Posts by scratchme1010

5

does the watchtower receive govenment subsides for their learn to read studies in 3rd. world countries?

by nowwhat? in

just wondering.

scratchme1010

Probably, they love money. Personally I can't care less.

41

That One Defining Moment That Changed Your Life.

by new boy in

it seems that many times in life there is a moment or an action that changes your whole world.

it could be just a look that someone gives you.. many times it can be something rather small.

something hardly noticeable by anyone but you.

Interestingly enough, I found this post on Thanksgiving day, and it was the first Thanksgiving day when I had my defining moment. I had left the JWs a year prior or so, and I had a boyfriend. That relationship ended soon after I left, so i was pretty much alone and with not a lot to do in Thanksgiving day.

I started walking around the empty streets in the town I was living at the time, not knowing where to go or what to do. I wasn't sad, nor was I depressed, and I definitely wasn't interested in going back to that --it hole of a congregation I walked away from.

For the first time I felt free to choose the direction, my life was going to take. Not knowing what that was, but my resolution at the time was to prove both my effed-up family and the effed-up religion I grew up in wrong about what they all expected me to be or become.

While walking down the rather empty streets, I started hearing merengue music. I walked towards the music and found this Dominican woman who placed a tent almost in the middle of the street and was selling sandwiches to passersby. Her friendliness, her enthusiasm, her zest for life, or her I don't-know-what was just contagious. What could have been a sad lonely day turned out to be a nice experience with that lady. A group of people who seemingly were like me formed and it became this rather impromptu party.

That's when I decided to enroll in college. I decided that my new boyfriend's name was "Polytechnic University". A few years (and lots of dollars) later, I had my college degree and was well in the way of taking my life where I decided to be.

Something about the happiness and sense of comfort in her own skin that the Dominican woman had made me feel great, made me feel in charge, inspired. Something sparked that day by just seeing her. She was not worried about anything. She just got her things, put a tent and started making sandwiches without knowing (or worrying) about if there will be any customers. She just took the actions and had a great time while at it.

Decades later, I look back and see that Thanksgiving day that year was one of the best first days of the rest of my life, definitely a defining moment, and a great one.

25

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

by ttdtt in

jw
friends

i hope you are all having a nice day with family and friends.. :).

scratchme1010

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I had a great time with my husband and the rest of our families. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving day.

I have many, many, many reasons to be thankful. Too many to mention. In fact, gratitude has always been the key driver in my progress and stepping away from all that organizational nonsense that always paint the world as something to be scared about or despise. I EFFING LOVE THE WORLD!!!

7

How consistently were Christians persecuted in the first 200 years of church history?

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

this scene from quo vadis is how most christians (of all brands) imagine the early history of christianity.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skdrflc8v9e.

but how close to real-life experience is that modern portrayal?.

two historians from the university of queensland search for the likely truth in this overview.. http://theconversation.com/mythbusting-ancient-rome-throwing-christians-to-the-lions-67365.

scratchme1010

I'm more than happy to persecute whoever christian comes to my house, violating my privacy and life choices over their stupid Jesus.

They try to shove their bible down other people's throat and claim to be victimized when they are put in their place.

If you look at the history of how many people from how many religions and how many reasons they have been oppressed, christianity has had it pretty good, not to mention that those have been more the oppressor than the oppressed.

24

My mom contacted me last night...

by HereIgo in

as i have revealed in other threads my mother and i havent talked in over 2 years.

she has been keeping her distance, therefore staying loyal to jehovah.

she found me on facebook.

scratchme1010

Did I strike a nerve? Thoughts? Was there a recent study article written about reaching out to "inactive" ones?

Probably. She is your mom after all. She may be coming from a place of love and care for you. I am basing my comment on the premise that you have a loving mother.

My thoughts are that sometimes the reaching out doesn't come from a WT directive. It may have come from the fact that she just found out that you have a child that she didn't even know about. As brainwashed as they are, JWs are still human, they feel and they love and they need to know about their loved ones.

Through the years I have seen and experience a very unstable, psychologically damaging varying stances from the WT when it comes to loved ones who have left. Of course, their directives have nothing to do with the well being of anyone but themselves, and that may be the reason why it constantly changes.

In the last decades they have said that it's not ok to talk to ex-jws, then that it's ok to have some form of communication, then back to not talking at all, then reaching out directly to them, then leaving up to the jws, and round and round they go. It is very hurtful for JWs to have to go through all those directives as the Wt see them fit without taking into consideration people's feelings and the fact that they are dividing families for their own benefit.

For some reason I think that in this case your mom just saw you on FB and saw that you are ok, alive, well and thriving, while she's there expecting you to be suffering some kind of consequences for your decision, making such consequences want to go back. She's jus being your mom, I think.

It has to be very saddening for JWs to realize that they don't have any power over those who leave because of them, and those who leave them hold them responsible for ending relationships.

I wouldn't pay attention to her nonsense; I think her feelings speak the real truth.

17

Why I DON'T Fear The Future - A Conversation With My JW Mum

by Divergent in

jw
friends

3 questions i hit my jw mum with:.

first question: do you believe that god is love?

third question: do you think a god of love would choose to destroy me for not doing something i cannot do (be a jw) because i am not convinced rather than convince me beyond doubt?

scratchme1010

That's a great way of putting things under perspective. I hope it keeps helping you.

However, as right as you might be, I'd suggest to be sensitive and don't constantly bombard your mom with your doubts. You may hurt her. Reinforce your love for her, just to be on the safe side.

19

Jesus and the fig tree, what are jws taught?

by Crazyguy in

in the story in the gospel of mark, mark writes that jesus is hungry and comes across a fig tree.

mark explains that it not in season yet jesus upon finding the fig tree has produced no fruit kills the tree.. this story makes no sense if literal so do the gun teach that it literally happened?.

scratchme1010

The Bible makes no sense, imagine that!

15

Witnesses illusion that they have their OWN conscience!! What a joke! Examples.

by Witness 007 in

witnesses always claim to have a "bible trained conscience" yet they are really just watchtower robots who cant piss without checking with an elder or watchtower.

an elder who cuts hair was scared when i asked for a bald buzz cut since my hair was receding and grey.

he actually rang a bethel elder to see if this was okay watchtower wise!

scratchme1010

And that's why it's considered a cult.

22

The uptake...

by Thisismein1972 in

with recent events pointing at watchtower growth, i felt compelled to say a few words.. if the figures turn out to be true, then we should not be discouraged.

after 9/11 there was a surge in, not only the watchtower, but other demonisation of organised religion.

whenever there is a a paradigm shifting event that puts fear into others, this tends to have a life changing affect on an individual.. now let us zoom to the present.

scratchme1010

I completely agree. What I see, however, is absolutely nothing new in the horizon. Never, not once, religion, especially Christian religions, have had anything good to say about the current state of affairs.

The number one thing that I see in organizations that want to manipulate people, is that catastrophic view of the world. I don't see anything new.

19

Extreme joy from Witnesses regarding President "Tribulation" Trump!!

by Witness 007 in

so sunday afternoon tea with my "anionted" mum and her old witness holy friends.

they start talking trump how he "is gonna do somthing to start armegedon.

" no sad faces about this apocalipse.

scratchme1010

So Sunday afternoon tea with my "anionted" mum and her old Witness holy friends. They start talking Trump how he "is gonna do somthing to start armegedon." No sad faces about this apocalipse. NO, they were all smiles...nodding their heads together, smiling like stepford wives. I was totally CREEPED OUT! I can imagine in 1939 Witnesses doing the same with Adolf Hitler.

And they said the same thing when Obama got elected and made same sex marriage legal, and when Bush got elected and started the war in Iraq, and when Clinton was elected because of the "false sense of peace', and when the other Bush got elected for who-knows-why.

Same nonsense, different name.