Posts by Bonsai

21

Where the real abuse lies.

by ctrwtf in

jw
friends

let me start with a disclaimer: i am in no way minimizing the horrific crimes done to children by pedophiles.

i'm not downplaying the number of lives lost due to the blood issue, or hearts broken because of shunning.

i do not want to discount the feelings of those who have come to the end of their lives with expectations of paradise postponed.. but to me the biggest atrocity committed by this awful cult is raising children from a small age to believe that soon god will kill billions of people.

Bonsai

Amen bruthah (Sistah). Amen. Survivor's guilt ****ed me up so bad for years. The idea that a p.o.s. like me would survive while all these wonderful people around me would be slaughtered just because they didn't follow a certain religious brand of doctrine was just... untenable.

8

Hope and Reality

by Alive! in

for a long time, i've been moving into a place of utmost hope and faith.

universal reconciliation.

as a converted jw - i began my conversion with the joy that there is a hope for something we all would love - a world where each of us sees our fellow kind as a true brother.. i don't think that's an unhealthy way to live.. but - i'm living with the effects of corruptive thinking from a 'sect' - a divisive sect and judgemental sect that has hurt my sense of self.. it's terribly painful to have completely believed one thing, and then completely believe something else.... well that's how it feels to me.. i've read of some here who were jws for years, then became devout born agains for years and now are confirmed atheists.. wow.. how do you cope with the frivolous nature of your 'beliefs' - beliefs that were 'truths' for you in their own time.. i'm struggling - anyone else?.

Bonsai

Hope and belief are a luxury that many draw comfort from. They don't stop the grim reaper though. Lose your shame and move on with your life. We are conscious for but a brief moment. We are but a flicker of a shadow from the perspective of a rock - here an instant and gone just as fast. See the colors, smell the fragrance of the earth, laugh with your loved ones and glare defiantly at your mortality. Every second we breath is precious. Every day that we wake up, everyday that our molecules manage to hold together so as to give us consciousness, these are opportunities to do good and give meaning to others.

21

Adult Coloring Books

by littlerockguy in

anybody take up coloring?

i got lost ocean by johanna basford and i got another coloring book mandalas and more.

i just use crayola colored pencils and some gel pens and thin tipped markers.

Bonsai

Surprisingly, I find coloring very relaxing. We've started a habit where the whole family colors together on one big coloring picture. Anything that fosters teamwork can only draw a family together.

40

What was your ''the last straw that broke the camels back'' moment

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

there is a limit to how much straw (long yellow grass) a camel can carry on its back.

if you keep putting more straw on top, it will finally break the camel's back.

when you are at the last straw you are finally angry and will not take any more.. my moment (to stop attending all watchtower meetings) was after the harsh treatment from the elders and fellow congregation members of my second cousin who was disfellowhipped as a teenager.

Bonsai

I realized that everything I did - everything that everyone was doing - was motivated, not by love, but by fear and guilt.

That's no way to live, or raise a family, so I left and never went back.

72

Update on everything going on in JW Land - Insider Information

by thedepressedsoul in

i'd like to start off by saying that i will be very vague in everything i say.

i am fairly "high up" in jw land and have to be somewhat careful how i word and say stuff.

sorry in advance if any specific details are left out.

Bonsai

I found his insights on the rock star adoration of the GB to be quite interesting. Thanks depressed soul. Hope things are looking up for you.

54

The Watchtower is not invincible

by Coded Logic in

despite claims to the contrary, there's no guarantee the watchtower will be around in a few decades time.

and it seems to me there's ever mounting evidence that the opposite may well be true.

but it's not just that recruitment is down and their defectors are up.

Bonsai

Like most other parasitic religions, as long as there is a host to prey on they are here to stay. They might diminish in size and power, but they'll find a way to survive. All it takes is one global disaster, like a massive pandemic or war, to get people flooding into kingdom halls. Its only natural for people to find alternative ways to save their own skin.

56

OK friends lets be honest, if a Nuclear Holocaust took place today how many of you would return to the KH?

by James Mixon in

speaking for my self, no way in hell.. this question to see if you really have been deprogramed,.

do you 100% believe it is not the truth.. a fourth of the world hit by a nuclear attack..

Bonsai

This is an interesting hypothetical situation that you present. In my own personal case, I love this beautiful planet more than I love human beings (I do love my fellow man, but just not as much). The ONLY reason I could excuse some extraterrestrial being for destroying civilization as we know it would be because that higher being is merely trying to save the planet from complete annihilation. That being said, I think if God actually existed, he would thwart the nuclear war before it got started. If one-fourth of the planet is already destroyed, then you can bet your last silver dollar that there is no God. Either way, I'd rather eat pig vomit than put myself under the yoke of the magnificent seven. Never again.

4

Warwick - My Retirement Home

by Bonsai in

i'm tired.

i dedicated the majority of my life to the whims of seven men who live in an ivory tower.

i've heard recently that they are about to finish a new retirement home in beautiful, rural upstate new york.

Bonsai

You know what? I'm tired. I dedicated the majority of my life to the whims of seven men who live in an ivory tower. I've heard recently that they are about to finish a new retirement home in beautiful, rural upstate New York. I neglected to go to college and build up a meaningful career because they discouraged me from doing so. Now I can't even scrape together the front money needed to start a loan on a house.

So how about this, I've decided that I'll go ahead and move my family to Warwick and retire there. I'll let them take care of me like they take care of the GB and their special "helperzzz". No loan, no bills, insurance is covered and I will be in want of nothing. It should be fine, right? After all, I have been sending them donations since I was a child (no ice cream for me).

Help me out folks. What do I need to do to make this happen? What does the common sheepie need to do so that they can live out there days in plush Warwick?

475

What is the alternative to JW?

by Formerbrother in

i mean this with all due respect, i would like to hear from genuine people who think jw have it wrong and then what is the truth?.

im not talking about silly little quibbles here and there.. is jehovah real?

the the bible is word?

Bonsai

For example, when Jesus said "this is how you can identify my true followers, those who have love amongst themselves" which other organisation apart from JWs can also say that, in almost every nation around the world?

What love have you experienced so deeply from them? If you have experienced this unprecedented love, why are you here? I have experienced individual love from them. But as a whole, I have seen that the more intimate JWs get with each other, the more they start to eat each other. All that condescending judgement, pious facade and conditional love really ate at me to the point where there was no alternative other than to puke them out of my life. You can only be a brainless yes-man in that organization for so long, but go ahead and give it a try! Maybe you are the personality type that just loves to lap all that stuff up! Hopefully not.

475

What is the alternative to JW?

by Formerbrother in

i mean this with all due respect, i would like to hear from genuine people who think jw have it wrong and then what is the truth?.

im not talking about silly little quibbles here and there.. is jehovah real?

the the bible is word?

Bonsai

We all know they tried to replace the divine name with titles such as lord or god, but the original YHWH is the divine name, we just have do the best we can translating it in each language, we may not get it quite right as we all say it differently around the world.

No, actually we don't. Why force a translation of a name that even Jesus never used? If it was so important to make a modern, hybrid version of the tetragrammaton why didn't Jesus do so in his day? Where is the written record of him using the divine name? Why not just call god "father" or "Lord"? Truth shouldn't have to be forced or manipulated or modernized to fit the agendas of men. If god does indeed exist, then he/she/it knows who he/she/it is no matter what name/title you choose to call he/she/it.