Posts by Island Man

31

Ideas to discreetly identify the awoken among us

by Truthexplorer in

jw
friends

ok. i know this has been brought up in the past, but i have often wondered who in our halls are awake (for those of us who attend).

there are some i would consider a 'maybe', but no way of ever really knowing.. so here is my idea.

i hope it doesn't sound too masonic,.

Island Man

I started a thread about this several months ago. The major issue with this problem is that there is no secure way to communicate the "secret handshake" without preventing the enemy from also getting to know about it. So the enemy could easily get to know the secret handshake and use it to sniff out apostates.

I think the solution to this problem is to not use a specific, fixed, "secret handshake" that is shared publicly. Instead, you need to share publicly only a vague protocol, which, in turn is tailored by each individual to produce their own unique "secret handshake" that is never to be shared publicly on any forum. This way, the enemy does not have any specific "secret handshake" to look for. They would only know of the vague protocol. Of course this doesn't solve the problem. It is only the first step of the solution which makes it more difficult for the enemy.

The second step of the solution is to use have a full proof backup plan to extricate yourself from incrimination if you've being baited by the enemy. You have to design your "secret handshake" with this in mind.

One possible solution I came up with is a protocol where you ask the JW an edgy question that has a TTATT meaning along with a plausible innocent meaning. It would be a good idea to have multiple such questions in mind; and never share them publicly online. If the JW is awake he responds by answering with an edgy answer that has a TTATT meaning and a plausible innocent meaning. This way you make it known to each other that you are awake (by the TTATT meaning) while simultaneously giving yourself a way to extricate yourself from incrimination (by claiming the innocent meaning) if you've been baited by the enemy.

You use multiple such questions and answers to establish trust and certainty that the other person is awake.

9

Freedom of Religion vs. Freedom of Worship and Belief (or non-belief)

by EdenOne in

i was just wondering about this:.

the laws of the different western countries offer robust protection to religious practice.

but what is the best term to describe it and why?

Island Man

"Freedom of religion" should not be absolute. Freedom of religion should end where religious practice encourages physical and psychological harm or discrimination against, others. Muslims should not have the right to murder apostates on religious grounds. Nor should JWs have the right to instruct or encourage the shunning of former members on religious grounds.

17

I need help, I'm falling in love with a JW girl

by nebula-- in

so i met her at my last job that i worked & we started off as friends.

i didn't know her faith at the time & i honestly couldn't have cared less, seeing as i'm agnostic.

after about a year, i began developing emotions for her & sure enough, we ended up dating for a little while.

Island Man

Realize this: you will not be marrying a normal woman. You will be marrying a cult personality who will always be looking for opportunities to promote the cult to you. By marrying her, you will, in a sense, enter the cult - whether or not you are an official member. The cult will dictate what she is like in bed. The cult will dictate what entertainment she can enjoy (be prepared to enjoy lots of entertainment alone (without her)). The cult will dictate how much free time she spends with you (not much). You will be continually harassed and nagged by the cult. The cult will be a wedge between you and her. You will never know true intimacy with her.

10

Do you have any shocking experiences of JW prejudice against non-JWs? I have one report to share.

by Island Man in

a non-jw friend of mine told me of her experience at a just concluded regional convention that she went to.

she said that during some announcements after a song, there was an announcement advising the audience to be mindful of the need to safeguard their belongings because not all persons present at the convention are delegates.

she said she was shocked to hear this rather prejudiced announcement that clearly insinuated all non-delegates are untrustworthy and only delegates are honest.

Island Man

sir82: I dunno, I wouldn't necessarily find such an announcement "shocking".
I've attended conventions in urban areas where there were lots of idlers hanging about outside. Once they figure out that the arena is completely open, has air conditioning, and there are people who tend to leave stuff on their seats unattended for hours at a time....seems like word would spread amongst themselves that there is a lot of "potential" there.

I don't think she had an issue with advising the audience to secure their belongings because of the possibility of theft. I think the problem was the blanket insinuation that persons who are not delegates are automatically untrustworthy while the delegates were all above suspicion. That's an unfair and offensive prejudice. Most people are not thieves. A minority of JWs are thieves and a minority of non-JWs are thieves. Maybe the percentage of non-JWs who are thieves is higher than the percentage of JWs that are. But in both cases I'm willing to bet that it's a small percentage - a small minority - who are thieves. So it's highly improper to negatively label an entire group of people because of the bad actions of a few individuals among them.

10

Do you have any shocking experiences of JW prejudice against non-JWs? I have one report to share.

by Island Man in

a non-jw friend of mine told me of her experience at a just concluded regional convention that she went to.

she said that during some announcements after a song, there was an announcement advising the audience to be mindful of the need to safeguard their belongings because not all persons present at the convention are delegates.

she said she was shocked to hear this rather prejudiced announcement that clearly insinuated all non-delegates are untrustworthy and only delegates are honest.

Island Man

freddo: Everyone there with an intent to listen to the program is a "delegate" aren't they?

No. Here's the Google provided definition of the word:

a person sent or authorized to represent others, in particular an elected representative sent to a conference.
synonyms: representative, envoy, emissary, commissioner, agent, deputy, commissary;

It is clear from the definition of the word that it must refer to baptized JWs in good standing. The delegates are those in attendance who wear the ID badges stating their name and congregation. The term definitely does not refer to non-JW visitors at the congregation.

So a statement warning persons to secure their belongings because non-delegates are present is very prejudicial and offensive. Imagine you were a black man and you visited a function where the majority present were white and at some point in the function there is an announcement telling people to secure their belongings because non-whites are present. How would you feel?

30

Harmagedon backpack... Are we retarded??

by sp74bb in

jw
friends

sorry for this matter has been already discussed.. i got shocked after watching this video:.

kingdom hall disaster demonstration.

this is really insane !!!

Island Man

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with this video. Contrary to the title of the OP, it has nothing to do with Armageddon. It is simply a skit sensitizing a congregation on the need to be prepared for natural disasters. I think that's a good thing and can't think of a rational reason why it should be criticized ... well, maybe some of the acting isn't up to Hollywood standards, but it is just a skit, after all.

The JW religion is a harmful cult with teachings and practices that can have severe negative psychological effects and even result in death for some members. I am sure many on here have suffered negatively as a result of the cult. But we must be careful not to let our pain, anger or frustration cause us to become irrational critics seeing faults where there are none.

10

Do you have any shocking experiences of JW prejudice against non-JWs? I have one report to share.

by Island Man in

a non-jw friend of mine told me of her experience at a just concluded regional convention that she went to.

she said that during some announcements after a song, there was an announcement advising the audience to be mindful of the need to safeguard their belongings because not all persons present at the convention are delegates.

she said she was shocked to hear this rather prejudiced announcement that clearly insinuated all non-delegates are untrustworthy and only delegates are honest.

Island Man

A non-JW friend of mine told me of her experience at a just concluded regional convention that she went to. She said that during some announcements after a song, there was an announcement advising the audience to be mindful of the need to safeguard their belongings because not all persons present at the convention are delegates.

She said she was shocked to hear this rather prejudiced announcement that clearly insinuated all non-delegates are untrustworthy and only delegates are honest. She said she was even more shocked by the fact that the audience didn't react in any way to indicate that they recognized something inappropriate was said.

Do you have any experiences of shocking prejudice against "worldly" persons by JWs?

57

Got my JC cancelled... (at least for now)

by Sanchy in

jw
friends

so my wife and i have been in the process of fading for a few months now as per my original post here.

about a week ago, i was browsing some ex-jw facebook groups when i saw a post that linked to the crisis of conscience book.

i said "f@(k it" and hit share on it.. a few hours later, i get a long text letter from my mom (who was a fb friend of mine) telling me the typical "good luck finding friends in the world" and how we have "nothing in common anymore"; basically, it was a 'farewell' text.

Island Man

Here's what I think will happen:

They'll admonish you. Then they will give a marking talk at the kingdom hall where they will mention that loyal JWs do not need to be told from the platform that an inactive one is no longer one of JWs to make the determination that such one is not to be associated with. Any loyal JW who knows of an inactive one engaging in serious sin, including sharing or promoting apostate information on social media, is well within his right to decide to treat such ones as they would a disfellowshipped one. I think something similar was said at this year's RC.

So between your former JW friends seeing your share and the elders giving the marking talk, you'd be treated just as if you'd been disfellowshipped. You haven't dodged the shun gun. You've only dodged the official paper-work that normally goes along with it.

12

Bunker elder Meme

by aintenoughwiskey in

i noticed this on reddit.

they shouldn't have all the fun.

ill get it started.

Island Man

When Bunker Elder prays to him, Jehovah loses his composure and starts screaming excitedly, like the crazy fan of a Rock superstar:

"Oh my God! Oh my God! He's talking to me ... can you believe this?! Bunker . Elder . is . talking . to . me!"

Then he has a brain orgasm and faints.

12

Bunker elder Meme

by aintenoughwiskey in

i noticed this on reddit.

they shouldn't have all the fun.

ill get it started.

Island Man

The reason JWs don't need Jesus as mediator is that Bunker elders's sweat atones for the sins of all JWs from the days of Russel until Armageddon.

I know a man who has a badly disfigured face and is now blind. He zoomed in on a Google Earth image of Bunker Elder's home. Bunker Elder was in the house praying at the time the satellite photo was taken.

The only reason Jehovah hasn't anointed Bunker Elder is that the angels all protested to Him, their unworthiness to have him in heaven in their presence.