Posts by uriah

12

Word from the platform...?

by ESTEE in

it's not easy trying to be a borg member.... and the transition to living in the real world is not an easy journey either ... .

soooo ... really ... it is all about choice ... because the transition to living is do-able!!!

earlier this week monkeyprincess wrote about talking to her mom about conditional and unconditional love.... she responded with "i love all you girls too, but not unconditionally".

uriah

It is the same with all things JW.

By mealy words they imply. This is builds into the mind set so that it does not have to be spoken, it is assumed, yet no one says it.

This starts with the bible study. Amongst the first things you learn is that God will destroy those that do not do as he says.

Then theocratic rules, associations, meetings etc., etc. By all these theo-speak (tm) words the accepted actions are soon made apparent and what may seem starnge at first is soon replaced by 'what comes naturally' They don't even know what they say or why, they just do at the appropriate time. An example of this:

My daughter decided she did not to be a JW (this is before we faded).

'Friends' comments were 'Oh well, you can have another daughter in the new system'

These are people who had known her from day one, she had been friends with thier daughters and stayed at my house and all of a sudden she was a non-person. She did not exist and was dead as far as they were concerned. This stunned me. It happened at a CA after talks on 'love!'. Their faces did not register anything, no 'oh dear what a shame' even. Just 'Bright' and 'The kingdom first' type faces and they were smiling as they condemned her at armageddon - you could almost hear them saying 'hope she grows me some nice roses' - alluding to her being manure, as I have heard other 'loving' brothers say of others.

23

When Loved Ones Do Not Share Your Faith - 11/8/03 Awake!

by Funchback in

i picked and chose the more interesting quotes.

"how should christians treat loved ones who do not share their faith?

"no time limit is implied in the command at exodous 20:12 to 'honor your father and your mother.

uriah

It's that damned 'ones' again. How I hate that.

They are not 'ones' they are people, relatives, brothers, sisters, aunts etc.

These ones

Weak ones

Selfish ones

up yer bums

Sorry but it really p****es me off, these bloody labels.

41

"We Miss You! (but only at the meetings)"

by Funchback in

it has been a good (7) weeks since i've last attended a kh meeting.

this weekend, however, the calls of "encouragement" came rolling in.

on saturday, a brother (actually a very decent, likable, and genuine man) left me a message and said that he misses me at the meetings.

uriah

All this 'Miss you' mmmwah mmmwah cobblers.

No one misses you. We had the group at chez moi for about 15 years, some dubberlarters live not 30 seconds away. When we asked to have the group moved temporarily, because we were decorating, and then declined to have it back (tee hee) and then faded, NO-ONE came or called. No one knows if we are dead or alive. It is almost unbelievable that people troll around to your house for 15 years and never call when they don't see you again for ages. I have heard from the odd one I met accidentally in the street that we are 'missed'. I say 'Oh, how kind, but how can you tell?' That stump's them.

The truth is, on-one misses anyone. The whole brotherly doverly thing is in the mind

24

Most Memorable WT Cover

by Nosferatu in

jw
friends

which watchtower or awake cover do you remember the most?

uriah

Owz about these guys'n'galls

cant remember where I saw them but there were lots and they were funny.

15

ratio of active to gone

by kgfreeperson in

if there are 6 million active baptised jws in the world, how many inactive, df'd or da'd jws do you think there are?

what effect do you think this number of not-active-for-whatever-reason has on the potential growth of jw?

uriah

The Society likes to use figures, especially about how much literature is printed. Using the above figures as a guide, the WT is about 24million copies each issue. Now when I was not trolling out the mags as a 'good but not appointable bro on account of being rebellious wiv a beard', we took home 14 wt and 10 awakes - one each to study and 10 pairs to put in the loft ( sorry 'place'.). Now assume each witness has one for personal study (6million) and say 2 million for infants and children who must have their own copy (8million) 16 million left. Now I know grillions of witnesses who have piles and they also have a lot of magazines in their homes too and not many place the older ones (like me cos they are old after all who wants last fortnights spiritual food). I reckon about 5 million get placed world wide, of which most end up in the cat litter tray and according to 'in search of christian freedom' the WT knows that not many JW's actually read them - not that it matters cos they still get the dosh. So, with all this number crunching, can it be said that the WWWW (world wide witnessing work) is effective, no and that is why there are at least, oo, a grillion on this board and twice that number kicking the tyres wondering if they should join. Well, there you have it. Or not as the case may be.

41

A question for the Brits...

by Country Girl in

jw
friends

i've so enjoyed my conversations with the folks from the uk and australia on here.

i'm enchanted by their darling expressions, and different banter than we have in the us.

but i've always noticed one thing.

uriah

I saay you fellows, but darhhling, anything past the Watford Gap is more-or-less greek to us dyne here, what with their

eee-by-gum's

well, oil go ta the foowert of mah stairs loove

and don't mention the whippets, I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it

Words to warm the cockles of a northerner's heart:

Black pudding

Whippit's

Pigeons

ferrets

John Smith's

down t'pit

flat caps to name but a few

yah, s'true, been there oh and back to backs, lekky and 'on the social' for our liverpuddlian bretheren

8

The UN, was the WTS given special knowledge?

by peacefulpete in

the league of nations and the united nations in prophetic speculation

how is it that so many individuals through the centuries have found such a pleasure in playing the role of prophet, despite the fact that their prophecies so seldom come true?

regularly their predictions fail, yet they go on with prophesying.

uriah

If I remember rightly, Russell discounted the looming war as part of the sign. They were expecting armageddon then but JW current myth is that was the end of the GT and WW1 was the sign.

46

They're turning up the heat

by Winston Smith :>D in

well, after four elder meetings at 2 hours a pop, they sill want to get together with me.

the last meeting i told them to give me scriptural backing that disproves that the 70 years ended when babylon fell as spoken of at jer 25: 10,11. i also asked for scriptures to prove why they insist on 607 rather than 587 as the fall of jerusalem.

they said they would do that and get back to me.

uriah

The relplies here are all sound especially those that urge caution. It may simplify issues if you ask the question 'What do I want?'

This is a very difficult question so think about carefully.

Lets say that it is to leave the WT and take your wife with you and just fade away. No DF or DA'ing.

If that is what you want then the next question is 'how will I achieve it?'

Firstly, stop stirring the waters and let them settle, never mind 607 and all that, your goal is to fade with your wife, not disprove any doctrines. Keep focused on what you want.

Anything that distracts from your goal, cut it loose. Don't be baited. Use suggestions posted here by others that help.

Write your goal down and when you can reasonably expect to achieve it, then timeline it backwards, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, 1 month, 3 weeks for example. Work out where you expect to be at each stage and the steps you will take to get there. Check progress regularly and alter your plans/steps etc., as needed.

The main thing is to keep focused and do whatever you have to reach your goal, even if it means having a 'humble attitude'.

Hope it helps.

11

The Invisible 'Ones'

by uriah in

i had an insight the other day, you know the type of thing - you walk past something everyday and suddenly you become aware of it.. well, many on this board probably have come to the same conclusion so if i am repeating it - sorry.

what is it i hear you shout.

ok.. in my experience, i hardly saw any jw's except at meetings or meetings for fm.

uriah

I am reminded by these posts that they only times any elders phoned (except to maybe ask something for themselves) was to ask for my report slip. I remember being really irritated by it on one occasion and so said I had no time to report. The response, 'Oh dear, long sigh'.

The problem with all this brotherlyness is that it takes place mainly in the mind of the listener, or reader of 'spiritual food(tm)' I rememeber the feeling of getting all enthused and that warm glow you get when you are all in it together and helping out, hall building and the like. It was real for me, but then I began to see the cracks and realised that other 'brothers' did not walk the talk and most of them hated each other. I began to realise that it was a one-way street and nothing I did for others would be returned in anyway by them - not that that is what you do it for, but the realisation that if I needed anything it would not be forthcoming, all the while it was 'Thankyou brother Mug and I'll have that as well while you are at it - sucker, I mean brother'. The whole concept of the glabal brotherhood is false and based on emotionalism and hype with a good helping of sickly-sweet vaucuous jargon.

5

How true is this about JW's?

by Beans in

.

what is sociologically interesting about jehovah's witnesses is that they derive psychological satisfaction from perceiving a coherant pattern in there beliefs regardless of possible inner inconsistencies, and that, even if they do notice inconssistencies, they can abrogate personal responsibility for there own belief in the safe conviction that someone, somewhere in the watchtower society must be able to solve the problem.. by james beckford.

http://quotes.jehovahswitnesses.com

uriah

This can also be seen at any assembly you like to name. Just after a release hoards of JW's queue up to obtain (for a donation) a book they have not seen and yet will believe whatever it says within it covers. How many people on earth would do that. I used to. Most people buy a book after having read reviews or flicked through the pages in the bookshop. The WTBTS know that whatever they print, eager JW's will fall upon it and say 'Oh how wonderful another 'Loving provision' (tm) from jehovah.'. i can remember doing the same thing, but funnily enough i never actually read past chapter 2 - except at the book study. how ever bad the contents are no-one but no-one will say what is this rubbish.

Also, at assemblies - circuit ond special day, we used to have free(donation arrangement) coffe and biccies. Now the biccies were okay, cheapish economy versions but the coffe was prepared by the bretheren and sisteren. It was warm brown water. No one would say - 'er john this is vile coffee, we all drank it and thought of the loving provision (tm) and that if it was done by brothers then somehow it was the best you couold get because he is a brother. OOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo a brother, well thats all right then, drink up brothers.