scratchme1010

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Posts by scratchme1010

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  2

  I'm a great MIB fan !!!!

  by yoko N in

  1. social
  2. humour

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  scratchme1010

  LOL!
  
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  119

  Do I have to believe in Jesus to be saved?

  by unsure in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do i have to believe in jesus to be saved?.

  i was raised as a jehovah's witness.

  i was born in.

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  scratchme1010

  About the OP:

  EDIT: even though I have the "draw" to Christianity, I would be lying to myself if I said the Bible made sense TO ME.
  

  Good for you. You will get no judgement from me one way or another. best wishes.
  
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  23

  Did a current or ex-JW help you to awaken?

  by TweetieBird in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  was there something that was said to you that got the wheel turning in your brain, that caused you to start waking up to ttatt, either by a jw or ex-jw that you didn't know was awake?

  i'm trying to think of things i can say or ask of my current family members still in that may help them to start seeing the real truth about the organization.

  they think we're still in..

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  scratchme1010

  Was there something that was said to you that got the wheel turning in your brain, that caused you to start waking up to TTATT, either by a JW or ex-JW that you didn't know was awake?
  

  Not something that was said to me and made me think differently. I had no need for learn anything new or different. As a born in I was in fact quite fed up with people trying to rule my life based on some interpretation of something. I couldn't care less about what they teach. The actions, attitudes and behavior of their so-called spiritual paradise were speaking volumes to me about how full of --it they are.

  What did make me start the process of fading had more to do with the way I was treated. The final straw was some JW bitch that started yelling at me because I wasn't shaved. I was in the state where I started realizing that I needed to walk away from my own family and life as I knew it, and I was in that part where it was sinking in for the first time. I was thinking that I needed proof that they really cared about me, that if they were the loving, caring spiritual paradise that they claim to be, that they will just show it. The next day, I went to help cleaning and fixing things at the KH, and that's when that bitch started giving me all this --it about me being in the KH (not at a meeting, just helping with cleaning) without shaving. That was indication enough for me about what I could get from them.

  I'm trying to think of things I can say or ask of my current family members still in that may help them to start seeing the real truth about the organization. They think we're still in.
  

  My suggestion is instead of telling them things about the WT or the JWs, to ask them questions. Then listen closely to their answers. Do you know what to ask them? Here's what I'd ask them:

  1. Who was the first JW in the family?

  2. How did that person came to become a JW (they love, love, love giving their experience, and it's in your best interest to listen closely since that's what's going to give you the information that you need).

  3. Ask about how their decision to baptize came about. When, what do they remember, etc. Again, you will be looking for certain important information.

  4. Ask them about their most important and fond memories and experiences that they have had so far as JWs. (I know this is starting to sound like you want to be converted back to JW, but no, there's a lot of important information that you need, plus this has proven to be a great approach).

  After that you will have the best and most effective ammunition. Here's what you can pay attention to:

  1. Their real reasons to join the JW. Still baffles me that people start from the point of discussing the JW teachings first when they want to help others out. Think of this: when people start taking bible studies they know nothing about their teachings, so obviously, what they teach is not the first thing that makes them interested. That information can tell you what made them interested in starting bible studies, not what they learned in the bible studies. That's what you need to address.

  2. Knowing the first JW in the family identifies the person who made the most influence in the rest of the family. It is important to recognize the influence that such person had in making the rest join and leading them to where they are now. There may be a sense of loyalty to that person, or not (sometimes that first JW ends up leaving first too). That information can give you the "who" about the one that started the JW venture, or who they look up to. This piece of information may or may not be relevant.

  3. When people share about their journey as JWs, they love being listened to. They feel comfortable talking to you, and they put their guards down. Remember, as brainwashed people, they are led to believe that being listened to is not about them, they think that their Jehovah is speaking his word through them. Capitalize on it. either way, they feel good, and you want them to be relaxed; you don't want to be confrontational.

  Also, the content of what they say speaks volumes about the things that matter to them and the things that make them stay in the JWs. That information is what you need to know that speaks to them, so you can concentrate in addressing the things that they consider important. That's what you should address first.
  

  You may want to talk to them in their terms, and about things that speak to them. The best way of doing that is by first finding what that is. You also want to make them feel comfortable talking, so confronting them about some doctrine may not be the most effective way (that is, if you have tried it and hasn't worked). BTW, I'd say it's a mistake to think that because they are JWs that what speaks to them is obvious. It isn't. You won't lose anything by asking anyway.
  
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  8

  Imagine if Jw ran schools ?

  by Chook in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after learning the alphabet no other education required.

  history would be distorted, science rejected.

  i'm surprised that gb didn't realise there is big money in education, big tony could be the professor of bullshit..

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  scratchme1010

  After learning the alphabet no other education required. History would be distorted, science rejected. I'm surprised that GB didn't realise there is big money in education, big Tony could be the professor of bullshit.
  

  I don't think it would be a lot different if any other religion did the same. Oh, wait, other religions do run schools and do that.
  
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  18

  Has anyone noticed how Tony Morris is always referring to his notes ?

  by Chook in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i honestly believe he has memory difficulties, him and mr letts iq is not much greater than a rabbit.

  no the rabbit wins..

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  scratchme1010

  Feels good not even knowing who Tony Morris is.
  
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  18

  I got a new visit by an elder and an ms .

  by Chook in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  the conversation soon got to spiritual subjects, this elder is company man all through and side kick well he's learning the ropes.

  bang mentioned snake antivenin, blood factions, then big geoffrey jackson saying presumptuous, then vin toole in the arc saying he had never heard of theocratic warfare.

  then told how god made exceptions to the rules on blood when soldiers ate unbled meat.

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  scratchme1010

  You are still not saying what their reply was. What was their reaction?
  
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  16

  First Humans May Have Been European

  by cofty in

  1. social
  2. current

  the fossil record of early hominins in africa is very well established with patterns of later migrations into asia and europe.

  the hypothesis is sometimes referred to as "out of africa".. however a new paper from researchers at the university of toronto describes two fossil specimens of an even earlier ancestor graecopithecus freybergi who lived 7.2 million years ago, putting it close to our common ancestor with chimpanzees.

  crucially these fossils were not discovered in africa but in greece and bulgaria.. the team are proposing that environmental changes that led to the formation of the sahara pushed the ancestors of graecopithecus freybergi further north towards the eastern mediterranean where the chimp-human split occurred.. this hypothesis is likely to be controversial for all sorts of reasons!.

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  scratchme1010

  ...a new paper from researchers at the University of Toronto describes two fossil specimens of an even earlier ancestor Graecopithecus freybergi who lived 7.2 million years ago...
  

  Graecopithecus freybergi is a hominid originally identified by a single mandible found in 1944. Since then analysis of tooth specimens has led to suggestions that Graecopithecus may be the oldest known direct ancestor of modern man, though the claim is contested.

  What is new is the research paper from the University of Toronto, not the finding.
  
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  15

  Lack of open-mindedness

  by ilikecheese in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a lot of religious folks can have an open-minded discussion about their beliefs without getting defensive.

  some can actually consider things from another point of view and point out the validity in the other person's point.

  obviously, a lot of jws may just be scared to think/speak in a semi-detrimental way about their religion.

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  scratchme1010

  Apart from that, though, what do you think are the differences in mindset here, in regard to religious folks in general? Are the closed-minded ones really only holding on tenuously to their faith? Is it because they just hate other ideas? Is it because they feel self-important due to belonging to a faith they consider superior?
  

  Just random musings I've had recently. What are your thoughts?

  My two cents, and I'm typing things as they come to mind.
  

  I think that as much as people try to bundle every single JW, the reality is that we are all very different people, from different walks of life. As JWs we were indoctrinated, and as such we ended up depriving ourselves from trusting our own instincts, our own feelings, to visualize things to see if they make sense, etc.

  After leaving, or after opening our eyes, or after whatever makes any of us starting to regain that ability and feeling comfortable with trusting our own thoughts and feelings, we start becoming more aware of who we are.

  We are all in different stages of that "reintegration", for lack of a better word. At a given moment during that process, depending on the level of influence we still have or keep from the WT, we. consequently, might still have some of that "mindset', that may come from either still believing in what they teach, or feeling afraid of becoming an apostate.
  

  Some are just not that kind of people. Some people just don't want to learn or discuss different ideas.
  
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  12

  Recovery From The Jehovah's Witnesses - A Guide

  by pale.emperor in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hey guys.

  a friend online asked me about my recovery and how i managed to recover relatively easily from watchtower indoctrination.

  although i think a major part of it is acquainting oneself with information about the watchtower and it's history, a lot of it (for me at least) was an inner game.

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  scratchme1010

  Thank you for sharing. Beautifully presented.
  

  It's very interesting to note that none of your recovery has anything to do with prophecy or doctrine or the bible or what they say versus what the reality of things is. You don't quote a single line from anyone, not even your own self.

  Thanks again.
  
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  44

  Why Do People Become JWs?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was born in the religion but why on earth do people join this religion?

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  scratchme1010

  Speaking about my parents who were the ones who joined (I was born in too), what I see is the Wt gave my mother a lot of good things that she otherwise thought she would never get. Hope, literacy, friends, a community, a sense of belonging, a way of using her skills. She was later "blessed" because her alcoholic violent husband also joined.

  Many people are lonely and need a sense of community and belonging. My father didn't have opportunities to learn and study anything and in came the Wt to bring him the opportunity to learn something and be able to teach it to others, and even have a position of leadership.

  Other people I know have joined as a way to stay away from drugs, or to escape (or have an explanation for) bad family situations.

  Using terms like dumb or lazy, I think is a little misleading in most cases, though I do know that there are people who love having everything explained and given to them, or don't want to face life on their own. The cult shields them from doing so, and they are happy living that way (or so they seem).

  Intelligence has nothing to do with what a person feels or their ability to handle their own emotions. The Wt and other cults capitalize in what other people are missing in their lives at a point when they feel that it's important to them.