An exElder who is a member here told me his crazy story at the Tahoe Apposta fest. He was disfellowshipped in absentia by Watchtower HQ for telling the TRUTH under oath in court in a child abuse case. He was instructed to lie by HQ...he told the truth instead, and was disfellowshipped for rebellion. Who does the Bible say is the "father of the lie?" hummm
Balaamsass2
JoinedPosts by Balaamsass2
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What is the Craziest Thing You Are Aware Of Someone Being Disfellowshipped For?
by Sea Breeze ini knew a lady who was disfellowshipped for 20 years for smoking.
she finally went back to the kh and since they couldn't find her paperwork, (all the former elders were dead) she was allowed back in without reinstatement.
no one even remembered her.
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What is the Craziest Thing You Are Aware Of Someone Being Disfellowshipped For?
by Sea Breeze ini knew a lady who was disfellowshipped for 20 years for smoking.
she finally went back to the kh and since they couldn't find her paperwork, (all the former elders were dead) she was allowed back in without reinstatement.
no one even remembered her.
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Balaamsass2
Around 2001, a divorced middle-aged sister was seen cycling with a single middle-aged doctor one afternoon. The elders questioned her about it, and she told them, "Nothing happened, and it was none of their business." They disfellowshipped her for "rebelliousness and a Jezebel attitude." Weird...and mean.
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Youths who gave up amazing lives
by JohnR1975 inwhen i was growing up i remember many young people interviewed on the platform at assemblies.
the ones who really stood out are the talented ones who gave up amazing lives to pioneer.. i remember specifically when i was a boy in the 70s and 80s some who were very good at sport or something.
their teachers begged them to get professional training use their talents to the full.
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Balaamsass2
Death by refusing medical treatment puts an end to ANY future.
90％ of Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses Beaten as Children; Legal Team Strongly Calls for Official Investigation
The Yomiuri ShimbunThe Yomiuri Shimbun
17:18 JST, November 21, 2023
About 90% of former Jehovah’s Witnesses were beaten by their parents or others during their childhood, according to an investigative report released Monday by a legal team tackling issues related to the religious group.
The report also said that about 80% used to carry a card refusing blood transfusions in accordance with the group’s doctrine.
https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20231121-150921/
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Balaamsass2
??????????
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Youths who gave up amazing lives
by JohnR1975 inwhen i was growing up i remember many young people interviewed on the platform at assemblies.
the ones who really stood out are the talented ones who gave up amazing lives to pioneer.. i remember specifically when i was a boy in the 70s and 80s some who were very good at sport or something.
their teachers begged them to get professional training use their talents to the full.
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Balaamsass2
Watchtower has always been a leader in child sacrifice. Get that kid a "Blood Card" (suicide pact card) young! Make those kids stand out as "weirdos" in school with a litany of peculiar beliefs (holidays, national anthems, flag salute, birthdays, school dances, party's, field service in neighborhood, etc. etc.), and insist they have no "worldly" school friends or after school activities (drama, glee, clubs, band, sports, scouts). Insist they get baptized as children so they can be then disfellowshipped, declared bad associates/shunned if they make any youthful indiscretions.
Then as they approach adulthood, cobble their educational opportunities. The long term results? The lowest income level of any US religious group. Lower than US southern black churches. Pew research weighs in:
How income varies among U.S. religious groups
While there is a strong and proven correlation between education and income, it’s harder to know whether there also is a link between religion and wealth. What we can say is that members of some religious groups – not to mention atheists and agnostics – on average have a higher household income than others and those in the richest religious groups also tend, on average, to be better educated than most Americans.
Some of the most financially successful religious groups – Jews, Hindus, Episcopalians, and Presbyterians – also are all among the nation’s most educated as well. These rankings, which come from our 2014 Religious Landscape Study, are based on the percentage of people within each religious group who reside in households with a yearly income of $100,000 or more.
About four-in-ten Jews (44%) and roughly a third of Hindus (36%) and Episcopalians (35%) live in households with incomes of at least $100,000. Again, these groups also have high levels of educational attainment. For instance, nearly half of Hindu adults and almost one-third of Jewish adults hold postgraduate degrees. Indeed, in addition to education, other factors, such as age, race and ethnicity also are correlated with both religion and income.
Members of three other mainline Protestant denominations – the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the United Methodist Church –also have high household income. So, too, do self-identified atheists and agnostics, which may call into question any link between high levels of religious belief and wealth. Members of all these groups also are more likely to be highly educated than the general population.
Among those denominations with the lowest household income are two historically black churches, the National Baptist Convention (9% live in households with incomes of at least $100,000) and the Church of God in Christ (9%). Jehovah’s Witnesses also have low household income (4%). In all three of these groups, nearly half of all members have household incomes of less than $30,000 per year.
Given that roughly one-in-five Americans identify as Catholic, it’s not surprising that the share of Catholics in the top income bracket (19%) is the same as the nation as a whole. Members of one of the country’s largest Protestant denominations, the Southern Baptist Convention, are only slightly less well off, with 16% in households making $100,000 or more."
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/10/11/how-income-varies-among-u-s-religious-groups/
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Rolling out a new version?
by MeanMrMustard ini figure you are doing what all real devs do - develop and test in production.
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hope it's going ok....
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Balaamsass2
Thank you for your many years of hard work Simon. I was worried Watchtower had sicked some hackers on you.
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It’s now official - The Governing Body Members are called for Legal Deposition in a Major Court Case Against Jehovah’s Witnesses!
by liam init’s now official - the governing body members are called for legal deposition in a major court case against jehovah’s witnesses!
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1ke6cgh/its_now_official_the_governing_body_members_are/.
recent court documents show that members of the jehovah’s witnesses governing body — including former member tony morris — have been officially subpoenaed to give sworn testimony regarding cases of sexual abuse in new york and how the organization dealt with (or essentially hid) them.
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Balaamsass2
Love to see these, but most cases have been disappointing. Watchtower have become masters of stall, appeal, appeal and eventual sealed settlements. GB members are terrible on the witness stand and their attorneys know it.
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Did the Fred Franz style of writing cease after he died?
by SydBarrett ini was completely out by 1991 and 1989 would have been the last time i had to attend regularly.
that over the top franz writing style was still there in the 1980's although i've heard he wasn't actually doing much writing by then.
but his style was definitely picked up and imitated for many years beyond its wacky, outlandish peak of the the 50's - 70's.
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Balaamsass2
Yikes! Nothing like post hijackers.
Aqua seed the Greeks had an ancient and interesting theology. Great temples. Why not go on a tangent about them? Why not discuss the meaning of Santa Claus and the real number of buttons on his coat?
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1975 !
by Sea Breeze inhow many of you here remember 1975?
i hope the newer generations never forget.the true believers got shamed for it.
those who were hedging their bets, fared much better.
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Balaamsass2
Within a few years Watchtower was talking about "Some well meanings friends ran ahead". BS...all the hype came directly from Brooklyn HQ, By Fred Franz and the "Governing Body 1.0". Remember they all voted to promote Fred Franz to President soon after the fiasco when Knorr died.
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1975 !
by Sea Breeze inhow many of you here remember 1975?
i hope the newer generations never forget.the true believers got shamed for it.
those who were hedging their bets, fared much better.
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Balaamsass2
After the fall in 1975 Watchtower began hedging their bets. The visiting COs began talking about how long was Adam alone in Eden? "Long enough to name ALL the animals in Eden AND become lonely. Some claimed a perfect man would have perfect self control and wouldn't get lonely or horney for many years. Others claimed a perfect man could name all the animals, get lonely, and horney in months. So Watchtower kept the BIG LIE going for months. Soon a number of talks and articles came out about "not serving with a date in mind", and the "faithful of old" being faithful their entire lives. etc etc.
Rather than being punished Fred Franz was promoted when Knorr died
By 1978 a number of local Elders and pioneers stepped down, moved, or quit. Lots of people shut up had kids, started businesses, got married, built homes, got on with life and whatever they had put off for the past 6 years or so. To point out Watchtowers lies was to be labeled an apostate and lose all your friends, customers and family. If you knew what was good for you, you pretended it didn't happen.
Why shut up and "mind to your own knitting?" It works. How many spoke out about the KKK and Jim Crow laws in the American South in the 1940s-1950s? How many spoke out about Hitler in the 1930s? Social pressure and self preservation are strong motivators.
Remember, it is a cult.
