Posts by gorgia2

it's basically a new initiative from google to bring the internet to far flung parts of the earth including parts of africa that are simply not wired up to the internet yet.. i'm not sure how the accessibility will work in terms of subscriptions etc, but google seem serious about it and early tests have been positive.. so, the question raised in my mind was, could this turn the tide against the watchtower?

gorgia2

Cedars,

Yes, exactly - seeing as it is these vulnerable people the GB are now targeting to bolster their JW numbers and plump the Tower money-bags - access to the internet would be WONDERFUL in stemming the new-JW tide in developing countries.

gorgia

48

Satan- Perfect Scapegoat for Witnesses Ignoring Real Causes of Situations

by flipper in

jw
friends

in a recent thread i started on music i couldn't help noticing how many had to throw their alleged " worldly music " out because parents, or elders told them their music brought them " under the influence of demons ", or listening to music was how " the demons got inside us ".

this superstitious belief that " satan " is to blame for each witnesses demise is really a passing of the buck of responsibility so it sidesteps real issues involved.. for example : check these familiar expressions out we all heard while we were jehovah's witnesses .. .

1. if a person was stumbled and said, " i don't want to go to meetings anymore.

gorgia2

I remember among the Witness folk mention of the word 'satan' outnumbered mentions of 'jehovah'. It was like satan was the really irritating relative that everyone seemed to be related to.

gorgia

49

Time for this Newbie to say - Hello everyone!

by SeventhSojourn in

in just the several months i've been lurking here, i have benefited from many of the posters comments and viewpoints.

this is truly a special place for the unique community that has been created here.. after years of holding off my exit from the org (that may be another post) i recently became officially out (by letter of da), but it was a very difficult process as many of you know.

thankfully, i now have my wife (was also a witness) onboard and we support each other.

gorgia2

SeventhSojourn,

Welcome!

goriga

23

Does the borg really produce great readers? How much did you actually read when in?

by likeabird in

jw
friends

i've been reading a lot and learning even more (project deadlines to meet), getting this overwhelming satisfaction and feeling good.. and then i stopped and realised that i never got that feeling when reading borg publications.. i also realized that i have probably read more non-fiction books in the last month than i did during my whole life in the borg.. for all my reading (and i was fully in) i read no more than two wt books cover to cover.

none of my study books were studied cover to cover and wts were usually quickly underlined and rarely properly studied.

magazines were usually flicked through and resolutions to read them cover to cover rarely lasted more than a few weeks.. i did manage to read the bible through once - but that was because i was always afraid someone door to door would ask me if i had, so i figured i should just crack on with it.

gorgia2

My grandmother, such a clever lady, really used to confuse me when I was a child, with her exclamations of gratitude over the Awake! magazine and how wonderful it was that Jehovah provided his flock with its entertainment and information. I couldn't understand why she always said this when she was so intelligent and well-read. Now I suspect she was protesting too much.

gorgia

21

Beyond Bitterness?

by DogGone in

like many, my path to the ttatt was a long and painful journey.

i wasnt mature or intellectually honest enough to "wake up" while still an active witness.

(i applaud those who have awaken while active; that is mental rigour i wish i had!

gorgia2

DogGone,

That was a fantastic post. It took my mother nearly ten years after fading to finally accept it was all false. Even though she wasn't very active while a JW it was still the only worldview she knew. Then slowly, after researching for herself, tentatively at first, my mother's eyes were opened. Now there is much guilt gnawing at her, despite my insisting it wasn't her fault bringing us up as JW's - she really believed it was all true. My mother now experiences anger and resentment at the GB - of whom she'd hardly heard a thing about in the forty+ years she was a JW.

Regarding your friend - just be there, available for when the scales do fall from your friend's eyes completely - which I'm sure will happen one day. For the first few years after my mother stopped going to the meetings there were definitely aspects of the cult she found ridiculous, stifling, hypocritical, but most of the doctrinal rubbish was indoctrinated so well that she still believed Armageddon was coming and that she and I were going to be destroyed. Now, though, thankfully, we can speak about ALL of it being ridiculous, stifling and hypocritical. Just keep being a great friend.

gorgia

42

Pets are false gods

by Rattigan350 in

i"m listening to the 2013 dc green bay saturday talk on false gods.. the speaker says no one would knowingly worship false deities.

but could we inadvertantly give jehovah less than exclusive devotion he deserves.. he said:you have not allowed this deception power of sin to sensual desires, material comforts, pets, technology, entertainment or food to become objects of devotion to you.. anything that interferes with our spiriutal routine has the power of eroding or weaking our relationship with jehovah.. .

my dogs can erode my relationship with jehovah.

gorgia2

Exactly LisaRose. Thanks Blondie for including these heart-warming tidbits of good ol' fashioned GB benevolence. I do not have children. I have my beautiful dogs to love and care for. Of course they are not an equal to real human children. But they are my sweet, cheeky pets and I have already provided for them in my will should they live longer than me. Sorry GB.

gorgia