Posts by StarTrekAngel

46

Sad news from the Spanish Front

by Hecce in

jw
friends

i think the majority of forum friends are aware of the existence of a vibrant watchtower opposition in the spanish field.

for about 13 years the extj forum was probably the main instrument for that endeavor, sadly the couple sponsoring that site decided to close it at the end of last year.

it seems like they were overwhelmed with personal obligations and responsibilities; they were covering a 100% of the expenses without any outside cooperation or publicity.. after the closing of their forum, some of the friends started new sites to keep the flow of information alive.

StarTrekAngel

Well I stand corrected. Kind of... I can definitely see some quality work there. I will take some time to read thru before I pass any further comments. I am not only referring to the quality of the content but the quality of journalism as well. Needless to say that any effort in bringing the truth forth is something I will applaud publicly but maybe criticize privately in places like here. Here are my point of contention

- The quality of journalism. I understand this is not something that comes about naturally, specially when this sort of thing would require you to put significant amounts of time towards it. Research, travel, reaching out to specialists or other media outlets.

- The difference between a news oriented site and a more analytical site. For example, the difference between jwsurvey and jwfacts. Both are required to be well thought out and presented in a way that makes for an easy read.

- The last and to me the most important, which was exalted by the first paragraph of this jwsurvey article (http://jwsurvey.org/news/news-article-sheds-light-on-watchtower-abuses-in-spain) is that we need more interaction between the different communities. Usually the major divide would occur between the English and Spanish JW communities due to the language barrier. We need a good way to bridge that divide. Usually, English readers would concentrate on English material only. Naturally so but while English is widely spoken worldview and a great crowd (sorry for the WT label) can be reached, we are in sort of a niche. We keep throwing arrows at this enemy that is obviously dwindling in the English field. We get plenty of information that not only is easy to read because it is on our language, but because we also understand the system in which the leadership plays. When it comes to the Spanish field, a lot may be getting lost in translation. In this field the WT enjoys the advantage that the people are not only disconnected by language, but also disconnected in understanding. If I go to a JW in Latin America and I show them paperwork regarding, for example, the Rilley fund, they may initially understand what it means but they will be easy to confuse by a refutal from the other side if the people don't understand how the American financial system works.

All of the above is meant to be a comment on whether there is a way we can better support ex-JWs in other languages. It is never meant to say they are ignorant. I am sure they understand their own issues better we ever could (I include myself because even though I am from SA, I was never a JW there). The idea is to bring forth the possibility that we could support the ex-JW community in other parts of the world with the ease of access and experience that we have in this side of the divide.

46

Sad news from the Spanish Front

by Hecce in

jw
friends

i think the majority of forum friends are aware of the existence of a vibrant watchtower opposition in the spanish field.

for about 13 years the extj forum was probably the main instrument for that endeavor, sadly the couple sponsoring that site decided to close it at the end of last year.

it seems like they were overwhelmed with personal obligations and responsibilities; they were covering a 100% of the expenses without any outside cooperation or publicity.. after the closing of their forum, some of the friends started new sites to keep the flow of information alive.

StarTrekAngel

Exactly my point. Quality. Forums are not bad for those of us who would like to share some ideas and openly discuss. But for those lurking in fear, signing up for a forum when their computers can be subject to monitoring (if you are a minor) or the computer is shared with a loved one, then is not an option. Sites like JWsurvey should be widespread and in many languages. There you can get information and hide your tracks much easier. You don't have to sign up for anything. Sure, hiding is not that difficult, but when you are in fear of apostasy, you would be less likely to go thru that process. Quality information should be easy to come about with nothing more needed than a click in the right place.

Also, I am glad that progress is being made in Spain, but this should affect the entire Spanish speaking world.

@Simon

3 Gbps is quite more than I anticipated. For this type of content? That tells me there are plenty of lurkers who do not post, and I mean PLENTY. Unless I am missing something. Most videos are youtube hosted so I would think they do not count towards your traffic, do they?

46

Sad news from the Spanish Front

by Hecce in

jw
friends

i think the majority of forum friends are aware of the existence of a vibrant watchtower opposition in the spanish field.

for about 13 years the extj forum was probably the main instrument for that endeavor, sadly the couple sponsoring that site decided to close it at the end of last year.

it seems like they were overwhelmed with personal obligations and responsibilities; they were covering a 100% of the expenses without any outside cooperation or publicity.. after the closing of their forum, some of the friends started new sites to keep the flow of information alive.

StarTrekAngel

Simon... How much bandwidth are you seeing come to this site?

I've always toyed with the idea of at least helping out start something like this. I work for an ISP, I am the network admin. At my core network I have access to several 10 Gbps links and plenty of space to mount servers. I can not imagine you see a lot of it. The real network killer these days are streaming services, not web forums.

46

Sad news from the Spanish Front

by Hecce in

jw
friends

i think the majority of forum friends are aware of the existence of a vibrant watchtower opposition in the spanish field.

for about 13 years the extj forum was probably the main instrument for that endeavor, sadly the couple sponsoring that site decided to close it at the end of last year.

it seems like they were overwhelmed with personal obligations and responsibilities; they were covering a 100% of the expenses without any outside cooperation or publicity.. after the closing of their forum, some of the friends started new sites to keep the flow of information alive.

StarTrekAngel

Thanks Hecce, that is good news.

I was referring to the whole Spanish speaking field, including Latin America. If we, as ex-JW, plan to have an effect in the growth of this organization, we can not ignore Latin America. There is hardly any good, easy to read and attractive sites that lurkers con go to in their own language.

46

Sad news from the Spanish Front

by Hecce in

jw
friends

i think the majority of forum friends are aware of the existence of a vibrant watchtower opposition in the spanish field.

for about 13 years the extj forum was probably the main instrument for that endeavor, sadly the couple sponsoring that site decided to close it at the end of last year.

it seems like they were overwhelmed with personal obligations and responsibilities; they were covering a 100% of the expenses without any outside cooperation or publicity.. after the closing of their forum, some of the friends started new sites to keep the flow of information alive.

StarTrekAngel

This is very sad indeed. The Spanish field is one where the WT is actually gaining ground.

19

Evolution knowledge prevailing over a Jehovah’s Witness!

by anointed1 in

yesterday i had an interesting visitor—my long-time school friend.

we both studied with jws together, and he progressed to dedication and baptism whereas i stopped before the final step and got transferred to another place.

after the routine conversations, he said: “you know how much your family members long to see you take up the truth ….. before it is too late, i would suggest you start tasting jehovah.”.

StarTrekAngel

I think is pretty clear that the word "religion" in that context simply means something you are attached to or that you trust. Since he was talking to a religious person, it makes perfect sense to use a word his friend would be able to relate to. I never interpreted that science was being defined as a form of spiritual devotion.

But then again... what do I know.

3

Wife and I discussing "The Path"

by StarTrekAngel in

my wife and i have been watching the tv show "the path".

we are caught up to the latest episode and we have began discussing the parallels (or the lack thereof) between the cult portrayed in the show and the jw.

would you help me trace some more that i may be overlooking?.

StarTrekAngel

My wife and I have been watching the tv show "The Path". We are caught up to the latest episode and we have began discussing the parallels (or the lack thereof) between the cult portrayed in the show and the JW. I've come up to her with some of my own and she's seen some as well. Would you help me trace some more that I may be overlooking?

Here are some easy ones

- What JW call 'apostates' are called 'deniers' in the show

- Deniers are shunned and the default conclusion is that they hate the rest of the group

- At least one of the cast members that represent the R&F was abused before they joined she joined the group. She sees a protective figure on the leader who is actually taking advantage of her (sexually), yet this seems to be ok with her. In other words, the abuse has not gone away, just replaced with a more "loving" form of abuse.

- Their doctrine teaches of a bright future in a garden while the rest of the world would be somehow painfully destroyed.

- They have books for kids as well as songs they use on family gatherings. They are instructed to listen to music from the 70 only because modern music is corrupting.

- They have recruiting rallies on the street.

- They are now investing in real state while seeking Tax exemption from the government

- Their spiritual leader is dying (which their doctrine says should not happen) so the new leader is coming up with "new light" to explain the leaders absence.

- The new leader is also coming up with further changes to the doctrine to make the group more attractive to newcomers. He also wrote the last books of their spiritual guidance since the former leader is dying without completing the work

- They use a system of escalating prominence. The spiritual maturity is measured by a system of ladder rungs. The higher have scalated this ladder, the more involved you are, and the more involved you are, the more secrets you know

- The people at the top allow each other to question or break the rules with impunity. They also seem to be keeping track of such missteps to be used as means of coherseing one another but without actual communication.

- Lots of mystical manipulation

- They teach that they do not involve themselves with world or local governments

- The leaders have made mistakes that forces the whole movement to do things against their own teachings while keeping it secret from the R&F

- They portray an apostate (or denier as they call it) finding hard to adapt to life outside the group

If you watch the show and you can come up with any additional I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

9

Trump vows to repeal limits on churches

by StarTrekAngel in

i know the jws would not necessarily take advantage of this (or may be they would) but certainly, they will spin it off somehow.. https://www.yahoo.com/news/religious-looking-trump-protections-081209487--politics.html.

StarTrekAngel

I can see the next election being heavily influenced by pastors. Even more so than they already are.

9

Trump vows to repeal limits on churches

by StarTrekAngel in

i know the jws would not necessarily take advantage of this (or may be they would) but certainly, they will spin it off somehow.. https://www.yahoo.com/news/religious-looking-trump-protections-081209487--politics.html.

StarTrekAngel

I know the JWs would not necessarily take advantage of this (or may be they would) but certainly, they will spin it off somehow.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/religious-looking-trump-protections-081209487--politics.html

22

Does the Jehovah's Witnesses religoius cult create people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder ?

by Finkelstein in

the american psychiatry association lists nine symptoms – if someone ticks five of these, they could have narcissistic personality disorder.

the nine points of narcissism.

has a grandiose sense of self-importance.. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.. believes that he or she is ‘special’ and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people.. requires excessive admiration.. has a sense of entitlement.. is inter-personally exploitative (takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends).. lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.. is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her.. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.. .

StarTrekAngel

While much research is ongoing, most personality issues are attributed to exposure. If you are surrounded by narcissists, then it is easy for you to become one.