Sequoia, reading what you wrote and that 'it hurt' I was thinking this sounded more like rape! Even if it was sexual assault, it sounds as if it was pretty violent .... I'm so sorry this happened to you. I think the local congregation or whichever one this guy attends, needs to be notified. That said, if they need you to be part of any judicial committee that would be yet another horrendous thing for you to go through. It'd be best for you NOT to sit in on one of those! I don't know if they even consider an outsiders testimony. I am a music teacher myself and go into people's homes but I have never had anything like that happen to me although I have thought about it and choose my clients carefully. I did have one student who did have feelings for me and although no romance ever developed we are friends to this day. He NEVER even hinted at such inappropriate behavior! He's Catholic and a very honest and good Christian. So even though sex abuse cases abound in the Catholic religion, each is responsible for their own behavior. The man that assaulted you, Sequoia, is responsible for his behavior and he has nobody to blame but himself; not even JWs are to blame for this although they are a flawed religious cult. You are not to blame. You were overpowered by a criminal and I hope you get help and he gets stopped.
fiddler
JoinedPosts by fiddler
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61
Is this a normal JW practice? Warning, this will be a bit graphic.
by Sequoia inthis post may be disturbing and i apologize, but i'm just trying to find out if this is a practice the jw teaches.
i was taken advantage of by a guy claiming to be a jw preacher.
he took me to his house supposedly so i could give his daughter piano lessons, and then he basically forced himself on me while telling me he was in love with me and wanted to marry me.
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How to reply when someone asks about your spiritual health
by RodrigoGuerreiro infirst of all, sorry if i cannot correctly express the original expression used in my native language to ask for the "spiritual condition".. a few years ago some member of the family asks my wife directly how is her "spiritual health" (for me it's one of the many strange vocabulary used by jw like "the slave says...").
she was catched by surprise with the direct question and says that everything is ok... and luckily someone call them for lunch.. my question is: do you have any good answers for that question?
you can be ironic/use some humor because the question is a little bit anecdotical .
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fiddler
I liked onager's advise. A little OM will scatter them like Raid to cockroaches!
Really though, what a question? My answer was that my spirituality was a private matter. I did tell my aunt however, that I felt better and more at peace than I had ever felt. She suggested I take my newfound 'confidence' and return to the meetings. I told her that that would be like going backwards....didn't sit too well with her....never spoke to me again after that.
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Living with Your Parents Well Into Adulthood the Norm?
by Sorry ini don't want to seem like a jerk.
i know full well economic times are not the greatest.
there's no shame in struggling and staying with your family until you're back on your feet.
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fiddler
My youngest son lived with me up into his late 20's but it was more of a 'roommate' situation and mutually beneficial to both of us. Having been widowed at 42 and just coming out of jwdom with no savings and having to scrabble to keep a roof overhead I was pretty much in the same boat as any young person. When I read of assembly parts like those mentioned above it strikes me as to why they cling to their fairy tale so tightly. Reality must be truly terrifying! Although it has been hard at times for me and my kids, we have made a pretty good life for ourselves, albeit a lower income life because of missed opportunities. The GB are promoting what is mostly a very unsustainable life and future for their adherents. Sad....
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Do you have a Virtual Reality headset for your smartphone yet? Be prepared - Soon all the press will be using VR to tell stories
by AndersonsInfo infor your information, i'm absolutely not in the virtual reality (vr) headset business, but take it from me, you should get one.
soon all the press will be using vr to tell stories, so get prepared for extraordinary experiences using your vr headset and your smart phone.
“virtual reality!
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fiddler
And to think I just started rereading Tad Williams 'Otherland' series (a not so far into the future sci-fy adventure where everyone is plugged in to VR). Hmmm....I think I prefer RL (real life)
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According to one JW there can only be 1 of 3 reasons why you left.
by Bonsai ini asked an old jw friend of mine why so many baptized individuals leave the jw religion.
"did it ever occur to you, old friend, that maybe they know something that you don't know and have valid reasons for leaving?
", i asked.. his response set me back for an answer.
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fiddler
The better question would be "after people leave for x,y,z sin, why do they go back?" Why do good people who maybe slept with their future mate but after getting married live a completely clean and moral life then choose never to go back? And then there are Jws who go on with their 'sinful' life but keep it more guarded and become better liars while continuing to identify as JW or, they continually get df'd but keep retuning. Why do people STAY is the better question.
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What do you think would have happened to you if...
by LevelThePlayingField inyou found out about ttatt way back in the 70's or maybe the 80's (basically before the internet) and you thought that you were all alone in this knowledge?
what do you think would have happened to you?
no jehovahs-witness.com, no john cedars, no arc, no jwfacts.com and no crisis of conscience to fall back on.
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fiddler
What the final catalyst was for me has always been something I wonder about. I almost woke up after the Jonestown event in 1977 because there was so much information about cults in the news. I remember saying to my husband "by this definition, Christianity itself is a cult!" With that thought I decided to ignor the obviously cultish aspects of JWs. I mean, Jesus was cool, right? Then I got really busy just trying to be a mother to what ended up being four children and keep up the regimen of being JW...never was good enough. At some point I think we were encouraged to read old publications but by the time I got around to doing it the admonition was to NOT read them. I missed that memo and read The Commentary on the Letter of James and was so excited about the admonition so to love and fairness that were in that letter. I was scolded by a Pioneer for reading that book and had no idea why. 1995 came with the first change in the generation....stored that in my brain with a big ?. I became the subject of another 'sisters' gossip and slandering of my character during the following 5 years...that wore me down and allowed me to look a little more objectively at the teachings. We were 'studying' the Revelation book for the umpteenth time (it seemed) and my children were leaving the nest and then...the biggest bombshell! My husband announced he was Done with meetings and JWs. I was devastated! Then we got the Internet and I started looking up stuff on archeology and other science related interest and voila! The so called 'truth' just became ridiculous. I didn't look at an exjw site for another 3 - 4 years but by then I was totally out. So, yes...the Internet had a big part in my learning TTATT. Would I have left without the Internet? I think I would have with all that I'd gone through personally...lack of love, etc...but I think my mental state would have been worse. I guess I should add that in 1999 I was treated for depression and given SSRI antidepressants. The doctor said it would 'reset' my serontinine level (or something like that) Whatever, it brought me to a mental point where I basically was at a point pre-indoctrination level. (I decided that I had been clinically depressed my entire life of being JW and didn't know it because it was my constant state of mind). I looked at and listened to everthing I had thought was 'the truth' and just said, "this is bs and how did I ever believe it?!" This is it in a nutshell but really, the process is just that...a process. There were things that happened during that transition that I am not proud of but leaving JWs was not one of those things. Leaving JWs was the best and most significant event of my life!
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What is the Education Level of the Governing Body members?
by Wild_Thing ini would love to compile a list of the education obtained by the governing body members both past and present.
can anyone provide any information to get me started?.
it still amazes me they think they can translate ancient languages with an 8th grade education.
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fiddler
They will just throw back at anyone that they are in line with the Bible, (Acts 4:13) that they are unlettered and ordinary men. Well, not being impressed with most of what's in the Bible that doesn't mean anything to me, but for them...it's all the impressiveness they need. Theirs is a belief system based on fluff...I mean faith...not knowlege and reason.
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Stand Up Comedy about JWs
by usualusername1 inhello all,i have just signed up to do a comedy course.
it starts in september.in order to get a headstart, i did my first 5 minutes tonight about jws.i explained that i celebrated my first birthday last week.
bemusement and a tittle.explained that if you could choose between hare krishnas and people standing at a trolley/cart as a religion who would you choose?got a laugh.explained that the whole world will be destroyed if you do not listen to our message, yet we are not prepared to initiate a conversation at a trolley.big laugh.
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fiddler
I am sure there will be much more of comedic value that will come to mind but you seem to be off to a great start!
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Is it me or were the experiences at the assemblies really contrived?
by keyser soze inmy favorite were the ones where they were reading a wt publication in the break room at work, and an inquisitive co-worker, thirsty for spiritual knowledge approaches them.
this leads to an informal witness, which eventually leads to bible study and baptism.. in all my years of working, i've never had anyone show the slightest bit of interest in what i was reading while i was on my break at work.
but as i said, maybe it's just me..
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fiddler
I used to take notes in shorthand at assemblies and one time it was noticed and related to the CO that there was a sister who took real detailed notes. He asked (rather rudely) if I would transcribe the part his wife was in and her experiences. They were looking for some kind of 'press release'. I took the experiences down in shorthand and transcribed them to the best of my ability. At times I admit I took more 'notes' than word for word (bored a little bit maybe?) but I went home and typed up the transcript. I don't remember the details at all today but whatever I typed up (and it was what was said and the gist of blah blah blah) he looked at it and with a disgusted face gave it back to me as unacceptable. I don't know what the hell he was expecting asking a random person at an assembly to do this and all but I remember feeling really put down and like I'd been such a disappointment. I was only in my early 20's, young married. I must have had at least one kid...I had four by the time I was 28! I don't remember. If I could go back in time now I would have called that CO what he was to his face, a rude and insufferable asshole. That incident really shook me up but I chalked it up to just one bad apple. The next year there was a new CO. He was even worse! Can't believe I stuck with it for so long.
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The story of a secret Apostate Anointed
by TerryWalstrom inthe remarkable sister pettifog.
this morning i arrived on my bicycle at the local starbucks early, before the intensity of the texas sun boiled to full blaze rendering me a soggy, wrung out mess.. i took up my perch on the outdoor patio in the shade, eager to work on my book of short stories.
this will be my 3rd book and i’ve been enjoying the process daily.. .
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fiddler
Terry, I loved that! It did make me think some of my grandfather Elijah. Yes, his name was Elijah. He was born in 1885 and was a follower of CT Russell. All I ever knew about him was that he was considered an apostate and that he was somehow into 'spiritism' He died of TB in 1966 and it was the only time I saw my grandmother cry. Mind you, I loved my grandma dearly. My JW aunts used to tell me how they would cross the street when they saw him and later, my only non JW aunt blamed him for bringing the scourge of the JW religion into our family. I mostly just wish I could have known him and talked to him. He was actually college educated but, as one of my aunts described him, one of the original hippies in that he chose a life of anti establishment over the status quo. I really think I would have loved this man. I only remember him shortly before he went into a TB sanitarium as a little smiling (toothless) man who I decided I liked as a 7 year old child.