Posts by scratchme1010

20

Meetings are boring

by Akid48 in

meetings are boring for young kids and old but i'm going to focus on young kids 5 or 8.. i think is unfair that young kids get punished for falling asleep or zoning out.. as meetings are not as boring but i have to go to school the next day and staying up till 10pm isn't the best i can't get out of going.. but think of the young kids that dont even understand most of the teachings.. i know most on the site are adults but i heard of adults falling asleep..

scratchme1010

Not only are they boring as hell, but they are quite inappropriate for children too. Children don't need to hear about the adult subjects that they talk about, such as fornication, some symbolic prostitute having sex with a dragon, lakes of fire, rape and genocides.

36

"Circumcision is a sign to set you apart from the people of the nations"

by stuckinarut2 in

we know that the hebrew scriptures, or old testament states that the practice of circumcision (of males) was supposed to be yet another sign that set the jews apart from the "people of the nations".

but apart from so many odd things, how dumb is this?.

i mean, how did someone know if a male was circumcised or not??

scratchme1010

Ouch!

30

Do not think the end will come?

by Akid48 in

thats somthing i see thats asked in my kingdom hall if you want to go get more than 2 years in collage.thing in some one asking that to me or etc i cant say any thing or that would show that i dont believe.. i hate when some one askes me that when i try to plan ahead when it comes to what job i want.what job would help me hold my own but no god will give if you put him first.i dont believe in god even when i did i never buyed into that.. it seems you cant get away from the question im only 13 and i get that question theres no getting away from it..

scratchme1010

Go to college anyway. They are not going to support you. After college, when you have a good job, keep them away from asking you for money.

19

Debating a Christian at work.

by pseudoxristos in

a christian at work has been after me for more than a year to go to his church and be saved.

i like the guy and consider him a friend and have been politely trying to avoid the subject.

i have recently decided that enough is enough and i told him i would discuss religion with him.

scratchme1010

My two cents. That may or may not work. I think that you are preparing a lot, but may not be preparing the right information or approach.

What are you debating for? Do you want to convince him that he's wrong? Do you want to state your educated reasons why you don not believe? Do you want the debate to be an ongoing thing? What do you expect to happen at the end?

Then, before stating and giving anything you have, I'd start by listening to him first. I start with asking questions. Sometimes what you get is some kind of testimonial, some story about how wonderful their lives are after finding their god, etc. That information is important to you because that's what you should be addressing or at least acknowledging. If people hold on to nonsensical believes because they feel safe, or because their religion is what gave them peace of mind, or a safety net away from a lifestyle that they feel otherwise they couldn't change, there's no logic and information or teaching, or history, or documentation that would make them change their mind. To them it's not about education or information; it's about what the religion gives them.

Prepare to listen to what he has to say to understand what they actually believe and how he applies those believe to his life, along with why he's so convinced about his believes.

26

Is there anything good JWs taught you still benefit from?

by venus in

some years ago, i attended a jw wedding.

marriage speaker said something which changed my life for the better, and it helps me even now.

he told the couple: “the very make up of man and woman is such that conflicts can often arise between you.

scratchme1010

Though most of the JW teaching seemed unsound and irrational, points in this marriage talk were amazing which helps me even now in all avenues of my life. [I don’t know all JW marriage speakers use the illustration and explanation because this was the only one I attended]

I understand where you come from. However, it's impossible to expect that every single thing, every single thought that the WT teaches is wrong or harmful.

In my case, something that I believe the WT influenced me for the positive is my celebrations of Christmas and my birthdays. After I left, i was surprised about the horror stories I heard from some people around me about Christmas and birthdays. Some people hate the holiday season and their forced expenses and family gatherings. I on the other hand, feel flexible enough to not feel obligated to spend or celebrate at all since I grew up without it.

25

Stupid, stupid nonsense in the October JW broadcast

by sir82 in

so in the october jw broadcast, there is a "morning worship" segment in which g. jackson goes to great lengths to explain how the term "those taking the lead" are not "leaders".. the terms are exactly equivalent, of course, but jackson, with a wink & smirk, pats himself on the back for his own cleverness on how different they really are.it's just so bizarrely absurd.. imagine if such tortured reasoning were applied to other areas..... -------------------------------------.

restaurant manager: i'm sorry, the only position we have open is for dishwasher.

applicant: that's insulting!

scratchme1010

When people are conditioned to accept anything that they say, they just listen and think that they are learning something so unique that they cannot learn anywhere else. They think that such nonsense is the only "truth" because they cannot hear it anywhere else.

9

When God takes a day off!

by eyeuse2badub in

it’s really a bitch when god takes a day off.

he’s supposed to be watching over all things-except when he doesn’t and he can control any situation-except when he doesn’t.. so he gets all the credit for the good things that are and that happen due to his “dynamic energy”.

it must be tiring because he obviously takes days off.

scratchme1010

Recently here in the USA god has had too much time off and the disasters have really piled up. What happened in Las Vegas is a prime example of what happens when god takes a day off! If you have the power to prevent something evil from happening and you don’t—what does that say about you?

When you follow the Bible god, this is what you get:

28

Special event this weekend

by TweetieBird in

jw
friends

was talking with a family member today and they said that there is something special going on at the kh this weekend.

any idea what it is?

they said that some kind of broadcast from bethel for everyone..

scratchme1010

Was talking with a family member today and they said that there is something special going on at the KH this weekend. Any idea what it is? They said that some kind of broadcast from Bethel for everyone.

Yes, a very special meeting, with very special information about a very special event.

23

Help with acceptance for JW family still in

by MaryKN in

well, it's been a long time!

i first lurked here around 20 years ago and read huge amounts of threads which certainly helped when i was making my decision to leave the religion.

i was never baptised (resisted it!

scratchme1010

In my experience, the first thing that I can say is that not all families are the same. Therefore, my approach to my JW family may not be suitable for others. That said,

So, the point of this message. I'd love to know - has anyone been in my situation and truly successfully accepted this?

Yes, it is not realistic to expect that they accept you as a non-JW without you accepting them as such. Granted, they are more in numbers and brainwashed to believe that any conflict that arises is because you're not a JW, but you still have to recognize what they chose to do with their lives.

If so, how?

Boundaries, boundaries, boundaries. In my family, they are not the kind of people that are very respectful of each other. There was a lot of domestic violence going on left and right. We were never taught to be considerate and respectful to each other, so there wasn't (still isn't) any civilized way of setting boundaries with them without yelling, screaming or becoming loud and disrespectful. As I said, not all families are the same. In order for me to have them "get it', I had to be disrespectful to their faith. Otherwise, they just don't listen, period. Sadly, the same holds true to my non-JW relatives who also left.

I needed to step away from all that, both the JW crap and my disrespectful, violent family. My family of choice emerged from that. My family of origin are now secondary. Their choice/consequences.

Also, it was interesting that they always wanted to be the ones calling the shots. Many of my JW siblings and my parents had a problem with me, except when needing something from me. I wasn't a "bad association" when I can solve their problems, most of them financial. Again, boundaries. Also, they made the attempt at being nice for as long as they don't know anything about my life. They wanted a one-way relationship, and expected me to be ok with that. Nope. More boundaries.

Does it still make you very sad?

Yes and no. When I look at my life, who I am, what I've become, the things that I have lived and experienced, and most of all, the fact that I do have my family of choice, compared to who they are and what they have done with their lives and are still loud and disrespectful to each other, no, I don't feel as sad. I feel sorry for them. I feel sad when I see loving families that are united and have each others' back and I never got to experience that. But gratitude for what I do have is the key. My family of origin lost me by their own choosing. I don't assign blame, but I hold them responsible for their decisions and actions.

Do you think you'll always be sad about it?

No. I came to terms with the decisions and actions I needed to take regarding them. Please bear in mind that I am gay, growing up in a messed up family, a messed up religion and a messed up society. When I look at the strength of character that I developed, when I know of people who have killed themselves for less than half of what I've been through, and when I look at my insane superhuman resiliency, I feel happy and grateful for the many opportunities I've had, and for the life I have created for myself. The world isn't in black an white, not everything is all good and happy, and not everything is bad and sad.

Are you still angry? How do you deal with it?

I was, and it makes me angry to think about all that could have been with my family. That anger is never going to leave. It's a matter of what to do with it/about it. The way I deal with it is by gratitude. I have a lot to be grateful for. And also loving where my life without them has taken me.

I'm not sure I have ever truly accepted it and that's what I really think I need to do.

You're right. They are JWs. You should accept that. However, you are not. The challenge is them accepting that reality, them respecting you as a person, your decision, your believes and your boundaries.

Not sure if my experience helps, but that's how I came to terms with my JW family of origin.

43

We missed you at the meetings...

by punkofnice in

how many times have you heard that trope?.

i found it more irritating than a dose of farmers on the bum.

i've even said it when i was a brainwashed jobo drone.

scratchme1010

How many times have you heard that trope?

Never. Those shits never cared for me.