Posts by Bonsai

64

What triggered your doubts / awakening?

by Tornintwo in

i am sort of new here, used a different username for a while but things got 'difficult' at home so i've since been lurking.... what i would be really interested to know, if you don't mind sharing, is what it was that triggered your doubts and initial research which led to awakening, was it a bad experience, injustice, changed doctrine?

for me, it was seeing mistreatment of young ones in the congregation, they're under so much pressure and as soon as they go even slightly astray they are shunned, either informally (as bad associations which pushes them further into the 'world') or formally - with elders dying to throw the book at them so they even lose their family.... ...then reading about child abuse issues in the press.... ...which led me to silentlambs.

...then jw facts, this forum and coc, wham!

Bonsai

My doubts began with the reinstatement arrangement. I wasn't so much bothered by the disfellowshipping arrangement at the time. However, the process to come back into "the truth" seemed excessively punitive and a form of cruel and unusual punishment. For years on end i would see different ones sitting in the back in assigned seats (Yes, that's right. In the country I live in they actually are assigned where to sit!) being treated as if they were quarantined. My heart went out to them as they were shunned every meeting, yet they continued to come for more punishment week after week, month after month. I checked the bible and ran into JWfacts and realized there was no biblical support for such a cruel arrangement.

The second thing that got the ball rolling was the earthquakes and Tsunamis that killed hundreds of thousands over the last 11 years. To me, God is the only one who knew they would happen. He has the power to show his love/mercy and warn people or stop the earthquake all together. Yet he didn't intervene as children and babies were crushed or drowned.

I remember clearly the tsunami of 2004 (as I was living very close to the nations that were devastated by it.) At first I was actually excited. This is a clear sign that we are living at the end of the last days! Then as I saw the level of suffering and death, I just got angrier and angrier that our loving god did nothing to help. I could no longer fault people for being atheist or agnostic and that really affected my ministry. After that, the small stream of doubts steadily grew into a raging roaring river that swept away everything that I had held to be true.

71

A big hello and thank you

by iwasblind in

i just wanted to introduce myself and say a big hello to all of my mentally diseased friends.. i say friends because i have been lurking for some time so it feels like home (us lurkers are a bit scared and cautious so it takes a while).

i won't bore you with too many details, but i am a born in, currently serving as the cobe of a congregation.

my wife and i have pioneered for the last 10 years and were shaken awake by that ridiculous 15th july 2013 wt about the generation and 1914.. my wife who is much smarter than me has questioned for years.

Bonsai

Thanks for posting. Your situation must be incredibly hard right now. Being still in and a COBE to boot must be like being a father to an extremely dysfunctional family that often hurts you, yet you love them which makes it hard to let go " of your flock."

In my case, for my own mental sanity, I walked away from it all - with my family in tow - months ago and never went back. It must still be a shock to many people in that circuit. I did it though, because the org. has to know that they are overstepping their authority and it will not be tolerated.

Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matt. 11:29) I found no rest for my soul in that organization, just a cold, steel, rusting yoke that was breaking my spine and my mind.

70

If They Stopped Shunning Tomorrow?

by cofty in

imagine that the cult decided to stop shunning family members on the proviso that the dfd person was not actively trying to attack the cult.. (please don't debate whether or not this is likely - it's hypothetical).

how would you respond to your family?.

personally i think i would be less than cooperative.

Bonsai

As I said in another thread, I'm a believer of keeping the peace and taking what love you can get from your brainwashed, abused, indoctrinated loved ones. I would avoid the really aggressive, obnoxious ones like the plague, though. Respect has to go both ways and if they don't respect my feelings/beliefs then there is no room for them in my life.

I would say great. I promise I won't attack your beliefs but this has to be a two way street. You have to promise not to share your beliefs and meetings with me because I have no interest in hearing about that part of your life. And in all honesty it just promotes arguments which we should avoid. We can talk about life, love, food, movies, books, TV shows, sports, science and the cosmos if you want.

What SimonSays said. Perfectly stated.

5

Is visiting a grave a DFing offence in Japan?

by wifibandit in

in a post at the exjw sub-reddit a user, ursusaractus, posted a link to a site showing a secret ossuary/mausoleum built a few years after the chiba assembly hall was constructed.. http://buta.exjw2.org/noukotudo/noukotudo.htm.

as to why this is of note, he said in part:.

in japan, cremation is the norm for burials, and most either inter the ashes in a family plot (with many other deceased relatives) in a buddhist ceremony, or bring them home to be placed on the family buddhist altar.

Bonsai

I haven't looked at the latest yearbooks, but its quite possible you are right Vidiot. The huge boom of the 70s and 80s has long since ended. What I do know is they cover my neighborhood quite often and I run into them all the time. Having preached here for years I can tell you that they are active and very zealous with tens of pioneers in each congregation. They do suffer from a shortage of elders and male publishers, though.

5

Is visiting a grave a DFing offence in Japan?

by wifibandit in

in a post at the exjw sub-reddit a user, ursusaractus, posted a link to a site showing a secret ossuary/mausoleum built a few years after the chiba assembly hall was constructed.. http://buta.exjw2.org/noukotudo/noukotudo.htm.

as to why this is of note, he said in part:.

in japan, cremation is the norm for burials, and most either inter the ashes in a family plot (with many other deceased relatives) in a buddhist ceremony, or bring them home to be placed on the family buddhist altar.

Bonsai

To Vidiot: I see JWs everywhere I go here. They are everywhere.

Most JWs dispose of the ashes or take them home and store them in a closet. It is not a punishable offense to visit a grave for the purpose of maintenance or cleaning. It is a disfellowshipping offense to take part in "ohakamaeri'" which involves visiting the grave and giving a Buddhist prayer for the deceased person's soul. Some people who have the money buy a plot of land, but they keep it a secret so as not to stumble anyone. There are some local congs though where the overlords are powerful and demand that the ashes of deceased family members be disposed of. Elderlords here have oodles of power and are not afraid to wield it!

On a side note, i have been to the Chiba Assembly Hall a few times and have never noticed that area. Next time i will climb the fences and see if i can get a good look!

48

May’s ‘study WT’ admits having taught “far-fetched” ideas

by wheelwithinwheel in

not on the front page, not in the study articles, but carefully camouflaged in the questions from readers on page 18 (watchtower march 15, 2015).

you can bet most jws wont even read it..

there is no apology...just the usual excuses..

Bonsai

Called my mother today not intending to talk about anything of a religious nature. I try to keep the peace by not getting into TTATT with her. All that went out the window when she started gushing about how wonderful the May Watchtower study articles were. She said she is so appreciative of how the GB are now simplifying scriptural teachings so that everyone can easily understand. She went on to say that one of the brighter sisters in her hall made a comment at the meeting saying " we simply dug too deep and tried to put too much meaning to scriptures to the point where no one could understand the application of the numerous types and ant-types. Now lovingly, the GB are doing away with that."

It's unbelievable how the GB can take a multitude of wrong application of scriptures and spin it so the sheep just lap it right up and glorify the GB even more. Isn't it wonderful how wrong we were? isn't it wonderful how they are simplifying scriptural understandings so that we can understand? Sigh.

I think the very heart of the problem is they dug too deep to try and fit scripture into their doctrines. Its too bad they don't realize that they dug too deep, hit a sewer line and are being blinded by all the isht that is hitting them in the face.

SMH.

59

'Anointeds' Do you know any and if so what are they like ?

by Introvert 2 in

would like to hear about any experiences anyone has had with the so called ' anointed ' .

Bonsai

I knew a nice humble old anointed one who liked gardening and nature. She didn't seem to be very zealous about the field service, though. I wouldn't mind if she ruled in heaven. I got along well with her and I can use all the friends upstairs that I can get!

62

Hello, just introducing myself

by Miss Behaving in

jw
friends

i've just signed up two days ago, but i've been lurking for about a year and a half.

here's my story if you're interested:.

my parents converted when they were in their first semester of college.

Bonsai

You got a lot of guts to do that! Thanks for sharing your story.

The darkest hours of the night are just before dawn. Things are going to get better.

7

Waking up from the JW dream... The biggest loss for me, was the idea of justice.

by adjusted knowledge in

jw
friends

being a jw you're able to ignore bad things to some level.

it's the lazy way of saying, "jehovah will deal with it soon".

but when i loss my faith, the biggest gut wrench was the idea that true justice was just an illusion.

Bonsai

Last part of post was cut off.

Great advice LAWHFol. Dreams can be rethought and replaced with better ones. No need to lose all hope.

7

Waking up from the JW dream... The biggest loss for me, was the idea of justice.

by adjusted knowledge in

jw
friends

being a jw you're able to ignore bad things to some level.

it's the lazy way of saying, "jehovah will deal with it soon".

but when i loss my faith, the biggest gut wrench was the idea that true justice was just an illusion.

Bonsai

I hear ya. facing reality is a really difficult thing to do. Recently i just try to focus on the little things around me to get my mind off of what i feel I've lost. The smile of a friend, colorful flowers, a pretty fluttering butterfly, the good taste of something i like to eat, encouraging and commending kids, sunsets, a mountain hike etc..

Try rethinking what you know of God.. Erase the God that you learned of as a witness, Look inside yourself, and look at Creation, and contemplate what kind of person you are, or what kind of person you wish you were.