Posts by Muddy Waters

127

Be Honest---Describe your most prevalent feeling as a witness in ONE WORD!

by MsGrowingGirl20 in

lets's go!!.

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suffocating.

How many of you knew about the"Jesus is not your Mediator" teaching when you were JWs??

by Lady Liberty in

hi everyone.... just curious how many of you knew when you were active, about the societys official teaching regarding jesus the mediator.

i was floored to find in my research, that they teach jesus is the mediator for the 144,000 only.

and it is only by our association with them that we might have salvation.. i don't know about you guys but i was blown away when i learned they taught this.

Muddy Waters

In view of the upcoming "Memorial season" (April 5, 2012), thought this might be an interesting thread to bump up ....

19

[MP3] The District Conventions from the 1950s to the 2010s

by possible-san in

well, if you click the "theme" of each talk, you can listen to the talk by mp3.. in particular, with respect to the mp3s of the dcs in 2010 and 2011, you can listen to most of them.. .

http://www.centralprint.net/jwtalks/dc/conventions.html.

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Oh my goodness.... those conventions in the "old days" were 8 days long... started around 8:00 am and went till 9:00 or 9:30 pm. Just looking at some of the day's programs from way back when.... wow.... can't imagine doing anything like that today.

38

''I love the organization''

by punkofnice in

..........said mrs punk!.

this was how she justified screaming abuse at me an slamming doors when she overheard me tell a bloke who was about to get baptized why i quit the meetings.

in fairness i wouldn't have said a thing but he asked me.

Muddy Waters

When I was an active member, I totally believed it with all my heart. I believed the WTS was truly being used by the most powerful creative spirit person in the universe.

I even believed that every word and direction from the elders was directly from Jehovah.

I gave up my whole youthful adulthood for the society, this giant publishing company, thinking they really were God's true respresentatives on the earth. I believed it with utter devotion and intensity (gag). Anything spoken against it was seen as though coming directly from Satan.

Oh yes, I was a true believer all right. The scales have been progressively falling from my eyes, but it's been a very painful process.

62

Bizarre statement in April 2012 Awake

by dozy in

as books go, it is tiny, but it is immeasurably great in its essence.

it can be carried in ones pocket,but if it were found in a library of 90,000 different books, it would probably turn out to be the most important one of them all.. wow a strong endorsement of the bible?

er no this is the wtbts we are talking about here.

Muddy Waters

Thank you, NoRoomForGeorge.... I looked up the "well-known writer in Mexico" and found this on Wiki.... the last sentence is quite "interesting"!

Juan J. Orosa is a Mexican writer, born in México City in 1969. In 1987 he began studying physics at the National University (UNAM), but a year later changed to engineering; two years later he founded his own company. Dissatisfied, Juan decided to leave everything and move to the beach at Chicxulub, Yucatán , where he started his formal writing career.

In 2003 he was awarded with Ramón Zorrilla medal for his short story "Inconsolable". In 2002 he finished his first novel, Los extraviados (ISBN 9685679002), and in 2004 the second Succubus (ISBN 9685679274), both published by Sexto Piso. His works are thrillers that show a sense of irony that evokes Stanislaw Lem and Boris Vian.

22

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 01-15-2012 WT Study (TEMPORARY)

by blondie in

jw
friends

they were strangers and temporary residents.

from the world, satans wicked system.

as temporary residents in this wicked.

Muddy Waters

Blondie, Thank you for your interesting comments and references!

I found your comments on paragraph 12 and 13 to be particularly enlightening (highlighting the actual cruelty and hard-heartedness of the Society toward its own faithful elderly ones) ....

***w06 6/1 p.6***

What, though, if an older brother or sister in the congregation is in dire straits, perhaps needing financial assistance? First, it would be good to find out if there are children or other relatives who can help. (and this includes non-jw relatives) This would be in line with what is stated at 1 Timothy 5:4: “If any widow has children or grandchildren, let these learn first to practice godly devotion in their own household and to keep paying a due compensation to their parents and grandparents, for this is acceptable in God’s sight.” It may be that the elderly one needs assistance in determining if he or she is eligible for any provisions that the government makes available.

Horrible! Shocking, astounding. They really don't want to care for their own, do they, when these older (or sick) ones can't be good producers for them anymore....

- Muddy

38

Please can we all have a go at describing and celebrating our different NEW IDENTITIES, versus our OLD WBTS IDENTITY?

by Fernando in

at one time most of us here identified as jws who follow the wbts gb/fds who claim to follow the bible etc.

some of us are journeying to a new identity, others may feel they already have a new identity.. although we likely have gone in many different directions, we share a common past which only ex-members can really understand and explain.

please could we each respectfully share and celebrate our unique perspectives of where we have come from, and where we each are now at on this journey?.

Muddy Waters

Terry, that was an AWESOME post. You said,

" Once disfellowshipped or after having "faded" we are mentally and psychologically "under house arrest" for an extended period of time.

The pressure is almost unbearable.

We have lost something HUGE: a firm grasp on the ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY and Authority behind it.

Going from one end of the absolute (Truth) to the other end---(uncertainty and dread) is a whiplash.

How do you scratch THAT itch?

Some become born-again so that God can utterly forgive them, love them, accept them.

Some become raging iconoclasts with fangs and claws bared.

Others keep going over the "scene of the crime" looking for clues as to what went wrong.

It takes time to become WHO YOU REALLY ARE."

I am SO experienceing this right now. Going from certaintly and absoluteness and total trust in what you thought you knew -- to nothing. To being without clarity or focus. Feeling adrift, alone, betrayed. It IS just like a whiplash. I've developed a stupid nervous tic near my eye and feel much despair and anguish. I can only hope this painful process of trying to figure things out does not take me too long!

Thank you for your post.

- Muddy

18

March 1st WT

by undercover in

there's an article in the new public edition entitled, "should you trust your first impressions?".

in the article there's the sub-headings, "judging by appearance" and "appearances can be deceptive".

the main import of the article is to impress upon the non-jw to not pre-judge jws based on pre-convieved notions.

Muddy Waters

After years of analyizing the pictures in the publications, especially for the WT study, I note this:

NONE of the others (can you gues which one is not like the others, Sesame Street song playing in my head, but I digress) anyway, NONE of the others have a BIBLE. Meaning that they don't use the Bible, or misuse it, or some such. The JW is the only one holding (thus properly using) the scriptures. Or maybe he's holding a Proclaimer's book...... ha.

Also, they are all standing in front of their giant fancy buildings, buildings which prominently display a cross, while the JW stands in front of..... nope, no giant WT buildings, just some blurry shadow, though he is pictured as standing in a path of LIGHT, while the others stand in shadows and are in comparative darkness.

Wow, I should be at that WT study, LOL. ;)

- Muddy

PS -- not to change the subject, but HOW in the world do I change my avatar?

31

The Governing Body was at the meeting tonight

by wannabefree in

i gave in and went to the meeting tonight.

first thursday meeting in a couple of months ...

the whole congregation bible/book study was praise and worship of the governing body!.

Muddy Waters

Hm. I find this most interesting, especially the service meeting part. I wonder if Acts 10 was used by other brothers (following an outline?) to say the same thing, about "accepting changes from the faithful slave, even when shocking." !!!!!

This makes me wonder if they're preparing us for some "new light" or new announcements…..

And yes, Azazel, the average JW has no clue who the GB are! It's quite a mystery to most. They may know or recognize one or two names or faces, but in my experience that's about it!

17

Am only now discovering/reading the Apocrypha

by Muddy Waters in

i was never a born-in jw, got baptized when i was 20 after being raised and belonging to a denomination of a protestant church.

so i never even knew that there was a "catholic" bible or extra bible books (the authenticity of their belonging in the canon or not is a debatable issue, and one i certainly have no answers about it!).

i knew through my study with jws that there were some "extra" books written, but since i believed everything the wt said hook, line, and sinker, i just went along with their explanation that they were not part of the bible canon.

Muddy Waters

WOW, you guys are so AWESOME!!!! THANK YOU for all the links to such great sites and resources. Sorry for not getting back to you all sooner, was away for most of the day.

STRYMECKIRULES, I loved that site: sacred-texts.org !! I've ordered some of the info already, lol. The site is HUGE and has so much information, I could be reading forever. Amazing what's out there!! Thank you!!

BELLA: I am quite loving the book of Sirach! Is Judith the one where somebody went blind after a birdie pooped in his eyes? Maybe that's Tobit…. I'll have to take another look at Judith. What are your thoughts about it? (excuse me if I still sound like I'm at a JW meeting, LOL!)

SHANA: Wow, that's quite a link as well which you recommended. I have definitely bookmarked it and am starting to check it out. It's neat having so many historical writings, unbelievable because I never knew until now just how much is out there! It would take a dozen lifetimes to go through everything. Funny how the Catholics took stuff out, and the Protestants took stuff out that the Catholics left in…… hmph. It really is up to the individual to make up their own mind, isn't it. Thank you as well for your link and recommendations. :)

SERENITYNOW: Ha, had to laugh because when I went into the store and bought a Catholic bible, I was really feeling like I was doing something very bad. When I saw those extra books in the Bible, I was wondering if the bible would burst into flames or something. But my curiosity overcame my fear, and even as I began reading, my mind was very critical and closed off. I am still filtering so much stuff through a JW "lens", it will take a long time, I suspect, for anything to begin having clarity or non-bias.

AZAZEL: (ha, your name! The goat that wandered off into the wilderness…!) The NWT is still so familiar to me that when I read another translation, I have to constantly compare it to verses I'm familiar with from that text. And many times I've been surprised to see an almost totally different meaning! The very expressions in the NWT are misleading and quite biased (the word "apostate" in the NWT is translated as "godless" in many other versions, for example. And when the NWT says "nations", most other translations use "Gentiles". Again, a whole different shade of meaning!) And THANK YOU for the link to e-sword. I've downloaded it to my computer (had to get another program to open it, as I use a mac). It looks AWESOME (seems like I'm using that word a lot, LOL!) I can't wait to use this program more fully. Thank you again!

MORBIDZBABY: That's amazing about your mom finding the NWT so difficult to read after using your NIV! Right now I'm finding I quite like the NRSV, it's so crisp and concise (am so used to the wordiness of the NWT, it feels like a breeze, like a totally different Bible!) It's also very weird that the GB/Society discourages us from using other translations! That just bogglers my mind.

Again, thank you all so much for your great replies, insights, recommendations, experiences, sharing which Bible versions and apocryphal books you enjoy, and the fantastic websites.