truth_b_known

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Posts by truth_b_known

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  35

  Go Bag and Catastrophes

  by StephaneLaliberte in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i live with my parents in law and yesterday, my mother in-law was very nervous about an email she got from the brothers in her congregation.

  it was asking if she would be able to receive people over at our house should there be a catastrophe.

  so, she asked me if i would agree with this.

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  truth_b_known

  Not so much due to concern about the welfare of the affected JWs. Rather, it was the loss of control. If a New Orleans JW was relocated to Texas, what meetings would he attend? How would the elders spy on, er, shepherd, them? What if a relocated JW discovers "hey, these 'worldly charities' are not foaming-at-the-mouth devil worshippers"? What if he needs to go to a hospital - how would the local HLC be there to enforce the blood prohibition? What if a few dozen, or a few hundred, fence-sitting JWs used this an opportunity to "fade" from the organization?

  FFGhost for the win!

  If you had to boil the Watchtower down to one, single point it would be this - control.

  FFGhost is correct in his belief that if a large area was affected by a catastrophe the only way the Watchtower could continue to control Witnesses living there is to make sure they had provisions to stick together and hold out. Witnesses being forced to intermingle with non-Witnesses provides an opportunity for ultimate truth - personal experience.

  Witnesses would come to see non-Witnesses are real people. The Watchtower narrative would fade away. This would cause Witnesses to begin to see things as they are, not as they are told, and begin to ask questions.

  Stephanelaliberte - It could be World War III, the Zombie Apocalypse, and Sharknado 5: Global Swarming outside and the Watchtower would refuse to allow your residence as a safe shelter for the congregation. It would risk exposing those Witnesses to the truth about the Truth.
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  9

  Having It Both Ways

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  1. when individuals leave the organization for conscience reasons, it is evidence that god is shepherding and protecting the flock by doing a sifting work.

  when people leave another christian religion it is evidence that the religion is morally corrupt and unable or unwilling to provide spiritually for their members.. 2. when a christian from another denomination lies, he is acting according to his own disposition being from the father of the lie.

  when a jehovah's witness lies, he is proving his loyalty to jehovah and fulfilling his sacred obligation to engage in spiritual warfare.. 3. during times of rapid growth the organization claims this is evidence of gods approval as he "speeds it up in his own time".

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  truth_b_known

  dou·ble·think

  /ˈdəbəlˌTHiNGk/

  Learn to pronounce

  noun

  the acceptance of or mental capacity to accept contrary opinions or beliefs at the same time, especially as a result of political indoctrination.

  Definitions from Oxford Languages

  George Orwell came up with Doublethink for his dystopian novel 1984. Sea Breeze just gave us 13 examples of it.
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  44

  Poll: Atheists overwhelmingly oppose the death penalty, but most Christians favor it

  by Disillusioned JW in

  1. social
  2. current

  see https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2021/06/16/poll-atheists-overwhelmingly-oppose-the-death-penalty-most-christians-favor-it/ .

  i am an atheist and i disapprove of the death penalty.

  i remember michael dukakis, when he was a usa presidential candidate, saying i he was opposed to the death penalty - even for rapists and murderers.

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  truth_b_known

  I have to agree with Slimboyfat; Prison is not helping anything.

  I think we should start looking at our criminal laws and re-evaluate them. Why do we imprison people for having a substance abuse disorder? Locking up people and putting the stigma of "convicted felon" on people because they use substances to deal with suffering, anxiety, and fear is pointless.

  If we start with that we can move on to the next item. Take care of non-violent crimes first. Then move on to violent crime.

  There will always be crime, but that doesn't mean that mass incarceration is the solution. It isn't even a stop gap.
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  5

  JWs don't have any problems

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  they never get disgruntled and leave, they never abuse children, they never sleep around or steal.

  because if they were a true jehovah's witness they wouldn't do that, and if they do something wasn't right with them to begin with.

  anybody else heard this "logic"?

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  truth_b_known

  
  
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  39

  The First Time I Went Over 120mph (193kph) I Was In A ____________ ,

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  honda vfr 750.

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  truth_b_known

  To those whom did this on two wheels, I salute you!
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  44

  Poll: Atheists overwhelmingly oppose the death penalty, but most Christians favor it

  by Disillusioned JW in

  1. social
  2. current

  see https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2021/06/16/poll-atheists-overwhelmingly-oppose-the-death-penalty-most-christians-favor-it/ .

  i am an atheist and i disapprove of the death penalty.

  i remember michael dukakis, when he was a usa presidential candidate, saying i he was opposed to the death penalty - even for rapists and murderers.

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  truth_b_known

  In one of the Apostle Paul's letters (or at least one written in his name) which is in the Bible, Paul wrote that he sent an escaped slave (who converted to Christianity after his escape) back to his Christian master (see Philemon 1:10-20). In another letter Paul wrote that slaves must be obedient to their masters.

  "The Apostle Paul needs a 'come to Jesus' talk." - Jesus, Son of God
  
  
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  44

  Poll: Atheists overwhelmingly oppose the death penalty, but most Christians favor it

  by Disillusioned JW in

  1. social
  2. current

  see https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2021/06/16/poll-atheists-overwhelmingly-oppose-the-death-penalty-most-christians-favor-it/ .

  i am an atheist and i disapprove of the death penalty.

  i remember michael dukakis, when he was a usa presidential candidate, saying i he was opposed to the death penalty - even for rapists and murderers.

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  truth_b_known

  An eye for an eye creates a world full of blind people.

  I was a huge supporter of the death penalty. In the past couple of years I have changed my mind.

  As a species we have used state sanctioned execution since the beginning of recorded history. It is not a deterrent. Taking the offender's life doesn't bring the victim back to life nor does it end the suffering of the loved ones of the victim. Therefor execution doesn't balance the scales of justice. That is the problem with human justice; it is imperfect. There are many wrongs that cannot be made right.

  In addition, I do believe in redemption. That is not to say everyone who does wrong will redeem themselves, but I do believe they should be afforded the opportunity.

  Finally, I feel uneasy with sentencing someone to the death penalty for crimes where there is no eye witness other than the deceased and the accused. Also, the "Felony Murder Rule" in the United States presents an interesting moral dilemma. 3 men conspire to rob a bank - 2 go into bank and 1 is the getaway driver. 1 of the 2 robbers inside shoots and kills a bank teller. All 3 men are sentenced to death.
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  39

  The First Time I Went Over 120mph (193kph) I Was In A ____________ ,

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  honda vfr 750.

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  truth_b_known

  2000 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.

  I was heading to a bank robbery in progress.
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  30

  What made you walk out on the "Truth"?

  by Overrated in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i had a legal divorce from my ex wife( law of the land).

  i was told not to expect to get remarried because my divorce was not legal to watchtower.. my divorce and situation seem to be a talk of gossip and even a many local needs talks.

  i wanted to take some more schooling to get a better job, there was a local needs talk on higher education and it's dangers.

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  truth_b_known

  My wife and I had been inactive for about 3 years. I was a born-in and she joined late in life. She was tired of being in a state of limbo - we were not active and isolated from those in at the same time choosing to live under the same restrictions of a Witness.

  I knew it was killing the family inside living the way we were. I told her I was ok with everyone celebrating holidays and birthdays. I told her I was alright with letting our children live the life they wanted.

  That same year my father laid it on pretty heavy about attending the Memorial. He made it sound like that the talk that year would be different and of special importance. The kids wanted to go so I took them. What a mess.

  This was the first Memorial with the new/current songbook. Not only did we not have the right songbook, but the song that opened the Memorial, a usual, had been changed. When the Memorial was over I immediately knew that the talk given was the same old talk I had heard for over 30 years.

  The next day I came to the website. My eyes were immediately opened. What I had already suspected was confirmed for me. The Watchtower and its religion, Jehovah's Witnesses, was not "the truth". I have never looked back.
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  10

  Raising a teenager outside of “the truth”

  by StephaneLaliberte in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was raised as a jw and left the group as many of the teachings don’t align with my core values.

  now, forward almost 10 years, my wife and i are raising our kids through puberty and i have to admit, this challenge is not easy and seems to be even more difficult in that my own upbringing was very different.

  i find it hard to compare how i was raised with what i now must do for my own kids.

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  truth_b_known

  StephaneLaliberte:

  Thanks for sharing. It is an important topic for the ex-JW community. I was say doubly so for those of us who are born-ins.

  My family situation is all over the place. I am a born-in. My wife joined about 2 years before we met and had a progressive upbringing. Our oldest and middle child was in until we became inactive followed by just being out. The oldest was exposed until he was about 12 and the middle child until about 4.

  Once we were out we flat out did not speak about religion at all unless the kids had questions. Our children seem to be extremely rational thinkers. At an early age our youngest told us of a conversation had with a fellow student about God. Our child who was about 5 at the time stated that God made no sense.

  Now my youngest is the family scientist. It surprised us when our child started to read books on eastern philosophy on his own. The oldest started meditation techniques.

  In short, our experience has been similar to yours, StephaneLaliberte. We chose to educate, but not dictate.