Posts by gitasatsangha

21

How did you rebuild your belief systems

by happysistah in

jw
friends

i have not formerly introduced myself to you all.

i'm happy sistah.

i was raised as a witness.

gitasatsangha

Hello Happysistah:

I will answer your questions like gumby did. Gumby, I am stealing your format. Sorry.

Do you still believe in God?:

Absolutely, but now more in the Nondual sense. God is infinie, so it is said by most religions. So the universe is part and parcel of god. That makes use divine too, incidentally. Some prefer to worship a god with form, and others tend to worship god in the abstract. However God is seen more clearly in some forms then others. Even at times as Avatars: complete manefestations of the divine in various forms.

Do you think we will get resurrected?

Not to the moribund paradise the Watchtower presents. Forever would seem to be a long time. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Zen master, once said to a a group of us, "Your Heaven, your Pure Land is right now. Learn to live in this moment." Sometimes we want to reach out and grasp the future we never notice the time we have now. At the same time I have a personal belief in the immortal soul. I believe the soul takes many births. Countless, even, before Realizing God. Do you believe in Christianity?

Not in its current form. There was a wisdom tradition of Christianity which is now mostly lost. I think Christianity could be reinvigorated again, and that would be good. Really any religion, if practised sincerely, can help bring a person to god. But it hasn't been my choice. Looking back, I cannot say that the JW's were really Christian. There was not enough emphasis on their central teacher, Jesus Christ. As for Jesus, yes I do regard him as an Avatar, as a manafestation of God. In my religious tradition he is considered a Bhakta, one who follows (and teaches) the emotional path to God Realization, through pure divine love.

As you might see I have been on a divergent track after leaving the JW's. I hope your own track is successful for you. Take your time and be cautious, and yet open. There is a lot to know and feel. There are feelings of intense bitterness and even hatred at the Society once leaving, and if you are cut off from former friends, that beings suffering at first. but you can get through that. The community of X-JW's is very helpful. I honestly don't know how folks like us managed before the Net. It's good to have friends in times of crisis. Best of luck to you :)

102

JW Urban Legends

by Azalo in

jw
friends

did any of you hear any of the urban legends that jw's used to scare people into being deathly afraid of demons?

for example i remeber hearing that a child brough a smurf doll to a meeting and upon hearing the name jehovah uttered it got up and walked out.

got any j-dub urban legends?

gitasatsangha

Another J-Dub Urban Legend:

During the worst of the Lebanese Civil War we were told (at a Circuit Assleepy as I recall) of the trials and tribulations of the poor Beiruit congregation. Yet in the worst of the shelling and machine gun fire, all the familes except one, braved to go to the KH on Thursday for the meeting.

The family that didn't all died in a shelling attack on their home. I think the moral had something to do with going to the meetings when it was snowing. The next time it snowed we stayed in and watched Cosby. It felt strangely spiritual.

17

What would happen if there was no more shunning?

by Maverick in

jw
friends

i wonder what would happen if the governing body decided to drop the shunning of those who do not want to go along with the program?

how many closet dissidents are out there in j-dud land?

would they lose a million publishers?

gitasatsangha

Removal of their disfellowshipment policy would open the floodgates of change. It would require a complete 180 change at the top, and doing so would give a lot of dissidents a newfound voice. But it will never happen.

The only way for the Witnesses to be reformed, as I see it, would be for the Witnesses to divorce themselves from the Society. The religion and the printing presses would have to cease being one and the same. It could happen if the doctrines were good enough for most to cling to, but with all the chagnes over the years, the loyal Witness has come to expect, no depend upon, constant change from the top.

If the printing presses rolled to a stop, there would be no JW religion, just some tiny splinter groups caught in their respective timewarps (like the Associated Bible Students, or True Faith Jehovah's Witnesses). Comments from the Society regarding the continual production of the Watchtower and God's Approval thereof prove that the Society members themselves know this and rely on this.

If the disfellowshipping/disassociating ended, the Tower would fall, and all the people in it would be dispersed.

29

Why Do Kingdom Halls Smell Funny?

by Englishman in

jw
friends

.

having visited dozens of kh's over the years, i can indeed confirm that they all have the same smell about them imho.. it's not very nice either, perhaps even a little sinister is the odour that emanates from most of them.. i wonder what it is that get's up my nose so?.

englishman.

gitasatsangha

Maybe its a combination of bad perfume, unwashed bodies, old decaying paper (some literature cabinets are almost a museum of unplaced literature), overuse of cleaning materials and cheap air fresheners. Plus they are packing between 50 to 200 people in rooms which typically have low ceilings and poor ventillation. The KH's are built to cost, not spec.

6

How pathetic....

by starfish422 in

when you think about it, how ridiculous and pathetic is the theocratic ministry school?

the dubs are so unimaginative and incapable of independent thought that they have to be spoonfed presentations.

the same goes for the "how to present the magazines..." section of the km.. i just cringe when i think about those silly little talks i used to give (sitting, of course!

gitasatsangha

For a little while the Sisters were able to get at least a little more interesting in their settings. some of these talks got funny.. two women at a gym (oh the possibilities.. sorry), at a grocery store checkout line (that's a queue for your limeys), in a subway. It gave a degree of atristic liscence which the brothers couldnt employ (except for this one really odd man who once cried while talking about Peter.. the audience applauded him, too).

Then they cracked down on the school and it was back to RV and Study scenarios. Pity. It was the only entertaining bit of the meeting (that and staring up Kristy's dress when I carried the mic).

31

Is Relgious belief a trick of the mind?

by sleepy in

jw
friends

.

what is it about our brians that drives people to religious beliefs that are so obviously nopt founded in fact or reason?is it an inherant founction of our tiny brians or is it in fact our brians going wrong in trying to make sense of the world?

maybe its the psychological equivelent of an optical illution were your brain in trying to make sense of what it sees constructs an impossible reality .like say when you draw a "3-d" box on a flat piece of paper and the brain tries to work out which face is on the front , but it can't, as none is, but the brain will put one in front whatever.maybe religion is what the brain makes to explain the world and uses it so the weiredness of reality makes more sense.

gitasatsangha

Well, I'm not enlightened. If I run into any englightened folks, it will be interesting. Seriously it is interesting to see the different views people have.

1

What are their true intentions?

by JH in

jw
friends

.

for those who were visited by the elders in the recent weeks, what impression did you get from their visit.. were they friendly, and honest about seeing you at the hall again without questioning, or did they ask all kinds of questions trying to accuse you of something, and wanted to hear you say something that would da'd yourself automatically?.

bottom line, were they there to help you come back, or to help you da yourself?.

gitasatsangha

I got one visit, just the once and that was years ago. I think I am DA'd now. I'm not sure, really. But at the time I was trying to do the Fade thing (before I knew it had a name). The elder was a good friend of mine, and some little toadie accompanied him. We talked for awhile. They really tried, in their way, to be encouraging, but I think their friend knew at the time that this stuff between him and I was BS. There was no way we were going to have an honest discussion with that other dude in the room. Finally I just said that I was moving and would be going to another hall once I got there. It was a half truth. I was moving. I think my friend knew it and was a litle glad he didn't have to get involved any further. And I was glad not to involve him. He's a good man. I think in another world and in another sect, he'd be a good minister too.

21

Can they announce that you are df'd or da'd without telling you?

by lv4fer in

jw
friends

i know this sounds like a stupid question.

we haven't attended a meeting in almost a year.

about 5 months ago they sent us a registered letter saying they wanted to meet with my husband and i and discuss charges of apostasy.

gitasatsangha

When I sent my letter to the Hq, I told them I wrote that I was leaving the organization of the witnesses and the watchtower society, but that I would not stop associating with JW's. That might have put them in a conundrum. I also said I wanted no further contact from the Watchtower society itself except confirmation they had received this letter. To date, there hasn't (to my knowledge) been a disassociating notice been read, nor have I ever had confirmation mailed back to me. I should have mailed it certified, I guess.

6

How pathetic....

by starfish422 in

when you think about it, how ridiculous and pathetic is the theocratic ministry school?

the dubs are so unimaginative and incapable of independent thought that they have to be spoonfed presentations.

the same goes for the "how to present the magazines..." section of the km.. i just cringe when i think about those silly little talks i used to give (sitting, of course!

gitasatsangha

I tried to make the Theocratic Ministyry School interesting. I was always hoping (back during the Young PEople Ask talks) that I could do the masturbation talk while working on gestures. But it never happened. I would try to bring up interesting facts about egypt, the climate of the fertile crescent, anything really to try and relieve the boredom but it only got me W's. The problem wasn't that I was a bad public speaker, but that the regular conductor was too rigid.

He had a system. In fact he is quite famous in that district for it. If you want to get a G you do these things:

Make two or three emphatic gestures. Hold the bible up, don't look down. Summarize your main idea by reiterate the points in numerical order. In other words:

1: We see that by killing all the philistines and taking their penises, Samson was not just a great warrior, but he had this wierd penile obesssion.

2: He was not guilty of pornea. God told him to do it.

3: Like the leper said to the harlot Ohalaibah, "Keep the tip"

and so on. well maybe not like that.

as I was starting to break away, I tried more interesting things like trying ot give a talk with a beard. I dont look good in a beard. I was shaving, I recall, as the elders drove up my driveway for a loving talk with me.

finally when another person was conducting the school, I showed up late just in time to give my number four talk. It was really a borking talk with alll the right points covered. Still, I dressed like Vincent from "Pulp Fiction" that day, cept for the hair. It was interesting to hear my title read out loud "Let's Get Medieval on False Religion". No one found it funny. That was my last talk.

9

What would change if the US became a muslim country?

by Pleasuredome in

gitasatsangha

Jack Daniels would be quioxitcally distilled in a dry county. Wait.. it already is.

Our leader would be in power despite loosing the popular vote. Wait.. nevermind.

Religious zealots would try and change the direction of our schools classes. Wait.. nevermind.

Hashish would be legal. (not a bad thing)

Science would die. Poetry would improve. Photography and portrait painters would be out of work.

Allah's Witnesses would annoy you, baning on the door at 0930 hours.