Posts by scratchme1010

5

144,000 is a literal number

by Sour Grapes in

jdubs are the only religion that believes that only 144,000 are going to heaven and of course they are all jdubs.

the number is found in the bible book of revelation.

i could never wrap my brain around the fact that the jdubs will openly tell you that everything else in the book revelation is not literal and is symbolic.

scratchme1010

Does anyone know how they prove the number is literal even though every verse before or after the number is symbolic?

I don't think I have anything useful, but I do want to mention that the WT is not the only religious organization using that number for things in their believes, including thinking that those will be the only ones who will ________ (fill the blank with a number of interpretations of that piece of information.

I too struggled with that when I was a JW, but my solution to the conflict was not biblical.

8

Have I made a mistake?

by Calashan in

so i've been out since my mid teens.

never baptised and consider myself among the lucky ones as it meant i could still have a normal(?

) relationship with my parents who are both still in.. jump forward 14 years or so to last night.

scratchme1010

Have I jeopardised this carefully balanced relationship?

I don't think so. At least not on your part. Every single thing that you mention is a perfectly normal reaction and action. If your relationship gets strained because of it, it's not because of you. You are only responsible for your side of the relationship. They are as responsible of maintaining a relationship with you, the way you are, the way you think, and the way you react (within reason).

I think that at some point this issue will continue coming up. Prepare yourself for when they have to face that you are your own person with your own believes in your own right to do so.

43

Why are there more sisters than brothers at the Kingdom Hauls?

by Sour Grapes in

i have always wondered why there are more females than males in all of the congregations that i have visited?

some of these females are in their 70's so maybe their husbands have died and women just live longer.

or could the reason be that years ago men were the breadwinners and women stayed home to raise the children thus they were home during the week when the jdubs came a knocking?

scratchme1010

In some congregations the ration might be different, but overall what sparky posted is very accurate by other sources too. The last congregation I attended had a lot more (rather desperate to mate) women than men.

51

Help Elders poking nose in

by Formerbrother in

jw
friends

what can i do when elders want to poke their nose in?.

they want to have another chat with me and my wife, but we dont want to, it just gets us down..

scratchme1010

What can I do when Elders want to poke their nose in?

Fart.

30

Elder to visit me this Saturday to invite for the memorial

by EverApostate in

just a brief history of me.

me and my wife got baptized into the jw cult in 1997. we were both protestants before and in fact it was me who dragged her into the cult.

during 2009, another jw friend of mine raised suspicions about his research on the blood and 607 bc theories.

scratchme1010

I already have a few visits during the past years like this where the elders came to visit me to revive me and it all had been lengthy conversations. I am confidant that I may have sowed seeds of doubts in their minds.
Any advises to me as to what I can discuss this time?

Maybe it's a waste of time to spend on those long conversations that at the end don;t convince anyone of anything the other is saying.

My advice is reminding you that you have the choice of not getting sucked into their nonsense. You can just say "no, thank you".

31

What is this "religion"?

by Kom 197 in

jw
friends

for a long time, i was convinced jehovah witnesses were just people preaching the word of god in a different way than other christians.

i was shown the real truth over the past few months.

i've been friends with this guy for over 5 years.

scratchme1010

Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for sharing, and welcome to the forum. Some people have been very direct in their advice. I'd too say RUN! However, seems like besides dating, you have a history, he seems more than just some guy you started dating. To me that makes a difference.

If you care about him as a human being, and as a friend, you might need to decided what kind of relationship, if any at all, you want to have with him. He is in cult, and as such, he might need to make certain choices himself, if he wants a relationship with you.

So I'd say RUN! from the nonsense of that organization, but keep the lines of communication open. This experience that he's having with the elders might making reconsider his relationship with that organization. If he decides to leave, he will need our support. However, leaving has to be his decision.

49

How old's the human race?

by Freedom rocks in

hi does anyone know any good articles or videos about how old mankind and the earth are and carbon dating?

.

i've just started looking into it but there seems to be a lot of conflicting ideas over accuracy so i'm unsure what to think.

scratchme1010

I've just started looking into it but there seems to be a lot of conflicting ideas over accuracy so I'm unsure what to think.

I'm not sure you will get a definite answer on this. However, you can make your most educated conclusion yourself.

7

Spot the signs of a toxic leadership.

by Lost in the fog in

i came across this article in the magazine psychology today.

it is about the traits of poor leaders in the field of employment although you could easily think it had been written about the gb.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culture-shrink/201607/8-traits-toxic-leadership-avoid.

scratchme1010

1. Unwillingness to listen to feedback
2. Excessive self-promotion and self-interest
3. Lying and inconsistency
4. Lack of moral philosophy
5. Rewarding incompetence and lack of accountability
7. Cliquishness
8. Bullying and harassment

Sounds like some of my coworkers. In all seriousness, I encounter one or two of those things in places I belong to, but I believe it's a problem when those are the driving principles and values of an organization.

I agree that it fits Donald Trump perfectly.

40

After leaving the JWs - Has anyone stayed with Christianity?

by rulehayl in

i recently made the decision to stop studying with my study conductor, due to a situation i found myself in that led to a high possibility of my unbaptized publisher "rights" being taken away from me.

i have since told my study conductor i have joined a new church (to which she dropped me like a hot rock, of course).... last time i posted on here, i was progressing nicely towards baptism, and was well into it.anyhoo, i like my new church, very hillsong-esqe.

so just wondering if anyone else has stayed the course of christianity after leaving the jws, and if so - where did you go?

scratchme1010

Anyhoo, I like my new Church, very Hillsong-esqe. So just wondering if anyone else has stayed the course of Christianity after leaving the JWs, and if so - where did you go?

Interesting post. I left long ago, and through the decades I decided, out of curiosity and for my own self-discovery, to take a closer look at other denominations. I didn't stay a christian.

5

Talking to the people under the steeple

by Giordano in

i haven't found religion viable after we left the jws some fifty years ago.. oddly enough i will be conducting a session at the oxford forum which is put on once a week on a sunday by the presbyterian church.

they invite scholars, professors, artists etc.

people of interest to expose their congregation to what else is going on in this community.

scratchme1010

I am going to be honest and factual, no anger, nothing exaggerated. I will start by telling them that I still have great memories of the JW'S I grew up around. That my wife and I faded ourselves in an era where you would not be shunned. Of course we have a different situation to deal with now. Going to shine a little light on the situation these days.

That's great, and the best way to get people to listen.