Posts by scratchme1010

46

Circuit Assemblies in the "Good Old Days"

by BluesBrother in

jw
friends

just been reminiscing about how c/a's have changed since we were young.

i remember when they started friday night in some rented hall , as well as the two weekend days.

saturday morning was a brief session then field ministry (which only a few performed ) and sunday sessions.. in the free time around the venue we just used to hang out socialising and eyeing up the girls.

scratchme1010

Anybody else have fond memories of Albert Broad, John Blaney and more lately David Carter?
The present regime has the arrogance to believe that their programme is so wonderful that it is all the brothers want to experience. It misses the point entirely that the weekend was one of association, friendship and a sense of being a part of something .

I have memories, not fond of them, but yes, back in the day the assemblies felt more "owned" by the JWs because there was a lot more work put into getting it all going. The meals were a full menu, there was socializing with people you didn't use to see more often (now with FB and social media that's not the case), the decorations of the assemblies had these complicated flower arrangements. Also, some people used to find thrilling the location for the upcoming meeting place. I also remember at the end, people in the congregations talking about the wonderful experience, charmed by the content.

I still hated them since I was more neglected than anything, so I used to make my own fun by bothering as much people as possible and getting away with as much mischief as I could.

15

Childless elders need to piss off

by Steel in

anyone else think it's wrong to ask a women with small children to volunteer there time, ask if they like to come to a potential study etc etc?.

my wife just spent an entire day helping with a kingdom hall reno while i babysat.

i latter stepped out and saw half the elders having coffee because they had so many people show up, they were tripping over each other.. i also have no idea what tangible skill my wife offered or why it is important she needs to be there.. i just wish these men would man up and be men, instead of just wasting everyone's time on purpose.

scratchme1010

Anyone else think it's wrong to ask a women with small children to volunteer there time, ask if they like to come to a potential study etc etc?

Let's see: they want people to go meet every single week, go preaching distributing their literature, and make every single life decision around and for them. Yeah, I have the feeling that it's a little inappropriate to ask women (or anyone for that matter) anything, especially when you consider that they get zero out of anything and everything they do for them.

3

Again a knock at the door!

by JWdaughter in

nothing for years, and twice in two weeks i get jws at the door.

i didn't feel like talking to them and said i had plenty of bibles and read them.

i had a plan, but i was getting ready to leave the house and didn't want to get into it.

scratchme1010

It was a father and daughter. NO bible. They both had ipads and notepads (like the leather bound kind). So weird.

If that was in the neighborhoods I went preaching, I could have gotten robbed or killed for the darn iPads. Though come to think of it, people read less books and printed materials, so maybe there's an app they can download? Maybe they are promoting their literature through and app?

I also know that they are slacking left and right, which in my view is a clear sign that the WT has no interest in making money from their preaching as strongly as they did before, especially now that their real estate business is thriving.

Either way, please be kind to them when confronting them (unless you come across one that is like I was, that wouldn't take no for and answer and people had to yell at me to leave). After all they have plenty to deal with as active JWs.

31

Endure or Enjoy??

by stuckinarut2 in

have we ever noticed how witnesses are constantly being told that life is something that needs to be "endured", rather that "enjoyed"?.

life is always so tough, so hard, so difficult in "these last days".

"persecution and trials abound".

scratchme1010

Have we ever noticed how witnesses are constantly being told that life is something that needs to be "ENDURED", rather that "ENJOYED"?
Life is always so tough, so hard, so difficult in "these last days". "Persecution and Trials abound". "Worldly people and opposers" are always trying to make things hard for "Jehovah's people" etc...
Life is not promoted as something to be ENJOYED now, but rather just to be put up with, until "the real life" occurs in the "paradise".
It must mess with the minds of witnesses??
Any thoughts?

It is more noticeable with high demand, controlling groups like the WT, but Christianity in general promotes that sense of wrongness with life around you. As some other people mentioned in another post, according to Christianity (and the WT is not an exception to that) we are born in sin and therefore, our own mere existence makes us deserving of dying. Also, when you add their black and white mentality, that is, you are either for them or against them, if you enjoy something, they cannot see it as something that you are enjoying, but rather as being "weak", "wordly", "loving the world", etc.

Life itself and the world is not in black and white. People are not good/bad, life is not great/horrible. Life is made of a number of places, events and people who cross your path in a good/bad way, but it never stops. While there's a wonderful perfect day in Florida, we're buried in snow in New York. It never is all good and all bad.

Therefore, it's a mistake to look and take life as something that one has to recover from. If you concentrate in the bad that life brings, you will find it, same thing if you concentrate in the good.

12

Fires! "Catastrophic fire conditions" in New south Wales, Australia

by zeb in

"catastrophic" is the highest level of fire danger and is current in most of nsw.

temperatures in the high 40's ( c )are being recorded.. some fires have broken out already.

please keep the fire fighters and these country folk in minds and prayers.. the city of sydney may face power outs as the electrical system cant keep up with the demand for power.

scratchme1010

Please keep the fire fighters and these country folk in minds and prayers.

Sorry to hear about the inclement weather. We could have sent a little bit of the snow storm we faced in USA northeast. I don't think prayer is going to do anything, but if that gives people comfort, pray away.

9

Is God impressed?

by LevelThePlayingField in

so a young baptized brother gets to run the microphones.

so he eagerly runs up and down the isle passing the microphone.

he's so happy because "he's being used by jehovah".

scratchme1010

Anyhow, the next time you turn in your time or run the mics, just remember, is God really impressed by that?

Not to mention that why do we need to impress "god" in the first place? Isn't their Jehovah able to read people's hearts and know what people feel for him? And if so, how's doing those stupid chores a sign of devotion.

In fact, one of the perverts from the congregation I grew up (molested his three daughters, came on to every other thing that wears a skirt, cheated on his wife with an 80 year old woman, and at 70 divorced and married a 15 year old) was quite active and volunteered in everything he could. I wonder if their Jehovah was as impressed.

Is that not an oxymoron?

It is, but it's also part of the typical denial due to the indoctrination. In fact, I find this attitude to be the most damaging poison in every cult. The people who enable all the damage they create and are ok with it because "not all JWs are like that". That is the real cancer in that organization.

28

I would like to rant about how I get really upset when I get some weak invitation back to the cult.

by schnell in

jw
friends

my mother wanted me to know that the co gave a talk that kinda-sorta reprimanded an elder in her hall.

he is not the reason i left at all, and this does not address anything to do with me or our family.. my mother-in-law sent me texts which i ignored and now she has sent a picture to my wife on facebook just for me, and it's a prodigal son meme that says, "you see the signs, come back it's not too late".. yeah, it's not too late to accept a global flood in 2370 bce, or that man was created in 4026 bce from a golem spell, or that an us-and-them cult mentality is at all healthy or loving, or that religion is going to be banned by the un, or that i should expect anyone else at the door to accept these stupid ideas in the information age.. what am i supposed to say?

i usually just ignore them, but before i do that, i see that shit and i storm into this weird internalized rage where i start writing a response and deleting it.

scratchme1010

What also gets me is just how weak it is. This appeal to emotion is little more than, "Come back! .... We need you! .... Come back!" There isn't anything there. There is no substance. It is an attempt at emotional extortion but that is on them. I'm not the one doing that, that's them. Geez.

I perfectly understand that. If your family are acting the way my family did, I could suggest that the "weak" texts and communication may not seem so lame to them. If you notice, they are designed (ok, designed may not be the right word), they are intended to tell you something but not for you to reply anything other than "leave me the eff alone". They are not invitations to conversations or dialog they know well they themselves don't want to have for the simple reason that you are right and they are wrong.

So if you look at them from than point of view, their lame messages serve their purpose, which is to do their job as JWs to reach out to you at the same time they remain detached and not hear anything you want to say. Also, if you reply at all, it should be either taking a stand, which gives the the perfect excuse to solve their problem, or just show up and "come back". Notice to any decent person with basic manners those seem to be the only viable options with that type of communication. Either way, they are definitely not about you.

22

New to site...let me intro myself

by LarryCope in

first, i've been out of the organization for 20 years this very year!

i was baptized in 1979 and attended one of the lancaster ohio congregations.

realizing i was gay, i left and after being in the columbus gay community for 6 months, decided bar hopping and cruising was not my cup o' tea.i decided to return in late '90 and was reinstated in '91.

scratchme1010

Welcome to the group. Thank you for sharing.

22

Hi I'm new to the site

by Raque Invierno in

hi everyone, i've just registered and thought i might introduce myself and tell my experience.

my name's raquel.. i was born into a jw family.

i started leading a double life around 14y/o and got caught drinking by another sister when i was 15 and saw that as my opportunity to quit the panthomime and stopped going to the meetings.

scratchme1010

Welcome, Raque Invierno.

I'm so sorry that you have been through so much since so early in life. I hope you find the support you need here.

20

A serious question for any who believe in any God of any religion who think God is interested in humans.

by smiddy in

the world health organization states that in the year 2015 ,5.9 million children died under the age of 5 years of age.. in 2010 the death rate for children under the age of 5 years of age was 7.6 million.

thats over 13 million in just 2 years .

i dont think you need to be a rocket scientist to conclude that since mankind has been on the earth for however long you want to believe and i`m just going on a conservative estimate of 6000 years by the above figures i quoted their would be billions of children under 5 yearsof age that would have died.

scratchme1010

And I dont want it to be an atheist vs beliver debate ,I just want to know how you reconcile this question.

It doesn't have to be. It's not ok to ask a question and stipulate the kind of answer you want to hear. That's not how people learn and grow.