by Chariklo 132 Replies latest jw experiences
I meant to say, thanks to everyone else too, especially wheelwithinwheel for that link on elders and molesters. Nasty stuff indeed.
And, Interested One, I might go to church this weekend, but then again, I might just not. I agree, skipping the god stuff, at least in the form we have it all over the place, could be a bit liberating. Hmmmm
I thank the Lord that you saw the light. It is easier to keep you from joining than to get you out once you did.
lol the 'Reasoning Book'
Sry .... I hate that book now.... it is 3 generations old! (1995 wicked, 2008 anointed, 2010 overlap)
Talk about a publishing company being 'cheap' and wanting to squeeze every last penny out of a publication....
When is the new Reasoning book out. How hard is it to get one. Does it make the old one obsolete?
If and when they do another it will be passed out at the DC or it will be announced and copies can be obtained from Lit Servant....OR you can just wait and one of us will have link access.....
okay last post from the KH ladies room.....cya in a few hours!
hi there , i wish i had the internet years ago when i was a study and had my doubts like you have now , my daughter may have not been raped as a 13 year old by an ex min servant that had abused in the congregation before but had not been reported to the police then ! please get out of it now , i had all the "your doing so well " stuff said to me also they were all fake friends though just obeying orders . good luck xx
God, I am so envious of you, Chariklo! I wish I was in the position to say "thanks but no thanks" before feeling vicitmised. Once you emerge from that baptism pool, they will have you by the proverbials. The thing is, if you stay unbaptised, you can have as much of the nice (albeit conditional) association as you want, if that's why you're comfortable with organized religion. But once you're baptised, they literally own you. And I don't use the word 'literally' often. You are answerable not to God, but the elders. They will want to know about every hour you do in field service. They will want to know why you didn't attend a meeting. God HELP you if you have sexual thoughts outside of marriage and/or act on them. They will get off on the intricate details of all your failings and decide THEMSELVES if you are fit for God's forgiveness.
I struggle sometimes with my beliefs. I certainly believe we are far too intelligent, complicated and fascinating as humans simply to have evolved. But I won't have some men in America tell me who I can love, what I put into my body, and how I spend my time. You will be policed. And the thing is, you can leave now and people in the congregation will see you in a whimsical, dreamy "what could have been" way, and they will still talk to you and encourage you back, or you can get baptised, and let the doubt eat at you, then eventually leave, and watch their wrath.
You are intelligent and independant, and because of that, we cannot make up your mind for you. We cannot accuse the society of telling people what to do, and then instruct you to leave the Witnesses. Just get all the facts, before you're not allowed to. Once again, that baptism will change your life. It won't be your life anymore. It won't be Jehovah's, like they say it will. IT WILL BELONG TO THE ELDERS.
Welcome, Charliko. I am a regular Christian married to a Witness. I understand what is holding you back is the very nice people in the organization. You brought to mind the way my husband was re-introduced to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
When he started dating me, his interest in religious matters revived. He sent for some Watchtower materials and a couple brothers showed up at the door. One was a very kind and good man, in a wheelchair, and a successful businessman. My husband began studying with him. The man’s book study was very popular because of his kindness and inclusiveness. About a year later, my husband and I were more involved, and I heard that this kind man had been disfellowshipped. I asked my husband, what did he do wrong? My husband could not say. He could not talk to the man because of his status. The disfellowshipped elder quickly moved to another part of Canada. My husband grieved, but he could not keep contact. What loss!
From what I’ve learned about the Witnesses, your change of heart will result in a dramatic reversal in kindness and approachability by your former friends. Some will be afraid to speak to you for fear of contamination. Others will continue to urge you to return, but will show little interest in your hobbies, interests, and activities since you left. The catch phrase will be, “We miss you at the meetings.” (The important part is the meeting attendance, not you.)
"Please ask them if Jehovah is going to kill tens of millions of Asian children at Armageddon?" Interesting question. Before I ask it, I'd like to know why you put it, please. What's behind it? Am I being thick? What's special about Asian children as opposed to other children
I am going to respond to this. There are many nations where there is nominal or no representation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This includes Muslim nations and China. You can check yourself in the Yearbook. According to the WT doctrines, anyone alive at Armageddon, who have not accepted the Jehovah’s Witness message will be destroyed. Obviously the Watchtower Society has written off a full third of the world, including children, to receive this life-saving message.
The quote thing doesn’t work very well for me, either. I am using the highlighter.
When reviewing your study materials and separating the wheat from the chaff, here are some other catch-phrases to look out for.
Doesn’t it seem reasonable…. (used every time they are making something up that is not supported by the bible)
Evidently…. (oddly, they use this every time it is not evident
Godrulz, your particular group has roots no older than 1734. The rest is presumption on your part.
It just dawned on me that the particular scandal of your church might be the mis-handling of pedophile priests and associated cover-up. You might be interested to know that the Watchtower Society faced similar problems, but perhaps have covered up better. In the United States a couple years back, they settled a big class-action suit. Everyone receiving a settlement was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, so you won't see much in print about this.
Active Witnesses will assume the Watchtower Society does not have a problem because anyone caught in wrongdoing is disfellowshipped. The particular evil of pedopehlia is that it is a secret crime, between "trusted adult" and vulnerable child. There are rarely witnesses, and hence, few disfellowshippings. Child victimization continues.
Covering up rather than confessing to the reality is a dangerous way for an institution to deal with a problem like this. My particular denomination has dealt with the problem head-on by requiring all child workers to undergo police checks and attend "Plan to Protect" training. We are advised what is and is not permissable, and no one in a position in authority is ever to be left alone with a child. Doors to classrooms are left open or have windows installed. A supervisor tours the hall during Sunday School, and looks in on the classrooms regularly. As I learned from my training, pedophiles look for trusting organizations such as churches and sports leagues, because of our trusting nature and easy access to children. To pretend that we are not targets is to welcome abuse.
Sorry, JGnat, I'm confused- how can you attend Witness meetings and at the same time be a practicing Christian of another denomination? Might have read your posts wrong, sorry! Not been on here for a time.
