scenario 1: if you could guarantee that you would not get caught would you steal a million dollars?.
scenario 2: if you could guarantee that you would not get caught would you steal a million dollars from the wtbs?.
scenario 3: if you could guarantee that you would not get caught would you steal a million dollars from a bank?.
I wouldn't consider doing 3 or 4. 2, now, that's a toughie...
Scenario 2: If you could guarantee that you would not get caught would you steal a million dollars from the WTBS?
This is really tempting, because the WTBS would otherwise be using this money in enslaving people . . . normally, theft goes against my moral code, but in this case I think I would do it, and I would donate the money to charity.
for those of you who know ... or know of ernie ricketts, he was disfellowshipped a weerk ago, a long time prominent jehovah's witness, who represented the watchtower in jersey city, he was the care taker of the stanley theater.
there are a few post in the archivs that make mention of him.
i knew him personally, from what i was able to gather, the society wanted to get rid of him, apparently as someone told me "he was too black for the society," so they found a 17 year old "sin" and used that to get rid of him.
JT wrote:
sometimes we would Pipe the OHIO PLAYERS. CAMEO, CON FUNK SHUN, LUTHER VAN DROSS THRU THE assembly hall sound system at night--yes we were wicked
Oh my gosh, you actually did that? Whenever I went to the circuit assembly, I would always daydream about something like that happening . . . I hope someday, if the WT ever goes away, those huge assembly halls are converted into dance halls . . . :DD
as i was growing up in the troof.
there were sayings used over and over again to control my behaviour.
the biblical on bad associations spoil useful habits and another on just because everyone else does it doesnt mean you have to do it to, would you jump off a cliff just because other people do what were the sayings that bugged you?
I've heard all of these phrases multiple times, and I wasn't even in an English-language congregation most of my life . . . It's creepy how all dubs seem to talk exactly the same no matter what language they speak or where they are . . .
for those of you who had a jw childhood, were you pulled out of sex education classes?
did it bother your conscience if school surprised you with one?
after being deprived from sex knowledge and since the society doesn't make diagrams, how did you learn about it?
I was pulled out of school altogether and put into homeschooling around 5th/6th grade, so I didn't have to deal with sex ed. Even if I had stayed in traditional school, my mom swore that she would get a waiver to take me out of sex ed . . . At any rate, since both my parents worked, I was dropped off at the library a lot as an elementary schooler, and I got my sex education there. :) Not that I would read books intentionally for the sexy stuff...but reading the vague, romance-novel-like sex scenes in the sci fi/fantasy novels I liked was still much more informative than anything my parents had ever told me. I was also lucky enough to be allowed to have a little handheld radio in my bedroom, and I would listen to the radio all day, and also late at night when they had racier talk radio... (Loveline's still my favorite show. :D)
weeks, months, years??
?
Nosferatu, thanks for the advice. Don't worry, I have zero intention of getting baptized . . . I know that'll put me into an even deeper hole than the one I'm in now. The possibility of getting officially DF'd/DA'd is too risky, and makes fading way harder . . . well, I wish for the best for both of us! And I look forward to reading your autobiography when you finish writing it.
weeks, months, years??
?
I think I accepted the fact that I was doubting when I started reading this forum this year; that was the beginning of the end for me. Since I had been lukewarm in love towards the org for some time already, I didn't think I had anything to lose by reading "apostate" things. After reading about all of the scandals, people's experiences, and doctrinal fallacies, I knew for sure that it wasn't the truth. Now I'm in a physical transition period: I still need to keep the appearance of working towards baptism because I still live with my father (who would most likely become violent if I were to tell him the truth); it helps that I've been able to get out of going to meetings because I've been sick (the only good thing about being chronically ill). This charade will probably end once my family splits up sometime next year. Of course, I still have some emotional issues to work through, but at least now I'm positive that JWism is nothing but BS.
Actually, now that I think of it, it was quite early on that I first began mentally drifting away; I think I was about 10 or 11 years old . . . I would daydream about leaving the organization someday and becoming a witch. (I had the habit of sneaking in fantasy novels from the library and hiding them in my sock drawer; thank dog for the library!) But I still believed it was the "truth" then; I just knew I couldn't possibly follow it. Later on, I abandoned thoughts of leaving, and accepted that I was going to die in Armageddon. I went through the motions of becoming a publisher and studying the literature, but in my heart I felt that I had no future. What a cruel organization that makes children feel that way. :(
for all of those either out or on their way to the freedom exit door, do you still see traces of your old jw self that rears its ugly head?
Since I made my decision to leave the borg early this year, I think I've made a lot of progress in removing JW traits from my psyche . . . it helps that I've already been mentally "worldly" in some aspects for a few years previous, such as feeling supportive of issues like feminism, gay rights, blood transfusions, etc. These feelings were actually fundamental in helping me move away from the organization, and I think the progress I've made this year has been in releasing myself from guilt for feeling that way. However, I still hear that nagging little voice whenever I read news articles about bad conditions in the world . . . the voice that says, "wasn't this prophesied?" I try to reason with myself that people haven't changed now compared with people historically, and technology may soon be able to change conditions for the better.
Another problem is that I still have an irrational fear of demons, even though I don't believe they exist . . . even sleeping with a nightlight alleviates the fear only a little bit that something is lurking in the shadows . . . it's hard getting over something that was profoundly terrifying to me as a child, especially since it was made real to me by my parents telling me of their own experiences with the demons. I hope someday I can read ghost stories without feeling tense...
And then I also have great difficulty interacting normally and sustaining friendships with others, something I blame at least partly on the JW upbringing.
sunday's talk on avoiding satan's snares brought out an interesting point that the human government's very soon will be turning all their military and political might on god's people here on earth, because of the fact jehovah's witnesses would be perceived as such a dangerous threat to the governments of the world because of their christian neutrality.
which begs the question.....when the hell were the witnesses ever a dangerous threat to anything besides logic?
they really are so freaking full of themselves.
I always found this idea confusing . . . I tried to rationalize it by thinking to myself that the governments wouldn't be afraid of such a tiny organization in itself, but of Jahoho's wrath . . . but then I realized, how could they be afraid of Jahoho if they have no reason to believe in him, or that there's any kind of divine force behind the org? Dub-style logic falls flat on its face once again . . .
i just got back from my convention yesterday evening.
i'll be trying to catch up on the posts as time allows, but there is a very large volume; so if i miss any personal replies, please forgive me.. this was my first convention since i became mentally free, and it was just painful to sit through.
i used to be one of those dubs who actually enjoyed conventions.
Euphemism, thank you for posting such an articulate and informative article. I feel so glad now that last year's DC was probably my final one . . . and I hope this year's will be the last for you.
Blondie, interesting that you mention a "treasure map" . . . I think many dubs only read the Bible because they think of it as a treasure map (to eternal youth)!
i just had to pass this on to you.. it is an e mail that is making the rounds.. what do you think of this.... (beware!
gagging may be expected).
the 41,000 friends at the international convention in michigan .
One can only hope that he was crying out of guilt/disgust for what he must've been saying . . . o_O
