Posts by problemaddict 2

23

How Do You Get Most of Your News?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i read that many people get their news from facebook.

i look online mostly at fox news and the drudge report.

very seldom do i look at cnn.😎.

problemaddict 2

NPR to know generally whats happening and business news. VICE for whats happening in the world and specialty reporting.

Fox in my mind does not actually qualify as a news source.

19

How do you talk to a child that believes Jehovah/Armageddon is real

by Anony Mous in

i'm having some serious issues with my child, she is now 5 and her mother is teaching her all sorts of things regards god, jehovah is real, in heaven, pray if you're scared, etc.

the problem is the kid is scared of demons at night and also conflicted that i don't believe, she also figured out jehovah doesn't actually help her not to be scared.. i've tried explaining that i'm there for her, watching over at night.

i've tried introducing her to various churches and beliefs so she understands there is a difference in believes and she likes those churches better than kingdom hall.

problemaddict 2

I remember having panic when I was 12, because my mom told me she didn't think we would make it to the year 2000. I remember the horror thinking about my dad dying (not a JW), my school friends dying, and ME dying. After all, I was a little boy, who didn't always do everything perfect!

Terrible.

My 2 cents is be honest with your daughter. You can always say that mommy believes in those things, but I don't. Nothing is going to come and get you here. You are safe, you are loved, and maybe i can cuddle with you for a few minutes while you sleep so you feel safe. Tell her they are made up, and there is nothing to worry about. Mommy believes in them, but it doesn't mean you have to.

Unless of course you do believe in them, then adapt as needed. My point is just make her feel secure, and that she should trust her experience.....which I assume up to this point is devoid of evil spirits. :)

50

A JW explains Blood Fractions

by OrphanCrow in

i was looking around from some information on the wt's stance concerning the use of stem cells, and i came across this article on a defending jehovah's witnesses blog.. rather than informing the reader all that much about stem cells, the author diverts the conversation into a discussion of "blood fractions" (*note: the term "blood fractions" appears to be another one of those wt bloodspeak terms coined by the wt.

"blood components" or "blood products" are the terms used more frequently by the medical world.

"fractions" implies tiny amounts).

problemaddict 2

OC and TD you guys are my favorites when it comes to the blood issue......one very close to my heart as people close to me have been directly affected, and it was the first brick to fall from the wall in my mind when I was waking up.

So they follow the well known *moral* principle described as abiding by the "spirit of the Law" which is universally recognized as being logical.

Anyone else read this and say to themselves.....what!? I also like that Grays anatomy (late 1800's to early 1900's) is used, considering at the time they would not really be able to determine what fractions were possible beyond what was visible. So he mentions 4 "components", but they are still only fractions of whole blood. If I eat half a pie, the 1/2 of the pie left is still a fraction of the pie. So the question is when does something go from "blood" to fraction. Who determines when this transformation takes place?

I still have the luxury of speaking with many JW's that i am friends with, and even had a long conversation over weeks and e mails with a circuit overseer that was a friend of the family. His apologetic's came down to these 3 things when faced with the raw hypocrisy of the current doctrine.

1) People aren't really disfellowshipped for this anymore. That isn't true, but it isn't really a lie either. It could be de-classified as a light sin at this point. No doubt if you are brazen about it, they may still DF you. Still, this does not seem to be something that happens, and JW's DO take blood many times when their privacy is properly upheld by the hospital.

2) Blood is "bad medicine". This one always just kills me. I explain opiates are not ideal either, but if you are on one, its probably because the alternative is worse. When they tout bloodless medicine, I simply ask them what the millions of their brethren in third world countries are supposed to do with limited resources. We usually can't even get to the biblical reasons why it should be a conscience matter, because they seem hung up on the idea that blood makes you sick. The "yuck" factor if you will. I hear this from YOUNG JW's quite a bit. Keeping them from going to college seems to be working out.

3) If JW's were wrong about blood, that would make us blood guilty. However the growth continues to accelerate (followed by a graph of the years blood policy was introduced, and the growth experienced within 5 years of the announcement). **facepalm**

16

JW Grandparent Drama

by What Now? in

my mom and sisters have not had any contact with my family for the past year and a half.. we even recently announced a new pregnancy and none of them acknowledged it or called to say congratulations or anything.. this past week my non-witness grandfather passed away and i had thought that for the sake of his death and funeral, it being "necessary family business" that they would at least be civil in front of our other family.

all of them still ignored me, my sisters didn't even speak to my children at all - to be honest i don't think my kids even knew who they were.

for the sake of my grandmother i made a small attempt at the end of the day to say goodbye to my mother and she kind of just brushed past me and said goodbye without really looking at me.. anyways my grandmother told me later that my mom spoke to her and said "i love my daughter and i love my grandchildren and i'm so upset that she won't allow me to see them".

problemaddict 2

What would you be teaching your children if you allowed their father to be disrespected.....by FAMILY.......over petty high control behavior.

It hurts. It sucks. You are in the right here. Why not write another letter. If nothing else, you know she will read it and not respond. But she cant un-read your words.

36

Crossing the Elders

by Cold Steel in

few things draw my interest as much as people on this board who talk about the elders, the insidious little toadies who lurk around kingdom halls, the proverbial big fish in little ponds.

it amazes me the terror and the veneration they inspire, as well as the occasional ridicule.

it makes me wonder how they're selected and whether most of them come into the position with a sense of power, entitlement, authority and control, or whether many of them are pretty nice people and that i'm just hearing about the bad apples?

problemaddict 2

There are the really good ones, and the really bad ones. Then.....everyone else. They are subject to a system that makes them feel special, even if they technicslly know better. Their actions are laid out for them (flock book). Rarely do they ever think for themselves. The ones that do.....dont last.

Remember, elders are taught they will be "chieftains" in the new world and are the "stars" in the hand of Christ in Revelation.

162

2017 Convention Video To Be Shown Regarding The 1975 Failure

by pale.emperor in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go3arnnsfkk&feature=youtu.be.

no mention whatsoever that it was watchtower themselves that strongly hinted towards this date.

instead they blame those who "put their trust in a date, not jehovah".. let's recap... .

problemaddict 2

I don't think anyone has commented along this line yet, but I think I know EXACTLY what they are doing. The current and younger generations of JW's are in what is some ways an on the surface kinder and gentler organization. They WILL be on the internet. They will stumble across things, and hear things, that they will wonder about or don't sound right.

WT has been systematically re-writing its history for the current followers, and the younger ones still around. If you control the narrative, and give just enough, with a whitewashed explanation, you may defelct people.

Example. Lets say you are a 20 something online, and see something about 1975. You have never heard of it before, so you ask or research it. You get a lot of information, and you might in fact see where something doesn't add up. Now you know something. But.....if you have already seen this video, maybe you just say to yourself..."ah those crafty apostates. I already know about this, and it was a few bad eggs. I'm going to endure"

That is their goal. Guaranteed.

13

Is it just me or is this weeks CLAM more "cultish" than usual?

by NikL in

jw
friends

maybe it was my mood, but last night the meeting seemed really over the top cultish.. mainly the latter portion that just focused on presentation videos which always seem creepy to me anyway.. then the local needs was pre-empted by a video all about ldc which seemed completely pointless.

(on a side note my wife knew a couple of different people in it).

the congregation "bible" study which dealt with the ever changing cover of the watchtower magazine.

problemaddict 2

Actually....off the record....Prince did make some. Also the other musical elite (like Philip Ingram). They have done this for a long time. Usually only shared with close friends. I have heard them. They are damn sure better than the songbook.....but still......not good.

47

We are becoming champions of grief. We lost twin B.

by Darkknight757 in

last week we had a reassurance ultrasound with our ob.

she was just supposed to check heartbeats on the two little ones and they were going strong!

but because she had extra time and she can be quite anal about her work (which is a good thing) she decided to take some measurements.

problemaddict 2

You guys are in my thoughts. I honestly can't imagine what that is like to go through. I am truly sorry for your loss.

58

Why the Memorial Is Held on the Wrong Day

by Leolaia in

tonight on the evening of april 18, 2011, observant jews worldwide will celebrate passover seder, a night "different from all other nights".

the watchtower society annually schedules the memorial for jehovah's witnesses on a date that is supposed to coincide with the jewish observance of passover, as it would have been reckoned during second temple times (in particular, in the first century ad during the life of jesus).

this year the memorial was observed last night, the evening of april 17. the two religious observances are thus a day out of synth, at least this year.

problemaddict 2

Whatever happened to leolia?

51

To those taking a stand and not attending the Memorial tonight

by doubtfull1799 in

i salute you.

many of you, like me, are probably under enormous emotional pressure, whether from a lingering false sense of guilt from your indoctrination, whether from "invitations," and assumptions that you'll naturally be coming, or whether from outright emotional blackmail, even begging and pleading.

i am thinking of you whoever you are, all of you, even though i don't know you in person.

problemaddict 2

A buddy of mine told me there are 2 kinds of former JWs. Those that attend memorial, and those that don't. I havent attended for 4 years. My wife may go tonight. So......everyone has their own journey.