now that you realise how idiotic some of the jw beliefs are/were, do you feel ashamed of how gullible you were to believe them?.
if anything my past as an adult jw makes me understand how easily manipulated people are by the people and environment around them.
and that even intelligent people can be influenced beyond what is rational..
Bluesbrother -
Shame and guilt are, in reality, useless emotions that keep living in the past rather than appreciating the present.
Look back, learn from it and resolve never to be so gullible again..but enjoy the "now" and our cognitive freedom
Very good advice! I know that's something I need to really work on....
after reading through onedayillbefree's thread about being taken into the back room and asked inappropriate questions, i was reminded about a part done at the km school.
one of the common themes throughout the one day school was viewing things the way god sees them and how doing so will require that elders develope insight.
they defined insight as, evaluating individual aspects in light of others, or getting & understanding facts and how all relate to one another.. next, they gave specific examples where an elder will need insight in order to assist wayward sheep.
Hey Miz, a recent round of CO visits had a very similar talk. I can't remember which night it was, maybe Thursday but the poor guy that was stoned to death for collecting sticks was used to illustrate how the meetings are like the Sabbath and basically how that dude deserved what he got because he was in essence stealing from Jehovah because that day was set aside for worship. Likewise, our meeting and FS times are set aside as worship and if we were to allow work to get in the way, we'd be just as bad as that stick gatherer. He didn't say that if you miss a meeting, you should be stoned, but he sort of implied it.
I'll bet they wish they could make it a capital offense.
The crazy thing about that account is the death penalty was not part of the law for breaking the sabbath. It was only after the guy was caught that God told Moses that he should be stoned. The CO even brought that out, asking if we thought it was unfair. I really wanted to raise my hand and say, YES it was completely unfair. If it was a capital offense, they should have warned people. I can't remember his explaination other than you shouldn't break the rules regardless of the punishment.
I find it interesting how they recycle parts. Makes sense I guess.
now that you realise how idiotic some of the jw beliefs are/were, do you feel ashamed of how gullible you were to believe them?.
if anything my past as an adult jw makes me understand how easily manipulated people are by the people and environment around them.
and that even intelligent people can be influenced beyond what is rational..
Very much ashamed and angry at myself. I was a born in but no one held a gun to my head and made me get baptized. That's all on me. No one forced me to be a MS, then an elder. I could have made different choices but I fully believed that even though there were things I saw that weren't right, that somehow it was God's organization and that He would straighten it out over time.
However, I look at the experience as a valuable lesson that you should never believe anyone that says they speak for God, to beware of those who try to assert their authority over you and to always, always verify any claims. If you make outrageous claims (like you are the restoration of the "true faith") then extraordinary proof is required.
so i'm still going to the meetings...my spouse is still very much active...however, after i learned ttabtt...i feel like such a hypocrite in reciting (commenting) the wt writings and teachings at the meetings...in your own experience...how did you handle this situation?...and if you did comment, what did you say?...i still go out to service, however, i only use the bible and do not distribute wt literature...so far nobody has said anything lol.... .
thanks!.
I pretty much quit commenting when still an elder. no one ever said anything. The last time I commented was maybe a year ago something about how to keep a marriage strong. Nothing to do with the bible or wt.
Just stop. I doubt anyone will say anything. If they do, I'm planning on saying that when I have something to contribute, I will. But it's been almost 5 years and no one has said anything to me yet.
this i did not know till recently.
buts a whole new meaning to "let us make man in our image.." no wonder all the kings of israel turned to other gods..
Mrs Jones, that's a very interesting link! Thanks for posting it.
43 time really flies
i've been out for a few years now, but when i was in, we frequently had to purchase "vehicle parking passes" several weeks before the start of our district assembly (depending on the coliseum or stadium being rented at the time).
it was usually $5.00 and you were given a 10" x 4" (or so) card with the assembly title/theme printed on.
according to the instructions from a branch letter that was read out loud (usually at the end of the service meeting), this card had to be placed on the right side of your dashboard such that the dub parking attendants can easily see it as you drive through the parking entrance.
I remember doing that but I think they dropped it sometime in the early 90s. Can't recall the reasons why but I seem to remember in our area, they claimed parking wasn't part of the deal for the building but later that changed.
blood transfusion: letter of understanding .
today i added a new article to my blog that to the best of my knowledge is the first publication of a document put together for jehovahs witnesses by medical ethicists in cooperation with watchtower appointed hospital liaison committee members.
this document is very helpful in medical terms yet very explosive in theological terms for jehovahs witnesses whove been taught to resist blood transfusion as rape.
I had a conversation with someone I know on the local HLC a few years ago. His remarks go along the same line in terms of what to do with minors. He told me that there's basically no chance of winning when it comes to refusing blood for minors and the society is simply not interested in getting involved to the degree they once were (his words summarizing the stance). He told me that they will recommend to parents to tell the drs they don't consent to such treatment but won't contest.
I've also see a consent form similar but along the lines of "we do not wish for our child to have a BT but recognize that the hospital/physician may do so if there is a medical emergency". I don't have a copy of what I saw but remember thinking it must have been drafted in conjunction with WT legal.
sorry if this has already been discussed.. but at the service meeting this week on jw.org it was clearly stated by our cobe that pdf's from jw.org that are emialed to interested persons count as placements!!!.
okay folks, next time you get a circular spam email, copy all the recipients and there is your contact list.
email thousands of people watchtower pdf's and watch the placements soar through the roof!!!.
That was mentioned at our meeting as well.
good day everyone,.
i'm a born in jehovah's hostage, and am still a hostage until i can wake my family up (wishful thinking i know).
i'll formally introduce myself later.. for now i have some burning concerns about the service meeting part for the week of december 24, 2012.
Same amount of gushing over the website took place at my meeting as well. In one demo, the brother texted the URL that pointed to an article he was trying to share with the householder. The problem I see is that people will not just take the url but will goggle JWs and then run across a host of sites that contain TTATT.
There is no way this is going to help them in their recruiting. I can see why the need to have a web presence and have had one for years. But, to encourage its use in preaching seems to be a bad idea for them.
There is no doubt in my mind that they are going to discontinue the public WT & Awake in the not too distant future and move to a tract work similar to what the LDS does. At least the LDS has an interactive section on their website that missionaries will engage with people. There's no way the WTS will do that.
Now, if they really want to make some cash, they need to establish Warwick as the JW version of BYU. Maybe Rutherford University?
