jamiebowers- I second that! I am the most crappest speller and have worst grammer ever. But I went to a two year college and I also am really good in Design Tech. English has never been my specialty. So not supporting the elder on his remarks on ppl with writing prob but I agree I do like to read things that flow easily for me. Just keep in mind it was a message I got from another webpage and I left the link. You all should check it out. It has utubes on Witnesses too.
An Elder wrote anomously...
by Butterflyleia85 81 Replies latest jw friends
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moshe
-Until Jehovah changes the hearts and understanding of the Governing Body through his Holy Spirit and love for his Witnesses on Earth,
Some of us know better. Jews might pray for something, but they always back it up with human action. Ex-JW's who want to change the WT would be better served by doing something about it instead of only praying about it. Have you ever written a letter to the editor of your local paper? You can give a first person account, if applicable, of family shunning, blood transfusions, pedophiles, false teachings, etc. Eventutally many more stories will be in the paper and that bad PR might lead to positive changes for the WT org- of course, you will have to sign your name to the letter. I remember writing a letter to the newspaper explaining why I was 40 and had just voted for the first time- yes they printed it. And several more over the years. Go ahead, get that pen and paper out.
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Butterflyleia85
Duh... of course it be linked to the JWN board. lol
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Juan Viejo2
I am the editor and webmaster of www.ex-jw.com . I posted the aforementioned article that was copied here for all of you to hopefully enjoy. There have been comments, pro and con, suspicious and supporting, about "Shadow Elder" and this article, since its publication back on August 2, 2009. I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions and give everyone some additional background.
I first heard from "Shadow Elder" last June. He sent a private e mail to the contact email for the website to let me know that he was out there and wanted to submit something for publication. He'd read my article, "The Truth About JW Bible Studies," and commented on my take on the Witnesses. He complimented me on my writing style and the subjects I'd c hosen. He expressed his opinion that my writing seemed to lack the anger that posts by other critics, especially ex-JWs, seemed to have. In his letter, he asked if I would be willing to post an article of his that he had started some time ago, but he'd been afraid to submit f or fear his r eal identity would be revealed – and potentially screwing up his life.
I agreed on one condition: He would give me a way to verify that he was a JW , and that he was an elder. I won't tell you how he did that, for fear of revealing his identity, but I can assure you that I was able to confirm that this fellow was in f act an elder in a Kingdom Hall within a 30- mile radius of New York City.
He asked if I had any problem with what subject he might choose to write about and to describe my submission guidelines. I told him to submit his article to me as an unsigned attachment using a blind @gmail.com address. I would respond with questions I had and then follow-u p w ith an edited version (for spelling, grammar, and readability) back to him. He agreed. I received his original draft in late July and published it in its present form on August 2. I have to say that I did not have to do a lot of editing on his submission before publishing it.
Several forum comments mentioned that he sounded like a "troll" - maybe an ex-JW pretending to be a current elder. I can assure everyone that to the best of my ability, I've checked him out, and he seems to be genuine. I live in Oregon, so meeting him personally would be difficult for me.
Other forum posters mentioned his negative remarks about poor spelling and grammar by ex and current JWs who comment on articles, posts and forums. This was the part of his submission that I was a little concerned about, afraid that he would alienate the readers he was trying to reach.
He wrote back to me: "Remember that I am still a Jehovah's Witness in good standing. How do you think I feel when I see someone who claims to be a Jehovah's Witness write a comment that is illiterate, unintelligible, full of obscenities (I bet Jehovah appreciates being represented that way!), and often wrong? Likewise, with ex-JWs: Some try to take a calm, informative, and almost loving approach toward the Jehovah's Witnesses. They feel that educating JWs will allow them to see the truth for themselves and make their personal decision to stay or leave based on accurate knowledge. Other "exes" are hateful in their approach, making fun of Jehovah's Witnesses at every level. They present themselves as drugged out rock stars, so cool, so "with it," so far ahead of everyone else. I think they are worse than the Governing Body in their abusive treatment of people who really are trying to serve God. I say let my comments stand - I'll take my chances that those that agree with me will see that my points are valid. I also accept the reality that my article will get a lot of criticism from both sides. I can live with that."
There you are. I invented the pseudonym "Shadow Elder" to describe him. He emailed me back with the comment: "If I ever decide to leave the JWs and write a book about my experiences, I might just use that name as the title of my book - assuming you don't have a copyright to it. However, that possibility is still a long way off. I have too many friends and family in the “Truth” at this moment, and I am not ready to give them up - yet. I know that makes me a hypocrite, but that is my situation at this point."
I hope this clears up some confusion and answers questions you might have about the legitimacy of this fellow. If you have questions about the article or want to try to contact "Shadow" - email me at [email protected] . I'll forward your emails to the blind address he's given me, but I cannot guarantee that he will read or answer them.
"Old John"
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AllTimeJeff
Would it be possible to clean this up for easier reading please? Thank you!
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Juan Viejo2
I'm not sure what happened on the first save. For some reason the editor stripped out all of the spaces on the first few paragraphs. Hopefully, my edit caught the worst of the mess.
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AllTimeJeff
Just a couple of thoughts....
I for one thought what he said sounded very genuine. So for what this is worth, it was a pretty good. He had a take. I took it as one born of frustration. I recall how much we strong ones would make fun of apostates while I was in. Of course, I didn't know any better.
While I appreciate his sentiments on posters spelling correctly, stop the hating, etc, I think Shadow Elder needs to leave the borg to understand the raw feelings expressed here. I also think a more thought out, reasoned approach by "apostates", while desireable, would have a neglible effect on lurking JW's.... imo.
Just like me, or anyone else, he is more then allowed to have his opinion. Since it appears he doesn't care what others think of him (with some of that rhetoric, that is probably a good thing) then by all means, go ahead and give us those views. I don't think expressing those opinions in the manner he did will produce the effect he desires..... just saying....
Beyond that, he said one more thing that I personally would like to respond to
Stop being stupid and amateurish; unless you are a professional comedian, you are not funny. Stay away from satire or parody if you don’t understand how to present them properly. Don’t create videos or write on your blog after you’ve just finished off a six-pack or a joint. Get rid of the stupid baseball cap and shave if you are going to appear in your own videos. Speak and write clearly in acceptable English; lose the slang and profanity. You do not help your cause by becoming a stumbling block to the very people you are trying to reach because of your obnoxious use of language and bad behavior.
In the spirit to which his advice was offered, I would like to say in all seriousness, get over yourself. You aren't that compelling. Stop being self righteous, unless you plan on staying as a JW, in which case, you are likely in good company. Stay away from anymore Andy Rooney commentaries, he does them way better then you. Stay away from fedoras, and try growing facial hair. Try some humility and a little bit of understanding and kindness. You condemn as if you have it all figured out, and I assure you, you don't.Besides, bad behavior comes in all sizes, and that includes self righteous bombs thrown from a distance, when it is just a coincidence that you are an elder who disagrees with the GB teachings. I mean, I have never heard of such a thing before? You must be in a very small minority.
I wish you peace, and more then that, I wish you would figure out what you want, to be an elder, to be a JW, a former JW, a commentator of apostates, a commentator of JW's... Whatever works for you sir.
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Juan Viejo2
ATJeff,
I think he's made it clear that at some point he will break from the JWs - unless the Governing Body makes a major change in the way it treats the Witnesses and their families. For personal reasons, he has decided to stick it out for now, maybe for the good of his family, or possibly to keep his own life stable and under control. It's like having to go to work at a job you really hate, but not having a viable alternative. You just do it until you can't handle it any longer or the boss dies.
Although my initial reaction was similar to yours, that he was being too critical of the unwashed and uneducated among the exes and current JWs, I do think some of his points are very valid. Take a trip over to Ex-JW.com and read some of the comments on articles about Michael Jackson, JW assemblies, and JW raised children, and you will see that a lot of the comments, especially by the apologists, are very poorly written and make JWs sound like 4th graders in a Southern Baptist Christian Day School in Birmingham. I am often tempted as the editor and webmaster for that site to jump in and clean up some of the errors in those comments, but I don't; I let them stand on their own feet. I make enough errors on my own, even with a style manual sitting on my desk, that I don't have the time to correct everyone else's errors.
Shadow's comments, in my humble opinion, were simply trying to say to those who feel that they must stand up for the Witness position - that they should do it in a way that honors Jehovah. Likewise, he was also saying to the "apostates" - if you are trying to reach those JWs who stumble across your website or video with a message that they are wrong or trapped in a cult, don't stumble those visitors by coming off as some street hood or dope dealer. On those points, if that is truly what Shadow was trying to say, I would have to agree with him.
In any case, I am very pleased that his article on Ex-JW.com generated as much interest as it did and drew so many comments. I don't know if Shadow is a member of any of the prominent ex-JW forums, but my guess is that he might check in from time to time when his wife isn't looking over his shoulder.
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Shadow: If you are reading this, please feel to respond here or back at Ex-JW.com and let me know what you think. Let me know when you are ready to submit another article. You might have a few critics, but I think your message got through and you have a fair amount of support.
"Old John"
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AllTimeJeff
Juan
I appreciate your thoughts, and agree in principal with you. In case Shadow Elder is reading to, I didn't mean my words personally, anymore then he meant for others to take what he said personally.
Likewise, he was also saying to the "apostates" - if you are trying to reach those JWs who stumble across your website or video with a message that they are wrong or trapped in a cult, don't stumble those visitors by coming off as some street hood or dope dealer. On those points, if that is truly what Shadow was trying to say, I would have to agree with him.
There is no perfect way to discuss JW's. The very nature of the JW membership ensures that damaged people will either join and leave, or be born in and leave. No one exits unscathed, which is why I think it unrealistic to put his opinion the way he did. (very unsympathetic) I don't disagree (again, in theory) with him, but realistically, it isn't going to change. I doubt it is even possible. And that is fine. If someone wants to look like a dope dealer on a Youtube video, at least I know they are WAY more authentic then others. I do the best I can to judge people by the content of their character and their posted opinions.... How they look isn't important to me. Thats an old JW mindset. (i.e. don't trust them, they don't look right. See, his hair is long, thats all you need to know....)
Having said that, I do agree with him in theory only. But you have to understand that things like (for example) the discussion of "celebrity" JW's like Prince, MJ, Serena Williams, etc, is because they are known as JW's, or were at one time. We couldn't discuss the rumors while in the KH, so why not discuss it now? Yeah, its probably not the greatest way to spend your time. But I promise you, it won't stop.
Anyway, I wish for him peace. It is hell to be trapped as an elder and know it is a lie....
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cameo-d
From Elder composition:
"Learn how to write! How can you support the Watchtower’s position that getting a higher education is a waste of time – time better spent in Kingdom service – if you can’t spell, punctuate, and develop a well-considered thought? For Jehovah’s sake – learn how to use your spell-checker. Even Yahoo and Google mail have built in spell checkers. Before you submit your comment, write it in a word processor or as a draft email – then spell-check and grammar check it. Your comments do not have to be perfect, but writing like an ignorant 8-year old hillbilly is not giving Jehovah the good representation he deserves. (If you are either an 8-year old or a hillbilly, please accept my apology.)"
Editor's note: "He allowed me to edit the article for readability and organization,"
I find that rather amusing. And "built in" should be hyphenated.