Posts by SG098

39

CO visit; going to meeting.

by SG098 in

hello everyone!just a little background info, i haven't been to a meeting in over a year.

my wife has asked me to go with her tonight to help watch our son since it's the circuit overseers visit...my wife wants to be able to pay attention and get something out of the meeting since our son is 1yr old he can be a handful some times.. a few things of note about the situation:.

- i'm going to the meeting no matter what.

SG098

Hello everyone!Just a little background info, I haven't been to a meeting in over a year. My wife has asked me to go with her tonight to help watch our son since it's the Circuit Overseers visit...my wife wants to be able to pay attention and get something out of the meeting since our son is 1yr old he can be a handful some times.

A few things of note about the situation:

- I'm going to the meeting no matter what. (Not trying to back out)

- My wife knows I'm an atheist and we have a mutual respect for each others beliefs. (sorta)

What I need from you all is some ideas of what should I say if people in the hall say the following:

- "We've missed you."

- "Are you going to start coming back?"

- "Wasn't that a wonderful meeting!"

Or any other saying I should be prepared for. If the elders or even the CO try to get me into the back room for whatever reason, I'm going to say "no"...after all, they have NO authority.

I want to respond to people in a respectful yet affirmative tone to their inquiries or sayings. Since it's the CO visit, I may record some of the talks to see if he'll say anything cultish. Recording would be nothing new since I've done it before:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy3ZlxLEy6U

Thanks for your advice!

90

The Org is terrified of apostates

by SecretSlaveClass in

i knew apostasy was a serious concern for the org, but until i watched this video, i had no idea how afraid they actually were.

all this guy wants is to do is not turn in his fs hours and immediately they (elders) set about drilling him about who are what influenced his decision, as if he was incapable of making his own (which as the elders confirm, in the org is highly discouraged).

they are convinced he has been communicating with apostates or visiting apostate web sites.

SG098

Too cool! One question: did they call you in for not turning in your hours or did you call a meeting with them to let them know?Nice to know you're pursuing a real education and having a great time doing it! Any reason you bothered attending the memorial?

So, the elders pulled me into the back room on a Tuesday night after the meeting. When the one elder said that, "he will be calling me to record my time." He texted me 2 days later (on Thursday) and asked if I'm ready to turn my time in. I texted back that after much thought, I'm sticking by my original concerns and therefore I will not be turning in my time. He replied back with something but I can't remember what he said.

As far as why I went to the memorial is because my wife is still a JW. I went to the memorial to make her happy. I'm now an atheist. She knows of my lack of belief and surprisingly our marriage is still good; we just don't talk about religion.

The elders have met with me at my house a couple months ago trying to get me to comeback to the meetings and they tried to "persuade" me that Jehovah is real (they also know I'm an atheist). God may be real, but as Matt Dillahunty says, God is playing the longest game of hide-and-go seek.

I did a write up about when the elders met with me a few months ago. You can find it at JW Recovery which is here:

https://www.jehovahswitnessrecovery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=23303

90

The Org is terrified of apostates

by SecretSlaveClass in

i knew apostasy was a serious concern for the org, but until i watched this video, i had no idea how afraid they actually were.

all this guy wants is to do is not turn in his fs hours and immediately they (elders) set about drilling him about who are what influenced his decision, as if he was incapable of making his own (which as the elders confirm, in the org is highly discouraged).

they are convinced he has been communicating with apostates or visiting apostate web sites.

SG098

Thanks for watching my video folks. Yes, I'm the guy in the recording who refused to turn in my field service time. I can't believe that was over a year ago I posted that video.

If you're curious of how I'm doing, I haven't been to a meeting since December of 2014 (I went to the memorial). I'm enrolled in a local community college pursuing an A.A.S. degree and have never been happier!

Thanks again!

SG (oldgreg)

12

2007 Awake mentions Child Abuse in Australia!

by SG098 in

in the october 2007 awake!

page 11, the b0rg had the audacity to say this concerning child sexual abuse: "sadly, though, most of such [child abuse] crimes go unpunished by authorities today.

in australia, for example, it has been estimated that only 10 percent of offenders are prosecuted, and few are convicted.

SG098

Wow-O-WOW!!!
In the October 2007 Awake! Page 11, the b0rg had the audacity to say this concerning child sexual abuse:

"Sadly, though, most of such [child abuse] crimes go unpunished by authorities today. In Australia, for example, it has been estimated that only 10 percent of offenders are prosecuted, and few are convicted. Other lands have had a similar record. While governments may be able to do little to protect the Christian family, the application of Bible principles can do far more." (October 2007 Awake! Page 11)

Here's the link to this publication:
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102007363

Isn't GB member Geoffrey Jackson head of the writing committee??? He must of knew that when this article was published in 2007, hundreds of JW offenders were not being reported and prosecuted!!!

I sent this info to the Royal Commission.

42

Gross hypocrisy in September 15, 2015 Watchtower

by Island Man in

ask any jw the question "why do jehovah's witnesses impose their views on others?

we do not impose our views on anyone!".

do you impose your views on others?

SG098

What's also interesting in the same paragraph; paragraph 9 of that article, this is what the b0rg says:

[Concerning selling health products to other JW members]: "....The couple had a right to choose for themselves whether they would follow a certain diet and take the supplements, but was it reasonable to put the unity of the congregation at risk over health care? For a time, Christians in ancient Rome had differing opinions with regard to eating certain foods and observing certain days. What advice did Paul give them? Regarding the latter, he said: “One man judges one day as above another; another judges one day the same as all others; let each one be fully convinced in his own mind.” It was important not to put a stumbling block before others.—

I find it interesting that the b0rg in a round about way is saying observing holidays or "certain days" is up to the individual. The above quote is reminiscent of the famous 2003 Awake article about piñatas in my opinion.

9

An excellent, very civil debate between an atheist and a JW.

by Island Man in

i stumbled upon this video while doing my periodic youtube search of the keyword "jehovah".

in the video a jw (actually two jws, but only one does most of the speaking) debate an atheist.

the atheist is a mild-mannered iranian who at first seems deceptively easy and clueless (i think it has to do with the fact that english is not his first language), but soon proves he's no walkover - calmly, mildly and civilly.

SG098

Just after the 25min mark of the video they are talking about hell fire and the JW guy says concerning hell being a place of eternal torment,

"...other parts of the bible talk about god being a god of justice's. So WE don't think [eternal torment] is just, so how much more so would our creator think that too."

This is a classic case of, "God thinks like me."

This is why agnostics and atheists say man created god; not god created man.

56

JW's came to my door 6 weeks ago. I told them I was inactive.......

by Alchemist in

6 weeks ago some jws came to my door.

i've been inactive for 8 years.

after they gave their presentation i told them i was inactive.

SG098

Hello Alchemist,

You mentioned that you, "...don't like the direction the world is going."
Did you know that we're living in the best times ever in human history? Being that you were once involved with the JWs means our world view was skewed. My world view was definitely skewed when I was a JW. The JWs teach that the world is getting worse and frankly that's not true.

Have you ever heard of the phrase, "If bleeds, it leads." This is a common saying in the news industry. Shocking news gets views. Here's an article about how the world is getting better:
http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-02-16/why-today-best-time-live-human-history

Also, you mentioned people in the world are "immoral and hateful."
- First, people can be considered immoral in all aspects of society. Knowing that the governing body has taken means to cover over child molesters in the organization, would make anyone with a sensible moral compass know that this is morally wrong.
- Second, I recommend you look at types of morility and what morality truly means. Checkout this good video on morality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAQFYgyEACI

- Finally, René Descartes a 1600's French philosipher once said,
"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things."

I employer you to do research into what the JWs really say and think about people who are not JWs, and whether having the idea that people deserve to be destroyed at armeggedon is a correct moral view point.
www.jwfacts.com

30

The Verdict: God is Not Good.

by cappytan in

jw
friends

not sure if this video has been posted before here or not, but it is a powerful scene.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx7irfn2gdi.

i haven't watched the entire movie yet, but from this scene alone, i will be..

SG098

To Hold me-Thrill me,

You're right, God did not kill the Jews, the nazis did. The question was, "where was god when these atrocities happened?"

What about natural disasters? Certainly fellow humans couldn't kill others with natural disasters. - (Natural meaning these were created by God)

Hold me-Thrill me, please answer the below meme:

5

Kirtland & Cedar Point Ohio.Both significant places in 2 different religions.

by joe134cd in

since leaving the jws for some reason i have done a lot of research on the mormon faith as well.

i guess it's probably because i can see so many parallels between the 2 religions.

i just thought it was uncanny how the 2 religions both had significant events in their history happen in locations that are with in 1.5 hour drive from each other.

SG098

Designer Stubble is right Cedar Point is a roller coaster amusement park. Cedar point amusement park is located in the town of Sandusky which is in the state of Ohio, USA.

Here's an in depth thread over on JWR about this.

https://www.jehovahswitnessrecovery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=11537&hilit=Cedar+point

36

My Last thoughts in Field Service Before the Elderly Man Shat Himself and Pissed his pants in My New Car!

by PokerPlayerPhil in

debating this was going to be the last day in field service was not hard after dealing with a nasty mess because i was grouped with the misfits of the kingdom hall!

i was reading this website on my phone while something started to stink in my car and one of the weird kids nobody wanted to work with yelled "hey, you leaking all over my seat, he was freaked out too!

" the older, retired elder, his pioneer daughter had forgotten to put his depends on and that became my problem.

SG098

I feel your pain PokerPlayerPhil. You have to remember that a good chunk of JWs are not used to nice things...remember their mindset is, the end is going to happen any day now; so what's the point of nice things or even new/newer things?

Again, remember some of them drive around in beaters that could break down any day now because they were swayed from getting an education or taking that job promotion. Plus with the latest b0rg money begging scheme, these people are broke. So many JWs see nice cars and like them, but not nice enough to respect.