Posts by steve2

129

Only Jehovah's Witnesses

by Yvonne A in

i'm just new to this internet stuff and am studying with the jehovah's witnesses at present.please don't take my lack of knowledge as cheek.

i just want to know if it's meant to be only jehovah's witnesses using this site.

i fully intend to become baptised but was wondering if there's any security to prevent people who shouldn't be using the site and are maybe abusing it from doing so.

Welcome. The Witnesses with whom you are studying may well be disappointed in you for not asking them before you registered on this forum. One of the basic requirements of being a witness is to avoid any independent thinking or behaviour. This does not look promising: Your taking the initiative and trusting that your independent behaviour will be positively reinforced. One "downfall" of your taking the initiative is that it may now be harder to swallow everything the Witnesses tell you. Then again, you could save yourself a lot of painful experiences by finding out about the Watchtower before you get drawn in any more. I wish you well in your journey, whether we hear from you again or not.

steve2

24

Would Michael Jackson be in all this legal trouble if he stayed a JW?

by booker-t in

jw
friends

as you posters know my mom has been a "devout" jw for over 40 years and just won't bend when it comes to the faults of the wts.

i have talked until i was blue in the face for over 10 years since da'd myself in 1993 but just can't crack my mom.

well she made another ridiculous comment to me the other day in her attempts to get me "reinstated" back as a jw.

steve2

Having said that, you would think that friends or advisors would have let him know that he should not leave himself open to these accusations.

I had heared that, in the earlier stages, advisors had attempted to get MJ to tone down his outspoken public defence of his sleep overs and that he had taken umbrage. Basically, he chose to ignore the advice and, so affronted by it, he had threatened to sack staff. This is so typical of what happens when people develop inflated egos and start to act as if there is one law for them and another for lesser mortals. Sadly, it is not unique to MJ.

24

Would Michael Jackson be in all this legal trouble if he stayed a JW?

by booker-t in

jw
friends

as you posters know my mom has been a "devout" jw for over 40 years and just won't bend when it comes to the faults of the wts.

i have talked until i was blue in the face for over 10 years since da'd myself in 1993 but just can't crack my mom.

well she made another ridiculous comment to me the other day in her attempts to get me "reinstated" back as a jw.

steve2

I think that all of his experiences before he left, had a tremendous impact on who and what he is today.

I think that can be said of anyone anywhere. There's no denying that our pasts shape to a large extent our present and future. But it is a huge step suggesting that MJ's JW upbringing led to his preference for keeping company with boys. I see MJ as a virtual law unto himself, like most other "superstars". My understanding is that, in MJ's own account of his life, he accused his non-JW father of robbing him of his childhood. In the final analysis, while it is undisputed that his JW upbringing would have shaped both his outlook and behaviour, that upbringing cannot be held accountable for MJ making some pretty unwise decisions about his choice of bedmates.

15

Research Study Proposal: Cults and Psych Disorders

by kitties_and_horses_oh_my! in

jw
friends

i know i haven't been around for awhile, but a main reason is that i'm going to school for my psych degree and it's a lot of work.

that being said, i have the opportunity to do some undergrad research work funded by washington state university.

i have to submit a proposal and if it's accepted they'll fund my work to a limited amount.

steve2

What about those still inside the "cult", how are you going to find out about how they feel.

This is a good question. My approach would be to first do surveys/research on those who have left - not claiming to be a "causative" study simply because you have willing participants right at your finger tips. Sometimes other research (which may have as its aim assessing the psychological wellbeing of "cult" members) may entail a lot more resources (especially access to funding and research ethics approval from relevant government and health bodies), and yeild only a small sample size from which more general conclusions would be harder to make. Based on what emerges from your project, you (and/or others) may then be able to further hone your research skills by taking on a more ambitious project.

Then again, some of the more "qualitative" projects do not claim to be representative samples and allow a reduced number of participants to tell their stories. Narrative-type research comes to mind.

15

Research Study Proposal: Cults and Psych Disorders

by kitties_and_horses_oh_my! in

jw
friends

i know i haven't been around for awhile, but a main reason is that i'm going to school for my psych degree and it's a lot of work.

that being said, i have the opportunity to do some undergrad research work funded by washington state university.

i have to submit a proposal and if it's accepted they'll fund my work to a limited amount.

steve2

Sounds like you are putting some really good preparation into this which will pay off in the longer term. I would not specifically focus on professionally diagnosed mental disorders per se, because you would automatically limit your subjects. You might want to include something more wide-ranging such as measures of locus of control, mood or anxiety. You'd also need to have a rationale for this. If it's to evaluate prevalence or rates of something, you'd need a comparison group - this is where it could get tricky.

I completed my PhD five years ago. I did a comparative study on the use of health care use of New Zealand Vietnam war veterans and their wives. Very boring, I'm afraid, but a viable subject.

I was raised a JW but left in the early 80s - around the same time as Ray Franz. I work as a clinical psychologist at the local community mental health service affiliated with the general hospital. Feel free to share ideas and I'll give feedback if its wanted.

steve2.

15

Research Study Proposal: Cults and Psych Disorders

by kitties_and_horses_oh_my! in

jw
friends

i know i haven't been around for awhile, but a main reason is that i'm going to school for my psych degree and it's a lot of work.

that being said, i have the opportunity to do some undergrad research work funded by washington state university.

i have to submit a proposal and if it's accepted they'll fund my work to a limited amount.

steve2

Sounds a fascinating proposal. Among many other things, you'd have to be specific about who your target group is and draw conclusions from that. I've read some ambitious but ultimately disappointing research projects because the researcher was not clear about who the participants were. In this case, it would not just be ex-JWs per se, but ex-JWs who presently participate in internet forums - probably quite a select group of people who may not be comparable with ex-JWs in general.

One of the most important things when doing surveys is to hold as many variables as possible constant, so that you have uniformity of comparisons across variables such as gender, age, ethnicity, years spent in the religion, whether born into the religion or a convert, and, if so, age of conversion, main reasons for leaving, etc. On the othger hand, your proposal may be more modest and less sweeping in its intent.

Go to it. all the best.

5

4000 pages Excellent Work Simon

by stillajwexelder in

4000 pages - wow another landmark for this site.thankyou simon

steve2

It's great that our "worldwide work" has accomplished this fine goal. It is sure evidence of Jehovah's blessing. What are our targets for the next year? We cannot rest on our laurels, brothers and sisters! The ~~end~~ beginning is in sight...

74

Are ex-jw's or "apostates" addicted to jw-bashing?

by booker-t in

jw
friends

this might seem like a funny question to ask but my mom told me that "apostates" are addicted to jw-bashing and cannot let it go and have a life.

i asked her what she meant by this statement and she told me that all ex-jw's talk about is the wts and jw's and negative things about the jw's.

she said that we get up thinking about jw-bashing and go to sleep thinking about jw-bashing just like a drug addict.

steve2

by the way what am i doing here in front of this girl -----i mean in front of this keyboard instead of dancing, well actually my body is asking me for some rest the last 3 nights have been too much

Nothing wrong in being addicted to dancing...

24

Would Michael Jackson be in all this legal trouble if he stayed a JW?

by booker-t in

jw
friends

as you posters know my mom has been a "devout" jw for over 40 years and just won't bend when it comes to the faults of the wts.

i have talked until i was blue in the face for over 10 years since da'd myself in 1993 but just can't crack my mom.

well she made another ridiculous comment to me the other day in her attempts to get me "reinstated" back as a jw.

steve2

If Michael had stayed a JW and only molested JW boys none of this pesky court stuff would have even happened, would it?!

Ouch! That's got to hurt some wounded egos. I suspect though that there is a discomforting amount of true observation here!

24

Would Michael Jackson be in all this legal trouble if he stayed a JW?

by booker-t in

jw
friends

as you posters know my mom has been a "devout" jw for over 40 years and just won't bend when it comes to the faults of the wts.

i have talked until i was blue in the face for over 10 years since da'd myself in 1993 but just can't crack my mom.

well she made another ridiculous comment to me the other day in her attempts to get me "reinstated" back as a jw.

steve2

there are people who REALLY are willing to take advantage, if... couched.

Given the possibility that MJ really is innocent, all the more reason for him to have not left himself open to any kind of allegation - false or true. Given especially that the man was accused of molestation in the early 1990s, how absolutely foolish of him to choose to continue his habit of having sleep overs with boys. If it does emerge in court that the allegations are false, maybe this time, MJ will ensure that he does not let himself be ever again set up for child sex abuse allegations. Since those initial allegations emerged in the early 1990s, the power to stop them has been in Michael's hands.