Posts by scratchme1010

26

What Do Witnesses Do For Fun These Days?

by minimus in

jw
friends

when i was in , i went on many vacations, ate out at restaurants a lot and drank alcohol.

loved music and dancing too.... do jws do anything but watch watchtower videos now?

?.

scratchme1010

When I was in , I went on many vacations, ate out at restaurants a lot and drank alcohol. Loved music and dancing too.... do JWs do anything but watch Watchtower videos now??

Somehow I have the feeling that they knew you were going to leave :-)

Those things were considered extremely extravagant in the congregation I grew up in. I was in a rural area of mostly lower middle class to no income families. Most of the entertainment was family gatherings and social events in some member of the congregation's home, or trips to the beach (it was in Puerto Rico). That was pretty much it.

As for today, who cares. I know what I do on my free time.

27

Talked to a JW at a literature stand today

by nevermind in

guys,.

i need your help in trying to wrap my head around this strange experience i had today talking with a jw lady sitting at a literature table in a busy outdoor shopping center.. i'm a very shy person, but i always wanted to ask these jws at their literature stands questions to start them thinking about the validity of watchtower teaching.

i finally mustered my strength today to talk to this jw lady.

scratchme1010

This must be one liberal JW they chose to sit at that literature stand! But of course, I knew she was outright lying about everything.

And her lying makes he a conservative? What does liberal have to do with anything?

11

Don’t share food with apostate—what about air we all breathe in?

by venus in

we have heard: “don’t share food with apostate.” what about sharing the air we all breathe in?

whether apostate or believer, both breathe in the same air (which is more important than food)!.

today i put this question to the couple who came to invite me for the memorial.

scratchme1010

Today I put this question to the couple who came to invite me for the Memorial. “We have no answer to your question,” they replied. Thus I conveyed a more powerful message indirectly: “They avoid sharing food with us throughout the year; yet want to invite us when they have a symbolic meal once a year.”

This is where it seems like it turned out to be advantageous for me to have a family that wasn't supportive. They were not nice to me, so I can easily turn the tables on them. I am the one who has no interest in sharing my life with them. For the rest of the JWs, who cares. With that mentality they are certainly not the kind of people with whom I'd share anything.

29

What's your degree of anti-JWness?

by Landy in

so, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is absolutely pro-jw, 5 is neutral and 10 is youtubing nutjob apostate, where do you stand?.

i'm probably around a 6. i have the view that jws are a nothing marginal religion.

if i hadn't been brought up as one i doubt they would have ever entered my consciousness.. the reasons it's a 6 and not a 5 is that i have some concerns over their child baptism and safeguarding procedures, but i think it's down to them being a bit dim rather than any pro child abusing ethos.

scratchme1010

So, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is absolutely pro-JW, 5 is neutral and 10 is youtubing nutjob apostate, where do you stand?

I'm probably around a 6. I have the view that JWs are a nothing marginal religion. If I hadn't been brought up as one I doubt they would have ever entered my consciousness.

The reasons it's a 6 and not a 5 is that I have some concerns over their child baptism and safeguarding procedures, but I think it's down to them being a bit dim rather than any pro child abusing ethos.

If it wasn't for that I would be entirely comfortable in my apathy and it would be a 5.

Interesting topic. I would first ask what exactly do you mean by anti-JW. As others have posted, it's not that in black and white. I have no respect for the WT organization, and other than this forum I don't think much about it (unless I have to talk about my upbringing). I'm not in a campaign against them, and I'm not interested in convincing anyone about what I believe, nor my stand or opinions about them. Also, since I am in the USA, I protect their right to exist as a religious organization, as that's how I protect mine.

More importantly, to me being anti-JW means keeping them in my life, which is the opposite of what I prefer to do. In order for me to be "anti" them, I need to keep myself updated with whatever nonsense they come up with. My path is about minimizing their influence and relevance in my life, so remaining up to date and keeping up with their crap creates a negative impact in my well being.

That said, I also want to make clear that this it MY process and what works for me. In no way am I going to disrespect people who prefer to create a YouTube video exposing them, nor I feel that I should be in the position of imposing on others what kind of relationship or stance they should have with the WT. That is their choice, their process of healing, the way they choose to cope with their anger. In fact, better to see a YouTube video than seeing them bombing KHs.

We are different people, with different experiences, even as JWs we had different experiences. They treat women differently, they treat the LGBTQ differently, they treat children differently, so the degree of influence is different. Hence, your scale may not make sense as you presented it. Though I think this is an interesting topic.

50

Pharaoh tries to kill all male babies - later Moses orders the very same thing!

by George One Time in

so many things that i just discoved about the bible.. .

so from the book my book of bible stories, we all know how little moses was saved from a cruel pharaoh.

of course the king of egypt was afraid that those cute little babies would endanger his empire eventually.

scratchme1010

Yes, it's all nonsense.

45

How did you feel when you got baptized?

by Schnufti in

back in 2005, i remember sitting in the stadium in the special rows with 42 others.

8000 people were looking at us - maybe even with a binocular - while listening to the speech.

my family and my friends among them, being all proud of me.. i don't remember being enthusiastic.

scratchme1010

Were you happy when you got baptized? Did you feel particularly "close to Jehovah"? Or did you want to stand up and hide in the toilet like me?

No, no and absolutely no.

First, my baptism was a joke. It was coerced. Second, when I was given the questions (do they still do that?) it was very obvious to the elder that I didn't know, nor cared about anything. However, all they knew is that I am gay and therefore their baptizing me was their magic cure to their problem with me being gay.

I took it so seriously that I was just looking at the naked other brothers who baptized with me in the changing room.

I'm not exactly the "hiding in the toilet" type. Looking back, I was in my early teens, it's so obvious that both my father and people in the congregation just wanted me to baptize as a way of keeping me in line. By now they all know that it didn't pan out as they planned.

29

Which is worse according to the GB: Child Abuse or Apostasy??

by stuckinarut2 in

so we all know how the organization conducts itself regarding child abuse.

the multitude of legal cases worldwide including the current australian royal commission as well as anecdotal accounts prove their attitude.. perpetrators have not been reported to authorities, and data bases of such have been kept sealed even when demanded by the courts!.

however, when it comes to those of us who have simply left the organization due to learning the truth, the society spares no effort in spreading gossip and ensuring that one's name and reputation is ruined.. so gb, which crime is worse?

scratchme1010

You're comparing not believing in them with sexual assault of minors. You tell me, what does that look like?

4

Does this sound familiar??

by stuckinarut2 in

https://www.lds.org/topics/apostasy?lang=eng&old=true.

change a few words and expressions, and it could have come from the governing body themselves!.

scratchme1010

Change a few words and expressions, and it could have come from the Governing Body themselves!

I'm sure that there has to be somebody from that church citing us and saying "Change a few words and expressions, and it could have come from Intellectual Reserve, Inc."

496

This is What I Would Need in Order to Believe

by cofty in

sometimes theists challenge atheists about what evidence would be required before they would believe.

various unlikely scenarios are offered in reply.

i have taken the bait myself in the past.. i think the correct answer is much more ordinary.

scratchme1010

Interesting thoughts, cofty. I agree, any tweet today is by far more reliable than any bible verse. A god who claims that has such important messages and wants to save as many people from... whatever made up thing they claim we should be saved, wouldn't communicate and perform miracles at the time when humanity was the less developed and naive about everything.

Thanks for sharing.

7

The Rainbow Promise

by Funchback in

one day, the biblical god decided all humanity, less 8 individuals and some animals, should die via mass drowning, including infants, children and physically and mentally disabled people.. he expected rational people to listen to a seemingly oddball old man and enter a giant box filled with wild animals.

"god told me to warn you.

enter this thing and you will live".

scratchme1010

This is one of the many reasons why I could never align myself to God. Even if He did exist, I would have nothing in common with Him.

As I read your post, this came to mind: