Posts by Oubliette

120

The right to shun - wrong?

by Simon in

many people are understandably upset and angry at the notion that jws have the right to shun people.

it seems such an obvious "no brainer" cruel and inhuman thing to do - it must be wrong ... surely?.

of course we look at things from the perspective of those hurt and harmed by shunning.

Oubliette

Simon: We should be doing is focusing on educating people, not trying to fight for something that is unattainable.

Absolutely. And this is what I do, one high school student at a time. Every day of every work week, and sometimes on weekends!

No, I don't have a website presumptuously proclaiming to speak for the "silent majority," but I do have a website dedicated to educating young minds, teaching them how to think critically and logically in a number of different subjects and disciplines.

I may only affect a relatively small number of people, but I know I make a difference in their lives, whether they are JWs, Jews, Catholics, Born-Again Christians, Muslims or atheists.

120

The right to shun - wrong?

by Simon in

many people are understandably upset and angry at the notion that jws have the right to shun people.

it seems such an obvious "no brainer" cruel and inhuman thing to do - it must be wrong ... surely?.

of course we look at things from the perspective of those hurt and harmed by shunning.

Oubliette

Interesting question Simon.

I haven't read the entire thread and am only jumping in (late in the conversation, I know) addressing the points in the OP.

It's important for us to recognize that what is right or wrong is not the same as what is legal or illegal.

Also, that any individual has the right to shun anyone else is surely not the same as institutionalized, coerced shunning as practiced by cults such as Jehovah's Witnesses and many others.

If you don't want to talk to me, then I guess that's your right. But if you won't talk to me because someone else told you to, then that's just messed up: you're in a cult!

24

Hours will be going up

by pbrow in

jw
friends

just got done watching parts of the october episode at jdub.broadcasting and it looks like the definition of "sacred service" is getting an update.

construction work, helping out fellow dubs, even helping out non-beliebers and opposers will soon be adding up to record progress for publishers... gett ready for a huge increase in hours being reported.... can you hear it now??

my how jw.org provides.... pbrow.

Oubliette

When will they include browsing jw.org as "Sacred Service"?

37

What’s the deal with all the Smart-Educated JWs?

by John Aquila in

we talk a lot about most jws being uneducated, uninformed, and that they lack critical thinking skills, but in my area there is a lot of jws that went to the university, medical school, law school, and came back to the organization.

in my circuit, that i know of, we had two electrical engineers, one computer engineer with a ph.d. eight teachers with a bachelors degree and three of those with a masters in education.

we had two medical doctors, one was a pediatrician who closed his business about 3 years ago and went to bethel.

Oubliette

JA: It may be that most of these educated people are in the process of waking up. And as you know, the process takes time.

Agreed.

It took me about six or seven years from the time I began having serious doubts to the time I actually left the religion.

Of course, the last few years I was "in" I was just going through the motions because I didn't want to get DF'd and lose my family. Ultimately it didn't matter.

Although I am currently technically a JW in "good standing" none of my JW family and former "friends" talk to me because I don't go to their insipid little meetings.

37

What’s the deal with all the Smart-Educated JWs?

by John Aquila in

we talk a lot about most jws being uneducated, uninformed, and that they lack critical thinking skills, but in my area there is a lot of jws that went to the university, medical school, law school, and came back to the organization.

in my circuit, that i know of, we had two electrical engineers, one computer engineer with a ph.d. eight teachers with a bachelors degree and three of those with a masters in education.

we had two medical doctors, one was a pediatrician who closed his business about 3 years ago and went to bethel.

Oubliette

Well John, I can't explain it. Why would such highly educated people stay in a cult that is constantly dumbing down their educational content.

The psychology of such a thing is difficult to understand.

Mind-control and manipulation work on even highly intelligent and educated people, just not as often.

That being said, your area seems unique. I was in the cult for over 30 years in southern California, serving as an elder for about 20 years. During all that time I only met two other JWs that had a college education. One was a lawyer and the other has a PhD in psychology. Pretty much everyone looked down on the person with the PhD, making snide remarks about her ignoring the direction of the FDS.

This was while I was attending university to get my BA in Education. It was during that time that it became increasingly obvious to me that I was in a religion that lacked academic honesty and intellectual rigor. As I began investigating I started uncovering things such as the UN/NGO scandal and the pedophile problem. The house of cards started falling pretty fast after that.

So how could it be that there are so many highly educated JWs in your area? Who knows! It's an anomaly for sure.

225

Cult or Religion

by Richard C B in

what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?

Oubliette

Cofty nailed it regarding the spectrum of religions/cults in the world; but if you're talking about JWs, then that's easy.

Let's review: It's a cult!

28

CO just confirmed worldwide construction halt and possible JW.ORG news of it

by LevelThePlayingField in

just had the co visit tonight.

i asked him if he had heard about the worldwide halt of construction besides warwick and to my surprise he said he heard the same thing.

then he went on and add that also some branches are closing and some bethelites going into pioneering but, "all because of the preaching work now.

Oubliette

How in the world can you hide the sun with one finger?

By closing your eyes.

36

Child Discipline, new article to address Jackson's Royal Commission testimony

by jwfacts in

i have published a new article at watchtower corporal punishment, as a response to the testimony that geoff jackson gave at the royal commission.

it includes the relevant part of the transcript, along with a string of watchtower quotes to show that what he presented was not accurate, and that watchtower translates rod as a literal implement to hit children with.

.

Oubliette

Geoff Jackson gave inaccurate, misleading testimony before a Royal Commission while under oath?

How is this possible?

20

INSTRUCTIONS FOR OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE AND MINISTRY MEETING

by pixel in

1. the life and ministry meeting will proceed as outlined in the life and ministry meeting workbookand according to the instructions that follow.. 3. treasures from gods word:.

the theme and an outline of two or three main points are provided in thelife and ministry meeting workbook.

this should be assigned to a qualified elder.. 6. concluding comments: 3 minutes or less.

Oubliette

Yawn!

26

JWs and Education

by cognac in

jw
friends

my parents were always of the belief that, "the end is right around the corner".. i was a zealous kid, with a learning disorder, so my parents never gave me a hard time or pushed me in regards to my education.. this not only hurt me, but, pissed me off insanely.

fast forward to me having my own kid.

ava is not doing well in school.

Oubliette

cognac: It breaks my heart seeing her struggle...

Don't let it. The struggle is good for her.

Nothing great was ever achieved without great effort.