Big Tower Is Watching

[cococowboah]

For anyone who may be curious:

Some years ago I wrote a Jade and Neeta* fanfiction that turned into a novella. I changed the names, Jade to Amber, and Neeta to Nichole, just to cover my ass in case Watchtower came knocking with a cease and desist, and published it.

Nothing really happened to it for a while. I had it up for free on a few eBook sites and forgot about it.

Earlier this year I learned Amazon had been selling and promoting it, without giving me a dime in royalties since I had it as a free eBook. Every single sale of that book went right to Amazon.

I believe it's now off Amazon for good, as I've requested it removed from all eBook platforms to prevent this from happening again. The book is now available, in full and for free, on my patreon. Anyone can read it regardless of their status as a JW, I know many younger ones without independent bank accounts were concerned with PIMI** parents questioning the purchase of Jehovah's Forbidden Love Story, so I hope anyone who had concerns about that when finding the book on Amazon can now read it here.

Love ya guys ❤️ and happy holidays

Forever and for Always | Collection from Sullivan Cohen | 11 posts | Patreon

Get more from Sullivan Cohen on Patreon

*characters from a Jehovah's Witness series on recruiting cult members

**PIMI, meaning Physically In, Mentally In (currently practicing and believes in the religion.) Variations are PIMO, Physically In, Mentally Out (practicing the religion for the sake of maintaining familial relationships or other reasons, but doesn't believe in the religion anymore.) POMI Physically Out, Mentally In ( not practicing either by choice or by force through disfellowshipping, but still believes in the religion.) And POMO, Physically Out, Mentally Out (no longer practicing, has successfully left the cult behind.)

[jessaerys]

omg just realized the reason why i immediately imprinted in gilgamesh is because it suddenly reminded me that it's cool to read about ancient civilizations and their weirdo literary styles and that ancient mesopotamia is sick as hell and this time around i'm allowed to like it. gilgamesh is like if the bible didn't have god in it. my jw ass saw the fragmented verses and cone shaped beards and it was like coming home to my beautiful wife

[sullyullypokes]

"Homosexuality is righteous; Let God be found a liar"

This is my first piece in a series of blackout poems using magazine texts distributed by the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses, all of which are publicly available online for viewing.

The project (not yet titled) aims to show unabashed declarations of queer love, resilience, and spiritual reclamation, while also acknowledging the pain and grief so often caused by high-control religious groups; shunning is one such example.

Being an ex-jw myself, my hope is that other sexual and gender minority peoples who have been negatively impacted--either directly or indirectly--by religious teachings and practices, will find these pieces a source of healing.

Source text from May 15, 1970 issue of 'The Watchtower' - 'The Spread of Homosexuality', which can be read here: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1970365

[what-the-fuck-god]

also i gotta talk about the effects of the org and how it keeps people in abusive relationship dynamics one of these days. like i genuinely want to do a proper research essay but idk where to start and gather research for that

[astramyr]

thinking about how when my mom was becoming a witness, she was in an abusive relationship. her ex threatened to hurt her and my brother a lot but the sister she was studying with told her to "just be patient." my mom ended up leaving after he threatened to kill her and my brother. it's insane that she was told to be patient with her abuser. if she followed that advice she would've died

[bondtornbypride]

The JW blood transfusion ban is ultimately what killed my mother. A blood transfusion would have saved her, or at least given her a chance to recover. But no. Blood bad.

And now the governing body have gotten "New Light", and now JWs CAN have blood transfusions. But ONLY if it is with their own pre-stored blood. This costs money. It costs money to store blood. JWs have historically been told by the governing body that higher education is a bad idea, so the general JW public wouldn't even be able to afford it.

My mother would still have died. Because she was poor. Because her illness was sudden. Because blood does not keep for very long before it becomes unusable for transfusions. She still would have died.

What about the JWs that get into a serious car accident and didn't have any blood saved? What about the kids that can't give blood?

I'm upset.

[anemptycoffeecup]

So i randomly remembered the revelation climax so i decided to look it up just for funsies and i decided to post some of the pictures/illustrations i found

look dont judge me but as a kid i LOVED this illustration though now, looking back..... wtf is this amalgamation😭

This fucking awesome illustration of the last of the four horsemen: death. I feel bad for the artists man, like they need to get fuckin paid for this shit. Tho now apparently jw is implementing ai "art" so who knows? maybe they wont have human artists anymore

Sexy Cat Lady 🔥

I don't why this picture made laugh so hard when i saw it😭😭WHY IS THE ANGELS HAND SO HYPEREALISTIC, IS IT JUST ME

These fucking cool ass lion horse snake things >:3 i want one as a pet icl

Last but not least i found the book on amazon for like 40 bucks so go buy it guys!!!!! (please don't, I'm joking; if ur rlly that interested tho just download the pdf from jw wayback)

[deconstructingthewatchtower]

Some statistics from pew research that aren't accessible anymore since they unlinked Jehovah's Witnesses as a searchable category :

Jehovah's Witnesses have an unusually high rate of female members, highest rate of incomes below 25k. Most drop out after high school.

The highest rate of morality decided by religion :

[blackstruggles]

Please respond via comment with your username if you want to be added to the exjw community group!

[fag4spyders]

Hello! I've been studying with the Jehovahs Witnesses in my town for almost half a year now, I go to the kingdom Hall, and they're all very pleasant people. I feel that the fact that I've chosen this rather than being raised in it makes it seem a whole lot better for me in my opinion. Can any ex witnesses tell me stories about why you left the church, or things like that? I just wanna know what I'm really getting into. They're very supportive of all gender identities and sexual orientations which definitely surprised me, but maybe the congregation here is just nicer than most

[deconstructingthewatchtower]

This experience is very common, it is called love bombing. They always put in extra effort to appear wonderful to newcomers, downplaying what they know their more controversial rules are and putting up smiles and warmth.

You'll get burned. Just looking at your icon and title : they consider all that a sin. They'll expect you to delete every queer positive thing on your blog, change the name, not swear anymore.

You'll find out eventually that "supportive of gender idenities and sexual orientations" means that they are one of those faiths that believes people are born this way, rather than choose it, so it is a trial to overcome. All homosexual activity is considered a sin, and transgender people are expected to live by their assigned gender.

Women are expected to be subservient to men, and stay with abusive husbands to win them over through example of faithful submission. Rape and child abuse depends on the two witness rule, meaning it is assumed not real even if a child tells it, someone else needs to have seen it. Divorce for any other reason than cheating is forbidden.

As someone born into this, I did not get any love bombing. I was a girl, so I was property.

I did not experience this as anything but a high control doomsday cult, which regulates how and what you think, who you interact with, and readily depends on guilt and gossip to sniff out sinners, who are brought before an in church judicial committee — yes, even if they committed an actual crime, they prefer not to call the police.

Beyond their quietly oppressive rules, the way it teaches thought crime is a sin, all the little rules they never write down, it wormed into my mind in destructive ways I still cope with to this day.

Rules like how one isn't allowed to have non-JW friends and keep unbelieving family at a distance means that I have scarce relations outside even to this day. Everyone outside this congregation is ruled by Satan. Can't watch media with magic in it, that's Satanism. They discourage higher education, voting is a sin, they like their members to stay as poor as possible, all this left me poorly prepared for the wider world, both in navigation and in engages with ordinary culture.

Considering Christmas and Easter Satanic holidays might sound like a funny quirck, but such things are an extension of just how aggressively they believe in contamination by the sinful world. Everything. Eventually you will have to second guess your every action on whether it brings glory to god or sin to yourself.

Lately they've loosened a few aesthetic rules, and since losing a court case that denied them funding because of how abusive their shunning law was, they've put extra effort into appearing normal and nice. They already were better at this than the Mormons are, and I imagine they'll finetune a few more things.

They're all victims of a cult, and they'll smile and love other vulnrable people into being a victim too.

I cannot recommend anything but avoiding them, and ask to be placed on the No Contact list going forward.

[jessaerys]

when i was in high school i thought robert greene's the art of seduction was this super forbidden sexy knowledge that would make anyone irresistible with the power of psychological tricks and gray mortality but like in an intellectual way and this is how i was gonna win my boy crush because like three other girls in my friend group clearly also had a crush on him but honestly?? he totally liked Me for my mischievous ways i was definitely winning. afaik no one ever fucked him and he fell off the face of the internet after high school but last i heard he was identifying as asexual. but i digress. anyway i got it out of the school library but lost it (don't recall how) and because it was private school they charged an exorbitant fee for lost books so it was cheaper to replace them and also, obviously, my parents would have questions. so anyway i saved up and when my parents took us to this fancy restaurant/department store combo (Sanborns) after a JW kingdom hall meeting i went to "the bathroom" but actually went downstairs to purchase the damn book from the book store section and it literally felt like a fucking heist i was crying shaking throwing up etc etc etc. so when i open my purse to pay and hide the damn encyclopaedia sized thang inside, the cashier guy, who can totally see this 16 year old is sweating absolute bullets, he sees my JW bible & religious literature and says something along the lines of "ha ha dont worry my x is a jehovah's witness so i get it :-)" and instead of feeling comforted i wanted to die because at the time i was still deeply entrenched in us vs them cult mentality and obviously The Stupid Worldy People would not understand the profound, shakespearean moral conflict i, a Knower of the One True God was facing as i was knowingly lured into a life of sin by the evil forces of Satan, maybe, i mean idk, it's very nuanced and actually has cosmically life or death high stakes for me personally, He Couldn't Possibly Understand. so anyway, it was truly a mortifying negative experience that the charade of Perfect Certainty and Enviable Happiness i was groomed to uphold my entire life fell for a hot second and i experienced the mortifying ordeal when i wasn't ready which was like blasting a mole rat into the sun but in retrospect that was a really nice thing for him to say. siri play dollhouse by melanie martinez i fucking guess. long story short i returned the new book and my parents didn't catch me that time which is certainly Interesting because they sure led me to believe God had panopticon powers to "make secrets come into the light" but frankly i think i just thot every now and then i succeeded at outsmarting God

why did i make this post. oh yeah anyway i just realized i can read (listen to) the art of seduction by robert greene and it's probably going to be an incredibly pretentious load of bullshit but by god (ha ha) this one goes out to baby alex

[great-blue-heron-apostate]

A story about a Jehovah’s Witness who gets turned into a vampire but keeps trying to deny that she’s a vampire because the intake of blood is A Sin. The whole thing is obviously a thinly veiled metaphor, she gets disfellowshipped and kicked out of the house because that’s what JW parents do, BUT THEN she ends up in this sick af school for cryptids and chucks her childhood traditions out the window. Her roommates are a faerie and a ghost who teach her to accept and love herself

[fakejw]

I was a householder during the co visit, and I was kind of overwhelmed afterwards because there were a lot of people and I’m too autistic for that shit, and I accidentally infodumped about why froid is a terrible psychologist to one of the elders.

He just stood there awkwardly for a few seconds and then made a comment about how there’s always something bad in Satan’s system. It was super awkward but also kind of hilarious.

Mod Void

[jw-horror-stories]

If they ever found out my Autistic Special Interest, on the other hand…

Hoo boy.

-Mod Degurechaff

[fakejw]

On the subject of special interests, I feel like it’s very hard to be a (“good”) jw and to have special interests… unless your spin is the Bible (and even then, doing too much research could land you in hot water)

Especially when it involves TV shows or other media. Because you aren’t supposed to be super involved in the world or care that much about recreational things. Even in regards to conversations with friends at the hall, I’ve been told to not talk about “worldly entertainment” and to instead have “spiritual discussions”. But when that’s your special interest/hyper fixation (or even just as a kid who’s excited about something) that’s!! really!!!hard!!!!!

Mod Nebula

[little-lamb-lyosha]

Hey Is anyone in the ex jw tag has watched "Gris" already? I want to watch it but honestly I'm not in the mood for something so explicit right now but the creator and one of the actress endured 15 years in the organization so it probably won't be as sensationalist as other cult related media(?) Honestly I haven't watch any review yet I want to ask here first

[little-lamb-lyosha]

OH I LOOK IT UP BECAUSE I WASN'T SURE BUT YES IS A MEXICAN SERIE!!!!

(so I guess the answer is no, no one has watch it here)

But is free in YouTube, I'll look out for a synopsis in English later if anyone is interested

GRIS (Miniserie) - Cap I Precursorcitas

Gris es una ficción capitular de tres episodios, centrada en retratar la represión religiosa enmarcada en el contexto de la pubertad de su p

[tower-fall-deactivated20230202]

Some of the worst prints of the Watchtower.

As you're reading, think about this: is this a God or a human being speaking?

The Watchtower July 15, 1902. pp 215-216

The Golden Age January 7 pp 241

The Watchtower August 15, 1901. pp265-266

"It too often happens that, while the negro rapidly masters the rules and regulations of the Christian religion, he still continues to be gross, immoral, and deceitful. … They (missionaries) may have succeeded in turning their disciples into professing Catholics, Anglicans, or Baptists; but the impartial observer is surprised to find that adultery, drunkenness, and lying are more apparent among the converts than among their heathen brethren.'

And again:

'I regret to say that, with a few - very rare - exceptions, those native African pastors, teachers, and catechists whom I have met have been all, more or less, bad men. They attempted to veil an unbridled immorality with an unblushing hypocrisy and a profane display of mouth-religion which, to an honest mind, seemed even more disgusting than the immorality itself. While it was apparent that not one particle of true religion had made its way into their gross minds, it was also evident that the spirit of sturdy manliness which was present in their savage forefathers found no place in their false, cowardly natures."

This is just disgusting.

You can find more about this racists quotes of the Watchtower on

JWfacts makes it simple to determine if Jehovah's Witnesses have 'the truth' through examination of Watchtower history, doctrine and honesty

If this is the God's channel, why would they talk like this about a human being?

[apples-and-banaenaes]

A Moment In the Life of A JW Teen

When I was 17, my parents found out that I had a boyfriend from school. To say the least: shit hit the fan. After 3 hours of what felt like an intense police investigation at the dinner table, my parents made me call my boyfriend and break up with him while they sat in the room watching and listening. Then I was told to go to my room and collect anything I could use to communicate with someone. While I was in my room, I heard footsteps on the stairs and my heart started pounding. Not again. I don’t want another argument. I want it to be over. My father came upstairs and calmly told me he that was going to give me 2 choices. “Are you going to do what’s right like Jehovah wants, or keep on doing what you want to do?” I told him I wanted to keep doing what I was doing (having school friends and a boyfriend, go to college, play sports, normal teenager things). I still remember the look on his face and the fear I felt when he yelled at me. “Nope! Wrong choice! You’re stupid, Lanae. So stupid! You think you’re going to keep doing what you want?” The next few days were awful. I actually believed that I was wrong. I believed I was stupid. I prayed all day, begging for forgiveness, asking Jehovah to help me change. I thought I was undeserving of every friend I’d ever had. I promised to devote my life to Jehovah. I told my parents I was so sorry to disappoint them and Jehovah and everyone in the congregation. I really thought I was just a lost sheep who needed her shepherd to come find her. It didn’t help that every time I cried, my father would tell me that it was okay because in ten years I would look back and realize how stupid I was being and that I made the right choice. A few weeks later, after my emotions settled and the anxiety attacks became less frequent, I realized there was nothing wrong with me. I realized that I wasn’t the one who needed to change, I had done nothing wrong. I realized if anyone was at fault, it was my parents, for letting their daughter believe that she was a worthless piece of shit just for not sharing their religious beliefs. I then made it my goal to get out of that house, that congregation, that organization. I faked my faith for the next year, counting down the days I had left. I commented at the meetings, I gave talks, I went out in service, I studied for the meetings. During the summer I spent time with my “worldly” boyfriend and friends after work. Nobody in the congregation, not even my parents, expected a damn thing. Then, the day after I turned 18, I left. It’s been a little over a year and a half now, and I don’t regret a thing. I made my choice and I stick by it. Why on earth would I return to an organization that made me hate myself? Why would I put myself down to praise a god that hasn’t done a thing for me?

[jw-horror-stories]

Guv'Body, in Fear Monger Mode: Be very afraid, brothers and sisters. The apostates are a sneaky bunch, and will trick you into agreeing with their Satanic worldview using coded language, appearing agreeable and civil, and overall trickery into joining the ranks of Apostasy.

Me, with a bright flashing neon sign saying "APOSTATE": -drinks Monster Energy Drink loudly and obnoxiously through straw- Sup nerds. Wanna hear me ramble loudly why I'm fuckin done with Jehovah's Witness bullshit? Grab a chair, I got you some Jehovah's Witness Horror Stories to tell ya. -fixes obnoxiously large sunglasses, then lets out a loud burp-

-Mod Degurechaff, haha haha he said it! He said it!