Posts by Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

14

The elephant on the street

by Normalfulla in

as a contractor i travel around for my job, i was stopped this morning to buy some milk at a store in a small village i guess and as i turned a corner i saw 2 elders i know personally manning a cart in the cold outside the store with not a soul in sight and an unlikely place for much traffic even though it was outside a country store.

1 elder is my brother in laws father and the other was in my old cong when i left, i said hello, talked about the weather and general chit chat and was my usual self, they were pleasant also but nothing was mentioned to me about anything spiritual etc.

i know they will be aware of some of my reasons for leaving (the few that i talked about initially before shutting my trap) but they were unwilling to engage in saving my life with their work!

Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

@Normalfulla: "...they were pleasant also but nothing was mentioned to me about anything spiritual etc."

They knew not to go there with you - alas the elephant would have unloaded on them with all its apostate glory:

12

It takes a good imagination to be a JDub

by Sour Grapes in

at the regional convention, the speaker said that jehovah is our best friend.

so let's see...if i need a ride to the doctor's office can i call on my best friend to give me a ride to the office?

when i wake up in the morning and tell my best friend jehovah, "good morning, how are you?

Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

Three kinds of people with imaginary friends:

1) Children

2) Schizophrenics

3) Jehovah's Witnesses

20

I watched some of the Regional Assembly

by Sour Grapes in

i watched about 2 hours of the regional assembly and these are my thoughts.

the video's and songs did stir my good memories of when i was a jdub elder and very happy in the religion.

i can see how these two things would make it difficult to leave the borg because of the emotional buy-in.. now getting into the talks, the cults true colors show and i wonder how in the hell was i a part of that for over 40 years.

Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

@Sour Grapes: "Without these videos there would be many more Witlesses heading for the exit doors."

I'm not sure if anyone else experienced this, but for me, it was the exact opposite. It was by watching the fruity dramatizations played at the Remain Loyal convention that I was startled awake. If I hadn't been exposed to such frightening material (and believe me, I was frightened as a still-in JW at that convention), I would have most likely tossed and turned and continued in my slumber.

56

Spiritual "Protection" - a Menace on Psychological Development

by Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho in

not quite a week ago, @lost in the fog created a thread entitled: do you have this illness?.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5187824140681216/do-you-have-this-illness.

in my year of being on this forum, i have browsed many a disillusioned thread of ex-jehovah’s witnesses expressing similar symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder when detailing their awakening - my own story included.

Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

@AllTimeJeff It really is a big, sad lesson. Are both your mother and younger brother shunned by him for apostasy, also? I only ask to get an idea of the kind of character your father is. If he has cut them off for other reasons, then even from a Witness perspective - that may have to do more with him than the rest of you. He is the common denominator in this antisocial behavior.

Whichever it is, I can't begin to imagine the feelings of despair, regret and resentment he must be internally harboring as he reflects over his life course during this final stage.

I'm so sorry he wasn't the father you needed him to be, @AllTimeJeff.

13

In Search of An Analogy

by InjusticeSystem in

i hope this finds all of you well.

i'm also hoping some of you might be able to help me with a particular type of de-witnessing strategy that i'm trying to develop more in my own discussions with active family members.

it seems to me that analogy and metaphor plays a prominent role in the society's teaching (critical thought killing) techniques.

Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

10

Remember when

by blownaway in

i remember when paterson was built.

the so called training facility.

we were told it was to teach elders what their job was after armageddon.

Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

Oh, I remember the time.

5

Destruction to start from “God’s House”

by Ireneus in

here is the greatest irony: people proclaiming the destruction of others are the first ones to experience destruction, foretaste of which is already experienced in the form of shrinking glory, finance and confidence!.

babel means confusion, hence babylon the great means a great nation of confusing doctrines.

this nation is “intoxicated” and “drunk with the blood of god’s holy ones.” (revelation 17:2, 6) the greatest intoxication of christendom and its heartland jehovah’s witnesses is with their own claim of having monopoly on truth and thus treating rest of the mankind as pagan, a concept that kills everything god’s holy ones stood for (mathew 7:12).

Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

14

Do you still want to be identified as a Christian?

by eyeuse2badub in

most americans want some form of religious identity - even atheists are creating churches.

by j. warner wallace | fox news.

the number of self-proclaimed christians is shrinking in america.. i’ve been collecting data on this trend for over 10 years, and the surveys reveal an important truth: fewer people claim a christian affiliation than ever before, and those who claim no religious affiliation are the fastest growing group in america.. but while fewer people may belong to christian churches or communities, americans will likely retain some form of religious identity – especially if what’s happening in europe is an indicator of things to come.. a new pew forum survey conducted in western europe reveals that christianity is waning there even faster than it is in the united states.

Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

"When asked if these “atheist churches” could be described as a form of religion, the founder of the Seattle Atheist Church responded with a “definite ‘yes.’" - J. Warner Wallace, Fox News.

56

Spiritual "Protection" - a Menace on Psychological Development

by Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho in

not quite a week ago, @lost in the fog created a thread entitled: do you have this illness?.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5187824140681216/do-you-have-this-illness.

in my year of being on this forum, i have browsed many a disillusioned thread of ex-jehovah’s witnesses expressing similar symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder when detailing their awakening - my own story included.

Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

@AllTimeJeff: "Let me repeat that last part on shame, because it IS important if you are reading this: Shame is a HUGE tool, a control tool, of the Governing Body. Ashamed of your thoughts and opinions. Ashamed you had an original thought at all. Ashamed that you have a dream, a talent you know you can express and give. Ashamed of your sexuality. Ashamed that you disagree. Yeah, shame. Take a breath, and dig in on that. You'll need to deal with it."

Oooof. This. @GrreatTeacher, one just needs to glance over the second stage of Erikson's psychosocial theory to recognize where the development of an adult Jehovah's Witness is arrested. Since Watchtower has assumed the role of Witnesses' ultimate parental authority ("accept enlightening instructions from His motherly organization." - WT, 1 May 1957, p274), it has completely exacerbated the crisis between autonomy and shame/doubt on ADULTS.

Erikson recognized that even at age two, children should be encouraged to be independent. Yet what kind of parent is Watchtower?

"We are glad to forsake the independent thinking patterns of the world." - WT, 15 August 1988, p30.

I can recall a more recent instance in the "apostate-driven lies" speech Lett made on JW Broadcasting. There, he reminded Witnesses to "pursue oneness, even it means foregoing personal rights," which includes one's right to decide on even their personal apparel and hairstyle.

So rather than bestowing Witnesses with the virtue of will and autonomy, Watchtower instills precisely what @AllTimeJeff captured in a single paragraph: SHAME. Being overly criticized and dressing it up as "counsel" renders the Witnesses as inadequate, fuelling their low self esteem, doubt in their own abilities and an overdependence on their "motherly organization". And that's exactly where Watchtower needs us to be. Old infants.

I'm very interested to hear your take on Erikson's ego integrity versus despair crisis when applying it to Witnesses who suddenly come to grips with their mortality!

@j1692 Lol, it's Jennifer Garner from a scene in the 2005 film, Elektra. Here's another angle of the shot where Elektra absorbs sagacious words uttered by her martial arts master, Stick (Terence Stamp):

29

Anyone ever know gays in the hall that are lying to them selfs or others?

by blownaway in

i know of three situations i saw myself.

the first one was when i lived in arcadia.

all the people i use names on are dead and gone so no probs.

Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

@scruffmcbuff: "They say our love wont pay the rent....."

No romance without finance...