The friendships are centered around congregation activities with some few exceptions as occasional "social" activities. If your best friend moves to a neighbouring congregation in very little time you will have nothing to do with him. The same goes for family members. The regimen of activities required from JWs leaves very little time for real friendships so you have to content with "friends" who slave at the same congregation activities...By the way a true friend would be someone you can confide in expecting that they will not judge you or betray confidentiality...this does not exist among JWs...
Posts by NVR2L8
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17No real friendship in JW's NO MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE WENT THRU!!!
by darth frosty inwas talking with blackman the other day and reflecting on our past and we were discussing some trials we went thru together, namely bethel.
our friendship has endured thru days of pioneering together, bethel and now full fledged post jw apostasy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1.
what we were talking about was other friends of ours who went thru and endured some severe bullshit at bethel.
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"We have truly seen Jehovah's hand" - the shocking side of Watchtower propaganda
by cedars inas a special "thank you" gift to the watch tower society's team of lawyers for getting jwsurvey shut down yesterday, i have written a new article focussing on the experience of the nigeria plane crash from pages 29 and 30 of the 2013 yearbook.
the experience purports to be about the relief committee set up to assist a witness family whose home was destroyed by a deadly plane crash that claimed over 150 lives rather than the freak survival of the family because they obediently attended their meeting.. still, the reaction of witnesses on facebook unmistakably demonstrates that the real aim of the watchtower propaganda machine was mostly achieved in this article.
despite the fact that two witnesses were recently killed in a bus crash on their way to an assembly, apparently those who obey the bible's command to not forsake gathering together will experience "jehovah's hand" of protection.. here is the link.... http://jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/we-have-truly-seen-jehovahs-hand-the-shocking-side-of-watchtower-propaganda.
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NVR2L8
Excellent article Cedars,
I read some of the FB comments and was shocked by the lack of empathy towards the victims. The other thing that struck me is that all comments are clichés taken right out of a WT publication and spewed without any thought given to them...they all sound like mindless clones. As soon as one comment calls them to reason they automatically deduct that their are facing an apostate...even when what is said is scripturally correct.
Afrikana, thanks for your comment...I was just researching this event that occured in Nigeria early November. There has been several other tragedies affecting JWs during 2012 including the murder of a young married sister in Oregon by a neighbour JW who raped her before shooting her. I also read the story of JWs from Texas that were in field service when their car mysteriously speed off and landed upside down in a ditch drowning all 4...
I would be interested to hear JWs answer the following questions: How does Jehovah choose amongst his faithful servants who he protects vs who he allows to die? Isn't he an impartial god? If the family that survived for being at the Kingdom Hall had been visiting the shopping mall or had been at the beach instead, would they have still survived? Does their survival have anything to do with where they were or where they weren't? What about all their neighbours that survived but do not go to the Kingdom Hall? Who saved them? If they were at their church, should they now never forsake their gathering of worshippers of false religion? The "Bible teach" book clearly says Jehovah does not intervene in the favour of humans because this may lead people to believe that Satan's world can succeed...So when JWs die in a tragedy it is seen as unforseen events...but when they survive it is seen like divine intervention...which is it...
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Differing views of education in the JW cult
by hybridous inwhile reading the thread about the jw elder clearing his conscience, i had the thought.... .
while taking everyone's experiences in the jw org at face value, we all certainly had different influences present around us concerning education.. .
it is clear to me that within the jw org, there is a spectrum running from hard-liners to very liberal, in this particular matter.
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NVR2L8
I was in High School in the late 60s and I quit before graduating because the Awake said I wouldn't have time to go to college or have a career. I also married young because I didn't want to live single eternally. Due to not having a diploma and a family at a young age, I always felt I had to work twice as hard as the next guy to keep my job. This also affected my finances because I didn't earn much for a long while and I didn't believe in investing for retirement. Fortunately I worked under people who saw my potential and they provided me the oportunity to grow within the company where I stayed for almost 30 years. With no Armaggedon in sight I started saving for my retirement and I have done well financially. Still, there is no telling what I could have accomplished if I had the right credentials or if I had used my drive in business rather than in the cult...
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Jw.Org & Mormon.Org See something similar? Me too...
by TeenageInsider inhttp://www.jw.org.
http://www.mormon.org.
has anyone noticed the site is veeeery similar?
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NVR2L8
Sir82,
I doubt the WTS would hire an external firm for their website...they often brag of the accomplishments of their in-house projects...MEPS (program developped to print in multiple languages) is one example. Also I know of some IT engineers who volunteer their time and expertise so the WTS doesn't have to pay external firms...
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BBC Panorama program on Scientology...interesting parallels with JWs.
by NVR2L8 intonight i watched a program from the bbc that was a follow up for a previous report on scientology.
several members and leaders have left the cult and they were willing to go on camera and explain how scientology is a dangerous cult.
when i was an active jw i knew that scientology was a cult but i didn't realize they shared many practices with the jws.
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NVR2L8
Hello Robert: My daughter who disassociated 15 years ago came for a visit and her and I openly discussed why I was no longer going to the Kingdom Hall. My wife listened in from a distance and I could see that it was bothering her. Later she told me she I disrespected her religion and she didn't want to hear it in her own house...I replied that it was my house to and that I was entitled to express my opinion. She then said that she doesn't talk about her faith in my presence so I should do the same and keep my beliefs to myself. In regards to TV programs I watch, I remember watch a few reports on JW child abuse with her while I was still in. Of course we agreed that shouldn't be watching and but we did because we may have to answer questions in the ministry...we also thought that there were just a few disgruntle ex-JWs who had an axe to grind. On another note...the following link appeared under my opening post...quite powerful for Scientology to have their message available on JWN... Truth About Scientology Scientology.org Think For Yourself and Find Out For Yourself
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9
Home alone
by jonno12225 inhere i am, sat at my computer.
i feel an odd clamness as i sit alone in my house.
my wife and kids have just left for the meeting.
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NVR2L8
Jonno, use the time to do something you love...when my wife goes to the meeting I spend time in the garage tinkering on my cars and on Sunday I go on a motorcycle ride...I return in time to have lunch with my wife and spend the rest of the day with her. In the winter I go out to play hockey with my new buddies...I no longer feel odd or guilty for not going along with the endoctrinations program.
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BBC Panorama program on Scientology...interesting parallels with JWs.
by NVR2L8 intonight i watched a program from the bbc that was a follow up for a previous report on scientology.
several members and leaders have left the cult and they were willing to go on camera and explain how scientology is a dangerous cult.
when i was an active jw i knew that scientology was a cult but i didn't realize they shared many practices with the jws.
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NVR2L8
Tonight I watched a program from the BBC that was a follow up for a previous report on Scientology. Several members and leaders have left the cult and they were willing to go on camera and explain how Scientology is a dangerous cult. When I was an active JW I knew that Scientology was a cult but I didn't realize they shared many practices with the JWs. Some of the points that struck me was that like with the WTS, members are not allowed to research other religions, use the internet to research their own religion or even watch TV programs against their church. The other parallel was that people who leave the cult are to be "disconnected" from family and friends that remain in the cult. Like with JWs, families are broken up forever. They use intimidation and blackmail to bring back members to the cult and family members put the blame on the person who is leaving for messing up their lives. There is also the notion of keeping on studying even when you don't fully agree...in time everything becomes clearer. I remember using this phrase with a student who said he would never refuse a blood transfusion to save the life of his children. With Scientology some teachings remain secret until members reach a specific level within their organization. As I was watching I noticed that my JW wife, son and his wife discreetly left the area and pretended to engage in other activities so they didn't have to listen to the program....I guess it was hitting too close to home.
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Interesting District Convention News.....
by Pyramid Scheme ini wanted to share some news from a family friend (he is my wt mole - still an elder, hates the shenanigans, but is still hanging on for all the reasons often discussed on this site) i know the various rumors have been discussed on here, and unfortunately the rumor about the conventions being eliminated weren't true!
(what a burden on the jw community - financial hardship for a good portion of them, guilting people into actually quitting their job to attend, physically exhausting for many, etc...etc......).
anyway, he told me that the district convention is being moved to 11 weekends at the jw-owned circuit assembly hall, and they are no longer planning on renting stadiums/large facilities in our area (northern ohio/southern michigan).
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NVR2L8
This arrangement may be the perfect excuse for the WTS to build larger assembly halls and increase their wealth by owning more real estate all paid for by the brothers. It's a creative way to overcome the reduction in cash contribution.
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2012 Memorial Partakers--12,604!
by Atlantis in.
2012 memorial partakers total 12,604.....atlantis
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NVR2L8
Everything is possible NK...JWs will believe whatever the WTS want them to...no questions asked.
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No angelic protection for 20+ Jehovah's Witnesses on way to Convention. All dead.....
by Balaamsass infrom nigerian newspaper via google alert a few minutes ago;.
entire family, 20 others die in fatal accidenttragedy struck weekend in akwa ibom state as a man, his wife and all their children, as well as more than 20 others, all members of the jehovahs witness church, perished in a fatal road accident which occurred, friday, along the utu etim ekpo road in etim ekpo local government area of the state.. forty other members of the church sustained varying degrees of injuries following in the crash which occurred on their way to the jehovahs witness annual convention ground in ikot ekpene local government area of the state.. thisdays gathered that more than 70 members of the church had hired a lorry to convey them from ukanafun local government area to ikot ekpene for the annual district convention which began on friday and billed to end today (sunday) but the journey ended half way with many members of the church dying on the road in the accident.. eyewitnesses alleged that the driver of the lorry conveying the church members to the venue of the convention lost control of the vehicle when he got to utu etim ekpo, the junction opposite the local government secretariat, and hit the stone used to construct the roundabout, thus resulting in the lorry somersaulting, leaving many of its passengers and others wounded.. the corpses and those injured in the accident were said to have been taken to neighbouring hospitals and mortuaries.. one of the eyewitnesses, mr. friday john, said the people who died may have been more than what was seen because a whole family including parents and their children were all trapped in the accident.. we were all here discussing when suddenly the lorry appeared and was looking like the driver had lost control of it.
then the lorry drove straight and hit the stone and somersaulted into the gutter.. many people died, more than 18. in fact, we couldnt count the number because there were many corpses, including husband, wife and children and they were all taken to the mortuary in various hospitals near etim ekpo here, john explained.. in another narration, a secondary school teacher in eka uruk eshiet etim ekpo, mr. ndipmo nkanta, said the lorry boarded by the deceased and the injured passengers was not meant for passengers but goods only.. he blamed the accident on poverty , arguing that if there was a better alternative, such casualties wouldnt have been recorded, especially as they were going to worship god.. the public relations officer of the federal road safety corps, frsc, in the state, mr. godsgift uwen, blamed the incident on over-speeding and overloading by the driver of the lorry.. he said the lorry was not supposed to carry any passenger as it was a meant for goods only but the driver stubbornly used it as a passengers vehicle, which led to the sad incident.. he advised against rush and drunken driving, especially in the yuletide, noting that these are some of the major causes of accidents on the roads.. culled from thisday".
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NVR2L8
Why is it so hard for JWs to understand that this family was not spared because they were at the meeting...but because of they were not where the plane crashed. There is a FB thread on this Yearbook experience and as soon as one commented that the survival (or death) of faithful witnesses is only coincidental and resulting from unforseen occurences, the poster was called out as an apostate...