u/Berry_pencil_11

It’s getting worse, to the point where I see no option other than to move completely to the countryside because the city is getting more and more overcrowded and more and more people are wearing all these terrible fragrances, meanwhile my nose burns, I get dizzy and migraines wipe me out for days. I can’t take a journey without being delayed, having to get off trains and wait for others because of the strength of all the fragrances mixed together.
But unfortunately I can’t just leave tomorrow..
In the meantime- Does anyone know of any small masks that actually block perfume? I’ve tried a few and nothing has worked instead my big old half mask respirator but i can’t walk the streets (and underground) of London looking like I’m wearing a gas mask….

This isn’t gonna be a long vent. But assemblies are just so damn boring!!!! They so boring that the crowd laughed hysterically at a man walking on a video today.

People are grinning and laughing like they’re possessed by that demon from the movie Smile. Any random conversation involves cheekbone busting grins for no reason. Guess they’re proving that this is the best life ever and we’re the happiest people on earth. But happy and smiley are not the same thing..

Freaking two million part symposiums.

All men giving the same crusty old talks, saying nothing new. Avoid everything fun, do more ministry, dress like it’s 1950 but don’t party. Everything a snare. Worldly people are just so so mean, poor Biff or Chip or whoever who’s just trying to live his good little JW life.

Crowds of slow moving and grinning people standing in entrance ways and doorways and aisles but you can’t break the Christian mask and say ‘move it!’

Men making stupid misogynist comments at women. (Not ill willed, just backwards. Again, stuck in 1950s boomer mindset no matter how old they are)

So , so , SO long.

I’m beginning to think they were designed deliberately to be so gruelling so that the relief afterwards feels like happiness and you feel more connected to the people- the friends you have or could have- who share the experience. Which sounds a lot like trauma bonding to me.

I also think the ministry is also trauma bonding tbh.

Am tired. I guess that actually was quite a long vent.

Attendants on power trips.

I have a relative who is so sad it’s like they’re dying in front of me, no exaggeration, and it’s heart aching horrible to see. This relative is an uber pimi but not the most spiritual. They’ve been rocked by some bad behaviour by people on the congregation but nothing challenges their faith that this is still jehovah’s organisation, not even the ARC, which they know about, or translation errors, which they know about, or doctrines that are essentially meaningless, like birthdays, which they agree with…

I think they just need the ‘hope’, and will not let go, like a good pimi wouldn’t.

But this level of despair and misery is new and worsening. To make matters worse they think they are spiritually weak, they’re blaming themself, they want to live congregation away from all the toxic unloving mean people and they have only about three friends globally but yet somehow they still think JWs are the best and only people worth being around… I tried to advise developing a hobby, going to meet ups, finding new friends outside the religion, but they said they wouldn’t associate with anyone that doesn’t know Jehovah. (of course anything that comes from me is probably demonic advice…)

Yes they do have depression. Yes they have been seen by doctors, psychologists and medication was ineffective in the past.

Any idea or advice on how to open their mind, even a crack? It’s so hard to see them isolate themself, suspecting they need to do more with the congregation or more ministry etc, beating themself up time and again for not doing so, and then stubbornly claiming that this religion is the only thing giving their life purpose.

With me, they double down on it because they now think I have an evil agenda against the organisation and that I hate Jehovah. But maybe there’s some subtle way to introduce or suggest new things, like hobbies or friends, anything that is normal and fun… or should I actually prescribe more ministry as this is likely all they want to hear so they can self flagellate with that (they don’t do min either)

I think the space might be free or heavily reduced but of course you have to use their products, and attendees have to buy their products as part of the workshop ticket price. So I’m wondering if anyone’s done this- either in Moleskine or another shop- and how it went?

This was recommended to me by an exvangelical I met online and I’m intrigued but of course our beliefs have some … caveats. She excitedly told me Hell didn’t mean hell, the word was Gehenna, and then explained what that was, and that sin meant missing the mark, not what the church taught. Of course, I sat there thinking (but politely not saying) I already knew all that.

But yet I think I (and maybe a lot of us) still had the same fear. My fear wasn’t of Hell per se, but of being murdered by God at Armageddon and not getting to get to paradise and see my loved ones and hug that panda/tiger/lion or live forever. At the end of the day I think the fear of God murdering me (esp if you’ve heard Antony Morris riff on the subject) and eternal death is the same or almost the same as the fear of hell. And it still blocks you from any kind of Christian idea of love etc. The org uses this fear to control us in the same way the traditional church used to use Hell. Did you find this too? This was an eye opening moment for me, the thing that led me to pimq. Because my mother rejected any church that taught the evil doctrine of hell and that’s why she landed in JWs. Fixed that for her, but little did she know ie I’d have the same damn fear from being raised in this org. (Although I’m not diminishing that hell is obviously worse than eternal death. Just saying the fear works the same way.) Which is why I’m considering getting this book.

I also wondered what experiences the rest of you might have had discussing the similarities and differences between what we were taught and what we absorbed, compared to what churches teach- and has anyone chatted about this with other exvangelicalsnor exmormons etc?

Despite how she knows I no longer want to go, she knows I’ve lost trust that the org is the truth based on things like constant biblical interpretation inaccuracies, blatant hypocrisy, CSA, coverups and general HCR cultish behaviour that doesn’t match the voice of Christ imho. … despite all this, she thinks demons literally cause traffic or train disruptions in my city just so I don’t get to the meetings (which I am still going to for multiple irritating reasons.) When I said I didn’t believe that you could see she was chilled to the core- she asked if I don’t believe in demons now and I said it’s not a simple answer that I’m going to just give a simple yes or no to. She thinks I’m being naive and need to research about what demons can do, if I don’t think they affect us in these tangible ways.

So I did some ‘research’ using the Jw publications index guide lol and was able to literally unsee everything it says. The Bible is clear on its prohibition of divination in all forms yes, but interestingly that much cited passage in Deuteronomy is followed by a section in which god tells the Israelites he will give them prophets to tell the future instead so that’s why they don’t need mediums and the like. Nd then he says if a prophet says something using my name and it doesn’t happen, he isn’t from me, you don’t need to fear him. INTERESTING HUH. (Read Deut 18 from verse 9 to the end of the chapter)

The New Testament prohibits spiritism but the actual word is druggery- pharmakia- in Greek.
The gospels are full of poor epileptic or mute people being healed from demons- one article tried to say the ancient writers knew the difference between possession and epilepsy because there are accounts where people are brought to Jesus to heal them from epilepsy and these are different from people who need healing from demons. But when the look at it, in both cases (the epileptic man and the convulsing demon possessed child, both in Natthew) the same Greek word is used for epileptic which means moonstruck, showing that no, the distinction was not really there for the ancients.

Anyway guess what. In no biblical text given by the organisational literature (multiple Questions from readers, the Bible teach book, or the brochure on demons made for African audiences a while back) is any scriptural evidence given that says demons interfere in our life, affect change, attach to movies and objects literally or cause insane behaviour. Yet these assertions are made and given credibility by anecdotes of random 20th century people instead. This actually shows it’s more likely to be people’s previous superstitious beliefs, not biblical demons. And then you can refute it with the scripture Jeremiah 10:22 which tells us not to be alarmed by things of the nations, like random beliefs they teach.

I wonder if this will work with my mother, who thinks I don’t research at all and only read that evil apostate stuff by people who have a vested interest in pulling away witnesses from Jehovah for no apparent reason other than demonic mischief…

I’m at the very start, always wanted to work for VA, I got excited when found a job ad online but upon checking their official website, there are still no cabin crew jobs listed (in the uk). I say still because I also checked a few times multiple months ago. Does anyone know if there’s a time these jobs are released? Maybe I missed it.. Or are they just notoriously hard to get into because no one leaves or something?

There was a horrible incident in the UK recently where a man was k*lled by a Sikh man using his ceremonial dagger, which he is allowed to carry as unlike other blades which are obviously banned by the govt for this very reason, he was religiously exempt. This is obviously stirring up a lot of feelings, and rightly so. But without getting into this particular horrific attack (which is obviously not representative of all Sikhs, and made worse by subsequent police mishandling of the poor victim) it made me wonder if any court would ever ban religion on this and similar bases.

A few pimi friends have been saying words to such effect- that this will bring the end of religion as of course they’re eagerly anticipating. I have also been wondering- what is the Line for the ECHR? How much damage does a religion have to do in order for them to enact a ban? (On all religions, not just all religions except JW, like the pimis think) Because like we’ve seen in Norway, the legal system seems to not understand deep psychological harm. And many far worse cases involving egregious crime against individuals and against humanity happen, yet the court still protects religion under human rights… and I’m not saying they SHOULDN’T, obviously human rights are very important and must be protected…. But yeah. Wondering, today. Where is the line, do you think anything will actually sway the tide of law and/or public opinion to the point where law outs human life and mental freedom OVER religious ‘rights’? Thoughts?

Wondering if any other pimos in Britain have already had this/been forced to sit through it today? Is this the three hour long fiasco that is 2/3 construction propaganda usually? Then a GB talk?
Would appreciate if anyone’s watched today, or been there at bethel or wherever they are, (or if you’ve had it earlier in some other part of the world) who wants to share main topics/points so I’m not caught out by anything if I manage to bunk off viewing it…

From typing JW press room into TikTok’s search bar I can attest that I was fed ANYTHING BUT the official account. 😂

Wasn’t my algorithm either as I’ve never been on TikTok for apostate stuff or exjw takes. I haven’t even logged on for months and had to get a new password which I did only because I was so curious about this new development. Probably similar to pimis who don’t already have TikTok or who use it sparingly or for other things.

And yes, predictably, the most basic form of TikTok’s algorithm fed me ALLLLLL exjw content. This is potentially the best thing they ever did to speed up their demise lol.

Only trouble is, I remember why I never logged on now because this stupid app is RIVETING- at time of writing I’ve lost two hours in a flash- oops!

The cynic in me knew this would be the outcome because they win everything similar based on ECHR and how they clearly don’t want to touch religious freedom.

But the optimist in me was so hopeful that this time would be different, and maybe it would lead to a softening of this doctrine framed of course as ‘new light’. My reasons were selfish I guess, the second that new light came out that said members can leave if they want to and not be shunned, based on a new reading of 5 Obscure-inthians chapter 374:2849, I was gonna be out of here like a bullet from a gun. Because the pressure of that is all that’s keeping me in.

And now not only have they won but they’ve won because the court apparently came to the conclusion that we are all free to leave and face no pressure or coercion to stay… or worse, we know what the stakes are when we ‘join’ (not really relevant if you grew up in it-!) … it’s disturbing. The win was based on lies. They must have straight up lied all through court. And now it feels like they’ll continue to win using this as a precedent.

If there are any lawyers here who can give a glimmer of light to hold on to I’d be grateful. Can the ruling be appealed in Norway? Can the fundamental law be changed at a higher level so there’s a better understanding of what coercion and pressure actually is? Because they must be thinking it’s literal: elders holding our hands over gas stoves threatening us with unaliving us if we leave.. but any psychologist could explain how this pressure keg of a religion is deeply coercive and troublingly controlling. I don’t get why that wasn’t apparent in court.

Just venting. The sun will rise and all is not lost, I know. But I’m just surprised it’s hit me so hard.