Well done.
Sadly though, I have seen official legal threats blatantly ignored by elders ....
As others have said, witnesses just arrogantly don't recognise authority!
for those of you that asked, below is a copy of my solicitors letter to the elders in my old congregation.
he sent a similar one directly to bethel and a medical directive to my daughters gp to go on her medical records that i have already given permission for her to have a blood transfusion should she need one:.
.
Well done.
Sadly though, I have seen official legal threats blatantly ignored by elders ....
As others have said, witnesses just arrogantly don't recognise authority!
so my wife and i have been in the process of fading for a few months now as per my original post here.
about a week ago, i was browsing some ex-jw facebook groups when i saw a post that linked to the crisis of conscience book.
i said "f@(k it" and hit share on it.. a few hours later, i get a long text letter from my mom (who was a fb friend of mine) telling me the typical "good luck finding friends in the world" and how we have "nothing in common anymore"; basically, it was a 'farewell' text.
Why meet?
Remember, THE ONLY POWER THEY HAVE OVER YOU, IS THAT WHICH YOU ALLOW.
this week bible reading is ps.102-105.
i noticed in ps 105:15: saying, “do not touch my anointed ones,and to my prophets do nothing bad.".
so are these part of the 144,000?
I have no doubt that the societies teaching about the 144000 being a literal number will change soon.....
Also yes! Someone made reference to the "not being defiled by women" verse! That was something that as a kid messed with my mind. So sex was "defiling" was it? It was not something anointed should engage in??
The illogicality of the society teachings just fall apart!
my new girlfriend asked me over dinner last night what jw's believe.
as i sat there explaining it i realized how ridiculous it sounds and was slightly embarrassed that i used to believe this crap for 31 years.. try and read this and imagine hearing it for the first time.... me: well... jw believe that god's name is jehovah and that his son is jesus christ.
they believe that jesus died on a stake and not a cross and that in the year 1914 he personally chosen the jw's as his one true religion.
Yes!
And just wait till you start explaining the really crazy things the society has taught;
Bethsarim. All the ancient "worthies" would be ressurected to live in a mansion in the hills...oh but when they didn't come back, Ruhtherford got to live there in luxury with Cadillacs!
And that's just one!
The there's the "fact" that by measuring the dimensions of the great pyramid, the time of Armageddon is "proved"!
Or that women's brains are lesser in ability than males.
Or the funny ones such as , the book of job prophesied about steam train locomotives!
oh, the list goes on....
hope you are understanding, if i shorten a reply i made on another thread and make it an o.p.. i honestly believe, we are all here as writers creating our small masterpieces.
i believe each of our posts brings light to the air of who we really are.
this forum is our form of artistic expression which we were denied in the organisation.
Yes, visiting here and posting has been a therapeutic outlet. Plus I have benefited from the collective experiences and wisdom of others. For this I am grateful.
And, if in the process any of my posts have helped others, then I am glad to of been of help.
just wanted to update you guys of the amazing couple of weeks i've had in recovering from the cult.. i was attending the meetings still just so i could see my daughter in the kingdom hall and have her sit we me half the time.
i had no intention of ever becoming a jw again but was hoping to be re-instated and just not turn up ever again so i could at least see my family.
but then an elder said something to me that changed all that.
To mis-quote a scripture the WT uses: "one that has left family for the sake of (facts) will get hundred fold more blessings! ..."
Hehe
we had a bad experience with watchtower trying to infiltrate our forums.
let this story be a warning for all you guys here.
if you value your privacy do not ever send your real contact details to anyone, even if you trust them (because their accounts could be hacked or accessed by their relatives - and yes, this happened to people i know several times already).
And once again it proves that any organisation that promotes or condones such inappropriate behaviour, and crosses boundaries, must be a cult.....
just wanted to update you guys of the amazing couple of weeks i've had in recovering from the cult.. i was attending the meetings still just so i could see my daughter in the kingdom hall and have her sit we me half the time.
i had no intention of ever becoming a jw again but was hoping to be re-instated and just not turn up ever again so i could at least see my family.
but then an elder said something to me that changed all that.
Great post !
Yes, why would anyone choose to return to an abusive relationship?
The very notion that the society tries to promote is just like an abusive husband demanding that his wife return to him after he beats her, because "she can't find happiness greater than being with him"
the religion of the educated classes revisited: new religions, the nonreligious, and educational levels - james r. lewis .
the measure lewis uses to compare religious groups is what percentage of members of the respective religions have graduated from college.
the findings are similar to the results of the pew survey in the united states.
Shepardless: Also, note the figures for "Pagan" are probably due to a few clowns. (Australian humor, perhaps.) Or perhaps they mistook "Pagan" for "Bogan".
Best comment ever! But only an Aussie will understand the word "bogan".
"yehhrrr maaaateeee...chuck us another VB tinny would ya? I gotta take me holden ute for a spin and chuck a u-ey"
something struck me the other day.. elders are told to maintain confidentiality with regard to the details of judicial cases or congregation "discipline" in an attempt to dignify individuals etc.. this is even the case for known child abusers!.
yet, if they suspect someone of being an "apostate", for instance being a member on this forum, they will spread such information far and wide, through the witness "grape vine" to congregations miles away (or even in other countries).
so, does that mean they place more importance on "apostasy" rather than child abuse?.
I ran into an elder who I knew years ago in another part of the country the other day.
He doesn't know I have been inactive for several years (and I didn't mention it)....but within a few minutes of small talk and catch up, he starts telling me juicy stuff about ones we used to know!
I was friendly, but firm and said, "oh we probably shouldn't talk about them behind their back. Its not Christ-like to do so" and changed the subject...
So the ingrained culture of gossiping is strong in the society....