Posts by shamus

13

Under what circumstances would u or did u shun?

by wednesday in

we talk a lot about df and shunning ,and our hatred for these practices.

thinking back on your congregation, were there people that u felt deserved to be shunned?

under what circumstances would u have "marked" an individual?

shamus

I was a real jerk when it came to this at first. It still shames me to think of how I was toward other people. I am talking about those who were "bad assosiation". I would shun them - or avoid talking to them. Some christian, eh?

Guilty feelings aside, I eventually hung around exclusively with "bad assosiations", and found them to be the most level-headed people in the truth. One kid who was 16 and came into the truth got DF'd. He was just devastated. I would give him rides to the meetings - which was no small feat on my part (driving wise). He would literally weep after meetings, and I would encourage him, DESPITE what the elders said I should do. Eventually he got re-instated, then promptly dropped off the face of the earth.

So, to answer your question - I was a real jerk (could still be, for all Iknow ) but eventually tried not to shun.

9

Putting on the NEW personality

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

this whole concept of putting on the new personality when one becomes a jw is a lot more serious than most people realize.

people truly develop a second personality.

this personality is child-like and obedient.

shamus

Lady Lee,

Your posts are so excellent! How true about this "new personality". They just take things to extremes, don't they? They don't realize that we are all human. That is something that god gave us - and they try to take it away from us.

It is a pleasure to meet people like you!

37

What are the benifits of DA? Should I DA?

by zucker in

i'm wondering if i should just "come out of the closet" and tell my family i don't believe it anymore and da myself or don't make any noise and fade out?

what are the benefits or problems with either choice?

additionally, some have expressed concern over da.

shamus

Zucker,

Good for you for telling your mom. You see? What works for one person does not work for another - I think that you made the right decision. She knows your stance now, and that is it. If she increases your rent, well, that's not very nice, but what can you do? But if you DA yourself, you can be SURE that the elders will pressure her to kick you out. Put a stamp of guarantee on that one. I would just avoid the elders like the plague now - but your mom will probably get them in contact with you somehow! Just don't give them answers if you don't want to DA. Milk the system, if you want.

Also - good for you for going to college! The WT society wants us all to not get a better education, which is just horsepoo! They robbed me of this and I won't forget that anytime soon.

14

Witnesses Don't Believe the Organization Makes Mistakes

by metatron in

some defenders of the watchtower claim that witnesses acknowledge that the organization is imperfect and makes.

wrong.

they actually believe the organization never makes mistakes!.

shamus

Excellent Thread!

At first, I was going to say "hey wait a minute.... we always admited that we made mistakes...", but that only applied to scriptures when they changed their minds. It had nothing to do with the injustices that occured in the congregational / judicial level. It is really disgusting how they can say that about people who were wrongly disfellowshipped - disgusting is really how it should be put. Shame on them!

8

Who leaves first?

by freedom96 in

jw
friends

i was just remembering a guy from our hall that seemed to be the most intellectual of everyone there.

when he would give an answer, it was in depth, and always "in his own words.".

he had the biggest briefcase there, with all sorts of books, and research.

shamus

Good question -

I wondered that, too!

8

Depression Website and Support

by shamus in

this website is excellent for anyone who is suffering from depression.

it helped me immensely when i left the borg - in fact, it saved my life.

it has many interesting links from:.

shamus

www.wingofmadness.com

This website is excellent for anyone who is suffering from depression. It helped me immensely when I left the borg - in fact, it saved my life. It has many interesting links from:

- telling if you are depressed (depression test)

- what to do if you are feeling depressed

- what to do if you have been diagnosed with depression

- support for friends and family of depressed friends / spouses (message board)

- links to other message boards of those who suffer from depression and need some support (EXCELLENT SUPPORT IS OUT THERE!)

26

What Happened To All Your Friends???

by minimus in

jw
friends

to become a witness, you must leave everything behind and associate only with jw's.

did you think that you really were going to only associate with jehovah's witnesses and no one else???

---------- after you left or got df'd, did you regain your past "worldly" friendships or were they forever lost?

shamus

JH,

It certainly is.

It was hard leaving the borg, and I would suggest a website to you just to see if you are still having difficulties with feeling depressed, etc. It really helped me - when I left the borg I found it and it saved my life, having been diagnosed with depression years ago and feeling too scared to do anything about it.

www.wingofmadness.com

Deb, the owner of the website, is really nice. We all posted on a message board, just like this. However, she has much, much more than just a message board!

Take care.

Bri.

9

Persecution?

by robhic in

i am not now, nor have i ever been a jw but i have seen their propensity to try to play up being persecuted.

a friend of mine who is a jw (and the reason i sought out these message forums) made it abundantly clear that she thought (and i guess was encouraged to think) that most everything was persecution because "people hate jw's.".

now, from my experience i can say that i don't think people actually hate jw.

shamus

Very true -
People get attention easier if they feel persecuted. Ever hear of a persecution complex? That is what they have. I find too, that some people are very nasty in regards to speaking of the witnesses on this forum - I don't think it's such a nice thing to do, returning evil for evil. On the otherhand, some of these people have seen family members treated horribly, and, most tragic, the people who post here who were sexually abused and treated like it was their fault - those people have every right to speak their minds - its part of the healing process. I wouldn't be so nice to them if this happened to me, and surely nor would you.

Persecution? C'mon. I was in it - the only time that I was "persecuted" was when my dad told me that I was an idiot for my blood stance. That was not persecution. He was only telling me his mind. It has happened in other parts of the world, but not here in North America. Little wonder - check out how they treat people even in the world. They want to be "no part of the world", and act like they are from outer space. One asshole witness whom I worked with was asked by a receptionist at our workplace, very nicely, "So, do you and your wife want kids?". The jerk says "In this world??? NO WAY", then storms away. Some persecution. He acted like a self-rightcheous ignorant jerkoff. Pretty typical of how weird they are - most of them.

41

O.K., Who Is CONVINCED That They Have The REAL Truth?

by SpannerintheWorks in

and if you do, it shouldn't be too difficult to convince us of that!

i mean, you accepted it as the truth, .

can you convince us that you do indeed have the "real" truth?

shamus

I think that they are sincere in some ways - but it is twisted so badly around that the truth is unrecognizable, and impossible. They take things soooo out of context - and pretend that it is in context. That is where interpretation is key. One person interprets the same thing differently - we are all different human beings, and will never agree on interpretation!

Do I think they have the truth? Sort of.... but mostly not. They are so frigging sly about their teachings, and love to make themselves look like a victim of the world - and are a victim of the world by their nutty stances - i.e. voting flip-flop!

I certainly do not hate the people in the religion - I feel sorry for them. They think that they are saved - wheras everyone knows in the bible that nobody knows who is "saved". NOBODY. Do they have the truth? In some ways.... Do they have some beliefs that are good? Of course. They sure have tons of problems in their teachings that make them fanatical, hypocrites, and therefore, if you want a black and white fact of weather they have the truth, then the answer has to be no. They come across, and are, assholes. I was one, too Dansk, but hopefully will never be agin.

26

What Happened To All Your Friends???

by minimus in

jw
friends

to become a witness, you must leave everything behind and associate only with jw's.

did you think that you really were going to only associate with jehovah's witnesses and no one else???

---------- after you left or got df'd, did you regain your past "worldly" friendships or were they forever lost?

shamus

Friends outside of the organization I never really contacted... Friends in the congregation were all badasses anyways, and I am still friends with them. Obviously, we don't talk at all about the religion, beliefs, etc. Theyknow that I am gone, slipped away, and they're cool with it. Whenever I hang with them, we go and party, and whatever. They don't go to meetings much either, so its all good. The F**ko's who were the "aquaintance friends", the ones who were your friends but not really I never heard from again - good riddance to those lowlife goofballs.

One of my friends who left - or fell away like I did - I still keep in contact with. He HATES IT. Whenever his mom comes to visit him, she always says things like "Oh - look at how cute those ducks are - too bad your on Satan's side." Just shows you the mentality of those in the Borg.