I volunteered to take part in this.
ballistic
JoinedPosts by ballistic
-
17
Research project: A study designed to explore the experience of leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses
by Researcher2023 inas part of a psychology msc research project, i am looking for participants to take part in a study designed to explore the experience of leaving the jehovah’s witnesses.. former witnesses who were raised in the organisation will be asked a few questions about their reasons for leaving, their experience of leaving, and how their life has changed since leaving.. taking part involves completing an interview over the internet.
according to research needs, the number of questions asked in each interview may vary.
the interview will take between 5 – 90 minutes depending on the questions asked and the level of detail you wish to provide.. your participation will remain confidential and anonymous, and it is completely voluntary so that you may withdraw at any time up to two weeks after the interview.
-
-
-
39
ALL babies are "little enemies of God"...
by BoogerMan instraight from the horse's gb's mouth - from the 2022 convention broadcast.. it's at the 38 min.
30 secs.
point of the jw broadcast: https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/#en/mediaitems/2022convention/pub-co-r22_1_video.
-
-
ballistic
In a meditative state, it is possible to experience that love is what connects everything in the Universe and if you believe like I do that the Universe is God, then indeed, God is love. The Universe loves all creation in it's infinite forms and the process of creation. It's easy to see that God is love in this context. How far removed from that repulsive video and the statement made therein!
-
13
Random thoughts on the Jubilee in the UK
by ballistic insaluting the flag was something not encountered very often here in the 1970s uk, in fact that kind of nationalism or patriotism was something i'd been warned about as a young boy, being brought up in the jehovah's witnesses from age 4, through meetings and the publications.
at some point, i don't know when, i decided it was more american, whether rightly or wrongly.. but even so, there was a large black and white photo of our entire school in panoramic format right outside my classroom on the wall saluting the flag, and i think this was the 1977 25 year jubilee of queen elizabeth ii.. now as a young person attending a fairly religious school in the 1970's, you were used to "making a stand" for things, letter in hand first day in a new class, and being ushered into one room or another to avoid religious assemblies and other xmas, and other seasonal celebrations.. one day the teachers, in their abundant wisdom, stood myself and a younger witness in the corridor right outside the assembly hall where the children would filter past.
every second or third child that filtered past would ask, "why are you standing there?
-
-
ballistic
I remember the Silver Jubilee though, I was in junior school at the time and we all got a commemorative coin
I do remember the whole class finding a set of the decimal coins 1p - 50p in a wooden plinth. I thought at the time it was because we were all born in the year of decimalisation, but I'm not sure. There was one on each desk apart from mine.
Anyhow, I went to the teachers desk (picture Oliver Twist, "Please Sir can I have some more") and was told, that she didn't think I would want one because it's a celebration. And there was in fact, no coin set forth coming for me.
You might as well have just slapped me and said, "I'm gunna stitch you up boy!"
The teacher had never made alternate arrangements for my benefit with regard to celebrations before.
-
13
Random thoughts on the Jubilee in the UK
by ballistic insaluting the flag was something not encountered very often here in the 1970s uk, in fact that kind of nationalism or patriotism was something i'd been warned about as a young boy, being brought up in the jehovah's witnesses from age 4, through meetings and the publications.
at some point, i don't know when, i decided it was more american, whether rightly or wrongly.. but even so, there was a large black and white photo of our entire school in panoramic format right outside my classroom on the wall saluting the flag, and i think this was the 1977 25 year jubilee of queen elizabeth ii.. now as a young person attending a fairly religious school in the 1970's, you were used to "making a stand" for things, letter in hand first day in a new class, and being ushered into one room or another to avoid religious assemblies and other xmas, and other seasonal celebrations.. one day the teachers, in their abundant wisdom, stood myself and a younger witness in the corridor right outside the assembly hall where the children would filter past.
every second or third child that filtered past would ask, "why are you standing there?
-
-
ballistic
Hi BluesBrother, I agree about the national anthem and experienced that in person. But with regard to saluting the flag, despite the large flag pole at the front of the school and the large black and white photograph picturing it, perhaps I should have stated, I never actually encountered the feared event of saluting the flag.
-
35
Still here.
by Lee Marsh inthe last 2 1/2 years have been extremely stressful.
while the rest of the world was dealing with covid, i was also dealing with cancer.
in fact it seems none of my doctors knew about it.
-
-
ballistic
Well done, I didn't expect the story to go like that as an infrequent member I hadn't heard about it.
-
13
Random thoughts on the Jubilee in the UK
by ballistic insaluting the flag was something not encountered very often here in the 1970s uk, in fact that kind of nationalism or patriotism was something i'd been warned about as a young boy, being brought up in the jehovah's witnesses from age 4, through meetings and the publications.
at some point, i don't know when, i decided it was more american, whether rightly or wrongly.. but even so, there was a large black and white photo of our entire school in panoramic format right outside my classroom on the wall saluting the flag, and i think this was the 1977 25 year jubilee of queen elizabeth ii.. now as a young person attending a fairly religious school in the 1970's, you were used to "making a stand" for things, letter in hand first day in a new class, and being ushered into one room or another to avoid religious assemblies and other xmas, and other seasonal celebrations.. one day the teachers, in their abundant wisdom, stood myself and a younger witness in the corridor right outside the assembly hall where the children would filter past.
every second or third child that filtered past would ask, "why are you standing there?
-
-
ballistic
Saluting the flag was something not encountered very often here in the 1970s UK, in fact that kind of nationalism or patriotism was something I'd been warned about as a young boy, being brought up in the Jehovah's Witnesses from age 4, through meetings and the publications. At some point, I don't know when, I decided it was more American, whether rightly or wrongly.
But even so, there was a large black and white photo of our entire school in panoramic format right outside my classroom on the wall saluting the flag, and I think this was the 1977 25 year jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
Now as a young person attending a fairly religious school in the 1970's, you were used to "making a stand" for things, letter in hand first day in a new class, and being ushered into one room or another to avoid religious assemblies and other xmas, and other seasonal celebrations.
One day the teachers, in their abundant wisdom, stood myself and a younger Witness in the corridor right outside the assembly hall where the children would filter past. Every second or third child that filtered past would ask, "why are you standing there?" To which we would just say a few words and tediously repeat to every child which asked.
But there was one thing that would really make my little head worried... the jubilee, the saluting of the flag. In fact, it didn't matter the 1977 jubilee had been and gone. I was still worried that a situation involving saluting the flag would be thrust upon me and I wouldn't know what to do or how to make a stand, or even how to explain it.
So, what I did was ask my mother every day before leaving for school, "mom, are they saluting the flag today?" and she would say "no, of course not," and that was fine, for a day, for a week, for a term, until one day, I forgot to ask her.
Really it's no wonder as an adult that I suffer from Anxiety and have struggled with stress one way or another over the years. That day, I would not forget that I had forgotten to ask my mother, would they salute the flag, and I was filled with dread, clenching my fists and biting my nails, just waiting for the clock to tick by, every second closer to home time when I could finally breath. But one day that wasn't before asking to go to the medical room, because I felt sick, and bent over that sick room toilet wrenching to try to make myself sick. Oh yes, I went home that day for sure, my face was red, I was sweaty and probably looked extremely worn down from all that well, real stress, and the effects of trying to be sick.
And everyday I would ask my mother again, and every day I saw that large panoramic picture on the wall on the way into class.
I'm pleased to say today, as I contextualise these events, although I can't completely shake the events completely out of my mind (us anxiety sufferers can have the habit of replaying painful memories) I do have two wonderful boys age 2 and 3 (nearly 4) every time I look at them or explain about the school they will go to, or nursery or what they have to look forward to, I am filled with that joy that brings tears to your eyes.
-
29
If you think Watchtower is disappearing any time soon…
by Reservations inyou are sadly mistaken.. i hear people say it on here all the time, and dare i say his name *cough* lloyd evans *cough* has said it a number of times, that watchtower is running scared and watchtower is in decline….. we need to put in perspective the decrease from the 2020 report.
if we calculate a yearly -0.6 decrease over a 10 year period from 2020 figures it leaves us the grand total number of witnesses of:.
by 2030: - 7,933,479. by 2040: - 7,471,357. by 2050: - 7,036,154. i agree that this is a significant decrease, but let’s not kid ourselves, the wt organisation will still be alive and well even with an annual 0.6% loss.
-
-
ballistic
Reservations, you predict a single rate of decline based on a recent small set of data. It will go more like this:
-
18
The (IN)Consistent teaching about VACCINATIONS from JW leaders
by Terry invaccinations.
how many deaths were instigated which could be prevented?watchtower policies against vaccines left faithful sheep vulnerable to horrible consequences.antitoxins and vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, anthrax, cholera, plague, typhoid, tuberculosis, and more were developed through the 1930s.. 1921 - "vaccination never prevented anything and never will, and is the most barbarous practice" - golden age oct 12, 1921, p.17.
1923 - "vaccination, summed up, is the most unhygienic, barbaric, filthy, abhorrent, and most dangerous system of infection known.
-
-
ballistic
I heard a watered down version of WTS having problems with vaccinations suggesting that many of the vaccines were "cultured in blood". And this was the reason. I didn't realised the Org came out totally against vaccines historically.
-
1
9/11 Anyone going to a memorial this year?
by Diogenesister injust wondered...... thinking of fellow first responders.
gone but not forgotten..
-
-
ballistic
No, but even on this side of the pond it's on all our minds. I came to visit ground zero when it was a building site about a decade ago. I was active on JWD at the time of 9/11, did a quick search of the site for content on the day it occurred but couldn't find much with the basic search that we have.
-
53
Those members who passed away
by Gorb inwho of those passed away jwd/jwn members, do we think of??.
oompah and the lady from australia, are there more??.
g..
-
-
ballistic
slimboyfat : It wasn't your post that bothered me but one that was deleted which, without explanation, listed Englishman.
Diogenesister : this database isn't kept "as a whole", I am visiting for the first time in many years and huge swathes of my posts are gone, so really nothing does last forever. On another note, when the JWs are gone completely in the future, they will be a mere footnote in a future Wikipedia when every database in the world sits on your finger tip.