Posts by StarTrekAngel

29

Where did Jehovah go ?

by Deleteandrestart in

for the many years i was mentally " in " the congregation, i equated the organisation as interchangeable with the persona of jehovah, in effect whatever the organisation said or thought, that was what jehovah thought and that was what jehovah said.... it was that simple.

so when i found out the ttatt and the cynical moves of the organisation over the years,including 1975 , the donation arrangements, the united nations, etc i was devastated and thought " where's jehovah in all of this?".

the god who i'd poured my heart out to on many occasions and who i thought was silently listening and hearing my pleas ..... was not there , .

StarTrekAngel

If you don't believe in God, well that is a bit harder to work on.

If you still believe in God, shake off the watchtower teachings. I just met an ex-co worker a few weeks ago. He left the WT after marrying outside the religion. He felt he was mistreated and went on to explore other religions. Eventually he settled for the 7th day adventist. (not much of a change right?) and he told me he has bible studies of his own. Based in our conversation, he is teachings his bible studies to be witnesses outside of the religion itself. He has not been able to re question the same old questions.

The WT would want you to believe that even the earliest characters in the bible had the same faith they have today. That may be they did not understand everything but, for example. Joseph knew adultery was wrong ( I don't believe so anymore)

With that in mind, think about the off spring of Joseph, after Jacob moved to Egypt. When Moises was commanded to go to the Son of Israel, he knew they had forgotten about God. They did not know who this God was or what he could do. That is why Moises asked God for a sign to take along.

God may well be gone. And if this is in parallel with anything that happened before, any faith is better than none, but no faith does not mean death either. God would basically have to come back and prove himself once again.

If you believe only in Jesus, well, I don't believe he referred to preaching (as the WT wants you to think) when he said "those who stand until the end will be saved". He was referring to doing good deeds. People get tired of doing good when the enviromment is as bad as it can get. Doing the right thing, no matter what and for the rest of your life isn't easy. Pretending to care while walking the streets and counting hours is. Jesus could have not possibly refer to the latter.

34

Prince and addictive drugs…a possible loophole?

by Londo111 in

according to the elder's rulebook, there is this addendum in the chapter on the grounds for judicial committee and the section: "misuse of addictive drugs":.

please note: the use of addictive drugs under medical supervision, such as for pain management, would not necessarily require judicial review.

when questions arise, consult with the branch office.. .

StarTrekAngel

They are just making sure that elders do not attach to the dictionary definition of "addiction". If you are on xanax, you are technically using an addictive drug. If you had just smoked your first pot cigarette, you are not an addict yet, but you are on your way there. Xanax could be seen the same way. In fact, my doctor told me once that I could just drink instead of taking Xanax, the effect would be the same but he said Xanax is better because it would not damage your liver in the long run. When I wanted to cut Xanax out, i was told I needed to do it in stages to avoid withdrawal.

if a brother is on Xanax, he should not be tried in a JC. That is what that loophole is. However, some people may take this medication under doctor supervision but many times these celebrities have bought the doctors to push the limits. Basically you are getting high under doctor supervision, in excess of the amounts recommended for your condition or at least without exploring other alternatives. The Watchtower isn't going to taint their hands any further than they already have, by providing doctrine that discourages people from taking medication that would prevent, for example, suicidal tendencies.

In my view, and based on the obvious outcome, it is clear, like many other celebrities, were getting doctors to prescribe them this type of medication to get high, not to get treated. And therefore the loophole should not apply.

28

Inside Prince's Kingdom Hall Memorial Service today

by neat blue dog in

http://m.startribune.com/prince-memorial-fills-jehovah-s-witnesses-hall-in-minnetonka/379592941/.

http://m.etonline.com/news/187330_prince_funeral_private_religious_memorial_service_minnesota/.

StarTrekAngel

I guess then the metrosexual look is ok if you are Prince or anyone famous.

28

Inside Prince's Kingdom Hall Memorial Service today

by neat blue dog in

http://m.startribune.com/prince-memorial-fills-jehovah-s-witnesses-hall-in-minnetonka/379592941/.

http://m.etonline.com/news/187330_prince_funeral_private_religious_memorial_service_minnesota/.

StarTrekAngel

This is wrong at so many levels. It lays somewhere between the immoral and the criminal.

And off course, being that Prince was a musician, they have to close the event with their own very top brainwashing, emotion-hijacking theme.

15

When will they start spying on tablets/iPads at meetings?

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

following on from a similar post, the use of tablets/ipads at the meetings is a life saver to many a bored or mentally out jw.

i'm sure the borg must know the potential for surfing the net or reading other books instead of reading the meeting material during the meeting?.

at what point are they going to start policing this?

StarTrekAngel

Doubt they will actually go that far, but I could be wrong. But forcing people to use their app for everything is another story. The "truth" could be changed without giving you the option of saving it for yourself.

Delivering new light by means of the app store... Jehovah's charriot is not only moving but is also cyber aware...

15

The story of Jonathan and David, is this male bonding or something else?

by James Mixon in

start at 1 samuel 18;1-4..now imagine if this story had been about jonathan and a woman.. 1 samuel 20:30..saul calls jonathan a son of a perverse rebellious woman!

the blame for his.

behavior goes first to the mother, who was too soft," or too harsh who perverted his son somehow.. 1 samuel 20:41-42.."they kissed each other and wept with each other".. so was it merely deep friendship or a romantic relationship?.

StarTrekAngel

How about 1 Samuel 20:30?

In the NWT spanish version, it alledges that Saul blames Jonathan for choosing David to put himself to shame as well as his mother's natural parts.

Some other english translations I've seen mention "his mother's nakedness". If I recall correctly, the bible condemns "seeing the nakedness" of a relative thru another. Example: the many directions to not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife, for it is your father's nakedness.

Wouldn't Saul be alleging to Jonathan and David having more than a friendly tear?

15

What would happen if...

by StarTrekAngel in

in an effort to excuse yourself from elder persecution, you present an argument.

whether at a jc or just in an average elder shepherding call.

most people who have confronted a jc, have tried to explain to the elders about what they know of the org but the incriminating questions always come up.. when confronted with the question, do you still believe the gb is the f&ds?

StarTrekAngel

Thanks for all the answers. I am trying to start building a case where I can refuse going to meeting or doing anything but does not allow them to DF me so that I can keep in touch with family. Some good points here, especially about the ARC and being re-baptized.

63

New Spiritually Weak Label: Not Using Tablet/iPhone

by Doubtfully Yours in

with last night's meeting it became official: here in the states is a must to keep up with 'jehovah's org' that one fully jumps on board with this tablet/iphone crap.. so, now, all of us that up to this point have refused to follow the wtbts in their electronic/wireless revolution will deal with the browbeating from the 'spiritual' ones.. already receiving lots of grief from hubby and rest of the family/close friends when seen at the meetings with paper publications.

damn it!!!

am i alone in this resistance???!!!.

StarTrekAngel

I remember too when I started to use my iphone to track FS work. A brother had written an iphone app called "my time" which used the gps to track your place in the territory, counted your time and allowed to use the calendar to mark down the visits, return calls, etc. You could then hit a button and submit the report to the elder at the end of the mont. This was 2008-09. I showed it to one elder and, as usual, technology seems to breakdown when you need it the most (not when you want it the most). Signal in our territory was bad. So he immediately used that to bash the idea and scold me for holding down the progress as I was waiting for my phone to get signal again. He said this is what happens to everything man invents. It fails. After returning from the 2014 International convention, where GB Jackson used a tabled to give his speech, I was scolded for using my tablet to give an assignment, instead of printing my assingment. Later on another elder told me that it was ok to use the tablet for the assingment but not for reading the bible.

I did not go to the meeting so I am not sure what they may have said here in our part of the US. I will ask though, one of my coworkers has his meeting today.

15

What would happen if...

by StarTrekAngel in

in an effort to excuse yourself from elder persecution, you present an argument.

whether at a jc or just in an average elder shepherding call.

most people who have confronted a jc, have tried to explain to the elders about what they know of the org but the incriminating questions always come up.. when confronted with the question, do you still believe the gb is the f&ds?

StarTrekAngel

In an effort to excuse yourself from elder persecution, you present an argument. Whether at a JC or just in an average elder shepherding call. Most people who have confronted a JC, have tried to explain to the elders about what they know of the org but the incriminating questions always come up.

When confronted with the question, do you still believe the GB is the F&DS? rather than saying no, I do not... you say... I do, but just like the past article on the WT, I believe the slave, despite having been "anointed" or entrusted with feeding the other slaves, has been committing serious wrongdoing, like covering up child abuse and therefore I am not obligated to follow their direction. Just like David, he had a chance to kill Saul but he choose to respect him as Jehovah's anointed. However, he did not stick around or followed his direction. He ran away. I have chosen to run away but I still respect them as the F&DS. I just can't bring myself to follow some of their teachings, which have strayed far from what is holly. The org itself has reminded us many times that we are not obligated to follow their direction if it doesn't go in accordance with scripture. Honestly, I believe the teaching of the last WT applies to them. Many people have brought up the issues to them directly and they have ignored them. The next step would be to bring the sin to the congregation, which I am sure you will not allow me to do. Never the less, I do still believe they are who they claim. When they change, I will return.

Obviously, that is not what I believe, but I am just wondering if this would help throw them off balance so that they have, at least, a harder time looking for a reason to DF you or at least you can tell your relatives the real reason for being DF and may be run lower chances of being shunned.

Your thoughts?

50

Today's Study - Shun Disfellowshipped Family, Don't Marry Outsiders, Tell On Others!

by Divergent in

jw
friends

urghhh... what a disgusting study!7 a conflict of loyalties may arise when a close relative is disfellowshipped.

for example, a sister named anne received a telephone call from her disfellowshipped mother.

the mother wanted to visit anne because she felt pained by her isolation from the family.

StarTrekAngel

After the study, I was talking to my wife about it. I asked her if she happened to think of me during that study. She responded "in every paragraph" (on top of everything, I was not a JW when we married). I replied... "We both know that you do not agree with everything they write and that you do find yourself going like WHAT? sometimes. As much as I believe you and I trust you can tell the difference, would you agree if I joined a group that frequently dedicated speeches or writings to direct our attention to the negatives of our spouses and encouraged us to find way to make a separation among us? after a few seconds of silence, she said NO. I know this has been a point of contention in the past. I used to have a female co-worker who frequently tried to engage me in criticizing our respective spouses. Once she found out she was pissed and constantly asked me to keep my distance from her.