KS - that last paragraph was uncalled for.
I stand behind every word.
If you think that JW loyalists wouldn't try to engage in subterfuge and Machiavellian approaches to discredit apostates on JWN, then you are underestimating the depths that some would go to in the name of defending their God.
Cedars has been so consistently WRONG on almost EVERY topic, engaging in hyperbole and flat-out errors, that anyone who's watched him MUST wonder (just as all the attempts to create Illuminati conspiracies involving JWs are highly questionable as to motives, as if someone is intentionally attempting to paint ALL ex-JWs as mentally-ill nut-jobs, with out-of-control imaginations).
Anyone who's read CoC should remember the eyebrow-raising mention of Marley Cole, presented in a by-the-way manner by Franz:
Marley Cole, a Witness who wrote a book (with the full cooperation of the Society) entitled Jehovah’s Witnesses—The New World Society, points this out.
(Marley Cole, Jehovah’s Witnesses—The New World Society (New York: Vantage Press, 1955). pp. 86-89. Cole wrote the book as if he were a non-Witness writing an objective account. The idea was that by having the book published by an outside publishing firm it might reach persons who normally would not take Society literature. Thus it was a form of public relations tactic.)
If the Society is willing to hire ghost writers in an age before the internet to decieve, there's little doubt that they'd use the internet for such "public relations" tactics of disinformation.
Cedars, you present editorializing and writer's embellishments as if you're presenting facts; even here you managed to bungle the basic FACTS of the information you presented, even in the title, eg Patterson is NOT on the line (you don't know what surety means?), and hence there will be no apostafests at Patterson.
Granted, it's a fun little fantasy, but it IS only that: a fantasy, just like JWs "New System" is a fantasy. Are you trying to fight fantasy with fantasy?
JWs who are lurking and questioning their faith don't need more FANTASIES, but FACTS on which to base their decisions. You focus on the fantasies vs the actual ugliness that is found in the JW theology, and insist your fantasies ARE truth when facts are challenged. That IS wrong, and it muddies the waters for lurkers and ex-JWs alike.
Instead, consider the path taken by jwfacts.com: Paul uses a calm, rational level-headed approach in his editorials, mostly free of spin and hyperbole, and backed by fact. When a discrepancy IS discovered, he considers it and corrects, and doesn't get his panties in a twist.
I suspect you won't listen, as usual: you've proven you are so partisan, and blind to logic and facts. Ironically, you lack the courage of your own convictions in that you apparently don't even believe the JWs are all THAT evil, or you wouldn't still be in? THAT speaks volumes.
PS those questioning MY history: I've written it elsewhere, but I was raised in a single-parent JW family from 6-14, I was never baptized (I saw the BS in their theology at a young age; sorry to those who joined as ADULTS).
I have many family members who ARE still caught in (I helped one sib who worked at Bethel break free, two decades ago), hence my current concerns: I came here looking for FACTUAL info, not more BS fantasies. I left those to the JWs.
I was lucky: I had an unbelieving father (parents were divorced) who was able to give my direction in life, whereas the other kids didn't avail themselves of the opportunity. So I went to college, got a doctorate, successful career, etc. I MADE something of my life, and didn't squander it by becoming a full-time magazine pusher.
Healthworker asks:
Are you an apostate?
Have you ever been a JW?
"Am I an apostate"? Uh, have you NOT read any of MY posts, lol?
But to answer you question directly and unequivocally: YES, I AM considered an apostate and shunned by some JW family members for speaking out against ALL religions (including JWs), if that's what you mean (I'm an atheist). You don't have to be baptized to be shunned by JWs. I helped one brother to break free, but was found out, and shunned by the others.
Maybe the question you SHOULD be asking is if Cedars is an "apostate"?
Cedars doesn't have the courage to come out of the Apostate closet in real life, being unwilling to pay the price of shunning in order to speak one's opinion against the JWs freely and openly. Instead, he's doing it anonymously. Gotta walk the walk, man.....
...OUTLAW