Posts by scratchme1010

25

"Cultivate Self-Control"

by mrssauk in

this weeks watchtower study (september 2017) about self-control states: "clearly, people who lack self-control are causing problems for themselves and for others.

and the problem of lacking self-control is worsening.

self-discipline was studied in the 1940’s, but recent studies have shown that people have become much worse at exercising self-discipline.

scratchme1010

Does anyone know what studies is referred to, because I can't find anything...

Based on the lack of details, probably it's either made up, not reputable, obsolete to the bone, a lie, a study conducted by themselves, focused on something completely unrelated, or any combination of the above.

Why a study from the 40's? Psychology and the way we understand and interpret human behavior has changed quite a lot since the 40s.

Also, I did a simple google search on the matter, and found quite a few articles on psychology that, to my surprise, do the exact same thing. They say things like "Studies demonstrate that exercising willpower makes heavy demands on mental energy..." without citing the source.

Hmm... now I'm curious about the psychology of self control.

12

Learning To Believe Again

by The_Seeker in

i was raised a jw and left the organization when i was 18 years old.

many thought i left because i wanted to live a life full of drugs, sex, and rock and roll, which was not true at all.

i left because i realized that these people had no idea what they were talking about and were simply parroting what the, " society " , told them to believe.

scratchme1010

...when any Church tells me I have to live any other way than what I have read in the Bible, simply because it is part of their dogma I simply walk away. I am now a a spiritual person not a religious person and I see good in many religions, but I also see the influence of man. So I simply look to my heart and the beautiful creation around me and commune with God in my own way.

I love this part of your post. Thanks for sharing.

12

"aww, But it's not MY fault, someone else is to blame!"

by stuckinarut2 in

i was just thinking about the account of adam and eve, and how they both attempted to 'pass the buck', or shift the blame to someone else.

eve to the snake, and adam to eve.... does that sound familiar??.

the society has never taken ownership of its mistakes!

scratchme1010

Does that sound familiar??

Actually, to me that sounds like every other American.

64

Why is there such a 'high turnover' within the Jehovahs Witnesses?

by UnshackleTheChains in

i happened to come across a time article in 2008. it was basically talking about the high turnover in american faiths.

it mentioned the jdubs and highlighted the following point.. an even more extreme example of what might be called "masked churn" is the relatively tiny jehovah's witnesses, with a turnover rate of about two-thirds.

that means that two-thirds of the people who told pew they were raised jehovah's witnesses no longer are — yet the group attracts roughly the same number of converts.

scratchme1010

Is this something you have experienced?

Yes, left and right. It's all over the place. Consequences of mediocre management of a mediocre organization.

28

When You Were A JW Did You Ever Stand For The National Anthem?

by minimus in

jw
friends

as a witness i always found a way to not have to embarrass myself by sitting down for the national anthem.. i’m curious.

how many of you stood up for the patriotic song?.

scratchme1010

I as forced to do it by a teacher in school.

17

13th Dec 2017

by zeb in

i have a 'financial advisor' email tell of massive changes coming to us (and thereby world currencies) on the above date.. does 13-dec 2017 mean anything to anyone.?.

he is talking about the removal of cash etc now if this is half way correct where does it leave the money machine of the wt?.

positive responses welcome..

scratchme1010

He is talking about the removal of cash etc Now if this is half way correct where does it leave the money machine of the WT?

Maybe that's why I keep getting all this ridiculous junk mail. People do believe all that nonsense they get.

ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU TO GET YOUR MONEY OR GIVE THEM MONEY IS TRYING TO SCAM YOU.

20

Classic situation at Circuit Assembly Day

by freddo in

jw
friends

so i've just skived off to the car park half way through our assembly day - what a classic morning.. i'm sat right behind an early-teen kid with some sort of special needs (autistic?

) who's sat with what looks like his late-30's harassed single parent mother.

(or married to an unbelieving mate?

scratchme1010

I thought this kid is smarter than everyone thinks.

People with special needs in the congregations I was part of were treated like shit, mostly because of their honesty and because they speak their minds.

I feel sad for the mother.

14

Listening to the meetings from the perspective of a "newly interested" person?

by stuckinarut2 in

just wondering how many others (when you were still in the org) would try and listen to the meeting programmes from the perspective of a newly interested person visiting for the first time?.

i know that i did this, and most times i did, i found it disturbing!

it was not just the "in-house" language and terminology that was odd, but also the actual doctrines, and method of 'teaching' that was odd!.

scratchme1010

Thoughts?

Creepy, archaic, obsolete instruction methodology, faulty logic, inappropriate adult language and subjects in front of children, children talking about fornication and adultery, the list of things that come to mind goes on and on...

I didn't look or listen to it from a newly interested perspective, but I do remember once I started observing people in the meeting, looking at their reactions, their body language, and the way they were taking what they were being told. What I saw was just a bunch of people in pain looking for an escape to their real issues, looking for answers in the wrong place, and following very bad advice.

31

Why I get out of bed every morning.

by compound complex in

jw
friends

because someone needs my help.. as a jw -- you can relate -- i truly believed that what everyone really needed was the kingdom hope and its eventual reality.

you know, the hope that does not lead to disappointment.

of course, if anyone needed practical help with a task or getting through some difficulty, most of us realized that was part of being a helpful and caring friend (or family member).. at nearly seventy years of age -- no, i didn't enter the promised kingdom in my healthful and vibrant youth -- my getting out of bed isn't so bad.

scratchme1010

What I really wanted to get to was how we support one another, here on the forum and outside, one-on-one, with flesh-and-blood human beings. I appreciated the replies to my two recent threads on suicide and had to tell you that our words do matter.

Thank you for sharing this. Your post, especially the part that I quoted, made me reflect on the things and the ton I use in some of my posts. Sometimes I'm not supportive of others at all. I speak my truth, but sometimes I tend to forget that there are in fact people out there who are suicidal and have struggles with life in general, JW experience or not.

Thanks for sharing this.

32

Oddest front covers on Watchtower or Awake

by usualusername1 in

jw
friends

in my comedy i want to show the audience a large version of some weird front covers from the watchtower or awake.. do you have any suggestions?.

cheers.

paul.

scratchme1010

They look so effing creepy!!!! And to think that I grew up thinking that that's normal.