Posts by problemaddict 2

556

The Watchtower are Right About Blood...

by cofty in

... but, they fail to take note of one important detail.. i believe that if we are going to have any chance of reasoning with a jw about blood, this is the place we need to begin.. don't try to convince them that it was only a dietary law.

it wasn't, and they will never go along with it.. don't tell them that saving a life is more important than obeying a law, even a seemingly trivial one.

they take pride in obedience.

problemaddict 2

Fish,

All blood is metabolized by the body in due time. Its a "cyclical" liquid organ. I don't want to interject too much here, and let TD speak on his own, but think of this logically. You cannot put a rib smoothie or meal replacement shake into an IV. If a person is catatonic, they receive a "feeding tube". Just like if you are low on blood, you can't guzzle a pint and be all good. Besides turning your poop black, you will end up dying because your organs are not getting the necessary nutrients. the circulatory and digestive systems are two different systems.

Abstain has no qualifier. So if you viewed it on a scale, you would maybe on one hand say anything goes, blood sausage, eating bowls of blood, being a member of the Masai......then on the other side you would have not thinking about blood, not brushing your teeth too hard, etc... Both of those seem like extremes wouldn't you agree? What do you think the middle might look or feel like?

556

The Watchtower are Right About Blood...

by cofty in

... but, they fail to take note of one important detail.. i believe that if we are going to have any chance of reasoning with a jw about blood, this is the place we need to begin.. don't try to convince them that it was only a dietary law.

it wasn't, and they will never go along with it.. don't tell them that saving a life is more important than obeying a law, even a seemingly trivial one.

they take pride in obedience.

problemaddict 2

Oye Vey! This was quite the conversation to catch up on! As the doctrine that helped me realize I was following the wrong path and not thinking for myself, I both love and hate the discussions on blood. It truly is the single most indefensible doctrine when considering scripture, practice, and the evolution within the organization of what is and is not allowed.

Leviticus 17 is clear. I mean really.........how do you "accidentally" eat an animal found dead on the road? You trip while singing? It could have been valuable livestock as someone presented, or perhaps the person who found it is in dire straights and it was a matter of feeding his family. Either way, the person just remained unclean for a day. Not exactly analogous to being disfellowshipped and cut off from your entire social structure. It seems so clear, its difficult to understand why there is even an argument (much less 13 pages of one).

Fish I once vehemently defended this doctrine on-line. In fact I made the argument that the second mention in Acts regarding keeping from blood, was written by Luke as a sort of prescription. "Good health to you" and all that. What a tool I was! its hard, but you are very close. People die over this. A lot of them. Its important to get right, if you are going to remove a tool by which modern medicine currently and historically has been able to save peoples lives in certain situations.

I don't know......if an Israelite can sell the drowned animal to their neighbor......can JW's donate blood in a blood drive?

62

Floyd Kite's "Enduring the Tests Within God's Organization" (1980)

by Leolaia in

thats a big test.

can you think of the test that that would put on gods people?

its a big test, its a big test.

problemaddict 2

Just found out Floyd Kite died today in San Diego at 90. Probably just a couple hours ago. This was definitely one of his most famous talks. I found him to be a nice older man. Seemed to acknowledge through an older mans ramblings at times, that he had many regrets in how he treated people. He had a good heart, but was a true believer to the fullest. Company man through and through. His funeral will be a big event in San Diego i think.

20

Feeling the Guilt

by Saethydd in

i'm currently disfellowshipped and living at home with my parents, but because they are both still devout jws i have to keep going to the meetings and crap because i don't want to risk getting thrown out until i finish college or find a job that will let me support myself and go to college.. yesterday, my mother rode with me to the meeting and told me how much my best friend and my oldest sister are missing me, and it just tears me apart because during the meeting i was practically counting the minutes till it was over.

it didn't help matters that i had to sit with my family because the library was closed off, thus forcing me to follow along with the meeting on my tablet instead of reading something useful or interesting like i normally do.. when i got home i just cried out in frustration because it feels like no matter what i do, i am making the wrong choice.

either i have to keep pretending to support an organization that has caused so much pain to so many people, or i have to abandon my family and friends to it so i can save myself.

problemaddict 2

My humble suggestion since you are so young is as follows. Try to remember that the way you think and feel NOW, is not the way you may think and feel as you get older. You have figured out that the organization is bunk. Good for you! You are way ahead of the game.

But so that you have the best way of retaining your family, and not living with strife and anxiety, I woudl say go along to get along currently. Get reinstated, and as you get older (how old are you), you can make your life your own. Don't be in a rush to leave, educate yourself vigerously, and plan your life NOT worrying about this silly religion. Once you have the motive, self confidence, and plan to enact your life.....the elders and the entire system will just sort of fall away as silly to you. You can speak to your parents and siblings on their level.

Don't lose your family. Don't be rash. Try to think LONG term. Today is just a day. Its early in your life. BE PATIENT. EDUCATE YOURSELF.

May I ask how old you are, and the basic reason for disfellowshipping? (no real details needed).

Take care!

36

Anyone know what this sculpture is of the "torture stake?"

by charity7 in

hey guys!

i'm new on this site and am a non jw here married to a jw.

my husband's family are active members and they daily post articles on facebook from jw.org which i know is meant for me to see and read.

problemaddict 2

Charity....you are more right than you know. JWs define how right they are by the amount of things that make them "different". Such as no birthdays, no voting, no cross, no trinity, no blood, no collection plate, etc....

So it can be difficult to get anywhere here. Its best to say it doesnt matter to you what he died on, but the best records available say it was most lilely a cross. Maybe here is a thought experiment. Ask if it woild mean anything to them if concrete proof was identified that ahowed he died on a cross. Would it shake their faith? (It would). Then proclaim it wouldnt matter to you.

20

Confused

by confused3426 in

jw
friends

i am a newbie, and yes current jw.

i have been dealing with a lot confusion for months now.

i guess it started last year when i found myself losing my zeal, desire for spiritual things.

problemaddict 2

Embrace this one singular truth.....there is no one singular truth. We have been where you are at. Take your time, and consider thoa to be possiblyvyour one and only life......and live it!

33

Has anyone else seen this video on JW Broadcasting?

by NikL in

jw
friends

so i was checking out the website to see what the february broadcast was all about before i watched it with my jw wife.. on the front page was this video.... https://tv.jw.org/#en/video/vodbible/pub-jwbai_201607_1_video.

i watched it and pretended i had never been a jw.. if you pretend you don't understand their particular language it makes for a interesting (if not vague) watch.. btw i've seen several of the actors before.

jw version of movie stars?

problemaddict 2

Wow. My kids are really young, and they just don't know what a bullet they dodged when daddy decided to skip out on the religion of his youth. Sheesh.

Here is what is interesting. He doesn't explain what "when things started getting physical" meant. I don't think however it meant sex. The reason is because he is clearly in pioneer or christian evangelizer school at the end after it had "been a few years". If he had sex, he would have been disfellowshipped, and barred from attending such a school for 5 years after reinstatement as is their unspoken but sort of spoken custom.

Anyone else catch that?

7

my letter to my molestor

by jehovahismyshepard in

i wrote the following in my therapy sessions to treat my sexual abuse as an adult.

i thought that you should know that i recently discovered the reason i am weird and at times react strange there is a part of me that will never go away .... no matter how hard i try to control or hide it everyday it will always show it will always stay .. i. thought that you should know this indescribable grueling act of what you did ., that inside my adult mind and body you locked up and left for ever a trapped kid...do you know how hard it must be to accept that ?

do you even care ?do you ever feel bad when you look in the mirror who do you see when you stare?

problemaddict 2

Thank you for sharing that with us. I can only imagine. I hope you continue to heal. YOU are in control now! :)

161

ARC Analysis Summary of Case Files

by Richard Oliver in

i have been doing research on the arc as some people on here have suggested.

i find it interesting on the case file analysis some of the findings.

it looks like queensland and new south wales had the biggest problems with this.

problemaddict 2

Richard in what way are those numbers "official"? Do you mind answering my earlier questions? thanks man.

31

Occupations that will disappear

by joker in

jw
friends

while growing up in the cult one thing that always bothered me was the way witnesses could forecast jobs/occupations that we're going to vanish in their new world.. for example, we would usually discuss at saturday night wt studies how doctors, nurses, funeral directors, and soldiers would go the way of the dodo.

i always found discussions like that just so strange.. in hs, i mounted an unsuccessful effort to enter veterinary sciences, the big answer was always "why" it won't be needed after armageddon 😝😜.

does anyone have their own story about professions that the witnesses believe will not be needed after the big a ?.

problemaddict 2

What about the occupations that will get a boost in the new world? I mean, those jobs you guys have mentioned aren't coming back. But they will be replaced with new, tremendous jobs. So many jobs.

Clothing re-purposing - From that closing regional convention video I assume that all former medical scrub clothing will be made into appropriate attire.

Teeth Whiteners - If our teeth are perfect and will lat forever, can you imagine how yellow they will be after a thousand years of eating fruit? I figure I can start this one about 250 years in. After I am done with....

Body disposal - Even after the birds pick off all the flesh from the billions of dead people, what about all of those bones? What about the ones that rot before the birds get to them. Sure god can miraculously make the birds never loose their appetite, but people rot pretty fast. So this is a tiered job with lots of layers, but it can keep a lot of people busy.

Bird killer - I figure those birds are going to become unusually strong from all of the protein they have consumed, and we will probably be unusually weak from lack of it (will we be allowed to eat Spam after the big A?.......no). So we will have to learn how to sling rocks David style at birds with a taste for human flesh trying to pick off the little ones. This is a skill position.