Posts by pincushion

14

Personal Protection

by LuckyLucy in

last summer i got mugged.i have been taking kickboxing classes but i am seriously thinking about getting one of these babies.do any of you carry any kind of protection??.

the cia model 850 holds 5 rounds of .38 special +p in a lightweight and compact package.

like the name says - cia...carry it anywhere..

Lucy I am sorry to hear of your traumitizing experience. I am sure it affects many aspects of your life. Way to go on learning some self-defense...however...and please take this or leave it...the idea of people walking around with guns in order to defend themselves scares the hell out of me. The end result of a person having to use a gun to protect themselves can be quite disastorous. There are safer forms of protection such as pepper spray that will help just as much, and it does not threaten someones life. Where is the justice in using a gun if it can kill? My thoughts anyways. As I said take it or leave it. I am sure with the trauma you have been through, shooting a gun in self defense seems very logical..and I really don't blame you...but guns scare me.

4

UNEXPECTED SUPPORT

by Mary in

jw
friends

well here's one that has really thrown me for a loop: .

as i mentioned in previous posts, i have a very rare form of cancer called clear-cell cancer and am due for an operation that will hopefully take care of it.

i've been an inactive witness for about 10 years but still go to the meetings occassionally.

pincushion

Mary...I am sorry to hear of your troubles and wish you the best of luck with the surgery...

That is great the Congregation is supporting you through these trying times. I have to admit they are helpful when the chips are down. But I can't help but look at the alterior motive...and that being...rounding up new 'sheep' in a way that they have a lot of influence when those chips are down. I can only speak from my experience, and that is they 'recruited' me at a very low time in my life and made it even lower in the end. They KNOW their offer of life forever in paradise...is very catching...when one has low feelings of life already. They seem to know when to swarm in like a bunch of bees and sting people with their poison. I have experienced it and countless others on this forum has experienced.

It is up to you, what you want to do with thier renewed friendship towards you...but please look at all the facts and not just the friendly faces at the moment.

PC

26

Witnesses DO NOT Love Each Other

by metatron in

jw
friends

the watchtower claims that witnesses love each other - and that this love marks them.

as being the true religion.. nonsense!.

witnesses love each other?.

pincushion

Hating sinners but not sin comes to mind...with the dubs being very selective about what sins they crack down on, they allow molesters to remain...one would think they would all get along amongst their filth.

12

Paths along the way, after the borg, experiences?

by LyinEyes in

all of us who were once jw's have had a hard time trying to find our place in the world.

many have just begun their journey since leaving the borg, only recently.

others have put it far behind them many years ago, even decades they have been away from it.

pincushion

It is hard to teach a old dog new tricks..I would suspect the longer you are with the borgs, regardless if you were born into them or not, the harder it is to get on with life after leaving. Although, perhaps it is easier for those who joined through a study to move on, as they had 'worldly ways' engrained in them before.

Myself, I did not live long in the borg and was brought into it through a study. When I did wake up and smell the coffee and left, I never cared to talk or persue religion again. In fact, I still shiver at the mention of religion, flat out refuse to enter a church, and stay away from such talk all together (until now, I found this site a week ago). I am afraid, even though my time was short with them , I am ruined in regards to any religion. I have my own spiritual beliefs and keep them to myself. I am sure my coldness towards religion is because of the shunning and untruths I seen while in the borg.

Goatlike..I agree the weak join the dubs and the strong leave.

10

Depression and Dubs

by pincushion in

since i have found this forum i have been doing a lot of online looking, particularily spying on what the dubs have to say about all the negative attention they have been getting in the news of late and through the internet in forums such as this.

i did a quick search on msn communites and came across over 70 online jw communities.

one particular posting on one community (#1 rated jw community on msn if anyone desires to look it up) i read a message thread on depression.

pincushion

Thankyou for the replies...and thankyou even to the harrasing emails I was getting this AM from a person dwelling on the fact I used the word Prozac in a message, used in jest at that.

Anyways, I am very well aware as to how depression starts and how it is treated, I am just bewildered at the fact so many dubs suffer from depression. Of course the ratio of depression is 1 in 5 people will suffer from it in their lifetime. However, I have seen many Dub teens and those in early 20's suffer from it and I strongly believe it is the Organization and beliefs and traditions that bring on this early onset of depression. It makes me sad that the clear picture is not seen within the congregations. And to advice a depressed person NOT to get help is pure crazy.

Healing from depression is definately a need to change those irrational thoughts. What many people do not realise is that most of our thoughts and beliefs reflect the culture and society we live in, our religious background, and our upbringing. Sometimes people develop, owing to early childhood experiences and learning, nonsense or 'irrational' beliefs.

Meds certainly open the door to feeling better so one can work on the depression, therapy and talking about the reasons a person is depressed are the cure all.

6

a little girl had to die for your beleif

by jane53 in

sad, sick and unmerciful you must be, to accept that a little girl's life is taken at just 15 when it could have been saved.

a book that hints blood transfusion is the work of the 'devil'.

a supernatural being that we don't know for certain exists.

pincushion

Welcome Jane...strong words and words that need to be said!! Lets hope all the undercover Dubs on this site read it and take it too heart...I doubt it though...but if you even reach one it was well worth it huh!! I presume you are talking about Bethany (Mia)?? I live not to far from Calgary and her struggle, her fathers struggle touched me deeply. I believe someone had mentioned this already, but the mother of this young lady spoke she would step in front of a train to save her daughter. The irony is she would not allow blood to save her. So where is the justice in all this? Where is the sense? To me JW's may as well be as low on my list of wanting to be part of as Jim Jones and his cult. How many Jonestowns will it take before the Dubs can be permanently shut down from their inside conspiracy's at the cost of the innocent children? Sure its fine for an adult to make decisons, to take blood or not, but a child is not experienced in this world to know any better. And the molestation and abuse I have been reading about just makes me sick. The coverups, the secrets and the lies...and they call themselves the true religion BARF BARF BARF. makes me so mad my hemorroids burn and I don't have any!

10

Depression and Dubs

by pincushion in

since i have found this forum i have been doing a lot of online looking, particularily spying on what the dubs have to say about all the negative attention they have been getting in the news of late and through the internet in forums such as this.

i did a quick search on msn communites and came across over 70 online jw communities.

one particular posting on one community (#1 rated jw community on msn if anyone desires to look it up) i read a message thread on depression.

pincushion

Since I have found this forum I have been doing a lot of online looking, particularily spying on what the Dubs have to say about all the negative attention they have been getting in the news of late and through the internet in forums such as this. I did a quick search on MSN communites and came across over 70 online JW communities. One particular posting on one community (#1 rated JW community on MSN if anyone desires to look it up) I read a message thread on depression. The header message went as follows..

"Like so many people in this system of things I am faced with an emotional and mental problem, one that I am learning so many of Jehovah's people have, DEPRESSION. Why? "

In the Congragation I was in...about 150 dubs, a large majority of the females suffered from depression including myself. I think to those of us who have seen the 'light', the reason behind the depression is obvious..I just find it interesting that a sister has to go anon on the internet to find out why others think there is so much depression within the system. Perhaps, she too is seeing the light...at least I hope so. Of course the majority of the replies to her was they are plagued by satans world and to hang in there because paradise is just around the corner. It irritates me to no end how they can overlook the stress given to them from the organization, the seclusion they are forced into to remain clean, the isolation in school while growing up yada yada...I hope no one minds me saying this..but to me they are their own satan...the qualifications they must sustain to remain pure in their Jahs image.

Then in this particular conversation I was reading it wsa brought up that Depression is an illness and the sooner people accept that, they will not look at others as freaks. So now its gone from Satans wrath to a medically treatable illness, with mention it is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Medically treatale illness and a chemical imbalance for sure...however in a lot of case..in fact most cases...something has to start the depression off. You can't tell me 3/4's of the congregation I was in all had a chemical imbalance. Sure maybe..I guess it could be possible...I good way to place blame without pointing a finger at themselves and the organization...I just wish they would wake up and smell the prozac!!

2

So the children would not feel left out???

by pincushion in

this has to do with halloween...now personally i think halloween should be cancelled all together and that a whole other topic, so here is my comment and question.... while i was with the dubs...halloween was approaching, of course we know halloween is frowned upon in the organization to the point when halloween approaches talks are given to extent and that is perfectly fine.

however the alberta congregation i was involved with, every halloween, on, before or after the 31'st, depending what saturday it suited the majority..they would hold a candy hunt for the children.

i asked one of the sisters why they did this, as they frowned upon the occassion, yet promoted it in a small sense through their candy hunt.

pincushion

This has to do with Halloween...now personally I think Halloween should be cancelled all together and that a whole other topic, so here is my comment and question...

While I was with the Dubs...Halloween was approaching, of course we know Halloween is frowned upon in the organization to the point when Halloween approaches talks are given to extent and that is perfectly fine. However the Alberta Congregation I was involved with, every Halloween, on, before or after the 31'st, depending what Saturday it suited the majority..they would hold a Candy Hunt for the children. I asked one of the Sisters why they did this, as they frowned upon the occassion, yet promoted it in a small sense through their Candy Hunt. Now this was not a small Candy Hunt. They were well planned out, and the adults would go to the location the day before and hide candy all over the hills and woods. The day of the Candy hunt the entire congregation would show up, as well as neighbouring congregations. So to me, because of the time frame of the hunt and halloween they were letting the children celebrate to some extent. When I did ask the sister..she told me that because Halloween was such a big day for other children and because they didn't want their children to feel left out they would hold the hunts yearly.

So to me this does not make sense at all and totally contradicts their beliefs. Any feedback??

6

wat is it with jw's and uni degrees?

by sithembile in

hey everyone, although im currently studyin with jehovahs witnesses, im dont understand the thing with jw's and a secular career or degree..i wonder is there biblical reference to it...???

im very cynical about many of their teachings...and can see my association with them will be short, although i must admit i thought they had some basic principles rite...help...

pincushion

All the Dub's I knew had large families 4-6 kids, one family had 12 kids..all raised on a janitors wage. I swear all of them in my town are janitors...quick to spout off that they were not materialistic, but the hand was quicker for handouts and borrowing. Of course none of the kids have gone to further their education, they just sweep the brooms Monday-Wednesday-Friday so mom and dad can pioneer. I also have known them to (from when i was a publisher) take the monitary donations they succeeded in getting while door to door..to buy a nice roast of beef and have a big gathering in their homes, pass the bottle around and say it was the work of Jehovah that put that roast on their table. Did they eventually put the money donated to where it belongs?? Who knows, but I am sure the people they conned the money out of would not be please the money was first not used for what they intended.

23

My short time WITH and AS a JW

by pincushion in

my name is 'pincushion', i reside in alberta.

in 1989 i started studying with the jw's.

i was really drawn to the 'truth' and after much trial and tribulation i was baptised in 1991 during a lethbridge assembly.

pincushion

What is really weird about all this...finding this forum, telling my story and even opening up to people at work about my experience (something I have never done before until this week) is that everywhere I go now I am running into Dubs here in my town. Small town, very small comgregation....congregation consists mainly of seniors so hopely someday it will not exist WAHAHAH. I am sure I have run into them many times before and just never noticed..but they seem to be everywhere now. Of course most of them ignore me all the way..but I have blown smoke their way a few times this week. (Too bad I am quitting smoking on the 24th, I hope).