Piph

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Posts by Piph

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  2

  Break free from Watchtower psychosis!

  by be wise in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here is something i found very helpful from

  http://www.watchtowerinformationservice.org/nordberg.htm

  i think a lot of you may have already seen this but it is a first for me.

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  Piph

  Hey, that looks great. I'm bookmarking that page so I can return to it as needed. Thanks!
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  14

  JWs never really learn how to research

  by Elsewhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  remember when you were in and you needed to "research" something?

  we turned to the "publications" and simply believed whatever they told us to believe.. as jws, we never were taught how to go out and really research something by looking into the history.

  we were always spoon-fed what they wanted us to think and believe.. *** w67 6/1 p. 338 move ahead with jehovahs organization ***.

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  Piph

  God, this is so painfully true. And it's compounded by the fact that Witnesses are discouraged from going to college. I never learned how to do research or study anything. I'm hoping to attend college someday, and fear I will be lost. Real Bible research eludes and confuses me. All I know how to do is rely on other people's research, and I know that's not accomplishing much.

  The brain is an atrophied muscle to mind-controlled JWs. It's hard when you don't start exercising it until you've become a full grown adult.
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  18

  It has demons! Burn it!

  by smurfette in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  did any jw's ever sieze anything you owned due to demonic possesion?

  did they ever burn anything to free it of demons?

  my mother was and is famous for this.

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  Piph

  ACK! What a horrible story!! *banging my head against a wall*

  Smurfette...your name reminds me of the whole Smurf scare in the 80's. I never had Smurf stuff 'cause there was only one Smurfette and the rest were all men and that irritated me...but anyway...I do remember some of the parents in the congregation freaking out about it and telling Smurf stories like ghost stories, throwing out all their kids' Smurf stuff. LOL

  As an adult, I had a friend who threw out a Police tape because the song "Wrapped Around Your Finger" had the name Mephistopheles in the lyrics. She told me it was a pseudonym for Satan, so she threw the whole tape out. (I looked up the name later and found out it was actually a character in the Divine Comedy, someone who worked in hell or something. So she wasn't even half right...poor thing.)

  I remember being really demon-fixated when I was little. One of my best friends was obsessed with them (I think she actually just liked to scare me) and we were always tearing up things and throwing them away if they looked scary with the lights out. LOL
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  263

  Growing up a gay Jehovah's Witness (My Life Story)

  by m0nk3y in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i feel the need to express how i feel and felt about my life as a gay man.

  i was brought up from birth as a jehovahs witness.

  this has played a major part in my life and it has been a real struggle to get past.

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  Piph

  Josh,

  I just read your life story...thank you so much for posting it and sticking with it through some of the negative feedback. That can be really hard to deal with, when it's your life they're talking about.

  I just wanted you to know I think you're a beautiful, brave person for going through what you did and being true to yourself in the end. Truly a credit to the whole human race. You deserve every ounce of happiness that comes your way and then some.
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  36

  Convention Concessions

  by Euphemism in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's a question for you all... why does the society insist that all concession stands be closed at their convention facilities?.

  i can understand that back when they provided their own food service, they would not want the competition.

  (and in all fairness, their service was undoubtedly cheaper for the friends, many of whom have limited funds.

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  Piph

  Okay, everyone, take a minute, close your eyes, and imagine a JW convention where BEER is sold. My, that would be fun!

  Mmm...beeer...

  Actually I knew a couple who, back in the fifties at the week-long conventions, would bring a huge thermos full of martinis with them every day!

  Now, why didn't we do that, Euph? It would have helped a lot!
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  11

  Love-Trademark of the christians?

  by vesse in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  all of you who have a little bit more than usual objective view of the religions.what have you noticed while observing the way how the parishioners of different churchers are showing love toward their fellowbelievers .is there any difference compared to jt's.i know that wts is boasting that the true and genuine love exists only among themselves.i don' t know exactly what a hell this means?one argument i have been told is that the door-to door preaching is one evidence of christian love ( far - fethed , i think ).

  what about at the congregational level?.

  any feedback?

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  Piph

  I'm really enjoying everyone's thoughts.

  Since I'm not really close to people who aren't JW's (yet), I'll just give examples of what I've seen in the JW congregation...

  On one hand, when my dad had a nervous breakdown a few years ago, I was amazed at the love and support we as a family received from the congregation. Public prayers were said on our behalf mentioning us by name, people brought meals over, people sent countless cards and flowers, and people spent time talking to my mother and I making sure we felt OK and finding out whether we needed someone to talk to. Some even sent us money. I truly felt Jehovah's love through them and knew they were reflecting his wonderful qualities at that time, and we received exactly what we needed.

  At another time, my mom was undergoing a minor operation in the hospital. I was out in the ministry with some other pioneers, and I wanted our cargroup to drop in the hospital and go see her. One of the sisters in the group raised a fuss, stating that she didn't want to go visit her (even though she was one of her best friends) because she needed to get her time in. I was deeply upset...started crying in front of everyone...it was really embarrassing, but she only conceeded on going in to visit if her husband checked to see if there were anyone about to have a serious operation at the information desk (checking at the information desk...not operating at the information desk...LOL) he might talk to and encourage with a Bible thought. Just so she could keep her time going. I was stunned by the callousness of that.

  So, I agree with others that anyone of any religion can display godlike love and compassion...just like anyone can act selfishly. In tragedy or emergency, oftentimes a person will shine with reflection of Jehovah's qualities...in other times, they may be too preoccupied with their own inner tragedies and emergencies to be of much help at all. Which just proves to me how important it is for people to take care of their own needs first.
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  17

  Is the Watchtower a form of addiction?

  by expatbrit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello.. this morning i glanced at the jw calendar for this month.

  it has one of those spreads about how becoming a jw improves your life.

  you know the type of thing: "when i learned from the jw's i was able to give up smoking/boozing/drugs/coffee/chocolate/naked bungee jumping etc etc".. i wonder if maybe the reason some people have these experiences is because, by becoming a jw, they simply replace one addiction with another?.

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  Piph

  It is rather obvious that this addiction stems from ones association with the organization, because no matter where you were in the hierarchy of this system, your life revolved around this religion and its activities. It affected what you ate (no blood sausage), what you read (nothing but watchtower materials), whom you spent time with (JW's only), and your choice of careers (pioneering is the way to go). This inevitably instills a sense of need to the average JW. There life has no seperation with their religious affiliation. This often continues for many after they leave the organization, and many have difficulty simply moving on with their life. I believe that even in some sense the addiction/co-dependency intensifies because one has hate for the organization, and becomes very passionate about their dislikes for the society. This seems to fuel their addiction. IMHO, It is a sad way to live.

  I just have to say, I thought those were excellent thoughts. I'd never thought of it from that angle, but that's spot on.
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  17

  Proud of my stance!!

  by unique1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my parents invited me and my hubby to attend the convention with them this sunday and go out to dinner afterward.

  i told my dad i didn't feel like going but thanks for the invite.

  later my mom called with the same question.

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  Piph

  Good for you, Unique1! That's totally awesome...I really admire you for that. (I haven't let my parents know how I feel about the org yet...)
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  17

  Is the Watchtower a form of addiction?

  by expatbrit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello.. this morning i glanced at the jw calendar for this month.

  it has one of those spreads about how becoming a jw improves your life.

  you know the type of thing: "when i learned from the jw's i was able to give up smoking/boozing/drugs/coffee/chocolate/naked bungee jumping etc etc".. i wonder if maybe the reason some people have these experiences is because, by becoming a jw, they simply replace one addiction with another?.

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  Piph

  I wonder if maybe the reason some people have these experiences is because, by becoming a JW, they simply replace one addiction with another?

  Totally makes sense to me. Although I've never had any substance addictions, I've been struggling with codependency issues for some time, and recognize I have an 'addictive personality'. I always wondered about those experiences where people were able to give up all that stuff for the 'truth'. If they could do it, why couldn't I give up my addictions, even though I was part of the organization? They made it sound like the Bible had some kind of magical effect on people or something. Your explanation makes much more sense.
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  50

  Delurk

  by Euphemism in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well, this isn't quite a delurk, since i've made several posts already.

  but i figured it was worth introducing myself anyway.. i'm 21 years old, and was raised a dub.

  had very loyal and active dub parents... there was just no question growing up that i was going to pioneer, reach out for privileges, etc.

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  Piph

  Welcome, Neo and Trinity

  Ha ha! Cool! Now I just have to get me an outfit like that...

  Ros, I am thrilled to the core at the prospect of meeting you! Your description of how we must feel is spot on...add to that the fact that I've been starting to recover some childhood abuse memories to boot...things are tough.

  I'd like to say how grateful I am for the support and love of Euphemism. He's an excellent listener...he tries as hard as he can to be there for me all the time. And he's the one who helped me uncover my eyes and see the truth. I don't know if I would have made it here without him. Actually I really doubt I would have. I'm just so grateful to him for sharing all his realizations, feelings, and research about the WTS with me. I certainly wouldn't want to do this alone.

  Thanks, Euph.

  Oh, and SYN, yes, we are getting married in the KH...unfortunately. By the time I got to the place I am now, the reception hall was already booked for the reception only and there was no other place we could have the wedding.