Posts by scratchme1010

12

Before I left I said this in a WT answer

by Chook in

this when i believed, i said no one really believes armageddon is imminent because we would sell our possessions and preach the remaining short time , i said we all like a each way bet.

i was always a loose canon with the microphone.

i once said if bible was in movie form jws would be forbidden to watch..

scratchme1010

...I once said if bible was in movie form JWs would be forbidden to watch.

You never tell what their reaction or response is.

26

This convention talk offended me

by Isambard Crater in

here are my notes from the r.c yesterday, the talk called "jehovah – the greatest example of endurance".

many of you will understand why i found it offensive.. jehovah has taken the hard option of choosing to endure:.

reproach to his holy name.

Nothing new, Isambard Crater. The number one thing that Christian religions do is always position themselves in a victim role. Everything bad "happens" to them. This is the simplest, oldest and most reliable way of manipulating people.

The fact that you find it offensive is a great sign of you having a better mindset and attitude. Did you look around or heard people's comments on that talk? I'm sure that 'offensive' wasn't the word that they were using to characterize it.

21

There is always one!

by Isambard Crater in

jw
friends

i am pimo but attended the r.c yesterday for family pressure reasons.

a "sister" i've not seen for a while told me her husband is overjoyed because a man he called on recently in the field service suddenly told him he wanted to attend the r.c.

the unusual thing is, this man is a millionaire having built a property portfolio.

scratchme1010

He is about 60 and his life seems sorted, so why the hell would this type of person want to go to a convention named "Don't Give Up!", which in itself sounds really creepy?

There's something in what he heard or saw that speaks to him. Whatever made them tick has nothing to do with his wealth.

21

JWs shunning other active JWs

by Roger Kirkpatrick in

jw
friends

how many others have noticed how common it is for active jws to ostracize and shun other active jws?

as far back as i can recall, jws have had an ongoing problem with cliques within congregations, and special needs talks would be given from time to time to address that trend.

but, it seems to me that the practice has become even more pronounced with entire congregations actively shunning other congregations.

scratchme1010

How many others have noticed how common it is for active JWs to ostracize and shun other active JWs?

That's the most off-putting thing about them, their stupid clicks. How I effing hated that attitude back then. Now it just looks pathetic and lame. The psychology of that is quite dysfunctional and petty. They just feed up of each others. They just keep sniffing each other's butts about how cool, righteous and/or happy they are (as if there's such thing as a cool JW). Sad, all they do is using each other to reinforce their covering up their real feelings.

27

There are only 4 ways to leave the Jehovah's Witnesses

by new boy in

jw
friends

there are only four ways of leaving the jehovah’s witnesses.

so there are four ways that could lead to shunning.

i say “could” because options three and four has some loopholes.

scratchme1010

Yes, you can break free with suicide.

Please add "Not recommended".

5

Are you in an abusive relationship...of faith?

by stuckinarut2 in

i cant seem to put the link in this thread for some reason.

(perhaps someone can assist?).

but darkmatter2525 has a great new video on youtube called "abuser".

scratchme1010

I follow hos channel for some time now. Thanks for sharing.

12

Spirit directed vs inspired

by Jules Saturn in

i've always been confused as to what the discrepancy is between the phrases "spirit directed/spirit led" and "inspired".

in the february 2017 watchtower study article, paragraph 12 says:.

12 the governing body is neither inspired nor infallible.

scratchme1010

Could you be expecting too much from their simplistic way of reasoning? Trust your own reasoning. You sound a lot more logical than them.

3

The Psychology Of Conformity

by Brokeback Watchtower in

are you one of those rare nonconformist?

i try to be,, i think it is healthy for the brain not to be a conformist.

not to simply do what conforms to the masses make the brain work more as opposed to doing what the masses do.

scratchme1010

Interesting thoughts, video and topic. I think that either extreme is unhealthy. I try to make a compromise between my own norm and respecting other people's norm and values. Sometimes it is in my best interest to not give priority and conform, since sometimes that is the means to an end.

My current supervisor behaves exactly the way many of the brainwashed women in the congregation did. However, she is my supervisor, so it's in my best interest to feed to her nonsense regardless of me knowing better.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.

10

CounselIling for Ex Cult Members

by Disassociated Lady 2 in

i wanted to ask those of you who were born into the jws and eventually left as an adult, whether any of you have had any counselling?

i know from experience that being programmed by a cult since birth does not give us the social skills and knowledge to function and interact with people in the outside world as we were taught to avoid it.

those of you that have had counselling, do you feel that it has helped you?

scratchme1010

Those of you that have had counselling, do you feel that it has helped you? Can a counsellor actually "de-program" your mind so that you can live a successful life?

Yes, but I think it's a mistake of thinking of going to counseling to get "de-programmed". What I addressed in counseling were a number of things that I needed, some of which were the consequence of growing up a JW, but many of them had nothing to do with growing up a JW.

No, a counselor cannot "de-program". In fact, the "de-programming" that used to happen way back when by cult experts has been rendered obsolete because that approach has proven to be more harmful than the cult experience.

My suggestions is to look for a suitable counselor, one who specializes in whichever thing you need counseling on (if you feel it's the negative influence of the WT, look for one who knows about high demand controlling groups; if you're depressed, look for one who knows how to treat depression. I needed one who knew how to properly work with gay men). There are a lot of quacks out there. Be selective and if it doesn't work out with one, keep looking.

The influence of the WT is not going to disappear from my life. I cannot just erase the first 23 years of my life as if they never happened. That's just not possible. What I can do is identify when I am making decisions or leading my life based on those believes. That, along with learning to bring the "world" to my life has been my journey. There are reasons why I don't give a fuck about the names of the current GB. There are reasons why my replies to posts related to what some old WT mag said is along the lines of "Who cares? What does that matter?". That's how I keep myself away from their influence. That's part of the work I do for myself.

I hope this helps.

103

Using Illegal Means for Righteous Activism

by John Davis in

i wanted to get people's opinion on something.

how do you feel when people use illegal means while performing their activism to shed light on the watchtower.

there have been people who have illegally recorded conversations with elders and with branch offices or at meetings.

scratchme1010

I understand the desire behind it is to bring justice to the people who have been hurt by Watchtower and to protect other people, but do you think it is right to willfully break the law to get this accomplished?

My two cents: My policy is that not everything legal is just or fair. The WT has no interest in following the law, and has no problem having their members break the law over their interest. They have led people to believe that it's OK to die, to make their most important life decisions regarding career, work, marriage, sex, education, and health care based on lies that they tell, and assume no responsibility when people suffer the consequences of their bad decision making because of them.

They are dirt bags. They do as much as they can get away as possible. So you tell me, are you ok with them bending the rules (at best) and doing as much as they can get away from?

Now, about activism, thinking of the activism I've gotten involved, without civil disobedience and doing acts that are illegal, many times change doesn't happen. That said, it really depends on what kind of illegal act we're talking about. Opening fire in a public space to make a point, nope. Entering the White House naked with my coworkers to raise awareness, yes. A friend of mine proposed a massive poop-down in front of Trump Tower here in NYC, nope, but not necessarily because I'm against it. Going late at night to areas where gay men have anonymous sex to give them condoms, yes. Marching in protest of something, yes. Blowing a building full of people, nope.

Under the word "activism" falls a lot of actions, event and things that people do, and not all of those involve illegal activity, and some of it does but it depends on what kind of infraction one is committing. Then there are the number of ridiculous laws that have been passed that people may not even know that they are breaking. Just google "dumb laws".