Posts by Captain Obvious

62

At what age do people 'wake up'?

by Splash in

i was thinking about this question recently after being at the meeting when new pioneers were announced for the 2013 service year.. we have a dozen or so pioneers in the congregation, and most are in their 20's.

some absolutely love the things they are taught and can't wait to spread the good news.. others in the congregation are going through the motions, tired of hearing the same old same old but have no way to change things now.

then there are a couple like me.

Captain Obvious

I think I started to wake up a few years ago, when my mom was DFed. I was 22. It kind of shook me up, made me realize it wasnt such a "spiritual paradise" after all. I decided to start researching, very slowly at first. And only from the WTlib disk. At the time, just seeing the words "Jehovah's Witnesses" on an Internet browser was enough to get the guilt/fear machine running. If that isn't phobia indoctrination, I don't know what is.

If nothing else, I allowed myself to acknowledge the contradictions, problems with doctrines, and problems with people in the cong. Once that list reached a point where I HAD to know the TRUTH, I went searching on the Internet for answers. I still couldn't read a WT article without the hypnotic feeling.

I automatically denied most of the points I found from apostates, but once I learned the truth about 607 and the WT dishonesty in presenting "evidence", it all came crashing down. REALLY hard. That was in Jan. of this year, just before I turned 25.

Looking from inside the Borg, I don't see people waking up at all. The WT has stepped up the mind control, and it seems to be working. Sad, but true. I see it in my own wife. Fear and guilt just builds and builds. I hope it will lead to a breaking point for some, but sadly, for many it won't.

72

There's gotta be another faction in the Writing Department, either that or they can't see the irony.

by Theocratic Sedition in

jw
friends

the past two week's worth of wt studies have made a couple points that appear contradictory in nature.

yesterday was too much, i felt at least.

either there's another faction within the writing department fighting for the equivalent of airtime in the literature, or they're all so indoctrinated that they fail to see the irony in what they publish.. for instance, take paragraph 5 from last week's lesson.. 5. unlike the law codes of many countries, "the perfect law" is neither complex nor burdensome but consists of simple commandements and principles.

Captain Obvious

Elephant! You have a PM

While these two points aren't so much a contradiction to themselves, they do contradict the real truth of the org. If you were to write out a list of things that JWs CAN'T do, it would've a book in itself! Especially if it included "scriptural support" (biblical acrobatics).

207

Who Really is The Faithful and Discreet Slave?

by Recovery in

let's assume, as most of you probably believe, that the anointed christians are not the fds.

if the anointed are not the fds, who are?.

Captain Obvious

The FDS is ME!

Yes, that's right Recovery, I have been appointed by the master over all his domestics. Now all you have to do, is mail me a check for as much as you can scrape together, and you will survive Armageddon! I guarantee it! Actually... JEHOVAH guarantees it. He said so in the bible.

Seriously though, why are you so stuck on this? The entire idea of applying this PARABLE to a person/group came from a reader of the early Zion's Watchtower. He/she wrote in to Russell, suggesting that this PARABLE could be applied to Russell himself. While he sort of made light of it at the time, he certainly never denied it. After his death, Rutherford declared that it was an indisputable fact! That Pastor Russell was th 'faithful and wise steward' mentioned in Matt. 24. To doubt this was to doubt the Lord himself!

Today, as you of course know the FDS is referred to as the entire collective body of the 'anointed remnant' even though these are NEVER called on for their opinions or beliefs. The GB does not consult their fellow "brothers of Christ" at all. So how can this be?

The simple fct of the matter though, is that when the evidence is weighed, the evidence for this just being a goddamned PARABLE and not a prophesy, not referring to a person, group, church, system or anything FAR outweighs the support for the WT current view, or even a variation thereof.

Piaf after your personal consideration of the bible account in context, and the points that have been presented you by the great minds on this board, you need to take a closer look at your own confirmation bias. We've all had to do it, even when we didn't know what it was. Maybe it's your turn.

40

Partakers of emblems in 2010, 2011 and 2012?

by Christiana in

Captain Obvious

I have head JWs excuse it because they've been doing the memorial invitation work since about then, and they have to count even random people who come from the community and partake.

19

UK ex bethelite video

by snare&racket in

jw
friends

used to know this guy, a good lad.

check out his videos, this one is about bethel life in uk.

snare.

Captain Obvious

Thanks for posting, I really enjoyed the second video.

101

New girl in town here for support

by joyfulfader in

hi everyone here on jwn.

i admit to being a lurker for quite some time before joining and now i am ready to post and i want to introduce myself.

i am/was 3rd generation and daughter of the po (as it was termed at the time) for most of my life.

Captain Obvious

Welcome! Looking forward to hearing more about your story

7

Cedars - just thinking aloud about big picture shunning statistics

by Fernando in

nothing serious just thinking aloud.... a moment ago i wondered what the big picture looks like.... how many millions of jws, have shunned how many millions of friends and family members, for how many billion hours a year, for how many years?.

how many parents are shunning their own children at the moment?.

how many children are shunning their own parents at the moment?.

Captain Obvious

There could EASILY be as many ex-JWs as JWs. I saw the Pew survey results mentioned in another thread and checked it out... If that figure of 37% is true and it easily could be, the actual figures would likely be staggering.

25

"we were just talking...shes not free to remarry...we werent flirting or doing anything wrong"

by WuzLovesDubs in

thats what my soon to be exhusband just said to me.

i finally after 25 years of dealing with him and the jws and a litany of other shit, told him two weeks ago i want out.

he wrote me a letter this week and made a list of allllll the things he hates: about my beliefs, the fact that i left jehovah, broke my vows to god, my hobbies, celebrations, what i watch on tv, my parenting, keeping the kids out of the jws, not having any friends....and then said well i dont hate "you".

Captain Obvious

Oh and I forgot to add that him wanting to "continue the marriage" is just so he isn't the one to make the call. Seen it many times. Standard JW procedure. Pretend to be willing to "work on it", because "Jehovah hates a divorcing" while not lifting a finger to actually work on anything or repair problems. Basically sit and wait till the other can't take it anymore and leaves, thus making himself out to be the victim.

25

"we were just talking...shes not free to remarry...we werent flirting or doing anything wrong"

by WuzLovesDubs in

thats what my soon to be exhusband just said to me.

i finally after 25 years of dealing with him and the jws and a litany of other shit, told him two weeks ago i want out.

he wrote me a letter this week and made a list of allllll the things he hates: about my beliefs, the fact that i left jehovah, broke my vows to god, my hobbies, celebrations, what i watch on tv, my parenting, keeping the kids out of the jws, not having any friends....and then said well i dont hate "you".

Captain Obvious

Sorry to hear about this Wuz. Like jgnat said, why waste any more emotion on him? Don't forget he hasn't held up his end of the bargain. Regardless of you getting the F out of the cult.... He very well may have been having an affair (albeit emotional) for some time now. Has he been sizing her up for that long? I'm not sure how you're feeling about it but I think that would hurt just as bad as a physical affair.

For all we know he may be right, you may be hard to love. Who knows but him? But the fact that like you said, he has all but abandoned me in this marriage...no dinners, no talking, no respect, no feelings towards me at all.... Has he spent all this time trying to improve himself and your relationship? Doesn't sound like it. Maybe he doesn't understand, who knows. But him getting all pissy about you breaking your vows to God and all that... Obviously he hasn't made an effort to understand.

Sorry but I get a little wound up about dudes like that. A marriage takes WORK, even if you share the same beliefs and are both very attractive. It doesn't matter. The little boy can't even express himself to your face, has to write you a letter to share his feelings.

Not to mention he gets to walk away from all this looking like the poor afflicted faithful JW whose evil mentally diseased apostate wife ABANDONED Jehovah and him. He will even believe that himself as he soaks up all the sympathy from the "friends".

Douche

70

Knowing the Real Truth about the "truth" when you're stuck inside...

by OneDayillBeFree in

...sucks.

(warning: this could get lengthy but i have to vent and i could really use some advice).

i know ttatt and have known about it for almost 2 years, yet i'm still stuck inside.

Captain Obvious

Nice thing about the military is its an automatic DA as well. Then you won't need to write that awkward letter...