Posts by GrreatTeacher

43

How a Gay Jewish Boy from New England Came to Be and Leave the JWs (and what he did next)

by CalebInFloroda in

born in cambridge, ma to a liberal couple that escaped the conservative south, my parents raised me better than to become a jehovahs witness.

funny thing was they got mixed up in it first.. while that is a story for another time, i myself had to go along as the third of five children in my family.

dads job transferred him to texas and my mom worked fulltime herself, but eventually we found ourselves drinking the kool-aid of ambiguity intolerance and full-fledge belief that the bible was literal fact and that salvation was found only by those who were smart enough to enter the confines of the watchtower.. its weird how many people claim they fear children raised by two gay parents will grow up to be gay.

GrreatTeacher

Caleb, that idea of god I can actually understand.

The whole idea that you have to actively accept Jesus' gift of everlasting life never cut it with me intellectually even when I was flirting with mainstream Christianity while my son was young. God should be able to give forgiveness without any "sinful" human's participation in the process if he truly were all powerful.

I have a similar story about having a high IQ, understanding that I was being taught some things that made no sense by the adults around me, but not being exactly able to put my finger on it due to lack of higher education. Though I have been able to get a degree, I still feel resentful that I was taught rubbish and believed it through my teenage years. If having intelligence is part of your identity, being fooled feels like a personal failing, even though I know, intellectually, that I was a child and I'm not responsible for what I was taught to believe back then.

56

Question for atheists and nonbelievers

by pressman in

i profess to teach the truth to you all and get you to all to think and believe.

believing in christ through his words and not through evil religious cults, like hoj and jw, can and will save you.

do you all realize that every time you are victorious and receive something of value through your hard work and sweat, it was our holy god who blessed you.

GrreatTeacher

Pressman "I just want you to believe and find the lord."

I just want you to investigate rationally and then decide what to believe.

26

A Titanic Thread

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

14 april 1912: rms titanic struck an iceberg during her maiden voyage in the north atlantic.. 15 april 1912: after two hours and forty minutes, rms titanic sank, resulting in the deaths of 1,517 people.. according to watchtower, when armageddon strikes, it will be the equivalent deathtoll of 4,000,000 titanics sinking.. praise jah?.

b the x.

GrreatTeacher

Also, it's Tax Day in the US! Income taxes are due today!

And, the Watchtower won't be paying any...

32

Conventions, Kingdom Halls, Relief Funds, and Other Financial Scams and Schemes of Jehovah’s Witnesses

by Watchtower-Free in

a few seconds ago this hit the net todayhttp://jwvictims.org/conventions-kingdom-halls-relief-funds-and-other-financial-scams-and-schemes-of-jehovahs-witnesses/.

conventions, kingdom halls, relief funds, and other financial scams and schemes of jehovahs witnesses.

jehovahs witnesses often note that at their meetings (like church services), they dont pass a collection plate.

GrreatTeacher

I think these are two separate issues.

The deficit happens because a large "donation" to the Society is included as an expense for the assembly. Thus, though they may have met the actual expenses, a deficit is announced when they haven't also met the amount of this "donation."

Then possibly because they are no longer meeting the budgeted expenses, they now seem to be levying a per publisher fee, pressuring local elders to make a resolution to cover the amount for their congregation. I believe it's about $10 per publisher, give or take.

91

Setback

by EdenOne in

i saw this coming since my mother-in-law's funeral .... the congregation's "love-bombing" over my wife had its impact.

i watched her drawing closer and closer to her friends in the congregation.

then she decided she would attend the memorial.

GrreatTeacher

Spelling correction: hyper-religiosity.

For some reason, I can't edit on my Samsung tablet.

91

Setback

by EdenOne in

i saw this coming since my mother-in-law's funeral .... the congregation's "love-bombing" over my wife had its impact.

i watched her drawing closer and closer to her friends in the congregation.

then she decided she would attend the memorial.

GrreatTeacher

Hyperreligiosiy can be a symptom of bipolar disorder! It can feel like a "high" or it can also feel like self-medication for a depressive phase.

Please research this to see if this sounds like what she's doing and, if so, talk to her doctor!

This is how I grew up, though my mother ultimately got a different diagnosis. She literally used the religion like a drug. And you can't really reason with that.

It sucked, big time. Please look into this possibility for your child's sake.

9

New Avatar

by mrquik in

jw
friends

i can't help but think how many committee meetings this photo would have generated.

this is on the caribbean side of cozumel at a quaint bar called mezcalito's.

this side of the island is virtually deserted.

GrreatTeacher

I really don't think that beach looks very naked, I mean it seems to be covered in dune grass and.......oh my god, you mean that naked man in the middle of the picture!!!

48

How many here gave up having a family for the sake of the "truth"?

by stuckinarut2 in

this is a sensitive topic for many of us i know, but i am wondering how many here actually gave up the idea of having a family "in this system" for the sake of "kingdom activity or service"??.

start the count here with my wife and i.

GrreatTeacher

Maybe someone has a better understanding than me? Finklestein?

What I recall was something about an assembly in the 1940s (maybe) where "John and Eunice" pledged to save their love for the new world.

But, I'm really sketchy on the details. Anybody recall (reading about) this?

48

How many here gave up having a family for the sake of the "truth"?

by stuckinarut2 in

this is a sensitive topic for many of us i know, but i am wondering how many here actually gave up the idea of having a family "in this system" for the sake of "kingdom activity or service"??.

start the count here with my wife and i.

GrreatTeacher

There was a time when they also encouraged people to hold off marriage as well, wasn't there?

I wonder why this never stuck but the encouragement against children did?

36

How do stop myself getting too Bitter?

by stuckinarut2 in

jw
friends

you know, i always maintained that during this fading process, and while learning ttatt, i would not let myself get "bitter twisted and angry".... but, in all honesty, if i examine myself, i have become quite bitter toward the org, toward the false friends and the gb.. i have become angry as i see the extent of damage i feel being raised in "the truth" has done.... i feel hurt towards the lost opportunities in life etc.... how do i not allow myself to get too swallowed up by such bitterness?.

i have always been a very happy, positive, selfless person.

i can put people at ease, i am someone people feel comfortable chatting to.

GrreatTeacher

That is a Big Question and those are difficult to answer.

For myself, I've processed a lot of these emotions and I don't feel them so strongly anymore.

But, they still do wax and wane to a certain extent. So, I just live through the feelings. When I feel good, I enjoy life. When I feel rotten and get stuck on negative feelings, I keep doing Life, knowing that the feelings will wane eventually.

Being an XJW is like living life in the ocean with the tide rising and falling around you. One minute you're stuck in a trough of bad memories and sour feelings. But, the next minute you could be catching that Big Wave and surfing through life feeling excellent!

Just ride the tides, my friend, there's always a new wave coming.