r/exjw Mar 06 '25

News You can help us pass a bill to add clergy to the list of mandatory reporters of child abuse in Washington State!

132 Upvotes

Briefly, a huge victory was won when the WA Senate passed SB 5375 last week. The Senate was the hold up 2 years ago.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/02/28/washington-senate-passes-bill-to-make-clergy-members-mandatory-reporters/

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/senate-passes-clergy-reporting-bill-passes-emotional-debate/281-7140a3f0-be68-45dd-81f6-7b21d915b95c

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-hold-clergy-to-duty-to-report-child-abuse/

Multiple lobbyist groups and legislators at town hall meetings have stated that the single most impactful way they know how the public stands on a bill is by having people state their position to a committee holding a hearing on the legislation.
By signing in as "Pro" on SB 5375, we can make sure the WA House joins the Senate in passing this bill to make clergy mandatory reporters of child abuse.
https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi/Testifier/Add?chamber=House&mId=32997&aId=165392&caId=26271&tId=3

You do not need to be from WA in order to participate.
Your name will appear on the committee agenda web page and be part of the official record.

I am hopeful the House will pass this bill as it matches a bill they passed in 2023 by a vote of 75/20. Use your voice to ask them to do the right thing.


r/exjw Jan 26 '25

Welp Here we go again. Let's talk about Social Media Links.

65 Upvotes

TLDR: We don't want this sub to be a political space + we already have rules in place around social media that revolve around doxxing, low effort posts, and brigading and have nothing to do with politics We've been considering Twitter and TikTok for unrelated reasons for some time but haven't decided. I'm posting some rationale to get a pulse on things. Also, stop doomscrolling and go do things IRL because tech companies are making money from keeping you scared , divided, and engaged. Edit: We allow anonymized screenshots from social media even if we disallow direct links.

--------------

Welp, it happened again. So here we are, folks, and the big old topic of what to do with Twitter has come up in this post. Which I have locked, because people just couldn't resist getting political. So I figured why not make this its own thread and start fresh so that we can redirect the dialogue a bit. Reposting my pinned comment below, with like, one word changed. (I added political activism, and changed two words in my TLDR)

First, we do not intend or ever want to allow this sub to become focused around politics, political activism, and arguing over politics, regardless of what's happening out there. We will occasionally allow space for political debate if it's something that's really weighing on people (like our recent election series), but overall I've found political debate in this online space, like all virtual spaces, quickly degenerates, which creates both emotional labor for both the community to absorb it... and for the mods to contain it. It also divides people in real life, which we don't need more of. That said, the entire team (including myself) feel that learning to discuss these broader issues is an important part of integrating into secular life, so try to allow it up to a small degree, purely for the purposes of helping EXJWs learn how to talk about difficult things by learning from others like them who have picked up those skills along their exit. We are hoping that the more reasonable and well adjusted of us can model some skills for civil debate to others, and maybe teach them some interesting facts along the way. Most of the time the community doesn't disappoint, but you know... it can still get a little weird in here. (It's okay, we're all learning) I'm going to be cleaning up this thread in the meantime, since it's getting a little hairy.

Anyway... the sub already has a 10 year old automod configuration which doesn't allow direct links from Facebook or Instagram. This dates to years before the current mod team. We've been discussing including Twitter and TikTok for a hot minute now but we do not get a large volume of posts and therefore haven't been too proactive about including these platforms in syntax, but we've been talking about it. Edit: Why not throw Snapchat in here, too.

WHAT?! WHY!? DARE US CENSOR THEE!? WHY WAS THIS eVeR PUT INTO PLaCe YOU FILTHY MOD ELDER FREE SPEECH HATERS WHO HATE FREEDOM AND EXPRESSion AND FREEDOM?! (There, I said it myself before you can hurl slurs at me),

I will tell you. It's way more mundane than you think, and has ZERO to do with politics, actually. Because of how people generally behave on Reddit, and the specific types of adverse experiences people have had on this sub, allowing direct links from social media encourages:

  • Doxxing/Privacy violations. Those of you who have posted other people's faces or social media links before have most likely gotten a cute note from one of us to blur out profiles and faces to protect their privacy. Reddit does not allow personally identifying information to be shared on this platform, and mods are directed to remove it when they see it. If our sub is found to be encouraging doxxing we will be shut down, period. We've also taken the additional step of not allowing photos of minors on this sub in any way, shape or form, so if you see that, report immediately. On a more philosophical note, much of the IG content we see here is from people's personal profiles, sometimes even private profiles. We get that many of us are angry at the WT and JWs and maybe even the whole world, but that doesn't mean that it's okay to go and bully a person or violate their privacy in that way.
  • Low effort posting and low effort engagement, which detracts from content which is well thought out, and heartfelt. It's a lot easier to copy/paste some IG link for people to gossip over discuss or click the upvote button for a meme... than it is to write a well thought out post on something of substance, or have an authentic conversation in the comments. And that's not a good thing. We want this to be a space where people can connect, get support, and heal, NOT farm karma/dopamine or share perpetual ragebait. We want to make it harder for people to impulsively share things like an irritating IG or FB post without thinking about how it impacts other people; and having to 5 mins take/edit a screenshot might just help with that.
  • Brigading. Re-posting a person's socials or their cringe content usually causes people to go find that person's profile on other platforms and interact with it, often negatively, which is not allowed on Reddit and will get our sub banned. Also, it's kind of a douchey thing to do to another human being, even if you don't like their religion

And that's my spiel. But on a parting note... let's not forget that the only ones who win when you go aggravate yourself on the internet are the almighty algorithm, big corporate advertisers, and Tech CEOs. They make money whether you are on the right or wrong side of history. So, do yourself a favor and don't indulge in the BS cycle of social media outrage; these companies know you're doing it and they're making money off of keeping you afraid, distracted and scrolling. More importantly, there's a profit incentive for keeping you divided from everyone else. Do with that what you will, but I recommend you metaphorically go touch some grass instead.

Leaving this here for the community to discuss; I am hoping to redirect the conversation away from the political implications of banning these links, and more toward how this type of ragebait/content affects the culture of our community. And I'd like to hear what you people have to say about that, in particular.


r/exjw 7h ago

Humor Memorial service drowned out by a Birthday party...

205 Upvotes

The level of irony was certainly not lost on anyone last night during the memorial service I attended.

As the title suggests, I attended the memorial last night which was held in an event space that was double booked by the JWs and another group that was celebrating someone's 40th birthday.

They had a DJ and audio equipment that completely washed out the audio of the memorial. The brothers even turned everything up to maximum volume, and it was just no match for the equipment being used by the party on the other side of the space which only seemed to be getting louder. The whole space was separated by thin walls. All we could hear was the thumping bass of the most wolrldliest, morally offensive, club banging music you could imagine, even during the closing prayer.

The brothers tried so hard to act like everything was normal, but there was just no hiding the overwhelming sense of cringe and awkwardness surrounding the room.

Apparently, the brothers were given the choice to rent the entire space out, but they declined for the sake of saving money. I'm sure they regret that decision now. 😝

All in all, I found the whole thing amusing and thought I'd share. 🤷😂

EDIT: If this sounds familiar to anyone who may have attended the same memorial, please feel free to hit me up. Curious to know if any fellow members of this sub were there.👌😂


r/exjw 16h ago

WT Can't Stop Me Nearly Fought my Dad as soon as the memorial was done.

287 Upvotes

I have immediate dinner plans that were 40 min away at 9:30 PM with friends right after the memorial.

I am not one to be late. Other then being mad at the brother that made a 10 minute closing prayer, making everyone uncomfortable, I had a plans to adhere to.

My dad had the audacity to block me in the row and say, "Son, I told you not to make plans right after. You need to mingle and say hi to people. Its the only night you can."

"Excuse me!? IM DISFELLOWSHIPPED, I'm not allowed to talk to them, what the heck are you talking about!? Where is this from?"

"Its really impor-"

I slightly shove him aside with the meanest look. "Don't make this a scene, cause you know, I would make it one on your special night. Step aside."

Before I could even do anything further, my brother steps in and diffuses the situation. I slip past and walk straight to my car with my head held high. My brother comes after me 2 min later and hops in to leave with me.

He explains that my dad was trying save face and not have seem that his family is broken.

Uh, of course it is, you force people to do shit they don't want to do and follow made up rules.

Shits wild.


r/exjw 3h ago

Venting I felt empty and crazy after Memorial

26 Upvotes

Attending the memorial for the first time as a PIMO is a fucking heavy experience. I'm living a lie to everyone around me. I was this smiling brother on parking duty, pretending I loved to be there.

All I could think as I see everyone go in. I see every inactive person in my small town I haven't seen in 6 years go in that door. This faith/high control group makes people feel memorial is the BARE minimum you need to do, even if you're literally falling out the door.

I feel like a hypocrite. I feel like Jekyll and Hyde. And I have BPD so I'm prone to paranoia symptoms and lately the delusion that I'm making Satan happy by my course is messing with my whole reality. Deep down I'm Atheistic and don't believe any of it; I'm just so mentally geared towards being a good JW and indoctrinated. I hate it.

I actually felt borderline psychotic after Memorial. I actually think its just my issues making me feel like I'm pleasing the devil by my attitudes. While I literally don't believe in God LOL. Make that make sense.


r/exjw 19h ago

WT Can't Stop Me I resigned on the Memorial Day

386 Upvotes

I served as an elder for a grand total of 1 year and 10 months. I woke up in January and I had planned to remain a PIMO elder for a while to avoid the inevitable drama. But my uber PIMI MS RP little brother made things really hard for me. This man went on to expose me to the elders, told about my situation to a CO he is friends with and tried to sabotage my relationship with my girlfriend by telling some people in the congregation that he was worried about her spiritual wellbeing because she was dating me (an elder at the time). What an arrogant piece of shit! For the last 3 to 4 months, I’ve been under constant pressure from the elders and the “friends” in the congregation, constantly reminding me that I’m an elder and I should always care about the effect my actions could have on other people’s conscience. I decided to do it in grandiose fashion, so, I wrote my resignation letter on Thursday and sent it to the COBE last night immediately after the memorial. This motherfucker told me he loved me twice and he wanted to have a conversation with me. I told him that my decision was irreversible. He and his buddies from the BOE can mutually go fuck themselves. My fading process has officially started! Fuck the Watchtower and their silly watchdogs 🖕🏿


r/exjw 2h ago

WT Can't Stop Me Even a child can understand... (Memorial)

20 Upvotes

I read John 6:53-58 to my 4 year old daughter with my wife within earshot.

"Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven."

Then I asked: "so if you eat and drink, what do you get?"

4 yr old: "eternal life."

Me: "And if you don't eat and drink?"

4 yr old: "You have no life."

Me: "that's right. That's what Jesus commanded."

Her: " I'm going to eat and drink."

Me: "No. Judge Rutherford commanded his followers to NOT eat and drink. If you're in Judge Rutherford's house, you follow his commandments.

When you are in God's house, you obey Jesus Christ."


r/exjw 18h ago

JW / Ex-JW Tales Hold on to your Hats, Trump Tariffs will signal the attack on all False Religion.

235 Upvotes

My PIMO cousin stopped this morning with doughnuts and Coffee, and by the end of the visit we were laughing hysterically.

After the Memorial, several people joined his family for coffee and dessert, which turned out to be hours of speculation that by the end of Trump’s Presidency, the New Order will more than likely be here.

My cousin said it was UN-Real how they would connect the dots to make it seem like it was possible that this would happen before the end of Trump’s presidency.

My Uncle started of with the Tariffs. Another elder tied the Tariffs with the United Nations. And another brother scolded the young single sisters eating their desert quietly, that they should refrain from marrying. but instead concentrate on pioneering and Jehovah will bless them with a PERFECT Husband probably within the next five years. One older single sister sitting next to my cousin spoke out in a very authoritarian elderett voice; “That’s why I’m single, because I’m gonna get me a PERFECT MAN, not some imperfect sinner”

Then one elder turned his attention to my cousin and asked him straight out; “And what are you doing for Jehovah? What are you going to do with a College Degree when the Great Tribulation hits the fan?”

The table became silent. Everyone was staring at my Cousin, to see what he would say.

And my cousin replied, “I’m studying engineering, so I can volunteer to help the brothers as soon as if finish my degree. And once the New Order is here, I am gonna help build Kingdom Halls for all the resurrected ones” Everyone was shaking their heads in approval.

You can’t make this shit up. Those people are delusional. I really believe the majority of Jws will never wake up, only a few lucky ones will see behind the curtain.


r/exjw 10h ago

Venting hopeless situation

54 Upvotes

I went to the Elders to talk to them about abuse from my husband, and the first things that they told me was that he should be in their with me. Then they said that they will have to have a meeting with him to talk to him about what I said and that I need to confront him and tell him first that I went to the elders but that I should be careful when I do it so that I don't get hurt. I was like, are you mad? that is just about the worst idea ever. I'm going to you for help and you're making things 100 times worse. When you're a woman as a jw you have no voice. The love is just so fake, no one really cares.


r/exjw 4h ago

Ask ExJW I'm stuck..

17 Upvotes

So, some of you may have seen my previous post on making a document for my parents with all of the reasons as to why I don't want to continue being in this religion/cult. But I am in a bit of a pickle.. JW. org doesn't have older watchtower articles that I can cite when referring to early doctrines. I know JW facts can be very reliable but in the eyes of my PIMI parents, I feel that they may come up with some sort of "apostate" excuse. If anyone has any other sources that can be viewed as more neutral or not directly called "JW this", "Watchtower that" etc., that'd be great. Seeing JW or Watchtower in the links may or may not turn them away.

Edit: I've found an archive site with literally almost everything, JW related or not!

in case anyone would find it useful:

Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Texts, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

A bit unrelated but here is a link to the Australian Royal Commission videos as well in case anyone needs it: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtxHsFl0TB2jOEvnWnFSeXaSywgLPGGfz&si=tY_MokIA8eCn0EBi


r/exjw 4h ago

JW / Ex-JW Tales No one's ever pissed me off more than a JW.

19 Upvotes

Throughout the years I've had people say messed up things to me but I think it hits different when it comes out of a JW because you'd expect them to be kind but no some of these fuckers are the most vile people ever.

When I was about 8 months pregnant I went to visit my PIMI grandma who lived with my PIMI aunt, her PIMI husband and kids.

My aunt tells me, "I don't know how to say this without being rude..."Hmm you know what I think I rather not because it's gonna come off as rude..."you know what I'm just gonna go ahead and say it"..."Your son is gonna be a bastard."..."I didn't want to say it but yeah... that's what you a call a child who's born out of wedlock"...

She then proceeds to tell me that I have to circumcize him as well and blah blah blah

The only thing that was going through my mind was me slapping her so hard but I didn't because my grandmother was there and me and my aunt always had arguments ever since I was a teen and on one occasion my uncle had to ban from going over because I tried to put hands on her.

When I was growing up she'd always point out how my breasts were small and that if she were my she would've gotten a breast augmentation. Interesting to say cause apparently a sister in our hall had been disfellowshipped for doing that...

I could go on about all the things she'd say and do to me but it's a lot.

Oh and another one was this sister who approached me after the meeting was over to tell me that my son (who was 1yr old at that time) was being too loud...and then says "oh but he's really cute!" All I could think to myself was yeah your face is gonna look real cute when I smack you 😡


r/exjw 10h ago

Venting Pant suits

46 Upvotes

I’m sorry but as I scroll social media today I can’t help but laugh at seeing all my former friends in their pant suits and the guys with their beards.

Explain to me how it’s not a cult when old white guys in Bethel dictate weather girls can wear pants or not! 😂🤣


r/exjw 3h ago

Ask ExJW Horror/demonic movie recommendations?

11 Upvotes

Now that I woke up, idc what I watch. I’ve seen every non demonic horror movie under the sun, and the “demonic” ones ive watched recently were Fnaf movie, Daddys Head, The monkey, and currently watching the taking of deborah logan.


r/exjw 8h ago

Ask ExJW PIMI wife has given me an ultimatum

35 Upvotes

Im having some marital issues and would like feedback or advice....

My wife is pimi and I'm pimo. My wife knows im pimo and she knows i frequent this sub.

For context, I was disfellowshipped 7 years ago ( ive been reinstated for 4) I was disfellowshipped for fornication with my now wife, i also confessed to sex with men ( im bisexual). During my time disfellowshipped i continued to hook up with my wife, she was never df, she was reproved. I have a porn habit I've indulged in since the age of 10 and im now in my thirty's My wife knows im bisexual and she knew of my porn habit before we got married. That is the context

Fast forward to a few weeks ago.... she gets a call from her mom. Her mom has a friend who's son is an elder. This elder son tells his mom everything that happens in the backroom. Apparently a ministerial servant had an issue with his wife, the wife walked in on him masturbating while watching porn. He also happened to have numbers of women in his phone he was talking to. Needless to say that couple broke up. My wife and i spoke about this incident and she was telling me that if she was in that womans place she would leave the marriage. I told her, well technically according to jw doctrine/policy that isn't a scriptural reason to dissolve a marriage. Mind you my wife claims to be a very hardcore jw, but when it comes to topics like this shes not versed at all to the technicalities. She ended up telling me she didn't agree with jw policy on this and she would do what ever she saw fit. I reiterated that the sister in her moms hall could do whatever she wanted but she would not be able to remarry since it wasn't a scriptural divorce. Yea it sucks but unless the dude confesses to actually having sex with the females he was talking to its a no go.

welll a few days ago she grabbed my phone and opened up my X app. I have two accounts, one for gay porn and a second for straight porn. I consume both equally. She happened to open up the profile with gay porn. She's known for years i consume porn on onlyfans as well. I knew something was off and finally yesterday she confronted me. She told me she was waiting for he memorial to be done before confronting me because its a special day for her. She told me either i stop watching porn or shes leaving me. She told she'd go to the elders and tell them about my porn habit.

In anger i told her if she did that i would tell the elders about the times we hooked up before marriage, and we then lied about it when we got married. ( if you've had a jw marriage your asked by the elder doing the ceremony if there has been inappropriate conduct before the marriage) She also told me she wanted me to stop talking to any df person. My sister is df, after having been df myself ive resolved to never shun anyone, its not loving. I either have to conform to her conditions or she's leaving me. Thats her ultimatum.

It sucks because i do love her. I can work on leaving the porn habit, i told her that, but im never going to shun anyone. that wasn't good enough for her. I told her when i was reinstated that i didn;t come back for god and i really don't care for religion. She agreed to marry me anyway... idk what changed.

we have sex once to twice a month. when time goes by and we don't do the deed she tells me she feels neglected. however when i do engage to have sex she says i make her feel like a sexual object. I really don't know where to go from here. Something tells me my marriage is on its way down.

if you made it this far thanks for reading... will probably delete the post later


r/exjw 9h ago

Ask ExJW Are JWs allowed to speak to disfellowshipped people now?

29 Upvotes

My PIMI father hit me up last week and asked to have a relationship with me and my disfellowshipped brother

I also heard a story from my disfellowshipped grandmother that her PIMI neighbor who hasn’t spoken to her in 15 years just came over and started chatting her up like she hasn’t been shunning her for 15 years lmao

Did something change recently?


r/exjw 22h ago

Venting Its basically a fashion show

322 Upvotes

I'm a PIMO, I went to the memorial yesterday. I'm a guy and I like simple things and dark colors. So I wore and black suit and a bark blue shirt (something that I wear pretty often).

My mom saw it and said "you're wearing that again, dont you wanna male an impression snd stand out"

I said "it's memorial... I dont think Jesus cares if dont buy new colors everytime it's memorial"

Said then said "but don't you wanna look for best"

I said " isn't be attending the most important part of this"

It's like for memorial, assembly and convention it's a fashion show. Everyone posting there outfits and shit. I'm just like ain't this supposed to me about ma boy Jesus. Like yo..... all yall care about is fashion...


r/exjw 1h ago

Humor It's always the mundane that sticks out more

Upvotes

Yeah, we can argue about doctrine and miracle because, well, a wizard did it and a human interpreted it. Faith and all that self-deceive stuff.

But the non magical stuff that's supposed to have happened without godly intervention? That sure is a brain teaser for the indoctrinated.

Talking donkey? God magic. Crossing of the red sea? God magic. No proofs of king David's existence as told in the bible? Bible magic counts as god magic.

Ah, but Goliath being a heathen measuring 2.9m / 9ft 9in and being a warrior? In that economy?

Robert Wadlow is the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. Height: 8ft 11.1in (2.72m).

Not even close. And if you've seen any people with growth-related pathological disorder you know it's highly doubtful to imagine them as warriors.

You can't convince someone that believes the bible is factual and historical saying that it's all bullshit, but hey you can always produce some dents with the most mundane stuff.


r/exjw 18h ago

PIMO Life How was your blood ritual under the full moon?

120 Upvotes

For all the bullshit they spew about spiritism, you’d think having an entire service specifically on the first full moon of every spring where their chosen ones symbolically eat the body and drink the blood of a deity would…raise some alarm bells?


r/exjw 7h ago

Venting I'm so tired

17 Upvotes

Cognitive dissonance is really messing with me. I love my PIMI parents, I know that they're good people, and I know that they love me. But sometimes I hear them say such upsetting things that it genuinely makes me want to explode.

This morning I got into an argument with them about shunning. They kept using the same boring argument that their beliefs are from the bible, which are therefore unquestionable, and that I'm not giving their side a fair chance because I haven't been going to meetings very frequently. How does that even make any sense? I don't need to go to meetings to consume WT literature. I can do it online. That's why this religion is a cult. At its core, it relies on your emotions to keep you in. My parents even said that if they only stopped going to meetings, they knew they'd be out within a year. I'd say that proves that the "good association" they get at the kingdom hall is more valuable than "the Truth".

But back to the argument we had this morning, I've been struggling a lot to form a coherent argument as to why shunning is wrong. Every time I think about it I get too emotional, and when I get emotional, it's very hard to organize my thoughts. But my parents were basically saying that df'd people bring the suffering they experience onto themselves, because they chose to commit a certain sin, or disassociate.

They also said that if they don't shun people who leave, those people won't "come to their senses" and come back, because they'll think that if a PIMI treats them normally, their way of life is accepted in the congregation, when it actually isn't. This also doesn't make any sense, especially in the case of someone who voluntarily leaves the org. They know their standards don't line up with the Bible's, so why would they think that if they aren't shunned, that it would still be okay for them to stay a JW?

Another thing that doesn't make sense is that, obviously, your relationship with Jehovah is the most important thing ever. If you try to get reinstated, they won't let you back in if you haven't proven that you want to come back for Jehovah, and not mainly your loved ones. But at the same time, one of the reasons they shun you is to, as I said before, is to help you to "come to your senses". But how are you supposed to be convinced that this is the truth by being shunned? By being separated from your support system, with possibly no outside connections?

I guess I've already just made my argument against what my parents were saying, but if there's anything else I should say, let me know. Sorry for saying so much.


r/exjw 1h ago

HELP Consequences for slander

Upvotes

16M Pimo) A girl in my cong made false claims about me saying I harassed her which Is completely false. This is in turn slander which everyone nows know. She confessed to lying which I have proof of and I want revenge before I leave jw. What should I do?


r/exjw 10h ago

PIMO Life Elder Motivation

31 Upvotes

A brother in our hall lost his privileges and that included helping manage service territory. Elder is asking me if I’m willing to be trained to help. I told him give me until next meeting to decide. I’m going to say no, im just building up the confidence to do so.


r/exjw 2h ago

News Norway Supreme Court..yay or nay?

6 Upvotes

Is there any news yet on whether the state of Norway is appealing the Appeals court decicion to the Supreme Court? It's been 4 weeks . Have I missed something?


r/exjw 15h ago

Humor Question from our readers: Tomato…tomatoe?

54 Upvotes

What the heck is going on? I’m hoping someone here can answer this question.

So, yesterday at the memorial, this ministerial servant comes up to me and straight up aksed me if I had any tomatoes today? I said yes, because I did have a tomato sandwich earlier. I was wondering how he knew, but what does this have to do with anything?

Then he aksed if I like tomatoes, which I thought was a stupid question. But I said, yes I like tomatoes that’s why I eat them.

Today I get a call from him telling me that the elders want to meet with me.

Does anyone here have a clue what this is all about? Should I not be eating tomatoes?


r/exjw 19h ago

Venting It’s done

102 Upvotes

Well the memorial came and went. We all survived (I hope). I was dragged in last night. It was funny really. I was sat right up in front. I was the very first person to be offered the emblems to which I proudly refused! It was nice to sit in front and made sure the speaker seen me. I made some facial expressions (not overly dramatic) that basically said “really, you really believe this?”.
I was amused to laughter when the speaker was explaining why everyone can’t partake. He likened it to a wedding, again. “We wouldn’t all expect to get married at a wedding, we’re just here to observe!” I laughed when I thought, “we’re not at a fucking wedding! We’re at a dinner that you invited us to! And I’m just supposed to watch you eat it? Even at weddings everyone eats cake!” I think they need to work on their material cause they sound stupid.


r/exjw 4h ago

JW / Ex-JW Tales Curious to know what the Carbon footprint of the Borg is

8 Upvotes

I can recall as a child Revelations 11:18 being brought up often enough as a topic at various meetings.

I did like the idea that Jehovah was going to handle the many types of pollution and restore the Earth to a pristine state. After all, as a kid, my school was constantly going on about the three R's as well (reuse reduce recycle). As I recall the Borg commented very negatively on those who were "ruining the Earth" and does have articles related to pollution. I guess that's why I never thought about their pollution.

Take memorial invites for example, they've lierally printed billions and billions of them. These invites aren't recycled, they're one time use and thrown away. The magazines and brochures are as well. Some people will keep old books, but then again they do actively encourage people to throw away "outdated" literature too.

They're probably not the worst offenders on the planet when it comes to pollution, but you'd think that norganization that claims to care about the Earth and also says God will kill those who don't, would have a recycling program.

I'm sure BP does way more damage than the Borg does in terms of environmental pollution, but at least they don't claim that they represent God and unlike the GB (as far as I'm aware) they have recycling programs and other programs that help to, slightly mitigate their impact (but of course they don't really care).

https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/sustainability/caring-for-our-planet.html


r/exjw 12h ago

JW / Ex-JW Tales Anyone had any luck waking up hardcore PIMI's?

28 Upvotes

I've been a PIMO for a month now, and my parents are hardcore jw's, the type that always finds excuses for whatever doubts they have about doctrine or what the GB says. My dad is always talking about how Armageddon will wipe out corrupt governments and how he cannot wait for that to happen. My mom finds issue with the smallest things: she said that when someone says "God bless you", we are not supposed to say "Amen", because anyone who is not a jw automatically serves Satan. Even as a PIMI that didn't sit right with me. Things like this make me think my parents will never wake up, leave me feeling hopeless. Can anyone share success stories waking up people like my parents? I just need some cheering up.


r/exjw 4h ago

Academic JW and the early Christians

7 Upvotes

What is the Watchtower's main reason for rejecting the teachings of the early church/early Christians? I feel like I remember a while ago something about there being a verse talking about how after Jesus dies there will be corruption in the world, and that this is why the early church should be rejected because they were corrupted, but I feel like this might've been something I just remembered wrong. But it's interesting how they cherry-pick quotes or stories of figures from the early church which can outright destroy their whole teachings. I've been reading about the early church fathers like St. Ignatius and St. Justin Martyr who I have seen quoted by Watchtower and yet they teach things that JW's completely reject (like the trinity and the divinity of Christ). Otherwise if they really never addressed it there is no reason to why early Christian teachings should be rejected and I could only imagine the lazy attempts to justify rejecting the early church. btw by early church i mean the history of the followers of Jesus within the first 500 or 600 years or so from that point.