Posts by truthwillsetyoufree

7

Apostasy Movie (For those who have forgotten)

by KW13 in

jw
friends

this movie is out there now in the us and im guessing other territories and due to be released tomorrow in the uk in cinema and for streaming.

https://www.curzonartificialeye.com/apostasy/.

i didnt realise until recently the man behind it all shares a mutual friend with myself so im hoping to get to meet him because this film looks like it will do more for ex witnesses who need justification for moving on and for those who don't understand the religion, i think it teaches more than any documentary?.

truthwillsetyoufree

I am heading to the theatre in Glasgow tonight with my partner to watch this. Very much looking forward to it

36

Anybody here still believe in the bible?

by Mel Morris in

jw
friends

i'm a current bible student of jw's looking to chat with someone about biblical doctrine.

i'm not interested in talking with an apostate or a fader, i'm just a person looking for answers and wondered if there are any neutral voices in this forum who have good insights into the bible.

i currently talk with a couple of jw's on a personal level from my congregation and they are knowledgeable to a certain extent, but i dare not ask them certain questions because, as you know, the congregation has a culture of fear that impacts trust and openness, especially concerning biblical doctrine or the societies teachings.

truthwillsetyoufree

Hi Mel, I would love the opportunity to discuss bible teachings and doctrine with you. Please private message me with any questions you have

J

15

An honest look at the situation

by Formerbrother in

i was brought up in the truth.

i saw a lot unchristian things going on in my local body of elders, my dad was an elder and waiting outside elders meetings to go home with my mum and other wives, we sometimes heard raised voices in the 2nd school.

the other mums would raise their voices as well thinking of something to say to hide the elders 'private' arguments.. my dad hated it all, i think he hated having to keep things secret from my mum and me.. anyway, i got baptised, and as we did back then didnt think about further education but instead pioneered.

truthwillsetyoufree

I discovered TTATT 8 years ago. I was raised a JW, couldn’t wait to leave school to begin pioneering, rejected all forms of higher education and trusted in JW. I started window cleaning. 😂 I pioneered and the truth was my life. I through myself into the Polish field and supported 3 polish groups as well as my English congregation. I was heavily involved and well known as a witness. Had a couple of doubts. Read crisis of conscience and soon stopped my association with the religion. It’s been 8 years and I’m still a window cleaner! I have a thriving round, good reputation. I love being my own boss even if it is only cleaning dirty windows. I’ve even bought a house now and I still get plenty of time to myself which I wouldn’t get if I was employed. I am also enrolled with th open university and slowly getting a degree as a back up in case anything should happen but I have no desire to give up window cleaning. It was one of the best things I did starting a round and I will keep at it. There may not be any benefits and pension being self employed or sick and holiday pay but if you run it as a proper business and put some money aside to cover such things then you are on to a good thing. 👍

9

New light

by poopie in

jw
friends

june watchtower on greeting are they now trying stealthily to change shunning..

truthwillsetyoufree

I a.m. under the inpression (my opinion) that the society has come under a spot of fire regarding shunning, and having looked at some YouTube clips with regard to recent court cases shunning has definitely been brought up. It is interesting to note that there is even an article on the Jw.org website regarding whether or not Jws practice shunning. This is a very controversial subject to bring up especially when the organisation actively encourages the public to go on to JW.org. It’s surprising to see that the society would bring it to the publics attention. That is until you read the stupid article! And then you realise what the crafty org. is trying to do! They make out, online, that the organisation does not shun members who “fall away”. But seek to encourage them to return. Try don’t say ‘no’ or ‘yes’ to the answer. We all know that an honest answer here would be “yes we do practise shunning”. But of course that would make the organisation look bad. So they sidestep the question by focusing on, not on disfellowshipped personwho are indeed shunned, but on those who have simply ‘fallen away’ those who have stopped going to the meetings and engaging in the ministry, such ones who have not been disfellowshipped. Instead of actually answering the question directly they focus on a a certain group of people in order to answer the question. The answer of course is ‘no, we don’t shun these people’. But it’s no different from saying “well, if a person skips a meeting we don’t shun him” or “if a member forgets to bring his bible to the meeting we don’t shun him.” The question is do the witness practise shunning. The answer is yes! But the watchtower has once again skirted the question and attempts to mislead the audience into thinking that shunning is in fact not practised for JW.orh says so. This is simply done to make the organisation look more attractive that it actually is and will only reveal the truth when the individual has already studied the book “what does the bible really teach” and moved into the Gods love book, by which the individual would have become acquainted with many friendly witnesses even becoming friends, no doubt beginning to attend meetings and already transitioning to a JW lifestyle. At this point they are primed to accept harder to swallow teachings such as ‘witnesses shun those who are disfellowshipped’.

Imagine if the person was given that detail before they chose to study! My mother cofessed to me (she is still a JW) that had she realised what the teaching of shunning was all about then she never would have joined!

How does my rambling on concern the June watchtower and this thought that the society may change is shunning stance? Simply this: the organisation will never change its stance on the shunning principle. Just like the two witness rule the shunning teaching has received media attention and continues to do so in many western countries. It’s being featured on television, YouTube clips, newspapers and of course all over the internet. The two witness rule which many of us hoped would change due to all the bad publicity that teaching has had recently had the opposite affect on the governing body than we had hoped. Instead of modifying it the governing body hardened their hearts and released articles and even videos I b JW.org reaffirming, stomping their feet almost, that the two witness rule will not be changed.

Any article and video brought out now regarding the shunning policy will have the same thing happen. It may present the teaching has having been changed and presented in a favourable light. But this will have nothing to do with disfellowshipped ones - they remain firmly shunned. Any article will serve as a teaching tool to help the faithful be able to better express to the public that the shunning teaching doesn’t happen - we all know, and my dad is the perfect example, that whatever the watchtower says is parroted by deluded jws. Present the shunning teaching in a way that looks like the witness don’t shun to the average ‘borgbot’ and they will repeat it verbatim to the public. You’ll have witnesses saying we don’t shun anyone whilst still shunning people and not even realising the contradiction.

Thise of you who have read this far I offer my apologise. I am completely unable, like the watchtower, to answer a question directly, succinctly and straight to the point. Like the watchtower I go over every angle, examine all the detail and write for the sake of writing.

Even now offering this apology I am rambling.

If I had gone to bethel I would like to believe that I would have been sent straight to the writing department.

6

Anyone at dudley this weekend

by Deltawave in

i attended the assembly programming at dudley yesterday (saturday) and it was so boring.. only 5 baptisms i think.

during the baptism talk an 11 year old girl was interviewed who has already been baptised a year!

(disgraceful).

truthwillsetyoufree

Dudley in the West Midlands UK was my go to assembly hall. Needless to say I haven’t been there for some 7 years. 😝

But I will say this, it’s a beautiful assembly hall! I always did enjoy going there. I remember when it was a really run down place before it was refurbished. The transformation was breathtaking.

It was also here that I received the push to leave the religion. Oh brother Algarve! (District overseer at the time - remember those? 😜) He gave an example of the dangers of the internet with all the apostate material there is. A missionary couple returned to England in order to care for an elderly relative. They were given an assignment - they were head of the entire foreign language field for Britain. They were a super duper spiritual couple. At some point though they went on the internet and researched Jehovah’s witnesses (no reason as to why they should do this) and only after a few days of reading and researching they handed in their notice of disassociation. Brother Algarve shrugged sombrely and uttered “such are the dangers of the internet”. Whilst most people in the audience nodded their heads in agreement with staying away from the internet to research Jehovah’s witnesses, for me I couldn’t help but think “what on Earth is on the internet that would cause such a spiritual couple, who have devoted and sarcificed years of their lives to the organisation to only go and throw it all away after just a few days?”

So I went and looked for myself. Dudley assembly hall brought me into the organzation (I was baptised there at 15 on a most joyous day) and it also gave me what I needed to leave.

Thank you Dudley assembly hall for being a part of my life.

😊😊😊

1

Child sex abuse Stratford upon Avon UK

by truthwillsetyoufree in

this appeared in the local paper 'stratford herald' october 2015. the guy was supported by his congregation and he has now been released from prison and is once again part of the same congregation.

allen (43) of evesham road, dodwell, stratford, was jailed for two years and eight months and ordered to register as a sex offender for life after he pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual activity with a child.. prosecutor andrew wallace said jehovah’s witness allen had met the girl in the mid-2000s through the church.. the girl, now a young woman in her 20s, said she began to fancy allen, who had started to pay her compliments.. then on one occasion when he gave her a lift, despite being fully aware she was only 15, allen put his hand down her trousers and penetrated her with his fingers.. she did not object or tell anyone what had happened, and there were further consensual incidents between them, including various types of sexual activity but not full intercourse.. someone who suspected what was going on between allen, a family man in his 30s, and the girl said something to her mother.. but when she challenged both her daughter and allen about what she had heard, they both denied it.. things stopped after the girl began to feel guilty about what was happening, and she eventually decided to come forward last year and contacted the police.. she said she had been dramatically affected by what had gone on, and that what happened with allen caused her to suffer a breakdown and still haunts her.. when allen was questioned by the police he accepted the incidents had taken place, but claimed it was the girl who had taken the lead, added mr wallace.. elizabeth power, defending, said allen, who has a son and a daughter who are now both in their 20s, had attended for a voluntary interview with the police and made admissions.. “he did not force himself on her; but he was the adult and she was a child.

he says he was weak and was attracted to her.

truthwillsetyoufree

This appeared in the local paper 'Stratford Herald' October 2015. The guy was supported by his congregation and he has now been released from prison and is once again part of the same congregation.

Allen (43) of Evesham Road, Dodwell, Stratford, was jailed for two years and eight months and ordered to register as a sex offender for life after he pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual activity with a child.

Prosecutor Andrew Wallace said Jehovah’s Witness Allen had met the girl in the mid-2000s through the church.

The girl, now a young woman in her 20s, said she began to fancy Allen, who had started to pay her compliments.

Then on one occasion when he gave her a lift, despite being fully aware she was only 15, Allen put his hand down her trousers and penetrated her with his fingers.

She did not object or tell anyone what had happened, and there were further consensual incidents between them, including various types of sexual activity but not full intercourse.

Someone who suspected what was going on between Allen, a family man in his 30s, and the girl said something to her mother.

But when she challenged both her daughter and Allen about what she had heard, they both denied it.

Things stopped after the girl began to feel guilty about what was happening, and she eventually decided to come forward last year and contacted the police.

She said she had been dramatically affected by what had gone on, and that what happened with Allen caused her to suffer a breakdown and still haunts her.

When Allen was questioned by the police he accepted the incidents had taken place, but claimed it was the girl who had taken the lead, added Mr Wallace.

Elizabeth Power, defending, said Allen, who has a son and a daughter who are now both in their 20s, had attended for a voluntary interview with the police and made admissions.

“He did not force himself on her; but he was the adult and she was a child. He says he was weak and was attracted to her. He has had the last seven or eight years struggling with those demons.

“He is thought well of in the church, and all the congregation now seem to be aware of this.”

Miss Power said Allen, who has a number of debts, runs his own building business and is the main provider for his family.

“Clearly this is an offence where, after a trial, a sentence of around five years would follow.

“But in the circumstances, if Your Honour could draw back from an immediate custodial sentence, a two-year suspended sentence of imprisonment would be suitable.

“A sex offender group work programme would not be available under the auspices of a suspended sentence but there is a sexual offenders’ behaviour course which could be done on a one-to-one basis.

“Unlike a number of people who are in denial, he accepts he has done something wrong and wants to change.”

But jailing Allen, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano told him: “I quite accept that whatever happened, she was a willing participant in it; but you took advantage of the fact that she was 20 years younger than you, and a child.

“Children who are under 16 are protected by law for a very good reason, because no matter what they think, they are not old enough to make choices about sexual relationships. The psychological damage she has suffered is an illustration of this.

“You are the father of a girl who was not much younger than her at the time. You would have been absolutely horrified if someone of your age had been touching your daughter in the way you had been touching her.

“This has effectively ruined your reputation. You are lucky your wife is standing by you, and you are a member of a church which is supportive of you as well.

“But the message has to go out that if men in their mid-30s repeatedly engage in sexual activity with under-age children, they will go to prison.”

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14

Individual Duds absolutely cannot learn the "truth" on their own"???

by James Mixon in

why is it that i understand the bible more clearly today then all my years in the organization (jw)???

?many religious people believe the average person cannot understand the bible..maybe the reasons (1) they may have tried to study the bible and found it difficult, so they gave up.

(2) maybe they believe truth is subjective;so whatever you believe,that is truth for you.

truthwillsetyoufree

Because that doesn't at all contradict and destroy the very foundation of the organisation! So I guess it was wrong for Charles taze Russel to set himself apart from the religions of his time and start his own religion based upon his own understanding of the scriptures? There weren't seven men grouped together deciding what to believe in - Russel did that on his own and preached and toured round America - he was pastor Russell, not pastor Russell and pastor so-and-so and pastor so-and-so..... it was just the one guy with his own understanding and interpretation of scripture which without that would never had led to the jehovahs witnesses being formed. So where does that leave Charles taze Russell if you can't learn the truth on your own and need an organisation to teach you? I suppose based upon this teaching by the society they themselves would have to accept that Charles Russell couldn't possibly have learnt the truth about God on his own. And as there was no true organisation he couldn't have been taught it. So Charles Russell's religion is a sham and can't be true. And the same has to be said for Rutherford too.

Talk about shooting yourself in your own foot.

50

Why Finding the One True Religion is Impossible

by Simon in

jws like to think they have found the one true religion.

but like so many other religious people, it's usually the religion they were born into, the only religion they know because it's the first one they found or, at the most, one of two or three (typically the second one after they left their first / born-in faith).. the trouble is, there simply isn't enough time to explore and investigate each and everyone of the many thousands of belief systems, religions and sects around the world.. think of it this way: which is the best neighbourhood to live in where you would be most happy and most successful?

not just in the city or even the country you are in, but the entire world.. how would you ever know?

truthwillsetyoufree

Brilliant point made. I will be using this analogy.

2

Early Bible Translations

by TheWonderofYou in

this is a story about the bishop of hippo, a scholarly man.

augustine.

we saw him in the hollywood film.. was he a scholarly man?

truthwillsetyoufree

That was an interesting read. I will try and find the film at some point.

8

The book of Jeremiah

by truthwillsetyoufree in

it occurred to me the other day that i don't actually know all that much about the bible.

dont get me wrong, i was a very dedicated and studious jehovah's witness and i studied the bible every day - or so i thought.

i have now realised that during the time i spent in that religion i didn't study the bible - i studied jehovah's witness theology.

truthwillsetyoufree

That's great Cobweb, I will be sure to check it out.