Parousia

Joined

• started 1 topics
• posted 25 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Parousia

• 
  3

  Tax Question If You Know

  by writerpen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the hope credit for students allows $1,500 for tuition and fees paid during 2002. a student has to be enrolled in an accredited higher education facility, i think at least half time (i'm enrolled full time) and can only claim this two times in a lifetime.

  in addition, they can only claim this during their first two years of school.

  in other other words, at the beginning of 2002, i needed to be at least a freshman or sophmore.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Parousia

  Writerpen,
  
  Did you receive Form 1098-T from your college? This is your Tuition Payments Statement. Box #1 on the form contains qualified tuition and related expenses. You must use Form 8863 available at: www.irs.gov
  
  Parousia
• 
  33

  What Is The Most Effective Brainwashing Technique The Society Uses?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it seems that for well over a century, the watchtower society has subtly controlled the minds of "thinking persons".

  what ways do you think that they are most effective?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Parousia

  You are all right! Here's another one....
  
  Isolation.
  
  She didn't know it at the time, but my sister remembers the last holiday our family ever celebrated. One day our mother announced...no more Christmas and no more birthdays. Our extended family and friends were informed not to include us in their gift giving or celebrations or expect anything from us in return. We were cut off. That was before I was born. I've always felt like I lived life peeping in through a window...watching other people live.
  
  Fear is isolation's evil twin.
  
  I never thought I'd grow up. Armageddon was going to happen any moment. When I was five we had storm with hail the size of golf balls. We lived in a thin metal singlewide mobile home. It sounded like the roof was coming down. My Mom said it might be Armageddon. We were all terrified crouching down together in the hallway. I was pretty sure I wasn't good enough to make it because a little neighbor girl and me had recently gotten into her parents cigarettes. We stacked up milk cartons, put a sheet over them, proceeded to light cigarettes, placed them between each of our fingers, and then tried to smoke all of them. It's a wonder we didn't catch the house on fire. We just got sick, and that leads to...guilt, fear and isolation's evil sibling. I'd say they are triplets.
• 
  11

  Jehovah's Witnesses And The Cycle Of Fear

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  witnesses are enwrapped in a cycle of fear.

  " .....somebody gets stumbled, misunderstands, or disagrees?

  "...they tell on me, ridicule me or judge me?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Parousia

  Thank you Blondie for the quotes!
• 
  13

  Convention Symposium: Dangers of The Internet

  by SYN in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here is a brief outline i have prepared for the brothers (not brotherettes) who will be handling the symposium at our international conventions entitled "dangers of the internet : do not be misled by those naughty, naughty apostates":.

  part one - getting to know the enemy's territory.

  ever since alan turing developed his theory of the computational engine, things have been looking dark for all witnesses of jehover on the electronic information frontier.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Parousia

  I love it! I needed a good laugh.
  
  Certain relatives of mine would further advise placing demon-possessed computers on railroad tracks as a form of exorcism.
  
  This was actually done to a stereo that was given to my husband's nephew. Negative things were happening in the family at the time and his mother decided it must be the stereo, no doubt due to the questionable character of it's former owner. But they took care of that problem, yes sir! Those demons didn't have a chance against that freight train....
• 
  29

  Just How Dysfunctional Are We?

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've noted that one of our ex-members believes that the vast majority of posters to this site are, in his opinion, worthy of the label of being "dysfunctional".. for what it's worth, i believe that some persons, especially those who have exited the witnesses fairly recently, may well be a little naive and probably somewhat immature also.

  from my own observations i have seen how maturation virtually ceases when anyone becomes overly committed to a belief system.

  once someone leaves that belief system, then their maturation continues afresh and goes into over-drive as the person strives to "catch up" and eventually feel comfortable in relatively normal society.. so no, i don't think that many of us are dysfunctional at all.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Parousia

  Given the fact that the vast number of the people in the world are not or have not been JW's and having been raised a JW, I do not run into people like myself very often. On this board, I've found a whole group of people with whom I have something in common ... that's why I'm here. I don't post often, but I like to check in and read what everyone is talking about. I enjoy reading the different perspectives and seeing the different stages people are in, recognizing stages in others that I have been in myself is reassuring. I have also often felt that I had a dysfunctional background, but the older I get and the more people I meet, the more I realize we all have something that isn't quite normal ... whatever normal is. Parousia
• 
  3

  Deceptions That Do Not Lead To Everlasting Life

  by Defender in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  satan deceived the first woman in eden by questioning the integrity and truthfulness of god with words like: is it really so that god said you must not eat from every tree of the garden?

  and when eve responded in the negative and the warning of death if she eats from or touches the tree in the middle of garden, satan replied: you positively will not die.

  for god knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like god, knowing good and bad.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Parousia

  Excellent analogy! May I save it for future reference? I would love to use it in discussions with my JW family or anyone who has the fortune to knock on my door!

  Last week I had the opportunity to talk to my JW Dad about such things. (Only the second time in twenty years. The first time he hung up the phone on me. This time he actually let me talk. Im still amazed!) Anyway, he loves to put down the Catholics. I know he is just parroting the Society teachings, but, after we talked I thought of this.

  The Society is actually the same as those it accuses. For example, they use the Catholic Church as a sort of favorite whipping boy to divert attention from themselves. Yet there are many similarities. It is the age-old tick; If I point the finger at someone bigger and worse than myself no one will look at me. However when one examines the hand pointing the finger, they may see the three fingers that are pointing back!

  Doesnt the Watchtower Society elevate the governing bodys authority, under the auspices "faithful and discreet slave," much like it accuses the Catholics of doing with the Pope? Doesnt it criticize their devotion to the Mother and yet has the audacity to call itself Mother and expect the same type of devotion? How many more similarities can you think of?!

  Anyway, I often think of the scene in the movie The Wizard of Oz when the curtain is pulled back and the Great and Powerful Oz is nothing more than a little old man blowing smoke!

  The Governing Body has nine of them.

  Parousia
• 
  35

  As a kid how did you survive the meetings?

  by Parousia in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  recently my brother, sister, and i talked for the first time about how we survived the meetings when we were kids.

  i loved hearing their stories.. i had a whole imaginary world i went into.

  once the songs were over and the talk started, i would focus on the speaker to look like i was listening and then zone out.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Parousia

  Recently my brother, sister, and I talked for the first time about how we survived the meetings when we were kids. I loved hearing their stories.

  I had a whole imaginary world I went into. Once the songs were over and the talk started, I would focus on the speaker to look like I was listening and then zone out. I never allowed myself to go into this imaginary world during regular time so I would have something to look forward to at the next meeting.

  I discovered my brother did the same thing. He told me he did fun things like ride a dirt bike in his imaginary world.

  My sister remembered trying to figure out ways to sleep though the meetings.

  How about you guys? I bet there are some good stories out there.
  Parousia
• 
  16

  WTS Says Faith Should Not be in an Organization?

  by blondie in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the hypocrisy of the wts knows no bounds

  most jws would say, "but we have faith in jehovah, jesus and the bible, not in men.

  " yet in many places the wts does demand jws to have faith.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Parousia

  Excellent! Thank you for putting those quotes together.

  Parousia
• 
  22

  I've Lost My Faith

  by jst2laws in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we occasionally get wind of new lies being spread about us in our old jw community.

  having 'served' in fourteen different congregations in six states often serving where the 'need is great', one decade in the fulltime work and nearly two decades as a po, it appears are current status with the organization is causing a bit of a scandal.

  yesterday we received a phone call from an old friend at bethel.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Parousia

  Well said jst2laws!

  When I "lost my faith" my parents accused me of never having believed in God at all. I assured them that I most definitely still do believe in God and the Bible, but they can't separate the two (org. from God) in their minds. My Mom said she's afraid to talk about it because it could mean "life or death" to her. They are held captive by fear.

  I am glad I'm not a captive anymore, but the grief and frustration for them continues....
  Parousia
• 
  35

  Reaching 40, whats all that about!

  by Brummie in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  nearly everyone i know is 40 yrs old this year, even today a good friend reached the big 40. .

  i'm 40 in september (omg) and i dont feel any older than when i was 18. do you?

  did you dread it, did you make a fuss?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Parousia

  I turned 40 last Wednesday. Everytime I hit a milestone in my life I feel surprised.

  Coinsidentally I stumbled onto the quote below on my birthday, and I thought, "No wonder I feel surprised. I never thought I'd live past elementary school!"

  http://quotes.jehovahswitnesses.com/
  ***Awake! 1969 May 22 p.15*** "If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things...."

  Actually, reading this quote made my day because instead of feeling sad to leave my thirties behind (like I had been), I suddenly felt grateful for the forty years I never expected to have!

  Anyone else feel that way?

  Myla