they just run away from you so they don't catch the apostasy virus.
Beautiful, Illuminator. Love it!
MrMonroe
JoinedPosts by MrMonroe
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27
The blessings of being disfellowshipped
by JRK indon't get me wrong, it does suck.
but after being on ex-jw boards for years, and being df'ed for almost 10; i do see some hidden blessings.. first, you do not have to struggle with fading successfully.
you are just out; the cord has been cut.
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Did The Elders Ever Try To Adjust YOUR Thinking?
by PublishingCult in.
did the elders ever try to "adjust" your thinking?.
can you share what they felt was incorrect about your thinking?.
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MrMonroe
The presiding overseer of my old congregation once came to my house and told me I should probably change occupations. I told him my occupation was my decision, not his. In a sense he was telling me to choose between my job and my religion. In the end I chose my job.
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1994 Canadian TV documentary "Children of Jehovah"
by MrMonroe insorry to be a forum shopper, but just in case there's someone here that didn't read it there, i'm wanting to find anyone who remembers a tv doco produced in 1994 for the canadian "rough cuts" series of independent documentaries called "children of jehovah".. it took a devastatingly honest look at the lives of jw teens, showing them begrudgingly doing field service, revealing the tricks they pulled to boost the figures on their monthly reports and talking about what would happen to them if they left the religion.. it appears to be available for $149 as a dvd, but i wonder if anyone taped it at the time or has a copy they could, you know, share.
somehow.. it made quite an impact on me when i watched it on australia's sbs in 1995. does anyone remember it?.
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MrMonroe
Sorry to be a forum shopper, but just in case there's someone here that didn't read it there, I'm wanting to find anyone who remembers a TV doco produced in 1994 for the Canadian "Rough Cuts" series of independent documentaries called "Children of Jehovah".
It took a devastatingly honest look at the lives of JW teens, showing them begrudgingly doing field service, revealing the tricks they pulled to boost the figures on their monthly reports and talking about what would happen to them if they left the religion.
It appears to be available for $149 as a DVD, but I wonder if anyone taped it at the time or has a copy they could, you know, share. Somehow.
It made quite an impact on me when I watched it on Australia's SBS in 1995. Does anyone remember it?
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37
When You Look Back, Can You Believe That You Actually . . .
by PublishingCult in.
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believed you were going to live forever in paradise on earth?.
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MrMonroe
I did believe it. It seemed hard to understand, but I did believe.
My belief did start to wane a little as I got sick of all the crap going on, but pretty well evaporated after I stayed a couple of days at the Australian Bethel. I realised there was zero chance that a God would allow these people to run a new system.
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One reason why not the true religion
by chukky 594 inhi.
if you had to convince a prospective jw why this religion is not the true religion, and you could only use one reason to persuade them, what would it be?.
chukky.
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MrMonroe
Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their legalistic approach to religion with their endless application of arbitrary interpretive rules and the condemnation of those who failed to meet their standards.
Today the JWs operate their religion in exactly the same way, forcing Christians to first gain the approval of the "organisation" (found nowhere in the New Testament) before they can gain the approval of God and Christ. They have endless arbitrary rules and expectations, utterly contradicting the pure, loving and inclusive form of worship Jesus taught.
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Jehovah's Witnesses Are NOT Under Mind Control
by PublishingCult inhow would you respond to the assertion that 7.2 million members of the jehovah's witness religion are not under any sort of mind control?.
the argument being that every one is responsible for their own actions and cannot blame the indoctrinator for what he says and does.
how could they possibly be under mind control?.
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MrMonroe
Trevor, offering false promises isn't in itself mind control. It's the constant indoctrination, repetition, the requirement for members to go out and teach what they're told, the prohibition against questioning teachings (and the consequent recoiling reaction among members if something is questioned), the withholding of information, the requirement to restrict social contact with non-believers and the catechistical question-and-answer form of teaching both at meetings and in home bible studies, that helps to shape people's ways of thinking.
And let's not forget the constant repetition of the idea that to disobey the Governing Body is to disobey God.
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Jehovah's Witnesses Are NOT Under Mind Control
by PublishingCult inhow would you respond to the assertion that 7.2 million members of the jehovah's witness religion are not under any sort of mind control?.
the argument being that every one is responsible for their own actions and cannot blame the indoctrinator for what he says and does.
how could they possibly be under mind control?.
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MrMonroe
Thank you, Spade. Yes, whatever.
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NZ Earthquake Update
by Murray Smith inupdate from chch nz just in case anyone out there is interested .
we're still gettin kicked up the ass down here by some punchy aftershocks .
still coming at about 1 every 90 mins.
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MrMonroe
We feel for you, Muzza.
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The role of the Home Bible Study arrangement in JW brainwashing
by MrMonroe ini've just started reading "year of doom, 1975: the inside story of jehovah's witnesses" by english author j.c. stevenson.
it was published in 1967 as basically a memoir of his years in the dubs, including time as a pioneer, and an explanation of the methods used by them to make the organisation grow.. it's not the best "insider" book i've written, but there is a section i've uploaded below that makes some interesting points about the home bible study procedure and why it is so effective at turning interested people into baptism candidates.
reading through this, i see myself back in the mid-80s sitting there getting led, week by week, into the trap.. this section is from chapter 2, "the seed is watered" in which he explains the typical process following a few return visits.. .
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MrMonroe
It's pretty weird, isn't it? I was doing quite a bit of smokin' around the time the Dubs first called on my door in 1984, and every week between their visits I'd think of all these questions while I was sitting in a cloud of smoke. I'd write them down so I wouldn't forget them. And after several weeks of this, the JW said those by-now legendary words to me, "Well, Mr Monroe, we could go on like this forever. But look, here's this book, You Can Live Forever In Paradise on Earth, that actually covers all those questions you've asked. And more! We could go on forever like this. But It would be more productive if we just started going through the book chapter by chapter."
Which of course I did.
In later years, sitting in front of a warm fire in Christchurch, I did a home bible study with the husband of a Witness, who had -- out of an admirable sense of loyalty to his wife -- relented and agreed to "study" as well just to see if it worked with him. (Maybe that's a bit like someone reluctantly agreeing to a homosexual encounter just to see if they're really gay). I remember going over the "time, times and half a time" dogma and him asking, "Why do you say "times" means two times? How do you know it's not three or four?" And me saying, "Weeelll, it just is. It must be because it fits in with all the other chronology!" Talk about bending the evidence to support the conclusion you're seeking. And he refused to buy it.
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Jehovah's Witnesses Are NOT Under Mind Control
by PublishingCult inhow would you respond to the assertion that 7.2 million members of the jehovah's witness religion are not under any sort of mind control?.
the argument being that every one is responsible for their own actions and cannot blame the indoctrinator for what he says and does.
how could they possibly be under mind control?.
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MrMonroe
I found this discussion about home bible studies interesting. It helps to explain why Witnesses all start acting like the Stepford wives.