check out the latest watchtower:.
"your defense?
be determined to stick to jehovah’s organization and loyally support the leadership he provides—no matter what imperfections may surface.
Keep in mind that Satan does not want you to think clearly or reason things out well. Why? Because propaganda “is likely to be most effective,” says one source, “if people . . . are discouraged from thinking critically.”
bwahahaha... they mention Satan and critical thinking in the same sentence? Seriously? That's funny stuff right there...
i dont know if this is becoming a national thing or even globally.
but im hearing more and more people i knew from my jw days have taken their kids out of school to home school them instead.
in my sisters case she's taken her 8yo and 6yo children out already and her 3yo wont ever start a school.
I've seen the trend in my area. A JW relative of mine has their kids homeschooled, and I've been told that it's become quite common across many of the congregations through the city/county.
While there may be some merits to homeschooling in certain situations, when parents decide to homeschool their kids based on the desire to keep them 'separate from the world' (whether JW, or some other evangelical group), I fear that it will (further) impede their growth into normal, well adjusted, adults, that can operate in the normal world. (and more heavily indoctrinate them into whatever belief system the parents are pushing).
haha!
yes folks!
it's an eight page printout from the cd-rom of the scriptures and wt reference for use during the midweek clam meeting.. 'references for life and ministry meeting workbook'.
The last time I was at a KH the speaker was telling page numbers of scriptures, something I'd never heard of before
Each passing generation (not that overlapping BS) of JWs is less educated than the previous one. They are also less knowledgeable of the Bible (as far as JW knowledge goes). Therefore the time has come when your average, raised from birth JW, can't find books of the Bible.
jehovah's witnesses mobilize global response to threat of ban in russia.
march 21, 2017. https://www.jw.org/en/news/releases/by-region/russia/jw-mobilize-global-response-to-threat-of-ban/.
new york—threatened with an imminent ban on their worship in russia, jehovah’s witnesses are responding with a direct appeal to kremlin and supreme court officials for relief through a global letter-writing campaign.
I remember doing a letter writing campaign regarding Malawi. Back then there was no Internet, no email, no social media, so it kinda made sense. Today, I'm not so sure.
Which lends credence to my theory (and apologies if someone has already mentioned this) - that the letter writing campaign isn't so much to try to convince Russian authorities of anything, but to impress on dubs in the US, and other 'free' countries, that persecution is real, and it could be them next. A side benefit is that it gives them a sense of solidarity, but the the real intent is to give them anxiety, put a sense of dread in their life, hopefully pushing them to come closer to 'mother', not letting the 'world' seduce them or pull them away from their service to the organization.
i'm all for religious freedoms.
i am not for a religious organization demanding freedoms from the government that they in turn take away from their own members.
why should the organization get religious freedom when they take that very thing away from it's members?.
I'm against banning entire religions, even if it's the JWs. Sure, we've got a bone to pick with the WTS, but agreeing with a totalitarian regime to ban a religion we don't like is short sighted.
And let's admit something... it's not the WTS hierarchy that is affected. It's the everyday R&F member of the religion that will suffer. No one in New York really suffered during WWII, but the loyal followers in Germany sure suffered. Do you really want that for innocent Russians (despite their allegiance to the WTS)?
A ban on an entire religion is a human rights violation. Yea, we may argue that the WTS steps on our human rights through their DFing and shunning policy, but that's an issue not related to what an actual government can do with their power.
No, I don't wish a ban on JWs or the WTS. No more than I wish a ban on Catholics, Mormons or atheists. I can put aside my dislike for the WTS enough to stand up for freedom of (or from) religion, no matter your faith (or lack of).
i have some tricks to play.
i know it may sound childish but i feel that creating havoc and forcing the memorial to be postponed will be the highlight of the night!
wish me luck!.
I will not wish you luck. I hope you rethink your idea, and decide to drop the foolishness.
These people, even though we disagree with them, and want no part of their beliefs anymore, have as much right to celebrate their Memorial as any other religion has to celebrate their special, or holy, occasions. Are you going to go around and disrupt Catholics, Mormons, and Presbyterians as well? Freedom of religion works two ways... not having to be forced to believe a certain way, and allowing others to believe as they wish.
Leave em alone
in mission impossible 3, ethan hunt (aka tom cruise) and his protege (aka keri russell) have an explosive pellet implanted in their heads through their nose by the bad guys as a way to control them.
the only way to to stop it from detonating is to use a defibrillator or some device to send massive electric shocks to the body, thus short circuiting the deadly implant.
hunt's protege doesn't get the help she needed in time, and she dies.
We were in a cult. We're ex cult members. It's not like quitting a job you got tired of, it's a life changing event, and one that is looked down on by most of the people you called 'friends' and 'family', because they're still in the cult . At that moment you leave, you become all alone. Forums like this are a help (helped me.. Thanks Simon and everyone whose been a part of it). But you're right, therapy would be good, if affordable. I had a few sessions, but they were more of a counselor, not a licensed therapist/doctor. But what really helped was having friends who were kind enough to let me spill my guts to them. A 'worldly' friend who listened, and gave advice. And later another couple of ex-JWs, in which we could commiserate together over a beer. Going it alone is tough, very tough.
And if you grew up as a JW, once you free yourself of the chains of their moral code, you will experiment in things. I did. I learned my limits, and what was healthy and not healthy, what was worth a risk and what wasn't... and I did it without the pressure, rules, fear and guilt of the cult. I knew others who did as well, but unfortunately did not come back from the dark side. Maybe they could have been saved had they been helped, or had a shoulder to lean on...
Good post, good reminders. Thanks for sharing. And my thoughts go out to you on your family loss.
knocked on a door on a saturday morning.
a window opened on the floor above me.
a grizzled old man stuck his head out and said, " we're all heathens here!
Out in 'unassigned territory' we actually had a shotgun fired over our car as we came down a long country dirt drive. It had the shooter's desired effect... we turned around and left. Shotgun totin' hillbillies - 1; JWs - 0
i was showing a friend of mine what kind of books my parents allowed me to read when i was very young.
no children books that was age related but the so called orange paradise book was my only children book i had.
she was taken back on how violent it was and showing little kids being killed by god was just unspeakable.
Thanks for the link to the PDF copy, Blondie. I've since long ago purged all my old WT books, but every now and then you realize that there are a few that should have been kept for research purposes. This is one of them.
And yes, I remember studying it as a kid. Those illustrations of Armageddon were a bit unsettling to such a naive, tender mind.
february 26, 2017 to all bodies of elders re: witnessing in public places.
and.
february 25, 2017 to all congregations re: magnetic boards and posters for public witnessing.
...if a fee is to be paid for a site in a mall, the F/S Overseer has to pay it out of his pocket
Well, to be fair - it wouldn't do to steal from the Watchtower Pedophile Defense Fund to cover the cost of the Life Saving Ministry work, now would it?
