I'm guessing at least 50% of us born-ins do the double life thing to the max extent possible. Everyone subtly knows who's in the first category and who the uber-JWs are. The percentage of double-lifers seems to increase with every generation/age (none of that overlapping stuff ) and be more open about it. It's all about being just JW enough to be not shunned. There are virtually no new recruits to halt the relaxation of local JW culture where I am. A family/elder that moved in is still in shock, but doesn't have enough power to make any meaningful changes. In fact... his kids appear to be slowly adjusting to fit right in. The elder JW grandparents are just seen as slightly senile/overboard or they have no desire to see their progeny kicked out. There could also be some nepotism overlooking things over time/generations. I wonder if upper-management is catching on to what's happening. They might be trying to stem that flow (far too late...).
StarryNight9
JoinedPosts by StarryNight9
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Study Watchtower confirms shunning spiritually weak. How nice!
by Isambard Crater init really hurt to hear brothers and sisters commenting about this at the meeting yesterday.. "as in solomon’s case, one of the greatest threats to spirituality is friendship with those who do not understand or respect jehovah’s standards.
some may be associated with the congregation but may be spiritually weak.
others could be relatives, neighbors, coworkers, or schoolmates who are not worshippers of jehovah.
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Saw homemade "Cart art" and murmurs about cart working yesterday.To old to do cart work?
by caves inyesterday i parked at a rest stop for a bit and there were 2 ladys at a cart.
the cart sign was hand painted.
that was odd to me.
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StarryNight9
neat blue dog: Some of the new cart art designs are simplistic, blocky renderings of previous artwork, (edited in the computer to look that way) and could be mistaken for crude artwork. Just a guess.
I was wondering if anyone else had noticed paintings were becoming passé. Sometimes old paintings get reused, but comic book style illustrations appear to be "in" right now.
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Overwhelmed
by Freedom rocks indoes anyone else feel overwhelmed on what to believe?.
i've been doing lots of research on beliefs, evolution, creationism but i feel no further forward about what i truly believe.
for example i looked at the fossil record and tiktaalic and thought great it proves a lot but then i've seen counter arguments on youtube of people basically saying its a load of rubbish and doesn't prove anything.
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StarryNight9
Crofty - thanks for the heads-up about Perry. I looked around at his posts and you're right... totally not worth the work of responding.
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Overwhelmed
by Freedom rocks indoes anyone else feel overwhelmed on what to believe?.
i've been doing lots of research on beliefs, evolution, creationism but i feel no further forward about what i truly believe.
for example i looked at the fossil record and tiktaalic and thought great it proves a lot but then i've seen counter arguments on youtube of people basically saying its a load of rubbish and doesn't prove anything.
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StarryNight9
Perry:
"Here's a recent large sweeping gene survey study that claims 90% of all animals appeared recently at the same time as man. Amazingly, the study also claims that "species have very clear genetic boundaries, and there's nothing much in between." Sounds close to what you’d expect to find based on the Genesis account of origins."
"If we were created by a being who is capable of starting life as we know it, it is reasonable to assume that he has the power over death as well."I'll say it again... evolution has nothing to do with how biologic life came to be... sigh
One genetic study doesn't prove anything (one way or the other). Studies aren't even considered viable until the same results are reproduced by multiple independent scientists. We have a really bad habit of hearing one initial study (which we don't truly understand), drawing an uninformed conclusion, and blasting it at people as "proof" of our convictions. Media gets really click-bait with that stuff - competing for a cool headline. You also can't forget the rest of Genesis because you've found one sentence that sorta lines up with a yet-to-be-tested study. Don't even get me started on Noah's Ark...
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Overwhelmed
by Freedom rocks indoes anyone else feel overwhelmed on what to believe?.
i've been doing lots of research on beliefs, evolution, creationism but i feel no further forward about what i truly believe.
for example i looked at the fossil record and tiktaalic and thought great it proves a lot but then i've seen counter arguments on youtube of people basically saying its a load of rubbish and doesn't prove anything.
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StarryNight9
I like that science doesn't pretend to have all the answers to everything. There are just many answers that have yet to be discovered and tested. Watch out for misinterpretations of science - that's where a lot of the "science is wrong" arguments come from. Someone else mentioned the confusion over evolution (how living things change over time) being the same thing as abiogenesis (how biologic life started). I hear JWs and other religious people make this incorrect assumption all the time - and feeling very smart/smug about their dismissal of evolution. It's the same problem with their chimp/human argument. They claim we couldn't have evolved from chimps (or other current animal) since they're still around. It's yet another misunderstanding - evolution doesn't claim that. It's important to understand what's actually being said before dismissing it. If you like videos, here are a few good ones:
Evolution: https://youtu.be/XdddbYILel0
Irreducible complexity cut down to size: https://youtu.be/W96AJ0ChboU
What is Evolution: https://youtu.be/GhHOjC4oxh8
What is Natural Selection: https://youtu.be/0SCjhI86grU
Human Evolution: Crash Course Big History #6: https://youtu.be/UPggkvB9_dc
Evolution on Earth in 60 Seconds: https://youtu.be/OIWde6OpVZU
The Origin of Life - Abiogenisis - Dr. Zack Szostak: https://youtu.be/U6QYDdgP9eg
Proof of evolution that you can find on your body: https://youtu.be/rFxu7NEoKC8
Why Women Are Stripey: https://youtu.be/BD6h-wDj7bw
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Vegan?
by coalize in"the wolf and the lamb will feed together, the lion will eat straw just like the bull, and the serpent’s food will be dust.
they will do no harm nor cause any ruin in all my holy mountain, says jehovah.
" - isaiah 65:25. a muthafuckin vegan paradise?.
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StarryNight9
WTWizard " Even with vitamin B12 supplements, there are other nutrients found only in animal products that humans need."
I'll start off by saying that I'm not vegan or a vegetarian, but I do know that vegans can be perfectly healthy. B12 can be found in many fortified cereals or even nutritional yeast (it tastes sort of like cheese dust). A newly minted vegan has up to 5 years to get a clue about what healthy vegan eating is before their B12 reserves run out. Even omnivores can have vitamin deficiencies if we don't eat a healthy diet. It's just easier for omnivores because we don't have to think about what is basically healthy for us. We learn it as children. I'm sure that someone raised as a vegan would be perfectly aware of the need for B12 in their diet - just like us omnivores know about eating our vegetables.
*however - saying all animals will be vegan is just dumb -
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Here's another subtle reverse-witnessing topic:
by neat blue dog inthe next time a jw brings up a natural disaster or severe weather event as proof of the last days, and they preface it by reciting a fact they heard on the news like, (just for the sake of example) 'it's the worst earthquake in 70 years' or 'the worst plague in 200' years', (you get the picture), then simply reply: "oh, so that means that ____ years ago there was one that was worse, right?".
i did this twice.
both times got the same response:.
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StarryNight9
Talking with Uber-JWs is always a buzzkill. They revel in major disasters (nature or man-made) as "the end is near". It makes JWs extremely uncomfortable to go 100% Pollyanna with facts to back it up. The whole religion is a doom and gloom theme.
Personal disasters are just opportunities for a conversion. It's absolutely disgusting to hear JWs hoping people experience some sort of misfortune (especially the death of a loved one) so they're receptive to "the truth" the next time a JW approaches them.
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Alex Jones, Infowars Ban on Youtube, FB and other platforms
by pleaseresearch inwhat are you thoughts on this?.
i find this alarming because jones was very outspoken and had great guests on discussing topics most other media outlets wouldn't go near.. the fact that many have restricted him access to their medium what does this say on our freedoms of speech?.
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StarryNight9
I'm always amazed when people think free speech means you deserve to have someone else give you their pulpit (or even let you borrow/use it). If the owner kicks you off their property/pulpit (even if it's super popular), you'll have to build your own or convince someone else to give you one. That's just how it works. The free speech angle has no merit - no one has taped his mouth closed. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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I yelled at dubs today ( again )
by kairos inso i roll up to the job site and looky there, two uber pioneer dubs dragging themselves down the sidewalk.
both ladies are in there early 60's and born in.. my heart started pumping, but i had to act.i was directly across the street from them.
i walked right to the sidewalk and said in a very loud, but not mean voice: "you can't teach overlapping generations from the bible!!
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StarryNight9
It might be more fun to (calmly and logically) approach each of your neighbors and prepare them for future JW visits. Ask if they want the JWs to stop bugging them. If so, offer them questions (and internet resources) that will make the JWs highly uncomfortable (pedophilia cases, failed predictions, higher education, shunning, etc...). Use whatever each neighbor would find most objectionable and would be unlikely to let the JWs "explain away" without serious resistance. At least one of the neighbors should prick the JWs cognitive dissonance - especially if every door rebuffs their nonsense in an educated and calm manner. Getting treated as dumb/crazy/uninformed by an entire street (or streets) should bring out some doubts. Or they'll run away from aposta-land for good....
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WT Recruiting JW Solicitors (Lawyers)
by AverageJoe1 inwe all know how much the watchtower abhors "higher education" and that apparently jehovah thinks it is a big waste of time.
at least that is their official stance.
it might come as a shock to you that this month they have started a campaign drive to actually recruit jws who have higher education, specifically those who have legal training.. with all the law suits against them for creating an environment that is friendly to paedophiles, it is thus no wonder that they are in need of solicitors, especially those who are sympathetic towards the cult.. talk about hypocrisy!.
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StarryNight9
I think they're relying on JWs who converted as adults (after getting their training/degrees). I think these type of converts will get more and more rare. Born-ins aren't getting any encouragement to receive higher education - quite the opposite. It's very hypocritical. They take advantage of higher education when it suites their fancy, but publicly disparage it at every opportunity.