i last spoke to my father in march 1990. we finished a "quick build" kingdom hall and i had a 17 year old spiritual awakening and decided to drop high school to pioneer full time.
(yes i was a dumb ass) he was not happy since my parents were divorced he was catholic.
we had a arguement and he said stay in school get a degree...and dont come back if your a witness!!
Thank you for sharing, Witness007.
My mother still speaks to me, but always tries to squeeze in a little preaching.
Sometimes I get frustrated at "being the bigger person" and not taking the bait.
But, it's cautionary stories like yours that help me stifle the urge to blow it all up and tell her what I really think.
a random thought occurred to me today.. i actually feel genuinely sorry for witnesses who cut contact with ones they feel are no longer "spiritual" .. they do this based not on anything that the person has actually done to them personally, but due to an imposed view from the society.. it must play havoc with their inner conscience as they try and reconcile that the person they cut off has not actually done anything to harm them, but they have to view them as evil.. it reminded me of this thread i started some time back.
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5751633187176448/all-my-friends-organisation.
I think that they are aware on some level that it is wrong and they feel bad about it. But, they are also secretly pleased that something that feels so bad and wrong is justified so they can feel just fine about behaving badly.
It almost enables sociopathy. I imagine it attracts quite a few. Finally, doing bad things is perfectly okay, in fact, righteous!
several years ago, i was introduced to a "wonderful" company called fortune hi tech marketing by a brother and his wife.
they had been introduced by a former sheriff who claims he had researched the company and found no leins or judgments, and that former sheriff had been brought in by a pastor.
you can read what happened with fhtm on wikipedia if you so desire.. this whole new idea of multilevel marketing had my brain reeling, though, and soon enough, i actually signed up with none other than prepaid legal.
If you have some time, look at the website Pink Truth which exposes Mary Kay cosmetics.
Just a tiny percentage of recruits ever make the money promise, and it's not because you didnt work hard enough, as they'll tell you, but because the business can't support all the thousands of consultants that they keep recruiting.
In fact, it's usually a losing proposition in which the recruits actually spend more money than they ever make.
It's a clever expose of a supposedly "respected" home party plan (MLM) business.
so if the gb changed its "bible based beliefs" on some teaching, would witnesses all of a sudden change their individual beliefs too?.
witnesses like to claim that "their bible trained hearts and minds" make them believe as they do, but we know that the reality is that all witnesses hold their "deep seated beliefs" according to what they have been told to believe.. so what would cause the average witness to question those that dictate their "personal convictions"??.
thoughts?.
Oh, yes, even if it wasn't practical from a human standpoint, they would go along with it.
i was going to put this in my thread about pyramid schemes, but i thought it's discreet enough to warrant its own.
1) there are many faithful jws.
2) there are many men and women who could take control and fill the void if the watchtower collapses.
These kinds of schemes keep popping up because there are buyers out there.
Something could be exposed as totally a fraud, but others keep popping up because there are plenty of people who are in the market for cultic religions and multi-level marketing schemes.
It sucks, but there is a certain percentage of people who are so disposed.
well, i got myself in a dilemma.
i'm currently 18, being baptised for a year.
i had my doubts, but due to a variety of reasons (getting subtle flack for not baptised, not having a support system even if i wanted to leave).
You are going to lose something.
THis is not a pain-free situation, including your life right now. You are in distress trying to have everything, and you will not be able to keep it all.
NOw, after having just been brutally honest, I will tell you I chose the boy and we have been together over 2 decades.
My parents and I have a "cordial," but somewhat strained relationship. Fortunately, my sister and brother all eventually left, too, and are free of the bullshite.
Try to fade or don't try to fade, but know thyself, first. What kinds of distress can you tolerate; losing your family of origin? Losing your mind living a JW life? Losing a person who might (or might not) turn out to be the best thing that has ever happened to you?
Choose what you can stand to lose, but understand; there will be pain involved. Nobody gets out of this cult pain-free.
http://www.macleans.ca/news/a-jehovahs-witness-and-her-deadly-devotion/.
a jehovah’s witness and her deadly devotion.
did a jehovah’s witness die after refusing a blood transfusion, and should the state have let it happen?.
The Hospital Liason Committee are vultures.
I've seen them in action several times.
october 28, 2016 to all congregations re: online tour reservation tool for visiting united states bethel facilities.
It'll morph into a suggested donation amount, you know, like "They're only 50 cents, to help cover the printing cost."
i stumbled across something the other day that made me sit up because it seemed to perfectly describe a feeling i experience from time to time that apparently isn't uncommon.. it's called autonomous sensory meridian response or "asmr" and is a kind of tingly feeling on/in your head.
you can read about it here:.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/autonomous_sensory_meridian_response.
It's also weird when you find out that something you've experienced all your life is not experienced universally.
I've always gotten a really weird feeling/taste in the back of my throat right before vomiting.
It's just not something that ever comes up. And then I learned that other people had never even heard of it, let alone experienced it.Yet, others were completely familiar with it.
Bodies are weird.
thank you, everybody here, for introducing me to this.
no, no i had not heard of this.
child abuse issues have been roundly dismissed as apostate attacks in the congregations i've attended in the last decade.
I would love to see the content of that letter.
As I watched the commission proceedings, and Angus Stewart nailed all the intricacies of the life of a JW, sliced it, diced it and served it on a platter right back to the foul men who first dished it out, it was like watching your favorite team score goal after goal and shut out the other team.
I was euphoric that someone actually "got it" and also could do something about it.
If that man had a jersey, I would wear it on every single casual Friday.
