Posts by Gypsy Sam

14

BITING THE FOOD but getting caught on the HIDDEN HOOK

by Terry in

what happened to all of us?.

we got shit out the ass end of a kingdom hall wondering what the hell happened to us.. we started our journey as believer in the bible and got turned into a steaming pile of apostate crap.. how did it happen?.

we smelled delicious "food" and bit, chewed and swallowed .

Gypsy Sam

Terry, you have such great, thinking threads. You must be fascinating to listen to at parties. I especially like your point about the provenance as I recently joined an art history book club.

It's interesting to me to see how so many Americans remain extreme believers. If you keep reading science books and questioning, it seems you naturally realize the bible is just a book. The trend I see where people put more blind faith than ever in the Bible and use it to hold back rights for others is deeply disturbing.

Men use it to CONVINCE other men . . . and to imprison them inside their circle of authority.

So true!

18

Our throw-away society

by zound in

jw
friends

check out this video if you have 20 minutes to spare - it really is awesome.

anyone want to add their thoughts on how to change societys throwaway mentality?.

the story of stuff.

Gypsy Sam

What's wrong with being a treehugger?

If the photo doesn't attach, just picture Cindy Crawford, shirtless, hugging a tree.

Seriously, the throwaway cup and utensil concept needs to cease. We can use real items and wash them, at work, too!

Drinks taste better in glass than styrofoam.

47

Hi Guys, I'm new here...

by Mikado in

jw
friends

been lurking for years, but couldn't log on.

for some reason, my email spam filter is inaccessable, and ended up having to open another account, simply to become a member... wonder how many others have had a similar problem.. its been an eye opener reading everyones life experiences, often so similar.. i was almost a born in, with a hardcore family.

abusive stepfather who was one of the original jws in the area, so much so, that it was called the xxxxx family religion.... been out for 25 years, am glad every day for that!!.

Gypsy Sam

Welcome, glad you joined Us!

Seems I missed a bunch of newbies. Great to see a new batch of no longer JW peeps :)

80

My Experience and how I finally let myself see the truth

by OneEyedJoe in

first off - for those lurkers who feel guilty just for being on this site and reading this (even if you don't read any further, as it is your right to choose that course) i want you to know that you're not alone in what you're going through or in what you are feeling.

if you read on, i hope my experience may be of some small help to you.. this may be long, but i'll try to organize it in a way that doesn't make it painful to read.

to start, i feel it is most beneficial if i'm upfront and honest with my goals from posting this, which are (in order of the degree to which they motivated me):.

Gypsy Sam

Welcome,

Have you read Steve Hassan's books, so that you can hopefully help your wife wake up?

A poster besty started an excellent thread on waking up his wife that used a different, upfront approach. It worked, but may not be for everyone.

I wish you all the best. Great intro post.

Carpe Diem!

18

JWs in Florida and California. Is there really a difference?

by BU2B in

jw
friends

i have heard over the years from many different people about how jws in those states are unlike elsewhere.

the parties they have, the way they dress and the permissive attitude.

i just heard from a sister that is from florida, that if you are not "spiritually strong" you will "fall out of the truth" down there.

Gypsy Sam

I should have added, it was the regular pioneer group okay with all the above mentioned events, books, parties etc.

CA is my next choice for where to live. Thebiking and hiking are much better than here in FL :)

Quite true about the type of people you have to choose from as friends, too. Some days South Florida still feels 50 years behind.

18

JWs in Florida and California. Is there really a difference?

by BU2B in

jw
friends

i have heard over the years from many different people about how jws in those states are unlike elsewhere.

the parties they have, the way they dress and the permissive attitude.

i just heard from a sister that is from florida, that if you are not "spiritually strong" you will "fall out of the truth" down there.

Gypsy Sam

Lol, yes I would say there is a huge difference. I grew up in MA, moved to Florida in the 90's and immediately saw differences. Back home denim skirts, going without nylons, flip flop shoes, tank tops were all frowned up for even book study night. There were huge dance parties regularly held when I moved to Florida. Sometimes there would be a formal event up north, but nothing like the dance parties here. Wearing a one piece to the beach was not typical in SWFL.

Visiting California, I saw the same "liberal" JW attitude. Going back home to see my parents was always a chore as they disapproved of so many of the clothes (that were still modest) that my daughter and I wore.

Witnesses in my area in Florida were very open about reading Harry Potter, going to the movie and seeing Wicked when it was here. I'm not saying everyone in the hall was happy about the lax clothing "rules" or open entertainment ideas, but no one was ever counseled that would have been up north.

Just my experience.

My mom calls Fl Sodom and Gommorah for witnesses. Lol, the couples I was friends with were all okay with not having WT approved bedroom lives and the women had adult toy parties.

5

Where's The Bylaws And Due Diligence?

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://factn.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/church-by-law-recommendations-memo.pdf.

if the above is an emerging standard of legal protection of churches, where is it in congregations of jehovah's witnesses?.

due diligence about children.

Gypsy Sam

This could make a great Facebook post, asking something like, before we join any group do we check the following...?

Between watching Blackfish last night and this great post, I'm motivated to get some JW's still on my Facebook thinking.

63

What are your turn offs in a guy or girl?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

one of them is nose rings/piercings.

.

Gypsy Sam

YY,

It's neither ignorant nor stupid. It's a personal preference. If I lived elsewhere and had grown up exposed to a different norm, perhaps I'd feel differently. People are allowed to have a higher level of attraction to certain physical aspects than others, without being insulted about it. I'll pass on the photo you referenced. Clean cut, to a bit of scruff is more my style :) Taye Diggs, Jack Johnson (the singer) types.

For the record, the guy I was dating at the time, warned me in advance as it had proven to be an issue for him with each girl he'd dated. You can believe what you want but this is an issue for many women I have personally known, in the U.S.

I'm well aware of FGM, which I find a sickening and different practice.

18

Our throw-away society

by zound in

jw
friends

check out this video if you have 20 minutes to spare - it really is awesome.

anyone want to add their thoughts on how to change societys throwaway mentality?.

the story of stuff.

Gypsy Sam

I love this video. I've watched it several times and follow them on Facebook. I've made a huge shift this year in not having consumer mentality. It feels good to declutter, but better to not need to. Their is beauty and peace in simplicity. It really frees up the evenings and weekends, to just enjoy nature, yoga, social events or read in peace at home.

Like anything, I think each of us doing our part and trying to motivate by our example, is going to make a difference.

I work in an office and it takes someone being motivated and following through on the recycling front, in a NON critical way, to get others on board. We have a ways to go, but we have improved over the past year.

I often think, if people had thought differently in the past 50 years, would we have become such a throwaway society? If all those living that didn't care about their personal environment had accepted that some guy in the sky wouldn't make it all magically better for their special enjoyment, would they care about what they bought and threw away the ?

67

Raising kids - JW mother, agnostic father

by Zana in

my wife and i have two wonderful children aged 1 and 3. i was raised as a lutheran but stopped believing in my late teen years.

my wife is what i would call a liberal jw (yes, i believe such people exist .

sooner or later our children will have questions about religion and the differences mom and dad show towards it.

Gypsy Sam

Ooh, this was my situation. A regular pioneer out of high school, married outside "the truth". I became a liberal JW a few years ago, knowing I wanted my daughter to attend college etc. While I'm now awake to TTATT and faded last year, my now exhusband is an atheist. When I told him I was leaving JW, he was so happy. I also told him how I could have woken up much sooner if he'd handled things differently. He never read Steve Hassan's book and would basically trigger my "cult self" every time we spoke of religion. He continues to lose his temper when people don't agree with him.

I agree with the posters who mentioned you can't be passive. The JW parent will impose their way and only be liberal so long. When their child isn't hitting the same JW milestones as others, they'll likely become more absorbed in the religion, to set a better example for the "wayward" child. The love a JW parent feels for their child is conditional. Sometimes, the parent will stick by the child no matter what happens, but I know way too many instances where the relationship is very strained if the child doesn't follow JW "rules".

Tread lighlty and read Hassan.