by RedhorseWoman in

jw
friends

please check all that apply.. __ indoctrinated by parents.

a. more divine intervention.

b. less divine intervention.

Skeptic

LOL! Now, that's a post that's Divinely inspired!

16

Are you still "Borganized"?

by moman in

jw
friends

please,there are still x-dubs posting on this board that think they are free from the watchtower.

they say things like, "well it may not be the perfect truth, but they, (the wt) still teach good morals" etc.. remember we are talking about brainwashing here, & its a very tricky & insidious practice!.

i have devised a simple test.

Skeptic

moman,

First, I admit they will never get completely out of my head. I notice that you are also Borganized...why? You are using black and white thinking just like all JWs do. Your questions are too general, and if I answer Yes to any of them, I am still in their clutches?

That is like the questions about whether I am an alcoholic. One was "Have you ever had a drink before noon?" I think I did once, years ago. So even though I don't drink for months at a time [at the time I read the "test".], I "failed" their test. Cause one time years ago I drank in the morning. BTW, having a beer as soon as you wake up is a hangover cure in my hometown. I am one of the blessed who nevers gets hangovers, so I do not know if it works. Many swear it does.

Such a test has value...someone I know used to wait until 12 noon before drinking...not 11:59...but noon...and then quickly pour a drink...so they were not an alcoholic. I used to laugh as the real truth was obvious.

1) Do you give the WT credit for anything good?

This shows your black and white thinking. Everything has some good. The WT is 99% evil but there is some good.

Some drug addicts get off drugs and become JWs. Although this is not perfect, this is a good thing. I'd rather they be a JW than a drug addict.

If one addict gets off drugs because of the WT, then this is a good thing, and the answer is yes.

The JWs talk me how to do public speaking with confidence. This has done wonders for my career. That is good.

My sister's marriage was on the rocks before they both joined the cult. Now they say they have a good marriage. Most would say that is good.

2) Do you DISAGREE that they are pure EVIL?

Yes. More B/W thinking. Nothing is PURE evil. The Wt is very evil.

3) Do you dismiss any of their wrongdoing, no matter how trivial?
No.

4) Do you have any GUILT feelings for leaving?
No.

5) Do you miss not having all the ANSWERS?
Yes. Welcome to the human condition. Hence the reason for religion, self-help books, and advice columnists.

6) Does this test bother you?
Yes, but only the parts that reflect the thinking below:
IMHO, If you answer YES to any of these questions, the Borg iz still pulling your strings!

Psychological tests suffer from similar flaws as this one, as do the "is he cheating on you" tests in woman's magazines.

I know that you were not making a scientific test, but the flaws in this one are obvious and show JW-style B/W thinking on your part.

BTW, my view of psychological tests for getting a job is LIE. This is also the experts opinions. Questions like, "do you like to work with people?" ...well, you ALWAYS work with people somewhere in your job...

One fellow said he lose a potential job because he truthfully said he was not a team player. I ask him if he was stupid. Answering no to that question is a sure job-killer. Did he do his work well and cooperate with other employees? Yes, he did. Well, then, bozo, you are a team player.

What such tests lack is the foresight to ask "Can anything generate a Yes response that is not cause by the cult running their thinking?" and then reword the question accordingly.

Richard, who is done raving now, wiping foam from mouth :)

22

we were never s'pose to die????

by Julie in

jw
friends

out of the many things from the bible i wonder about there was one i thought i would share with you all and see if you may have any interesting insights on this issue.. according to the bible man was suppose to live forever, no sickness, easy childbirth for women, just your basic paradise, right?.

so ok, we all know that because that wretched eve screwed it up for all of us and everything we now have suffering and death.. my problem with all of this is this: what if all the people who had ever lived had never died?

how many of us would there be on the planet?

Skeptic

Hi, Julie,
Others have commented on the living-forever issue.

Even as a dyed-in-the-wool JW, I never accepted the all animals were herbavores teaching....although I never realized what you`saw...becoming carnovores when there were only a few of each would wipe out most species. Kind of defeats the purpose of putting them in the ark in the first place, eh?

I just could not concieve of God redesigning all those animals teeth, for no apparent purpose. And if we throw in the "god can do anything" speech, well the ideas of miracles just gets too convenient for a while. Something like the concept of Satan. Too catch-all.

Richard

20

Need advice on getting DA'd

by MrMoe in

jw
friends

i spoke with my mom this weekend.

i told her i was going to da myself.

i no longer wish to be a jw or have any dealings or ties.

Skeptic

WindRider.

Very eloquently put. I have seen the pain that your DAing has caused you. I wish I could remove it. DAing has caused so much pain...

Richard

13

Errors in the Creation book

by crownboy in

jw
friends

hi there, and happy new year to all!

recently, there have been great debates between people on this forum on the whole "evolution vs. creation" matter.

while i'm not an expert on evolution, i do understand it to an extent, and while it may not be a perfect answer, it's a bilion times better than the literal explanation given in the bible for the origin of life (which i have so far not seen evidence for).

Skeptic

Fredhall,

There are some errors in the Creation book. But the POINT is clear. And that is, are ancestors did not come from apes.

The evolution theory tells us that we did not come from apes either.

When creationists know so little about evolution that they make that blunder, they have no right criticizing it.

Richard

20

Need advice on getting DA'd

by MrMoe in

jw
friends

i spoke with my mom this weekend.

i told her i was going to da myself.

i no longer wish to be a jw or have any dealings or ties.

Skeptic

What to do? Why do anything? You have it pretty good.

You are inactive, your family speaks to you? Why rock the boat?

Anyone I know who has friends or family in the cult and DAed themselves regretted it.

1) The govt. is not going to do anything against you, even if they went after JWs. they would target the org itself. Individual members only get in trouble if they listen to the org and disobey the law, like not buying a political or something.

2) The govt. would not recognise you as a member of the JWs. And the elders would likely tell them that you are not.

3) If you feel you must DA yourself, then you are saying that the DA rules are good. You are saying that the JWs still control you. If they did not control you, you would just ignore their silly rule and get on with your life.

4) If you haven't been DFed by now, you probably will never be. In some areas, such as Canada, elders will not take action if you are not known as a JW.

5) If you are ever asked by an elder if the JW faith is true, or if the WTBS is god's channel today, always answer yes. Lie if you have to. If you say no, you are going to be DFed.

6) If JWs call on you, either tell them you are busy, or get creative and have fun. Ask them tough questions about blood, or child molesting. Tell them you will help them get "out" if they want. Tell them they distrubed you during sex. Or tell them you are having sex with your dog and do they want to watch? Make a pass at a JW of the same gender. The possiblities are endless...

The fading away approach is far better than DAing. DAing can bring a lot of pain in your life. And to reverse a DAing takes a lot of work.

I faded away. I am officially a JW for family reasons. I rarely present myself as a JW, out of fairness to them and myself. I live a lifestyle that would normally get me DFed, but because I am not known as a Dub, I am left alone. My family knows I am opposed to Witnesses and help JWs get out. All except my brother talk to me.

Richard

26

love and sex.....do they go hand and hand?

by gilwarrior in

as some of you know, i few days ago i lost my virginity.

since then me and my lady friend have had sex two more times.

however, i have no romantic feelings twords her.

Skeptic

Do all men look at every woman they meet and decide if they would have sex with them???

You mean some guys don't???

Andi,

I have never had sex without love, unless you count my first marriage, which had very little sex and little love anyway.

After my first wife and I separated, a friend encouraged me to play the field and have some fun sex for a while. I told him I wasn't really that type of guy and prefer to have a relationship with sex. Of course, at the time I was considering asking WindRider out...

Although I do not know what sex without love is, I can tell you that sex with love is great!

Richard

20

Is there porn in the wt-literature?

by Carlo in

jw
friends

have a look on the picture in wt 1. january '97.. .

this is the entire page.

below is a zoom on the two men dealing magazines in the middle.. .

Skeptic

Carlo, have you ever read Subliminal Seduction?

The first pic is not porn at all. If it is porn, that poor brother has the tiniest dick in creation. And if his cock is at that angle, think of the extreme pain he must be in!

Rather look at the construction of the pants themselves, espcially the right-hand pocket. Obviously, the left pocket, though unseen, with have the same style. That style of pants can cause the wrinkle that you think is more than a wrinkle. I used to own pants that did that.

I have been told that the Society will sometimes photograph real brothers and then make a drawing based on the photo.

The second pic is too unclear for me to comment on, though your interpretation is very interesting...

Richard

28

Praying before meals

by teejay in

jw
friends

my jw wife is teaching my nearly-3yr old to pray before meals.

i'm cool with that... doesn't bother me at all.

the problem is, i'd like to accept my role as father but i don't know how to lead in this area.

Skeptic

GermanJW,

I am at a siilar situation. We have stopped praying during the last year with the except when there are JW visitors. So, now my kids watch me eating everyday without praying before and when there are JW present I lead the family in prayer. I'm afraid that I educate them to be hypocrites.

That is not necessarily hypocrisy, if you are consistent with your rbelief system. It is more like showing respect for other's beliefs.

I am an atheist but will say grace if asked. I do this out of respect for those who are dining with me.

Richard