Posts by playdrums

34

Do You Feel That You Were Brainwashed Into Becoming A JW?

by minimus in

jw
friends

many comments are made that jw's are actually brainwashed.

do you think this is true?

playdrums

JamesThomas:

What you noted is exactly what I see as an outsider. It is also obviously what I see when I examine my friend who is a JW. Those special words are also what causes a guard to immediate come up when you examine what they believe. You missed a big "key phrase" though - faithful and discreet slave. The use of language as a control just never ends with them.

Undercover:

I definitely think you're fortunate that you were able to see what was happening. I don't believe most JW's do. Through deceipt they have been trained for self deception to maintain their "system." It's very powerful. Being a Catholic I can tell you I've never faced anything like what JamesThomas describes. I don't think the guilt is the main ingredient as your post suggested. Just my opinion.

pd

86

What is the CD in your collection that you've listened to the most?

by DanTheMan in

.

just asking because i'm wanting to expand my musical horizons, looking for some new artists to get into.. my all time most-listened-to cd (and we're talking hundreds of listenings):.

thanks for sharing!

playdrums

These come to my mind the quickest.

King's X - Dogman
Toy Matinee - Toy Matinee
Jeff Buckley - Grace
Third Matinee - Meanwhile
Stone Temple Pilots - 12 Gracious Melodies

40

I attended my first meeting at a KH!!

by playdrums in

for the memorial service i went with my girlfriend.

she's the jw.

i also brought my best friend.

playdrums

BornFree,

Your experience sounds so very much like mine. The only real difference is that it sounds like the teaching at yours was more forthright. The teaching in ours was subtle. But the message was basically the same. Jesus' sacrifice was not enough for me.

pd

40

I attended my first meeting at a KH!!

by playdrums in

for the memorial service i went with my girlfriend.

she's the jw.

i also brought my best friend.

playdrums

0cole0,

I thought that your information on your first visit was interesting but a little inaccurate. I am also disfellowshipped and working towards reinstatement. All that I really wanted to say is that it takes more than one meeting or Memorial to truly see what JWs are all about.

Thanks for the post! I'm glad to hear your remarks. Please know that there was nothing "inaccurate" in my post. What was in my post did represent well what actually took place and it was the observations of a person who had never been to a Kingdom Hall - myself. Everything in my post was in fact, accurate. I don't disparage that your experiences at your KH could be different. You could be right - maybe it does take more than one visit to "get it." However, the Bible states that I will know by Holy Spirit what is true. I don't get the feeling from the Bible that I should require multiple visits to feel the Spirit fall on me.

I have a question for you. According to Watchtower teaching who is the mediator between yourself (you personally) and Jehovah God?

Let me know what you feel about that.

pd

82

For those interested...

by Valis in

.

a mouse whispered in my ear today that the may km was around... sincerely,.

district overbeer of the "faithless and indiscrete slave" class

playdrums

Me me me me me!

40

I attended my first meeting at a KH!!

by playdrums in

for the memorial service i went with my girlfriend.

she's the jw.

i also brought my best friend.

playdrums

Bebu:

It is hard for me to imagine that JWs (or Mormons!) actually sing songs with lots of scripture in them. Long passages of scripture, not 'cut and paste' scripture. I've heard Mormons have songs like, "I Hope They Call Me To a Mission" and "We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet". These are propaganda, obviously.

Could people post the names of JW songs that are obviously propaganda? I'm curious! And is anyone aware of any song(s) that are close to hymns in Christian churches? I just can't imagine overlap!

I can get my hands on a songbook and check it out. She is very good about giving materials that I ask for even though she knows I'm researching. The songs that were used for the memorial could be likened to the Mormon examples you stated. They were specifically related to the memorial and I can't remember the names. The songs I heard were in "hymn" style. They did use Bible quotes but they were worded in specific ways. For instance, there was a reference to Philippians 2:6 where it says,

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, (NIV)

In the song I saw this verse is simplified (even moreso than the NWT) to basically say that Jesus would never have ambitions to God's throne - or somesuch. I'm paraphrasing. But it was a one liner meant to drive home their doctrine.

SaintSatan said:

Btw, do you think there might be a need to slowly, gently deprogram your girlfriend of her remaining jw beliefs, even though she is dfed? Or is it better to let those sleeping dogs lie?

Some may disagree with this but I feel convicted that she must be separated from the JW's. I've seen the effects on her and her family quite profoundly since I've known her - there is no light there. However, I do think it needs to be done slowly. I was soaking up all this information at first and what I was finding was making me angry at the lies - and impatient. I just assumed that she'd go, "Wow, that's incredible." That didn't happen and it flabbergasted me. I've found that it's best to disseminate bits of material at a time. What I do is have multiple different bits ready to go on different front. I'll release an appropriate one when I feel that an opportunity has been presented to me. This happened when she discovered the "Imperial Bible-Dictionary" online by accident when we were doing Bible Study together. Sometimes I'll leave stuff lying around.

I am currently working on addressing what the Bible says is false teaching/prophesy. She and I have read these words together but when asked what the Bible says is evidence of false prophecy she will not say the words. She will only relate it to "good people" and "bad people." It's OK if "good people" make mistakes.

playdrums

11

Why Catholics?

by playdrums in

just a question about the vitriol aimed at the catholic church from the wtbs- .

i understand (but disagree) with the "doctrinal" aspect of the attacks leveled at the catholic church by the wtbs - it's the great harlot, etc.

i'm more interested in getting to the bottom of the real reason they target catholics so strongly.

playdrums

nowisee:

catholicism is just an easy target - so many of its teachings are obviously unscriptural.

That's like saying I'm going to move from my river front estate to my own personal island because I hate the water. Judging by the WTBS' doctrinal interpretation of the Biblical text I'm going to have to eliminate this is a prime motivator. :-)

Personally, I think the motivations are more sinister than that and bluesapphire may be right that it is strictly numbers.

The WBTS has a foundation in lies and deceptions. What interests me is that lies, deception, and distortion always have the same target - truth. With this in mind I'm trying to understand all that the WBTS does because it is a well oiled machine for deception. It is obvious that the attacks on the Catholic Church and the work to harvest Catholics plays a role in this machine. I believe there is a powerful motive. I think the other thread comparing the memorial and the black mass is interesting for this reason as well.

I always ask the question, "Why use the Catholic's bible? Why not make up your own canon?"

Bluesapphire, I've wondered about that myself and it's a great question.

11

Why Catholics?

by playdrums in

just a question about the vitriol aimed at the catholic church from the wtbs- .

i understand (but disagree) with the "doctrinal" aspect of the attacks leveled at the catholic church by the wtbs - it's the great harlot, etc.

i'm more interested in getting to the bottom of the real reason they target catholics so strongly.

playdrums

Just a question about the vitriol aimed at the Catholic Church from the WTBS-

I understand (but disagree) with the "doctrinal" aspect of the attacks leveled at the Catholic Church by the WTBS - it's the great harlot, etc. I'm more interested in getting to the bottom of the real reason they target Catholics so strongly. There's got to be an underlying strategy - a benefit of harvesting Catholics to get them into the organization. There's got to be a tactical reason. Once you're a JW you'll find that your new faith is constantly being compared to your old one. There's obviously a purpose for this in the mind control.

What do you think is the reason that Catholics are targeted to carry on the lies? What benefits do they bring? Is there a weakness to be exploited? Or is the anti-Catholic sentiment relayed in the pubs no more than a trait passed down from the beginnings of the organization?

6

My first easter!

by fairy in

jw
friends

well, this yr is my first easter!

i havent been to the "meetings" for yrs but couldnt bring myself to celebrate easter till now...crazy huh!.

we went to my sister in laws house and had coffee and toasted buttered hot cross buns and coffee and then swapped our chocolate eggs etc....

playdrums

Fairy:

Nice topic. My the grace and peace of Christ be with you always.

Tim

40

I attended my first meeting at a KH!!

by playdrums in

for the memorial service i went with my girlfriend.

she's the jw.

i also brought my best friend.

playdrums

Good comments. You are all a bounty of information as well. Truth be told I've been reading for quite a number of months and have purchased some of the materials Randy has made available. If any of you have had some successes with liberating the mind of a JW, I'd certainly appreciate your input as to what were good approaches. Maybe someone could start a new thread about it. I've personally hit a wall with some of the more aggressive techniques - obviously. Now I am very careful to think a number of steps ahead. It takes a sneak (an honest one) to overcome sneaks (dihonest ones).

mouthy:

Thanks for the link to the audio testimonies.

bebu:

I also attend protestant (based) churches usually in a musical capacity. Most of my friends are not Catholic. I really enjoy the opportunity to worship and use my talents for that. I've always enjoyed reading the Bible and especially studying Church history. Regarding the "kingdom looney tunes" there's nothing like a melody to plant information in the brain. I can guarantee it is an enormous part of the WT strategy of control. I try to play Carmen some of the music I play in Churches whenever I get an opporunity.

Tim