Posts by scratchme1010

21

Watchtower Philosophy Debates

by Wild_Thing in

jw
friends

i was wondering how many of you still enjoy (or maybe you just feel the need) to discuss and debate jw doctrine and scripture.

i find myself scrolling right past those topics i see online.

i could care less.

scratchme1010

I feel like that is a debate no one is going to win, and I have often wondered if the ones who want to argue the points are people who have found another religion that "really is the right one this time", or maybe they are still trying to prove to themselves it is the Truth™. I really don't know.

The point that you make is very interesting. The way I see it is that different people are at different stages of their lives, different stages of their sorting their own spiritual path, and to me that means that those debates matter to some degree.

I find id difficult to balance allowing people their own space to develop their own believes and putting up with a lot of nonsense. Where I find the most problems is that some people are still in JW mode, meaning that they go with the intent to convince others, not necessarily to listen what others have to say.

Also, I find it ok moving on from the debate and let others carry on. Just my thoughts.

16

No more talk about the Org. regarding Sexual abuse on this site ....what happened ???

by tor1500 in

jw
friends

the other day on this site, a lot of topics about the org.

and sexual abuse...now when i come on this site...crickets... what happened ?

it seems everyone is being exposed except the org...oh yes it's mentioned here and there but then it fades away...many celebrities are being exposed....& gov't officials and even our president, but not the org...ummmm.... thoughts ?.

scratchme1010

Thoughts ?

My thoughts are that the topic has been covered widely. However, I'd like to know if there's anything to say about the victims. The coverage over the perpetrators has been quite extensive, very little is said about the victims.

15

Read this Pretty Good Advice!

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

.

scratchme1010

It is personally responsible to walk away from other people's made up bullshit. I don't join other people's miserable drama. Some people like sucking the life out of others by always coming up with some kind of bullshit, and love keeping it going. And some people attack you when you refuse to be part of their dysfunctional shit.

So yes, that should be a mural next to every KH.

Walking away from crappy situations created by ill-intended crappy people who get off by doing that shit is a responsible thing to do.

9

Best Bethel stories

by optimisticskeptic in

i temped at bethel 3 times for varying lengths of time and found working there to not always be the rosy picture some would paint.

not a surprise really, but i think one of the things that surprised me the most was how a lot of the permanent bethelites (especially older ones) were so impersonal to temps.

they acted like you weren't worth investing their time in since you weren't permanent.

scratchme1010

They acted like you weren't worth investing their time in since you weren't permanent.

According to a book I read, spiritually abusive people (or rather, abusive people who use religion or spirituality to abuse others) have this grandiosity and self-righteousness attitude. Some are very narcissistic. That attitude doesn't surprise me.

43

Which Things Did Your Overzealous Parents Ban?

by pale.emperor in

we all know the gb like to impose rules upon the rules... but did anyone else out there have parents that implemented rules upon those rules?

mine did.

my mum tended to copy whatever the elders wives were doing and took it to the extreme.

scratchme1010

...did anyone else out there have parents that implemented rules upon those rules?

Yes, the list of things that were banned in my family is too long. I can actually provide the stupidest things that my weirdo born-again father banned.

Vitamins - He said that Jehovah will keep us healthy and the new order is around the corner anyway
Exercise - He said that house to house preaching is plenty of exercise
Bicycles, skates and skateboards - No reason given
Attending congregation social gatherings - This was more over his political fight with the other moron, equally abusive elders in that congregation who were doing the same shit to their children.

My mother forbid pretty much everything she didn't like hearing about. She used the Jehovah crap as an excuse to be a controlling bitch.

15

Making real friends

by KindEyes in

jw
friends

hiya, firstly i’m new to this website, so sorry if this topic has been covered before.

i have been out of “the truth” for almost one year.

i live with my non-witness mother, have an amazing boyfriend, work and am in college.

scratchme1010

Welcome, KindEyes. I'm glad that you are doing well, and have the support of your mom and boyfriend.

College is a great place to make friends. There are plenty of extracurricular activities that now you can get involved in to share with others, lay back and just enjoy. Friendships will follow.

I was born in, and at first I was afraid an awkward in social situations outside of the dysfunctional socializing I learned from the JWs (see here for details). I learned to just relax and not come across as awkward, anxious or too forward. Fake it until you make it. Always careful with who you let in your life.

The WT is a very socially isolating organization, so at leas in my experience, I needed to learn to be more social.

31

Do you (or did you) have much of a social life as a Jehovahs Witness.

by UnshackleTheChains in

i ask this question out of interest, because as a jehovahs witness for some 26 years, i have always felt that there is an 'all work, no play' culture within the organisation.

the organisation doesn't promote social gatherings.

i could count on one hand each year how many get togethers we have had.

scratchme1010

So what is your experience?

As a JW it was very isolating. There were social gatherings in the congregations I went to, but they were stupid, boring, full of people I can't stand, talking all kinds of crap I don't care for, and looking for any way to assassinate somebody's character just for fun.

Then after, there were whispers and all kinds of comments about who said what, what this person said, did, what some people were wearing, blah blah blah.

It was just a waste of time.

In the last congregation I attended, the whole thing became very segregated by social status and culture. It was disgusting.

In fact, those gatherings played a role in my decision to fade.

19

Satan in Heaven

by pleaseresearch in

this has always baffled me.

that is why was satan and his demons allowed to be in heaven for so long after they split from god?.

if we did that then we are out of the congregation, members are shunned and also kicked out of families homes.

scratchme1010

The whole thing is a made up story. There's no Satan, there's no Jehovah.

36

What phobias do you have?

by stuckinarut2 in

jw
friends

so this is just a general question.

call it curiosity.. what sort of phobias do we have?

heights?

scratchme1010

Cars. I control my phobia to moving cars (have to, living in cities most of my life). I still am extra careful crossing streets, though.

102

If mathematics teacher made a mistake, would it mean mathematics itself is wrong!

by venus in

many people point to the irrationality in the depiction of god by the religions and their scriptures, hence jump into the bottomless pit of atheism.

in either camp, god is not a factor because religion is only a means that misrepresents god, hence religionists themselves are atheists (literally, those who live without god).

it is like saying there exists no earth because you found out your friend who taught earth is flat is wrong; or it is like saying mathematics itself is wrong because you found out your mathematics teacher made a mistake.

scratchme1010

Many people point to the irrationality in the depiction of God by the religions and their scriptures, hence jump into the bottomless pit of atheism.

Here we go again with people treating atheism as if it's another religion. Right off the bat, you're wrong. I for once, as well as many others, didn't "jump into" anything simply because I believe that the Bible is a completely useless book full of bullshit. BTW, believing in God and believing in the bible are not the same thing.

In either camp, God is not a factor because religion is only a means that misrepresents God, hence religionists themselves are atheists (literally, those who live without God). It is like saying there exists no earth because you found out your friend who taught earth is flat is wrong; or it is like saying mathematics itself is wrong because you found out your mathematics teacher made a mistake. Mathematics exists whether mathematics teachers understand it or not.

That is just so badly reasoned at so many levels! I could go on and on and on over that nonsense salad you just tossed at this forum, but I think that a good start is to simply Google the term "faulty logic". Another good term to research is "simplistic reasoning". Start with those and then take a look at your post again.