Posts by GrreatTeacher

37

Advice needed on Crisis of Conscience

by cappytan in

so, some of you may have seen my thread from yesterday about my wife waking up.. we had further discussion yesterday evening after i sent her the pbs video on the abuse scandals plaguing the watchtower.

she was so furious and pissed off at wt hq.

apparently a close relative of her's was abused by an elder and the only reason he was reproved and removed as an elder was because he confessed.

GrreatTeacher

I would email her the PDF and just tell her to not read it until she's ready.

That puts her in the driver's seat. She'll go there when she's ready, but she'll have it constantly available.

16

For Sale: Magic Sandwich

by Coded Logic in

i am happy to report to everyone on this site that i have discovered a magic sandwichtm that cures cancer.

for a small one-time payment of your entire life of thursday nights, sunday afternoons, and recruitment work on saturday mornings - it can be yours!

for your peace of mind, i have provided answers to some commonly asked questions:.

GrreatTeacher

I am gluten intolerant. Is there a Magic Sandwich for an honest-hearted person like myself?

5

Connections between blood transfusion and sexual repression in the Victorian Age.

by dropoffyourkeylee in

here is an interesting essay (seems to have been written by a college student) which explores the topics of sexual repression and its relationship to blood and blood transfusions featured in the 1897 book dracula:.

the importance of blood during the victorian era: blood as a sexual signifier in bram stokers dracula by by nilifer pektas.

http://sh.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:16204/fulltext01.pdf.

GrreatTeacher

I actually read the whole thing, and despite some awkward phrasing (the author not a native English speaker?), there appears to be a good argument for blood being a literary surrogate for sex in the Victorian era.

Dracula was written in 1897. I don't know when Fred Franz was born, but this equivalency might have stuck in the popular imagination for several more decades.

Interesting. Thanks for posting.

39

Introducing myself! Come say hi!

by Sparlocks_Apprentice in

hello all you wonderful people on the "evil" interwebs.

i'm joining this site once again because i forgot my old username and such.

i like the new layout!.

GrreatTeacher

Welcome! I got out at 19. I have always lived my adult life exactly as I wanted. I found a great "worldly" guy and we've been married for 22 years! Can you imagine dating a Witness? *shudders*

24

would it have been different if we knew why?

by sowhatnow in

i always took issue with the idea of no one knowing why a person got df.. i know im not alone.. i complained to my mother about this when i was younger, explaining that how do we know what it is that gets a person df if no one knows what they did?

my moms answer was , .

'if people knew a persons personal faults and what they did , others would not be so forgiving when they were reinstated, because we'd always view them with that view, so in other words, if when so n so, committed fornication, and the whole cong would know it, if they announced from the platform then his/her reputation would be permanently stained' .

GrreatTeacher

But I do remember when they used to give the reason back in the '70s. Does no one else remember that?

19

People calling me... >.<

by Garrett in

jw
friends

oh my god!.

it is currently almost midnight where i live and i have now been spammed 3 times in a row by an unknown number.

first my home phone and then my cell phone.

GrreatTeacher

My father in law used to answer unwanted calls with, "City Morgue. You stab 'em, we slab 'em!"

59

Asshole Atheism – Not for me, now or ever.

by donny in

to start off with let me clarify that by asshole atheism i am not referring to strong atheism or any other type of upfront atheism.

what i am referring to is the belligerent, hateful atheism that smacks of trolls and other types who want to derail conversation or comments at any cost..

i enjoy hearing comments from both sides of the subjects of theism, nationalism or politics, especially from those who have intense opinions.

GrreatTeacher

Maybe like a lot of things, it's not just what you say, but how you say it.

19

People calling me... >.<

by Garrett in

jw
friends

oh my god!.

it is currently almost midnight where i live and i have now been spammed 3 times in a row by an unknown number.

first my home phone and then my cell phone.

GrreatTeacher

Turn off the ringer! I turn off the ringer every night after 10pm. No use allowing someone to disturb your sleep.

25

My Mission is over!

by abiather in

when i understood, jws are wrong in some vital areas [eg.

woman being viewed secondary, refusal to greet those differing with them ....], but right in other vital areas [such as their teaching that human rule is doomed, and will be replaced by gods rule], i began a diligent search for the right organization.

my search ended with brahmakumaris.

GrreatTeacher

Good call, Cofty. From the frying pan into the fire.

59

How to wake up and reverse the trance???

by J-DUBBED in

how do you wake up someone taken from us by these screwed up people?.

our son was hooked by a jw at the age of 25. within 3 months they were married and we never even new about it.

he is now 29 and has nothing to do with his family(except his sister the odd time, when he needs something) of any freinds.. we are lost and have been for four years.. .

GrreatTeacher

You'll likely have to order the books online as they are a specialty nook. Try Amazon.

I think that when folks here talk about asking simple questions they mean to just take your natural WTF response to a particular subject and phrase it innocently and politely.

For example, when birthdays come up. I know, it's ridiculous. But, you could ask them who they don't celebrate birthdays. You know the response. But, then ask, "So no birthdays or anniversaries or anything?"

Then he'll explain that anniversaries are okay. ( I know, WTF, right?)

So innocently ask, "But aren't birthdays just the anniversary of your birth?"

Then, drop it. He will go on to try to wiggle out of that one, but in his mind will be a little seed of doubt that maybe the birthday ban really doesn't make sense at all.

But, get this, he won't admit that to you. He will think he has given you a fine witness. But, you will know that you have given him something to think about, and it will likely happen subconsciously over time. You are planting seeds that there are logical inconsistencies in his faith. He will hold these inconcistencies in tension with his professed beliefs of his faith and it will eventually get very uncomfortable for him. This discomfort is called cognitive dissonance. When it gets uncomfortable enough from you subtly pointing out things that don't make sense, he may consider the possibility that his belief system is incorrect.

That's just a small primer on the basics. I hope it helps. In essence, you show little bits at a time, but the goal is that he will put the pieces together on his own over time.

The danger is that cognitive dissonance between what you profess to believe and what you know to be logical can also be resolved by digging deeper and more entrenched in your beliefs and ignoring facts, which in this case is you, when folks are pushed too hard. So, don't turn on the faucet full blast. Be the drip!