absolutely thrilled to give you the news that my younger brother, a zealous full-time pioneer has left the witnesses!!.
i haven't seen or spoke to him in a year.
i'd lost all contact with him, no facebook, no mobile number, i didn't even know his address because he'd moved house.
Pale Emperor, this is fantastic news! Good for your brother and good for you. Thank you for sharing.
I was intrigued by your brother's comment: "Now they're saying there's two classes of anointed."
I haven't heard anything about that. Do you know what that is about?
going “hollywood” hasn’t seemed to help build any enthusiasm for the wtbts.
think about it, jw’s now have their own studio to make videos and cartoons.
the ‘kingdom’ dirges (songs) have received a makeover to a bit more modern tunes.
@Wake Me Up, what was it about the "bunker series" videos that affected you so much? Do you know or was it just a deep emotional reaction? Sometimes, especially when we are in the early stages of losing our religion, we can't always clearly articulate why we feel the way we do.
JP
all regimes get defectors and some are more vocal than others..
Recall that Ray's book was titled: Crisis of Conscience. There's a reason for that.
Who on the current GB is likely to even have a conscience?
Certainly not Morris or Herd. Lett is a mindless idiot. Lösch is spineless from all evidence. Not much left to work with.
i’ve been hearing from several very reliable sources that there will be an exclusive elite gala entertainment event hosted by the watch tower organization, featuring specially chosen jehovah’s witnesses of outstanding talent as well as spiritual reputation, at the sony centre (formerly called the o’keefe centre) in toronto, ontario (canada) as a special “after hours” addition to the 2017 special international convention.. those chosen have to meet very strict criteria, including, not so much technical and popular talents, but, rather, their spiritual maturity which can be easily and practically related to by the audience (i.e., degree of conformity – you know what i mean!).
a notable and very well-known professional “super star” from some other country (i don’t know which one) who has achieved highly recognized and popular talent was surprisingly not chosen to participate in the extra entertainment program, whereas other performers with rather ho-hum musical abilities ended up being selected, ostensibly for their altruistic and “theocratic” qualities.
(something tells me that there is going to be some jealousy and indignant, hard feelings over this rather authoritarian, arbitrary selection process.
LTPF: Watchtower is totally main stream Christians now
No. Main stream Christian religions do not practice institutionalized shunning. JWs are still a cult, but keep hoping!
But I do agree with your last statement ... LOL!
i’ve been hearing from several very reliable sources that there will be an exclusive elite gala entertainment event hosted by the watch tower organization, featuring specially chosen jehovah’s witnesses of outstanding talent as well as spiritual reputation, at the sony centre (formerly called the o’keefe centre) in toronto, ontario (canada) as a special “after hours” addition to the 2017 special international convention.. those chosen have to meet very strict criteria, including, not so much technical and popular talents, but, rather, their spiritual maturity which can be easily and practically related to by the audience (i.e., degree of conformity – you know what i mean!).
a notable and very well-known professional “super star” from some other country (i don’t know which one) who has achieved highly recognized and popular talent was surprisingly not chosen to participate in the extra entertainment program, whereas other performers with rather ho-hum musical abilities ended up being selected, ostensibly for their altruistic and “theocratic” qualities.
(something tells me that there is going to be some jealousy and indignant, hard feelings over this rather authoritarian, arbitrary selection process.
@ 39:39" - Don't Be Cruel ... Oh, the irony.
Back when I was a dub, we were discouraged from putting on local "talent shows" because it demonstrated a lack of humility, and of course: we should be involved in theocratic activities.
So many times the WTBTS forbade the R&F from doing completely normal social things and yet later they end up doing the exact same thing. When WE would do it, it is bad. When THEY do it, it is good.
Fucking hypocrites.
As noted above, except for the hypocrisy, I no longer recognize this religion.
when we as former witnesses wake up and choose to leave the society, it is mainly because we value truth and honesty.. the society tries to make out that we are in the wrong.
that we have "left the truth".. but, who really holds the burden of proof?
do we (who leave) need to prove that the society is not the "truth", or does the society need to prove that it is the "truth".. thoughts?.
It is important to keep in mind that doctrines are actually irrelevent for a cult. Although they all have some unique, distinct ideology that is allegedly their rallying point or cause, the point of a cult is to exercise control over their members. This is why cults can and do change specific teachings from time to time and suffer little net loss of members.
just curious how we all think.. what prompted or influenced your choice of username for this forum?.
there are some really amazing names, and it would be great to hear the stories behind them.... mine was nothing fancy.
i just felt "stuck in a rut too" along with so many others.
John Proctor is the main character in Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible," a partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692/93.
In both the play and in reality, Proctor was falsely accused and convicted of witchcraft. The real John Proctor was hanged in August, 1692.
In my life, I was "hanged" (disfellowshipped as a JW) because I refused to say I believed in something which I did not. And so I thought the jp1692 appellation was appropriate.
My avatar is Daniel Day-Lewis from the 1996 movie version.
Quote: "Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them you have hanged! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!"
when we as former witnesses wake up and choose to leave the society, it is mainly because we value truth and honesty.. the society tries to make out that we are in the wrong.
that we have "left the truth".. but, who really holds the burden of proof?
do we (who leave) need to prove that the society is not the "truth", or does the society need to prove that it is the "truth".. thoughts?.
The only person we are obliged to prove anything to is ourself.
That being said, when it comes to discussions such at this I've always been fond of invoking the aphorism popularized by Carl Sagan: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”
i was approached by two jehovah’s witness elders who handed me a pamphlet advertising the jw .org website.
each man carried a bible and an apple ipad.
they told me that they enjoyed visiting with people about the bible, and asked if i was a bible reader.
Skin: they will still choose WT words over the bible to rule their life.
That's right, because with cults it's not really about doctrine. That's just window dressing.
With a cult it's all about one thing and one thing only: control.
it is my contention that the wtbts, (as do all high-control, authoritarian cults), deliberately cultivates dysfunctional beliefs among its members.
in particular, the most destructive of these beliefs are those that undermine one's feelings of self-worth.
for a research project i am doing, i am looking for direct quotes from wt publications that seem to be specifically designed to manipulate the readers into feeling: unworthy, unlovable, inadequate and/or helpless.
Hi Stuck! I've heard that "half-baked" illustration several too-many times! (Do you see what I did there?)
I think you'd have to be "dense" to fall for it.
