willyloman

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Posts by willyloman

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  37

  I overheard a nauseating conversation . . .

  by 144001 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was in the produce section of a local market, when i happened to overhear the following comment: "we celebrate christ's birth every day of the year, not just on christmas!

  " i turned and knew the nature of the source of the comment immediately, judging by the polyester pantsuit and delusional "deer in headlights" look on her face.

  her companion replied, "but i like celebrating christmas and don't see anything wrong with it.

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  willyloman

  JW's delude themselves into being different while still trying to be the same...

  Which is why so many of us always had a big turkey dinner on the day after Thanksgiving!
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  27

  How do active JW's spend their Christmas? What do they feel?

  by dgp in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello to all.

  maybe this is a stupid question, since jw's don't celebrate christmas, but, as jw's, how did you spend your christmas?

  what did you feel when everyone else was celebrating?

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  willyloman

  We had a bunch of kids at home so we always planned a trip. We stayed in a nice hotel and took them to amusement parks. We figured since the rest of the world was on holiday we might as well relax, too. There were several other families in the congo who always left town during the holidays, to "visit relatives" or "go on vacation." Since I was off work and the kids didn't have school, it was the perfect time to get away.

  One year, early on, we did stay home and go out in FS on Xmas. After disturbing a few families during their Christmas Day rituals, we just felt we were imposing on folks so we went home. Except for football on TV, it was extremely boring and we vowed never to stay home for the holidays again.

  I remember that we used to hate to see Halloween roll around because it meant the beginning of 55 days of walking on eggshells, having to explain why we didn't celebrate certain days, and trying to keep a very low profile at work. I loved Dec. 26, it was my favorite day of the year. I'd sigh a big sigh of relief, and start planning the big Super Bowl party we always had at our house in January.

  Looking back, I suppose my "bible-based conscience" was more elastic than most. I'm proud that we recognized the toll dubdom was taking on our children and at least did some things to try and mitigate it. But I am even happier to finally be living in the now with the freedom to be authentic about who I really am inside.
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  13

  Betty Dunlap's Christmas

  by sacolton in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i went to visit betty yesterday to bring christmas cards and cookies.

  she was so happy to get christmas cards and surprised that anyone remembered her.

  we talked for a good two hours and i gave her alot of updates on what has been happening with the watchtower.

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  willyloman

  Send her a very Merry Christmas from five conscientious objectors who walked away six years ago and are all gathered this week at home in SoCal, celebrating the holidays with a vengeance!
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  30

  Ex-JWs, How Many People Have Left the WTBTS Due To Your Efforts?

  by ziddina in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  and, while we're at it, what did you feel was the best technique/were the best techniques for 'awakening' jws to the problems/threats within the wtbts??.

  i was initially awakened by the realization that the bible writers had no clue about how the earth really worked - which meant that their god had no clue, either.

  when exodus 19: 16-19 was read in the kh, i realized (as a young child, 7 or 8 if i remember correctly...) that those bible verses were describing a volcanic eruption - and the isra-el-ites - and their 'god' - were totally clueless as to the true nature of that eruption and mountain.... that was my first eye-opener... then there was the fellow - a householder - who said to me when i was a cute kid at the door helping 'spread the word', "those people are using you!".

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  willyloman

  My count is 4, so between me and Tuesday we have 119.
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  10

  Serena Williams , Five Minute Interview with the BBC

  by BluesBrother in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as always, if you have put this up already, i apologise... halfway into the video she is asked about j w's.

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8408673.stm.

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  willyloman

  She says she is a JW and that she does informal witnessing

  So she's an "Informal Witness," which is apparently a new category for people with money, power and fame. Well, not so new (see Michael Jackson, George Benson, Mickey Spillane, et. al.).
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  28

  What's for dinner tonight peeps?

  by beksbks in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm having spaghetti and meatballs, salad with blue cheese, and cabernet.

  it's the antidote to turkey dinner/leftovers..

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  willyloman

  Leftover turkey, leftover ham, leftover corn, leftover dressing, leftover cranberries, leftover gravy. However, we did open a new bottle of wine.
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  29

  Do you ever actually tell your family you're not coming back? What do I do?

  by stillAwitness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been "inactive"for four years now.

  i am quite proud of myself for making it this far since i moved out on my own at 22 for the first time.

  i've remained in school, try to live a balanced and productive life and still drive home to visit my parents at least once a month (they live 45 minutes outside of the city) luckily, my parents and i still remain close (as much as a baptized inactive child and still fanatic jw parents are able to be) and besides my mom's constant pestering about me attending meetings again and coming back to the troof, i haven't had to much stress from them or the elders.

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  willyloman

  This is a Don't Ask, Don't Tell situation. The best response is: "I love you, mom!" That's what she really wants to hear.
• 
  10

  A Speculative Question

  by cantleave in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know there is no definitive answer to the question below.

  i reckon that in my congregation there are at 30 people who don't really believe the wtb$ in its entirety.

  these are the ones who attend and do just enough so as to please family, maintain social circles / business contacts or need the organisation to give them a sense of purpose.. based on your experience and the knowledge of those in your congregation what percentage of jw's do you believe would stay faithful if they had to choose between the org or their life?.

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  willyloman

  When I was in there were three "classes" of dubs.

  The "true believers" constituted a small minority, probably about 20% in the typical congo. These were the super zealous or self righteous among us, although often respected by the rest of the group.

  About 30% fell into the "walking wounded" category, meaning they were troubled souls with many problems, often but not always of their own making, and they were likely to hang on firmly to their membership because of the perceived long term health benefits (the promised perfection). As for the body of JW doctrine, most of them just didn't know what it was since they seldom read the dispatches. They knew what they were taught when they first started and rarely progressed from there.

  That left another 30% somewhere in the middle, matching your description of doing "just enough" and maintaining their social circle and family or business ties, but clearly not intellectually committed. They paid lip service to but were often flexible in their support of many JW rules.

  Obviously, the percentages are estimates and there's some overlap between groups. But I came to think this was pretty universal, at least in the U.S.
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  40

  Donny Osmond?! WTF??

  by undercover in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't normally give a rat's arse what happens on dancing with the stars, don't see it every week even, but i did watch the finale.

  having seen the last couple of episodes, i thought for sure mya would win...should win.. but donny osmond??.

  maybe the end is near....

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  willyloman

  We were discussing this at work today. Consensus: It's not a dance competition, its a voting competition. It is fun to watch, tho.
• 
  8

  The disconnect effect

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is kind of hard to put into words.

  i have faded for over a year now and have moved on with my new life.. i still have friends and family who are jws that i care for very much.

  i don't say anything to them about jws and they don't know i no longer believe and miss meetings.. i am in contact with them because they are nice people even though they would shun me in a heartbeat if they found out about me - but - this is where it gets tricky.... i find the more things i do that are in opposition to jw rules and regulations, nothing bad mind you, the more disconnect i feel towards my jw relatives and friends.

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  willyloman

  Perfectly natural order of events. Remember, the "fade" is not an end unto itself; it buys time to make new friends and develop interests. The goal is to get to the point where it doesn't matter what happens when they "discover" you've left the party.