Posts by konceptual99

63

New Spiritually Weak Label: Not Using Tablet/iPhone

by Doubtfully Yours in

with last night's meeting it became official: here in the states is a must to keep up with 'jehovah's org' that one fully jumps on board with this tablet/iphone crap.. so, now, all of us that up to this point have refused to follow the wtbts in their electronic/wireless revolution will deal with the browbeating from the 'spiritual' ones.. already receiving lots of grief from hubby and rest of the family/close friends when seen at the meetings with paper publications.

damn it!!!

am i alone in this resistance???!!!.

konceptual99

I think it is because of this item on the CLAM...

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/jw-meeting-workbook/may-2016-mwb/meeting-schedule-may2-8/get-jw-library-app/

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Letter # 1 to the Governing Body of Jehovah's witnesses

by WITNESS-FOR-WATCHTOWER-REFORM in

here is my first letter i posted to the governing body.

i also hope that brothers on the writing committee who may be lurking on this site (and have some clout) read my letter and bring in change to this very flawed policy around confession of sins.. enjoy.

the governing body of jehovah’s witnesses.

konceptual99

Witnesses confess their sins for many reasons but they fall into two categories broadly speaking.

1 - proactive, non solicited. These are either motivated by FOG (fear, obligation, guilt) or trying to pre-empt being caught out having committed a sin so as to reduce the risk of being DF'ed

2 - reactive, solicited. These are normally part of a JC. The individual may be seeking to cooperate and not be DF'ed or they may not care.

In my experience elders love a juicy case involving a young sister and sex but hate it when someone has a case of the guilty wobbles years down the line as it's all too much hassle when little is likely to happen.

64

Were you beaten as a child?

by purrpurr in

i've been confronting my mother with her dubious parenting skills (abuse) of me as a child.

particularly the beatings i would get with the wooden spoon.

not a light smack but hitting me as hard as she could for as long as she could.

konceptual99

Before we would get hit he would explain to us why we were going to be punished. He never did it in anger.

He might have appeared calm but I defy any parent to be completely calm and then get a hand, slipper, bat, belt or whatever and physically hit their child. You have to make yourself angry to some degree or have some kind of mental problem - neither is right or defensible.

I saw a young brother at the meetings who smacked his baby in his arms on the hand for crying, I was shocked and thought he was disgusting. Many children were taken out by their parents and spanked for not being quiet.

It is still happening now.

64

Were you beaten as a child?

by purrpurr in

i've been confronting my mother with her dubious parenting skills (abuse) of me as a child.

particularly the beatings i would get with the wooden spoon.

not a light smack but hitting me as hard as she could for as long as she could.

konceptual99

Reading these horrifying and disgusting accounts makes me realise I got off lightly.

My dad would smack us with his hand and sometimes a slipper or sometimes a cane, Only once do I recall being bruised but I made sure he knew he had done that and have never forgiven him for it.

I suppose I should be thankful that he never hit out randomly and never punched or kicked or anything like that. He did not use physical punishment that much and I don't remember enduring being hit that many times.

This was in the 1970s and society in general was quite alright with hitting kids as a punishment so I don't blame him for being a product of the culture he was in however I do blame him for not having the common sense and simple humanity to see through it and change his choice of behaviour.

I regret to say that when I became a parent I did smack my first child on three or four occasions with my hand. I bitterly regretted it and it very quickly dawned on my that I had to find another way. For one, what was I, a grown man, doing hitting a small child? Secondly, what was I teaching my child - on the one hand teaching them to be non-violent whilst using violence on them? Thirdly, where would this go as they grew up - at some point I would have to stop using smacking as a control mechanism so what would I do then?

No amount of reasoning could mitigate for my actions. I had only done it a very few times. I had never done "six of the best", just once or twice. It had not been with anywhere near the ferocity of what I had experienced. I had not lashed out. This was all just meaningless when contrasted with the idiocy of smacking.

The worst thing was the whole "not doing it anger" bulls***. Great - you've not lashed out and punched your kid. Instead you've calmed down then quite happily got angry enough again (and no parent just hits when they are calm) to decide to hit your kid. What utter nonsense.

I still see Witness parents using physical punishment. I note the organisation has moderated it's "counsel" on the subject but has not made any statement to say that smacking is wrong and should not be done in any circumstance. At some point I hope they will make this clear as there are still plenty of parents who can't see to work it out for themselves.

3

Jehovah's Witnesses and language worlds.

by gonzobear in

i was born in as a witness, left at the age of 28, and have been out for many years now.

i'm a writer and am writing about witnesses but from the perspective of how they control followers through the use of language.

it's only after studying a lot of literary theory that i've realised a lot of their mechanisms of control are through using language in a particular way.

konceptual99

"Wise Christians" springs to mind...

234

New ANTI-GAY video for Kids on jw.org

by ttdtt in

https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/become-jehovahs-friend/videos/one-man-one-woman-marriage/.

disgusting!.

konceptual99

Not news to me DoC - the ultra conservative views of the Bible Belt are well known. I agree that this video is hardly the worst in terms outright hatred and vitriol. I also agree that this will likely be old news very quickly.

Having said that, the potential for a couple of days of media interest and publicity, even if limited to Western Europe, is not to be sniffed at, not least because once that publicity is out there on the web then it there to be found by anyone researching JW teachings and attitudes.

No longer is it possible for the organisation to keep it's more controversial opinions hidden or critical comment limited to those in the know. Everything that is being posted is a little more material that counters and exposes the WT message for what it really is.

234

New ANTI-GAY video for Kids on jw.org

by ttdtt in

https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/become-jehovahs-friend/videos/one-man-one-woman-marriage/.

disgusting!.

konceptual99

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/960/Buitenland/article/detail/2695343/2016/05/04/Ophef-om-video-Getuigen-van-Jehovah-over-homohuwelijk.dhtml

There is a statement from a local Witness representative (via my Google Translate):

Respect and integrity
Michel van Hilten, spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses, still had not heard the criticism of COC. "We are not saying that we think homosexuals to change their orientation. Homosexual feelings can not disable you. But we think they can change to let certain things. We accept people who are gay, but according to biblical precepts hear a man and a woman to be together. " He says not to recognize in the words of the COC that the film's heartless and harmful. "I think the film respectfully and honestly. For this reason we are not going to remove it from the site." Despite the sensitive subject he did not expect so many negative controversy surrounding the publication of the film.

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