scratchme1010

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Posts by scratchme1010

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  7

  My old congregation is gone

  by cookiemaster in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  went to the hall today as i was the designated driver for my parents.

  an elder who was in our old congregation in the city gave the talk.

  i've had a little chat with him and apparently our old congo is gone.

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  scratchme1010

  The got in the business of real estate a while back. That's how they have managed to stay afloat and continuing making money. I heard that they had the title of all KHs in USA to be turned to them.
  
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  42

  Jehovah's Witnesses post 'anti-gay' 'Harness Your Habits' leaflet in North Devon

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jehovah's witnesses post 'anti-gay' 'harness your habits' leaflet in north devon.

  devon and cornwall police have said a leaflet posted through doors in north devon isn't a crime – despite it advising gay people to "control their urges".the leaflet, entitled "how to harness your habits", was distributed in north devon by jehovah's witnesses and contains an article asking "what does the bible say about homosexuality?

  "in it, the religious group states that "rejecting homosexuality" is completely different to "rejecting people of a different skin colour" and says their views are the same as people who "view smoking as harmful and even repugnant".it also compares gay people to animals, but says "unlike animals, they can choose not to act on their impulses".the journal was contacted by a reader, who wishes to remain anonymous, who felt "belittled" by the leaflet.

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  scratchme1010

  As a gay ex-JW, in my experience, there are two aspects to this. One is the overall hateful stance on gay people, the other is individuals in the congregation who take hating gay people as a personal mission. 100% of the times, every time I met or had to deal with any of those who were personally attacking gay men (and their problem seemed to be mostly with gay men only), they were men who were struggling with their own sexuality.

  Once some elder in my congregation had the wonderful idea of solving "my problem" by having me date and marry a sister who also "had a problem". Apparently each other's sexual orientation were supposed to cancel each other out or something...

  Anyway, in retrospect, hate for gay people has been a constant in many religions, and only recently has there been a change for the better, that is, for those who give a hoot about religion at all.

  That event in Devon is nothing new, and I wouldn't be surprised if the sudden campaign comes about as a result of some closet case in the congregation pushing back against his own being.
  
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  54

  where have the demons gone?

  by aboveusonlysky in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does anybody remember some of the sensational demon stories jw's would tell back in the day?

  i was a kid in the early 80's and i remember a few times hearing of people having real life encounters with demons.

  for example, one sister claimed that before she became a jdub she would regularly talk to demons and they would even fix stuff like her washing machine!

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  scratchme1010

  Does anybody remember some of the sensational demon stories JW's would tell back in the day?

  I was a kid in the early 80's and I remember a few times hearing of people having real life encounters with demons. For example, one sister claimed that before she became a Jdub she would regularly talk to demons and they would even fix stuff like her washing machine!

  One of our elders was really against pink Floyd because he said he knew someone who would receive a phone call from a friendly demon every time he played a certain song of theirs. Also I heard many stories about JW's having supernatural trouble because they had brought some 2nd hand demon infested item into their home, at the time it made no sense to me why witnesses loved charity shops so much!

  Does anyone else remember such stories? The demons seem to have gone, maybe they got tired of having to fix broken washing machines.

  I never believed any of that nonsense. I grew up hearing those ridiculous stories, but I also noticed that there was something unsettling about the person telling them. Those stories never came from any person I'd feel comfortable having around.
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  10

  Today is my first "Shunniversary"

  by dubstepped in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just wanted to thank this community for being there during my most difficult period of life.

  even if it wasn't a direct interaction, i was reading, and i've taken away a lot over the past year plus.

  on september 2 of last year the local congregation announced that my wife and i were no longer jehovah's witnesses because we chose to disassociate.

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  scratchme1010

  Congratulations. I'm very happy to hear that your family are well and thriving outside of that cult. I love that you didn't (or they didn't either) use your father's passing to make you change your mind. JWs are known for using other people's unfortunate events to push their agenda. Anyway, I found this interesting:

  I've gone from JW to loving my newfound Christian freedom to agnostic/atheist. We celebrated our first Thanksgivings last year on separate days with different families that took us in as one of their own.
  

  I thought I was the only ex-JW who uses atheism and Thanksgiving in the same paragraph. Doesn't it feel great to do and believe whatever the eff you want?
  
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  137

  Mouthy has Passed Away

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  update on mouthy (grace gough)this is graces granddaughter.

  i wanted to send an update that today my beautiful grandmother passed away - surrounded by friends and family.

  - may 22 1927 - sept 2nd 2016. mouthys_granddaughter.

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  scratchme1010

  My condolences to her loved ones.
  
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  5

  SLEEP

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  sleep shall come, perhaps not today,but soon, an eternal, blessed slumber.

  that bids farewell to suffering that eventrue love, in no measure, can assuage.. why such anguish, borne upon once broadshoulders that now do sag, no longer able.

  to withstand the weight of both our worlds?come, o sleep, on velvet wings of night..

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  scratchme1010

  Cute poem.
  
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  16

  I think we are being shunned

  by Tallon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have not read all the discussions about the recent regional convention where the org is now ramping up the diabolical act of shunning.

  i am not sure as to which ‘category’ of persons it now applies.. my wife and i have faded over the past couple of years.

  our book-study conductor used to drop by to give us the magazines.

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  scratchme1010

  I just like to know if we have possibly been added to the esteemed group of people that is to be shunned.
  

  Why on Earth? Aren't you fading (or faded)? Isn't the point of fading to let them go regardless of what stupid reason they use to feel like they are the ones calling the shots? In my opinion, who effing cares? That's what fading is supposed to be. I faded because (1) I don't give a rat's behind about that organization and (2) I want those people out of my life.
  
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  3

  A lie and contradiction in the Sophia Anti-Gay Cartoon

  by Listener in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i've been noticing a big problem with their basic teaching lately.in the sophia anti-gay video, sophia says"but i want everyone to get to paradise"her mother's reply is"so does jehovah"they used to say that one of their most important commissions was the gathering of the anointed ones.

  however, this was no longer necessary with their teaching that the anointed had been sealed by the 1930s and from that time there would only be replacements (taken from the other sheep).. w85 7/1a most important development on earth during these last days has been the gathering and sealing of anointed ones.

  (revelation 7:3) while seeing that this is done, however, jehovah has brought the other sheep into association with them in a restored spiritual land.

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  scratchme1010

  All of it utter life-wasting tripe.
  

  Interesting that apparently somebody finds something related to the anointed wrong with that anti-gay video. The entire thing, the entire video, the entire concept of the anointed, the entire WT is messed up.
  
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  21

  60th Anniversary today - I was baptized 9-01-56

  by Bonnie_Clyde in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  60th anniversary – i was baptized 9-1-56 .

  my parents weren’t witnesses at the time, but my witness uncle studied with my brother and i. i think the only reason my parents let him was because my brother was having mental issues and were hoping it would help him.

  my father surprised me a few years later, started studying and was baptized in 1961, later appointed an elder.

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  scratchme1010

  Thank you for sharing your story.
  
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  27

  Are you sad or angry?

  by raven in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  after exiting the org, i mean cult, how have each of you felt personally about the lies you had been taught, the hurt from feeling betrayed by these people, actual hopes of once believed false teachings, rose colored lenses of seemingly just and right doctrines that turned out to be a bunch of horse $#!+, the shunning of family and friends?

  right now i am going through the motions, i've just moved to a new home, which means hopefully no more elders searching for me at my previous address.. i can't help but feel sad though right now because of the fact that although i am not df'd ( maybe the elders will do it in absentia assuming i've been avoiding them and the 2 jc's they've invited me to as well as the last handwritten letter at my door before i moved ) my mom treats me as though i am dead to her, she says " i am living the life of a disfellowshipped person, and until i come back to jehovah this is how things will be because this was my choice to leave jehovah " ok i get it, but i don't- everyone has free will, so yes this was my choice but it is also her choice to shun me, especially after the "shun unrepentant wrongdoers" talk at the rc, funny how they come out with these talks to reel members back in.. she claims that she has an obligation to jehovah of which she promised to him after she was baptized not at 11, 13, or 17 ( young ages ) but fricken 26 years old.

  i absolutely hate this organization and everything that it is, it's taken away my family and most importantly my own mother.. i always thought that a mothers love was to be unconditional, but hers for me is only conditional.

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  scratchme1010

  Since I was born in that organization and since my family members were not too supportive, and since I am gay, and since I have always love learning and studying, I was too busy enjoying my new found freedom from all the JW --it I grew up with, that it was over a decade later when I was able to have time and space in my life to reflect about the time wasted and the undeserved mistreatment I was submitted to.

  However, yes, anger is a natural, normal thing to feel after realizing about their negative effects and how they want to influence your most important life decisions. It is just angering to have so many people following them, families divided, people dying.