Posts by pometerre21

20

What is attractive?

by Freedom rocks in

has anyone found that since leaving the borg that their tastes have changed in what they find attractive in the opposite sex?

beards, long hair, tattoo's, etc).

i don't now if it's just my taste changing as i get older or if it's coz beards were frowned upon by the society that i find them attractive now and didn't when i was younger 😊.

pometerre21

I always was attracted to guys with tattoos on their arms or shoulders or back even when I was PIMI. Now I'm also attracted to guys with well-manicured beards.

15

The Red Headed League

by dropoffyourkeylee in

i am sitting here watching my pioneering wife get service time ‘writing letters’ to not-at-homes.

she has a long list of names and addressees where the jws in field service never got anyone home.

the letter is simply a word for word copy, handwritten on note paper, then sent in the usmail.

I welcomed letter writing when I was PIMI because it didn't involve disturbing people on a Saturday when they were enjoying much needed rest and relaxation from a work week. I agree that letter writing is a colossal waste of time, but even now that I am PIMO I would prefer it over door to door. I don't think I've ever heard of an experience where someone was converted to JWs because of a letter. I've been reading Conan Doyle lately but I haven't gotten to that story. I'll be thinking of your point now when I read it though .

7

hijabs

by road to nowhere in

jw
friends

the news had macy's or some higher end store showing hijabs.

i made the mistake of showing wife.

her only comment was it was about time they made some modest clothing.

pometerre21

I know an elder who used muslim girls as an example to young JW girls. He was like, if those girls could wear hijabs and burqas in hot weather for their religion and their god, why can't you (speaking to a JW girl) dress modestly for Jehovah? After all, you have the only true religion anyway.

46

What Makes Someone Become a JW?

by minimus in

jw
friends

my excuse is that i was born in the religion.

but if someone wasn’t, why would they become one?.

pometerre21

I’m really curious about this too. Especially since when I express any doubt PIMIs tell me that educated people (scientists, doctors, lawyers, professors) are coming into the Truth, so therefore it must be true.

Any thoughts on this?

31

Do you (or did you) have much of a social life as a Jehovahs Witness.

by UnshackleTheChains in

i ask this question out of interest, because as a jehovahs witness for some 26 years, i have always felt that there is an 'all work, no play' culture within the organisation.

the organisation doesn't promote social gatherings.

i could count on one hand each year how many get togethers we have had.

pometerre21

I have basically no social life. And the worst part of it is that I’m made to feel guilty. It’s my fault that I don’t have friends within the organization. I have a lot of academic and intellectual interests, which needless to say do not line up with most JW interests. I’m always the one that has to change in order to “have friends” and I’m constantly being told that all that matters is that we have the Truth in common. Or that I should just be content to have friends in their 40s and 50s. Or I’m told that we do not want to partake in the “world’s” version of fun (which I get, to an extent).

So yeah, no social life. Sorry if it sounded like I was whining.

2

The Opinion From the Appellate Court Regarding the Padron Case

by pometerre21 in

thought i would post the link to the actual opinion regarding watchtower's refusal to release documents:.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4214443-padron-appeal-opinion.html.

i sat reading all thirty-nine pages and it made me sick afterwards.

pometerre21

Thought I would post the link to the actual opinion regarding Watchtower's refusal to release documents:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4214443-Padron-Appeal-Opinion.html

I sat reading all thirty-nine pages and it made me sick afterwards. They are the ones bringing reproach on Jehovah's name by acting like this. To be called "recalcitrant," "obstinate," and to be accused of using "specious" arguments should be disgraceful to an organization claiming to have the Truth.

I'm not versed in the law. If they have been given the freedom to redact information and have entered into confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, what would be the implications of turning over these documents? I don't get the reasoning behind this other than that there has to be something to hide.

37

My Cognitive Dissonance is Eating Me Alive (Intro Post)

by pometerre21 in

jw
friends

i've been lurking here for a couple of weeks now.

i'm starting to "awaken" and it is all that has been occupying my mind.

i've always, always had doubts, some of which i expressed to family members who always had the same replies:.

pometerre21

just wanted to touch on your concern for your family if you were to leave. Many here can certainly relate, and you'll find that folks have different ways of dealing with that. Some are PIMO (physically in, mentally out), some have faded and managed to be careful enough not to get DF'd while others simply walked away. Some have disassociated themselves officially, turning in a letter to that effect and some have just let the apostate accusations run their course, recording their judicial committee for all the world to see on YouTube.
Where you go from here is up to you but I would suggest that it's quite an unhealthy way of life to stick with it while being in full knowledge of the wickedness of the organization. Even for the sake of family, it will be stressful and tremendously weighty, dragging you down until you can loose yourself from the seven men on Kings Drive (Tuxedo Park, New York, disingenuously referred to as Warwick)

It is incredibly stressful. I can't eat or sleep anymore. I've become so disillusioned. I don't know how to do it. To fake it now that I know what I know (and I'm nowhere near being finished in research). I don't know how to live my life now. I still live at home; I'm still young (I'm in my twenties). I want to be able to be free to do normal things, and have normal friendships and relationships, but I feel sick because I know I will eventually lose my family. What if I want to get married to a non-JW? They won't be at my wedding.

What Phoebe said is so true. Once the bell is rung, you can't unring it.

But thank you all for your support thus far. I didn't expect an intro post to get so many replies!

18

Does This Site Ever Change The Mind of “Spiritual “ Jehovah’s Witnesses?

by minimus in

jw
friends

do you think witnesses who come here believe that in fact they don’t have the truth, after all.

or are we just preaching to the choir?

?.

pometerre21

Hi! I'm still active. I live in a household where it's kind of necessary for me to be right now. But I've always questioned things about this organization. I don't know if I am the typical "spiritual" JW that you would think of, but before I officially joined and made my first post today, I have been addicted to reading the threads on this site. So no, you're not just preaching to the choir.

37

My Cognitive Dissonance is Eating Me Alive (Intro Post)

by pometerre21 in

jw
friends

i've been lurking here for a couple of weeks now.

i'm starting to "awaken" and it is all that has been occupying my mind.

i've always, always had doubts, some of which i expressed to family members who always had the same replies:.

pometerre21

@Finkelstein Definitely the blood doctrine. It's something I've always questioned. Even before going to any other site, it just didn't make sense. I researched historical context: how Paul was particularly talking about blood used in idol worship. And besides that, how they were blatantly misusing and devaluing blood this way. I can even understand not eating it (consuming orally) as disregarding the sanctity of it. But I couldn't reconcile it with something that might save my life. Furthermore, eating something is NOT the same as injecting it. Otherwise, couldn't we take all medicine orally and have it be just as effective? That illustration they always used about "Abstaining from alcohol means I wouldn't inject it in my veins" never held water for me. Then, I found out that breastmilk has white blood cells in it, and a quick search of the WT Library will give articles extolling the benefits of breastfeeding. My thing is, if we are going to equate transfusion with eating and be so rigid on this issue, then you have to prohibit breastfeeding too. But we all know how ridiculous that sounds. Then, I reasoned with Jesus Christ on this issue. He broke the Sabbath law to heal someone, and blasted the Pharisees for being so unreasonable with regards to this (Matthew 12). If someone could break the Sabbath to save a bull, wouldn't my life mean more than that?

Maybe my reasoning is flawed, but I realized that I am not willing to die for this doctrine that doesn't make sense to me. Of course I have to do more research, but that's one of the main things thus far.

65

What is the benifits to living forever?

by Jayk in

can anyone give me a valid reason for it?

growing old is a drag.

the witnesses idea of ever lasting life, that you will come back to your most youthful state is such a bs answer..

pometerre21

I’ve always been skeptical of living forever...and now that I think about it, it’s definitely because I don’t think I’d want to live forever as a Jehovah’s Witness.

It’s a nice idea, for sure. No one wants to die. But then I think about how nothing would EVER have gotten done if we were all JWs because a lot of what man has accomplished is because of their own egos, general curiosity and questioning, and an interest in humanity (perhaps apart from god I might say). Would we have ever had literature? What stories would we have made up? Would they be considered lies because they weren’t true? Would the light bulb ever have been invented? Would it have been apostasy that the sun wasn’t enough? (That might be an exaggeration, but the line of thought...) I think about that kind of stuff all the time.