Not much choice for most JW youth about baptism. Any normal 12-year-old who asks obvious questions about Watchtower is liable to get grounded or sent to bed without dinner...or worse. (like "Where in the bible does it say that!?, or "Why do we have to contribute money if the governing body can predict the future? Don't they know what stocks will double this year? How is it elders are disfellowshiped when they are appointed by the holy spirit?) It is just easier for JW kids to keep their heads down, shut up, and get baptized.
Balaamsass2
JoinedPosts by Balaamsass2
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Assembly with the branch representative
by LaFrancia inwe had the meeting with the branch representative this weekend.. the air was different than usual.. bearded ushers at the parking lots welcomed the brothers warmly.. lots of sisters with dress pants or not, nothing scandalous.. the representative of the italian branch made his debut on stage with his full beard.. location: roseto degli abruzzi (italy-europe).
some interesting statistical data can give a little food for thought after the numerous changes that have occurred in recent months (the ten-year or five-year plan, if you prefer, seems to be producing some small results).. attendance has increased since the last meeting.. our constituency includes 1725 publishers and those present in the morning were 1553, a little better than the november 2023 convention.
perhaps the new changes have brought some back to attendance?.
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Former Jehovah's Witness youth lifts the veil on JW mental child abuse. NOT on JW.org.
by Balaamsass2 ini have personally seen witness families kick 15-year-old jw kids out of the home and into the street in california.
interesting read in daily mail.
former jehovah's witness lifts the lid on the brutal isolation he faced as a child being cut off from the real world - revealing how children are regularly shunned by their own families and thrown out of their homes if they 'stop believing'.
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Balaamsass2
I have PERSONALLY seen witness families kick 15-year-old JW kids out of the home and into the street in CALIFORNIA. Interesting read in Daily Mail.
Former Jehovah's Witness lifts the lid on the brutal isolation he faced as a child being cut off from the real world - revealing how CHILDREN are regularly shunned by their own families and thrown out of their homes if they 'stop believing'
11/23 "A former Jehovah's Witness has lifted the lid on the brutal isolation he faced as a child after being cut off from the world.
Owen Morgan, originally from Connecticut, appeared on a recent episode of the Cults To Consciousness podcast.
He described his experience as 'oppressive' and 'destructive' as part of a religion that 'ruined people's lives.'
Owen even went one step further in his expose as he claimed kids within the religion were regularly shunned by their own families and thrown out of their homes if they 'stop believing.'
+4View galleryOwen Morgan, originally from Connecticut, appeared on a recent episode of the Cults To Consciousness podcast
Owen, who was born into the religion, told host Shelise Ann Sola: 'Jehovah's Witnesses very much attempt to separate their members from everybody else because of one Bible verse that says you should live in the world but not be a part of it.
'So, of course, they take that opportunity to interpret that in the most extreme way imaginable and try to separate their members any way they can.'
+4View galleryHe described his experience as 'oppressive' and 'destructive'
He continued: 'When you're little you don't fully realize how negatively this is affecting you.
'You don't really realize it until after you exit and you see the world for what it is, you see what other people are doing and realize that you're missing out on a lot - not just missing out on fun but missing out on a piece of culture that you live in.'
Owen revealed that he was not allowed to celebrate holidays in the same way as everyone else, adding: 'I didn't get to celebrate my first Christmas until I was 18 years old when I finally ended up leaving the religion.
'I'm not a member anymore. I have no love for the religion I think it's absolutely terrible in every way. It's done irreparable harm to countless people - including myself.'
The content creator, who now has more than 386,000 subscribers on his own YouTube channel, explained how he had moved from Connecticut to West Virginia aged eight.
He said that it was there that he began getting home-schooled: 'I was completely socially isolated at that point.
+4View gallery+4View galleryOwen, who was born into the religion, told host Shelise Ann Sola: 'Jehovah's Witnesses very much attempt to separate their members from everybody else because of one Bible verse that says you should live in the world but not be a part of it'
'I was completely separated from the rest of society for four years and because of Jehovah's Witnesses I wasn't allowed to associate with other people.
'For a while, I was riding my bike to a neighbor's house and hanging out with them until my parents discovered that I was doing that and then took my bike away. I wasn't allowed to do that.
'I was only allowed to hang out with Jehovah's Witnesses and there weren't any around my age or wanted to hang out.'
Going into further detail about his upbringing, Owen said: 'Unfortunately for children, there's actually specific guidance for Jehovah's Witnesses on how they're supposed to treat children if they exited the religion.'
What is a Jehovah's Witness?
Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian denomination with about 8.5million followers worldwide, who believes the destruction of the world is imminent.
They impose a strict moral code on members, including that homosexuality is a sin, and punishes those who deviate from their beliefs by 'disfellowshipping' them, ostracising them from the community.
He said that the methods were implemented on kids as young as eight, which was the earliest members usually got baptized in the religion, all the way up until 18.
'The guidance is absolutely psychotic, unsurprisingly...,' he said.
'Most Jehovah's Witness kids probably get baptized between the ages of 10 and 14. It's effectively a contract you're signing with this organization - a serious lifelong contract and the penalties for breaking it are dire.'
Owen adds that if a baptized child decides 'that it's not true, it's nonsense, he doesn't want anything to do with this or he wants to celebrate birthday parties at school and refuses not to - there are number of different mundane things that could get him disfellowshipped - his parents are expected to not eat dinner with him first of all.'
'There's a list of things you shouldn't be doing. You're not supposed to sit at the kitchen table with the kid, he should be eating the food in his room,' he said.
'They're not supposed to talk to them about any "spiritual matters" which means anything to do with Jehovah's Witnesses is absolutely off limits except for the father.
'The father - as the spiritual head - can try to continue to shove this stuff down the kid's throat.'
He said that if a teenage child began questioning the teachings, parents were 'supposed to do everything they can culturally - not officially - but culturally to get the kid out of the house.
'If there's a family member they can go to who's not Jehovah's Witness or whatever just get them out of the house at any cost...
'That's how it goes for Jehovah's Witness kids if they stop believing. It's over, it's absolutely ugly and disgusting, it's an evil practice.'
Owen said that he did not leave the religion under his own free will but was instead kicked out.
'I was doing stuff that you're not supposed to do - going to other people's houses who were worldly and I was drinking and just experimenting with stuff.
'I smoked a cigarette just learning how this stuff works and they called me in for a judicial committee because one of the other people in the congregation knew what I was up to.'
He said he 'admitted everything' but 'they said "okay that's it, you're out" and they kicked me out even though I was repentant.'
Owen was then also kicked out of his family home and ended up staying with a friend while working a part-time job at Burger King.
He said: 'I believed I was in the wrong. I believed my parents were correct in shunning me at the time.'
But he eventually found his feet and moved to New York with a child of his own, adding that he 'finally realized how nonsensical this stuff was.'
Owen concluded: 'Jehovah's Witnesses spent my entire life teaching me how wrong every other religion was and when I realized how wrong that religion was it was a short leap to walking away from all of it.'
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Advice on fade?
by NotNorwich inhello, i’ve just joined here and am hoping for some advice.
i was baptised a long time ago but left soon after (da).. i recently returned and have a bible study.
was reinstated about a year ago.
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Balaamsass2
Welcome to the group!
Ditto on this advice: " Probably best if you continue to play the "MOM IS SICK" card and tell them your schedule is SO BUSY at the moment that you are SO STRESSED OUT. Thank them for their love and concern and promise you'll see them real soon -- just as soon as you are able to get back in person."
Remember: "out of sight... is out of mind".
Disappear graciously, without explanation.
Sometimes "moving" is easiest. Literally, or simply to another hall with "more convenient" meeting times.
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NOT on JW.org.: Author Jodie Chapman on growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness
by Balaamsass2 indoes anything sound familiar?
‘fiction opened my eyes’: author jodie chapman on growing up as a jehovah’s witness.
this article is more than 1 month old.
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Balaamsass2
Spot on:" Looking back, I struggle to think of books that would have been more shocking than the Bible. Babies’ heads dashed against rocks, entire nations murdered by an angry God, an upcoming worldwide genocide of billions … yet it is a tree with coloured lights that was deemed offensive."
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Will Watchtower and Jehovah's Witnesses suffer the same fate as the Catholic Church?
by Balaamsass2 innorthern california, 4/2/2024.
"sacramento catholic diocese files for bankruptcy reorganization in wake of abuse lawsuits".
https://www.yahoo.com/news/sacramento-catholic-diocese-files-bankruptcy-160421282.html.
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Balaamsass2
The area covered by this Bankruptcy is huge. A giant chunk of California, from Stockton north to the Oregon border.
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NOT on JW.org.: Author Jodie Chapman on growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness
by Balaamsass2 indoes anything sound familiar?
‘fiction opened my eyes’: author jodie chapman on growing up as a jehovah’s witness.
this article is more than 1 month old.
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Balaamsass2
Does anything sound familiar?
"
‘Fiction opened my eyes’: author Jodie Chapman on growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness
This article is more than 1 month oldThe author was told she was living through ‘the time of the end’ – then Margaret Atwood, Thomas Hardy and George Orwell challenged her understanding of the world".
"I
used to knock on people’s doors and tell them the end of the world was coming. We were born imperfect, I would say, and soon will come the day of Armageddon when we will all be tested. Be good and you could win life in Paradise. Be bad, and your reward is annihilation. No wonder people would see us coming and turn off the lights.
Stories have always been in my blood. Until a few years ago, I based my life on their outcome. Raised in the UK as a Jehovah’s Witness, I was told we were in “the time of the end”, which meant we were in the third act of Life’s story, when I would soon be rewarded with eternal life on a paradise Earth.
John Hurt as Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Photograph: TCD/Prod.DB/AlamyEvery Witness child was given a copy of My Book of Bible Stories, a heavy yellow hardback. From the moment I could listen, I was taught the story of Abraham, who almost murdered his son after God commanded him as a test. The accompanying illustration of Isaac tied up on a sacrificial altar as his father looms over him with a knife was terrifying. Then there was Lot’s wife, who was turned to salt for daring to look back at the fire God was raining down on her hometown. I never questioned these stories or their morals. Why would I? They were taught to me at the same time as my ABC. They were my version of “normal”.
My entertainment was heavily vetted. Anything with ghosts or witches was banned. Christmas and birthday colouring pages were ripped out. Looking back, I struggle to think of books that would have been more shocking than the Bible. Babies’ heads dashed against rocks, entire nations murdered by an angry God, an upcoming worldwide genocide of billions … yet it is a tree with coloured lights that was deemed offensive.
I was allowed to choose my own books, but reading was a pastime that came second to religious activities. I attended a mainstream school, leaving after A-levels, but usually Witnesses attain only the most basic education, and are instead encouraged to direct all effort towards preaching. University is frowned upon. Although I was never forced into full-time preaching, there was little encouragement to take my education seriously. Books have always been the easiest way to travel.
George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four gave a label to the “doublethink” and “thoughtcrime” that I accepted as normal. When I read it in my early 20s, I had a genuine watershed moment. The way that “The Party” alters beliefs and insists followers accept these changes without dispute mirrored my community. The story of Winston, who knows the truth and yet must conform for his own survival, opened a door I had never dared to touch.
The TV adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale. Photograph: BFA/AlamyMargaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale opened my eyes to the danger of a patriarchy that positions itself as beneficial to women. I had recently become a mother and so the themes of suppression of women and loss of agency in the name of religion inspired a visceral reaction. I was already having doubts about my faith, and this book made them snowball.
Perhaps because my imagination was forged in such bloodthirsty fire, stories have always felt more alive and memorable than nonfiction. What could be a more devastating teacher on the subject of slavery and its subsequent trauma than Toni Morrison’s Beloved? Parts of the story left me so angry that I had to keep putting down the book to compose myself. I read it after I had stepped away from my community, but it only confirmed my doubts. How could a powerful god stand by and watch this happen and not feel compelled to intervene?
A rule I had always struggled to accept was disfellowshipping, when wrongdoers are cut off and even their family are not to have any contact. Shunning those who simply no longer want to be a member is also normal among Jehovah’s Witnesses. Classics such as Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles and John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga, which feature characters cast out for allegedly going against the accepted morals of their day, helped me realise the unfairness of such a practice.
In my community, shunning was viewed as a loving action that would bring the shamed one to their senses. This is not love, I realised. It is like what a wicked stepmother in stories would do, locking up a child until they begged to be released. Anything, the child would scream, I’ll do anything if you just let me out of this dark and lonely room.
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In my first novel, Another Life, written soon after I stepped away from my community in my 30s and lost many friendships, the character of Anna is cast out of her religion for the sin of no longer believing. In my second, Oh, Sister, I explore the struggles of three women within the confines of a doomsday patriarchal religion based heavily on the Witnesses. Their names – Jen, Zelda and Isobel – form a loose anagram of Jezebel, perhaps the most reviled biblical woman, who was pushed from a window to her death, trampled by horses then eaten by dogs.In the real-life story of my former community, female characters are not allowed a voice. The elders in charge are men. They make the decisions, and the women (“sisters”) must abide by them. I was often labelled “a sister with opinions” and remained an active member until several years ago, when my doubts became too large to ignore. Despite my ability to speak up, talking about myself and being the centre of attention have never come easily. If you are taught all your life that you are not equal to any man, even the most stubborn must absorb a little of that narrative. Perhaps this is why I wrote these women, so that through their stories, I could process the strangeness of the world that was once my home.
Reviews of Oh, Sister call it “a horror story” and “a dystopian fairytale”, which has been surprising because the world in which these women live was my definition of normal. If not for the power of fiction, perhaps I would still be there now.
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Not on JW.org, A THIRD Bomb found at an Austrian Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
by Balaamsass2 inattacks in the usa, germany, india, and now austria.
is it becoming more dangerous to attend jw meetings?
explosive device found at jehovah's witness meeting in austria.
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Balaamsass2
Attacks in the USA, GERMANY, India, and now Austria. Is it becoming more dangerous to attend JW meetings?
Explosive device found at Jehovah's Witness meeting in Austria
"A package containing explosives has been found at a congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Austria.
As it turned out on Saturday, it could have "potentially caused great damage," the police reported. The service took place on Friday evening in Kalsdorf, to the south of the southern city of Graz. Around 50 people were in attendance.
The package was discovered in the entrance area of the building. The police arrived, cordoned off the area and recovered the package. The operation lasted all night because explosives experts feared that the parcel was dangerous and could only move it with extreme caution.
After a thorough investigation, a police spokesman said on Saturday: "It is an unconventional, homemade, but basically functional explosive device."
According to the police, state security was investigating.
There was no information on Saturday about possible perpetrators or the background to the incident.
Last year, there were already two incidents involving explosives at Jehovah's Witness organizations in Austria.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/explosive-device-found-jehovahs-witness-173717519.html
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Prediction: I think the Blood Policy is about to change.
by underground ini’d like to start out by saying this is my opinion.. i believe that the organisation is about to make blood transfusions in any form a conscience matter.. they will still ban the eating of blood.. they will gaslight everyone by talking about how it is so much safer now.
and will say something along the lines of how our stance protected us from the aids crisis etc.. and i believe this change is going to happen before the annual meeting 2024.. i think the annual meeting will announce they are scrapping the midweek meeting and instead we get to watch a streamed talk at home through a revamped website similar to the way netflix works.. obviously take my opinion with a hefty pinch of salt..
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Balaamsass2
I was expecting a change...especially for minors...until I read the 2024 Flock book Atlantis posted yesterday. GB 3.0 are still hanging on to the illogical and unscriptural views that even Orthodox Jews repudiate.
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Disaster preparedness
by ElderBerry inas your family considers its disaster preparedness plan, please ensure that the secretary has up-to-date contact information for you and your emergency contact.
also, we have re- peatedly seen good results when brothers and sisters are prepared with go bags and are ready to obey direction when they face various kinds of disasters.
please be sure you have a go bag, and review its contents at least once a year.
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Balaamsass2
The GO-BAG idea is one of the better GB 3.0 ideas.
(I had to smile watching my mom and aunts get excited talking about them in their 80s. Of course, they never really worked out the details of where they would sleep or rest their 80-year-old bones. How they would cook their canned beans, or go to the bathroom.)
For JWs, Go bags are a physical reminder the "END" is near. :) The elders can keep an up-to-date list of WHERE everyone is...easier to monitor. :)
PS: When half our town had to evacuate because of a wildfire a few years ago, we were unable to find one empty hotel room within 150 miles. So having canned food, water and camping equipment eased our minds. With 30k people evacuating, many people ended up "camping" for a week in shopping center parking lots. (we were fortunate the winds suddenly changed when the flames were just a couple of blocks away and spared our home).
As usual, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, (eventually FEMA, the National Guard and some other groups) showed up to help folks within 48 hours. Watchtower...crickets...lol.
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2024-April Shepherd The Flock Of God Manual.
by Atlantis in2024-april-elder-manual.. .
https://files.accessjw.org/s/qpctw2hg87t9hxx .
grandpa!.
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Balaamsass2
Thanks Atlantis!
Very WEIRD.
Why release the book this month when it conflicts with the announcements? It's not like they had printed thousands of copies...they simply needed to change the pdf.
All the weird hard line stuff is still in the PDF.
Removing servants for allowing their kids to attend college? Crazy!
