i'm sure there has been posts about this, but my wife and i stumbled on to this official website last night:.
http://www.jw-media.org/beliefs/index.htm.
and we just can't stop laughing at some of the blatant lies listed here.....enjoy yourself, but don't laugh too hard!
love this one...
Conscience
Jehovah's Witnesses avoid making rules and regulations beyond those provided in the Scriptures, and they do not follow traditions that contradict Bible teachings. Emphasis is placed on personal application of Bible principles and the value of a sound, Bible-based conscience.?Matthew 15:9; 2 Corinthians 1:24.
How 'bout that! Now where's R-rated movies and 2-door cars in their Bible, just 2 of the zillion stupid rules I can think of...
i was talking with my mother-in-law this evening and came upon an intriguing thought.
it's less stressful now that i'm not expected to judge other people.
i know we're all human and still do judge other people even subconsciously - but i mean, not being expected to pigeon-hole individuals into categories.
The harsh judgementalism JWs are taught to have lead to frustration, intolerance and anger. I find empathy, compassion and grace are much easier emotions to deal with, they really calmed me down.
march 8, 2004
to: all bodies of elders, circuit and district overseers
dear brothers,
How funny!
re: the QFR, they argue it's difficult to determine the cause of obesity, could be medical reasons like thyroid, etc. Picking up on attitudes of witnesses I know, it seems many of them consider obese witnesses as gluttons that should not be held up as an "example", ie not promoted to elder or MS. This attitude seems kind of inconsistency that disproves their argument.
Additionally, a CO mentioned in a talk recently that he noticed how many in the circuit are overweight and he stressed the need to try to figure out what's causing this and for these ones to try to work on it. He was very gentle about it, but indicated that "evidently the truth is not enough" for these ones. Could this be the beginnings of a new rule from the society -- I don't know. More likely it's just his own observation and opinion.
How many would get DF'd (freedom, woo hoo!)? They would really need to give some of them years to lose their extra pounds. It wouldn't be the same as smoking, which probably takes less time to correct. And I'm sure they would feel six months was sufficient, like they did (I think) with smoking and bible studies who don't yet come to meetings.
It wouldn't shock me to see something like this happen, which is sad. Can you imagine getting weighed in, how humiliating that would be?
.
cause you guys make me feel normal!
that, to me, is the biggest advantage of this board.. i'm feeling silly today, don't mind me.
Unconditional love is the greatest! And look, we didn't have to first ask ourselves if Fader has been missing too many meetings or not going in service.
love you right back, fader!
are you highly sensitive?
guest article by jenna avery, clc, life coach for sensitive souls
do you often feel overwhelmed by your environment or the people around you?
How cool... and I thought I was just a freak! So this means I could have empathic or psychic powers? Nice.
well i spoke with my mom this past week.
she made sure to remind me that the memorial was coming.
she pressed me for a promise to attend.
((freewilly))
It's really unfortunate that my dear Mom is stuck in this ... cult. It has put such an unnecessary strain on our once normal family. I've seen a energetic positive woman turn into a fearful, depressed, judgmental person. ... All this lady wanted was to have a normal life with a happy family who got together and enjoyed themselves. ... My bonehead father became a Witness ... He dragged all of us into this mess. My Mom was the most resistant to it ... Eventually she capitulated and slowly replaced her friends and siblings with other JW's. Her view of the world became more dim and dark as time went on.
After chopping a few words from your story here, it's exactly like my family. Thanks so much for putting into words the pain and frustration so many of us are forced to deal with in our families because of this cult. Knowing I'm not so completely alone in feeling this same way is a small comfort.
One thing that really burns me is they wear this type of thing (families torn apart) like a badge of honor because it proves to them their religion is truth, because Jesus said somewhere that Christianity would turn brother against brother, mother against father (or something like that). I can never believe the hell we are experiencing with all of this is what god intended, if there is a god.
I too see my family's view of the world becoming darker and darker every day, and wonder if they have developed mental illnesses. What else can you think about someone who is driven with the idea that everyone they see, except for a precious few of those who are "good" witnesses, is deserving of god's wrath.
((cybersista))
I know she is very protective of her last 2 children now and I worry about the effect this will have on them.
That's very true... it's going to be hell for them because the parent is going to be very heavy handed about ensuring they don't leave the witnesses. A friend of mine had that type of thing happen where his older brothers and sisters (who were much older) had left and the he was the youngest, and still pretty young then. He was continually exposed to extremely harsh treatment. His parents felt they had been too easy on the others and they just couldn't have their youngest leave too. It made for a horrible existence for my friend, whose parents used every strategy they could to trap him into staying in.
you know, the last little thing that blew your patience out of the water and forced you to face up to the fact that you were in a cult that doesn't believe in the bible so much as it believes in it's own power structure?.
for me it was beards.
stupid i know and possibly the most trivial of things to be 'stumbled' over but to me it was the epitomy of what was wrong with the witnesses - arbitrary rules poking their noses into the lives of people where they had no business.
Sure, I had been disgusted about all the stupid rules and the obvious lack of love that you see... those things just turned me off to wanting to invest much of my time and energy in the group, but those things alone didn't persuade me that it was all BS.
What did it for me was a non-Witness friend of mine was talking about the witnesses' beliefs and rules with another person who didn't know anything about them. I could vouch for the fact that she wasn't lying or exaggerating about any of it! They came to the conclusion that JWs were a cult.
I was there, like a fly on a wall, because they didn't know I was a Witness and I never intended to tell them, but I was interested to hear what they thought, and considered them both to be pretty objective about it all.
That led me wonder if it really was a cult and I did my own research, forcing myself to be as objective as possible. Wouldn't ya know, they were right! It was the best feeling I'd had in a long time.
elders are supposed to maintain confidentiality.
if they don't, they can be deleted as elders.
still, one of the biggest complaints that i can recall from some in the congregation, was that elder so-and-so told his wife or another ms that someone had a problem or had to be counseled.....did it ever happen to you?
I always thought is was funny when people like MS's would tell me about something I did that I had been to a JC about... that was always a nice feeling. That MS was a real prick though.
when you look back to your jw days, what actions did you do, that you would consider fanatic today?.
i remember being on my night shift (midnight to eight) and went in the field service at 9am.
i got home from work, washed changed cloths and went straight to the field service meeting, and spent all morning in the service up to noon.
I may have seemed as fanatic as everybody else, but cheated and cut corners all the time. I like where that eventually got me, though!
it's much more fun to anti-witness.
i used to hate going out in service, peddling a religion i didn't believe in.
but telling people about how the jw religion is full of shit?
so true! LOL
