SAHS

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Posts by SAHS

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  77

  Just quit quietly - the law is on your side!

  by Ajax in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  freedon of religion guarantees any individual the legal right to abandon any religion at any time for any reason.. if you are a citizen of a country which champions human rights, then your government doesn t care what religion you join, but they will uphold your freedom to join it, without interference, coercion or persecution.

  your countries human rights legislation will conversely uphold your rights when it comes time to abandon any religion you so choose.

  those (elders) who incite others interfere, coerce or persecute those who have left will be in transgression of the human rights statutes.. a person is only obligated to ecclesiastic law if he exposes himself to it or transgressed it while still a member of a religious community.. when your time comes to abandon the jw-wt cult, do it while still in good standing, be proactive - be decisive -put it in writing!..and do it before the hounders set sights on you.. write a card or letter with as much or as little explanation as you one day might wish to share with pharisees and lawyers.. take this card to a notary public to have your signature witnessed and have the writing overstamped in several places with the date.

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  SAHS

  “Ajax”: “When someone needs to escapes from abuse, the technicalities of the method of escape are irrelevant.”

  That is certainly a fundamental truth based on the universal principle of natural law. Abuse is abuse, and it should not be required of anybody to take abuse, either of their person, their free will, or their intrinsic legal human rights.

  However, if a person were to in any way attempt to rely on some legally signed, witnessed, and dated document, then that document would have to be sent and delivered to the party to which it is directed in a timely fashion to effectively and fairly communicate the content and essence of that document. People or organizations are not required to be mind readers.

  But having said that, of course, in a case of universally recognized abuse – such as the Watchtower’s smear tactic and coercive instrument of public disfellowshipping – then no such legal document would be needed, as the right to leave one’s religion (as explicitly specified in Article 18 of UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights) is already deemed to be a basic universal and inalienable right of everyone. (At least in theory and on paper.) Requiring any kind of legal disassociation letter would be like requiring a battered wife to produce some legal document to escape a dangerous domestic situation, or requiring a child sex slave to get a legal letter drafted by a lawyer to escape forced slavery or unlawful coercion and confinement.

  Being effectively held against one’s will through fear and intimidation techniques of the Watchtower clearly violates the principles of basic human rights, and should really also be prohibited by law, especially considering all the fear, depression, and even suicides which are – and have already been – the obvious and tangible offshoots of this despicable practice of forced shunning to blackmail followers into compliance and servitude.

  I think that our best weapon as XJWs is not so much to individually seek legal redress but, rather, the power of the media, in all its forms, to publically expose the cult. That way, instead of having to waste enormous funds on civil and/or legal proceedings, we can all band together with our collective voice to hit the cult where it hurts the most: general public opinion. That way, we can not only liberate ourselves but be the catalyst for others to be able to liberate themselves also.

  Remember, we do have the power. No secret preemptive written disassociation in our arsenal is really necessary.
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  44

  Looking for Truth with a capital "T"?

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  stop begging for crumbs like a pigeon in the park!.

  nobody anywhere has truth tied up with a red ribbon to hand to you so you.

  can go skipping down the road with a smile!.

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  SAHS

  Now that’s some advice you can take to the bank! Finally, some logical realism.

  “People make shit up and sell it as TRUTH. People who are dumber buy it and make it their world.”

  That’s an understatement. What I like to call the “excremental truth” – that is, the ever-present verbal/written mystical religious shit – has always been with us, from the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata, . . . oh, and the Bible, as well as the Talmud, Koran, Book of Mormon, etc. And kind of along those same lines, we have the current fringe beliefs of things like the sasquatch, Loch Ness monster, the abominable snowman, the Latin chupacabra (blood-sucking demon monster), green aliens who apparently had a hankering to crash-land in Roswell, New Mexico, etc., etc., etc. Yep, from astrology to numerology (and don’t forget pyramidology!) to so-called faith healers to crystal ball gazing, tarot card reading street charlatans – well, as one of my favorite expressions goes, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

  Now, myself – I just believe in (or at least now I do) the concept of a “Higher Power,” or “God,” as being simply the natural processes and functioning of the universe as a whole. Some people think of “God” as being simply Good Orderly Direction. I think that the reality of the “God” concept is really more of a purely mathematical phenomenon, somewhat akin to some form of mathematical “chaos theory.” But I do NOT believe in any mystical entity as a “divine being,” which so many people seem to keep stuck on. I think that people have some innate tendency to fabricate and anthropomorphize such a being, or deity, which is in fact just a projection of their own need, or at least yearning, for some all-wise, all-powerful father figure (I think Freud had that one right). But when you look at the history of humankind from a psychological, anthropological perspective, it become so obvious that people’s believe in a “God” is not coincidentally quite self-serving and rife with all the basic human defects of character – such as fear, pride, greed, and lust. After all, don’t all religious groups keep claiming, “We’re right, everyone else is wrong!” It’s always “us vs. them” – or at least “our god vs. your god.”

  As you said, Terry, “A good life is a practical life.” At the end of the day, it all boils down to, as you stated: “Build your own world. People it with sanity. Water it and nurture it and watch it grow. At the end of life, you'll look back on friends, family, people who admire you for all the help you've been. THAT is your heavenly reward.” As the popular expression goes, “Some of the best things in life are free.” So many folks the world over squander so much of their lives striving for some ideal to put them in good stead with a made-up “afterlife,” while the real answer to the meaning of life has been right under their nose all along – I believe that the answer to the meaning of life is that there is NO such answer; the meaning of life is simply in the living of life one day, one moment at a time and enjoying the journey. It’s called “mindfulness.” And that, my friend, is the so-called big secret of it all. And that, as you so eloquently put it, is: “So simple. So beautiful. So true.”
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  77

  Just quit quietly - the law is on your side!

  by Ajax in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  freedon of religion guarantees any individual the legal right to abandon any religion at any time for any reason.. if you are a citizen of a country which champions human rights, then your government doesn t care what religion you join, but they will uphold your freedom to join it, without interference, coercion or persecution.

  your countries human rights legislation will conversely uphold your rights when it comes time to abandon any religion you so choose.

  those (elders) who incite others interfere, coerce or persecute those who have left will be in transgression of the human rights statutes.. a person is only obligated to ecclesiastic law if he exposes himself to it or transgressed it while still a member of a religious community.. when your time comes to abandon the jw-wt cult, do it while still in good standing, be proactive - be decisive -put it in writing!..and do it before the hounders set sights on you.. write a card or letter with as much or as little explanation as you one day might wish to share with pharisees and lawyers.. take this card to a notary public to have your signature witnessed and have the writing overstamped in several places with the date.

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  SAHS

  “oppostate”: “This will prevent their announcing anything about your not being a JW anymore, all you've done is leave that congregation and that's not a DF'ing offense.”

  If that is all a person is seeking to accomplish – simply leaving or withdrawing from a particular congregation – then there is nothing else he or she needs to do but simply leave that congregation. There would be no necessity for any type of legal letter if that’s all that’s involved – leaving a particular congregation.

  The only situation requiring a legal letter would be if someone wanted to formally leave the Jehovah’s Witness religion itself and no longer wished to be identified as a Jehovah’s Witness. But of course the tricky part is submitting a written disassociation while still expecting to get out of actually being disfellowshipped and having the standard “so-and-so is no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses” announcement made at the next mid-week meeting. Unfortunately, I think it looks like that would be a rather impossible outcome to avoid.

  The only way someone can have their cake and eat it too by effectively leaving the Jehovah’s Witness religion and not being formally disfellowshipped is to just do the fade thing while simply telling anyone who tries to interrogate them that they don’t wish to discuss anything whatsoever. And if someone were to do just that – fade away while refusing to discuss anything – and they still got disfellowshipped in absentia, then they would probably have somewhat of a fairly good case for a lawsuit for basic breach of contract under “natural law.”
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  77

  Just quit quietly - the law is on your side!

  by Ajax in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  freedon of religion guarantees any individual the legal right to abandon any religion at any time for any reason.. if you are a citizen of a country which champions human rights, then your government doesn t care what religion you join, but they will uphold your freedom to join it, without interference, coercion or persecution.

  your countries human rights legislation will conversely uphold your rights when it comes time to abandon any religion you so choose.

  those (elders) who incite others interfere, coerce or persecute those who have left will be in transgression of the human rights statutes.. a person is only obligated to ecclesiastic law if he exposes himself to it or transgressed it while still a member of a religious community.. when your time comes to abandon the jw-wt cult, do it while still in good standing, be proactive - be decisive -put it in writing!..and do it before the hounders set sights on you.. write a card or letter with as much or as little explanation as you one day might wish to share with pharisees and lawyers.. take this card to a notary public to have your signature witnessed and have the writing overstamped in several places with the date.

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  SAHS

  I like the idea of a preemptive written disassociation. It would be advantageous and prudent to draft a simple document notifying that you no longer agree with or follow the teachings and directives of the Watchtower corporation and as such no longer wish to be known as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The document should be duly executed by a lawyer or notary public, properly witnessed and dated. The document should also include Article 18 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by the United Nations:

  “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

  That paragraph should include a direct reference to the United Nations’ Web page from which that quote is taken: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/.

  Whether or not that Article in the UN Declaration is in any way legally enforceable, the important thing is that it be included word-for-word anyway as a tangible and poignant reminder that any coercion or blackmail initiated by the Watchtower or its representatives is in direct contravention of the basic standards of human rights of the UN.

  You would think since the Watchtower wanted to be an actual NGO member of the UN for all that time that they could at least attempt to follow the UN’s basic tenets! This just further illuminates the profound hypocrisy and duplicity of the Watchtower.
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  5

  Great parody of the "lets go out in service" Sofia and Caleb video!

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=naitj9inc5q.

  .

  this is a funny parody of the now famous "lets go out in service" video for kids on jw.org.... enjoy!.

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  SAHS

  Wouldn’t it be funny if someone actually hacked the JW.org Web site and somehow replaced the real Caleb and Sophia videos in the children’s section with those three episodes of “Jehovah Boy” by “roguepixel100” on YouTube? Now that would be funny! I wonder how long it would be until one of the over-starched white shirt and tie wearing dubs at the headquarters would discover that something was wrong?
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  10

  Will the Image Meaning Change?

  by Theredeemer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/official-america-now-no-2-150936444.html.

  how will the dubs spin this?.

  .

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  SAHS

  Brett Arends, MarketWatch article on Yahoo! Finance: “This latest economic earthquake follows the development last year when China surpassed the U.S. for the first time in terms of global trade. . . . Make no mistake: This is a geopolitical earthquake with a high reading on the Richter scale.”

  Maybe the GB will spin this with another of their references to the symbolic “earthquakes” in the book of Revelation relating to political upheaval, like they have already done in their Revelation Climax book. Maybe they need yet another version of that Revelation Climax book to be up-to-date with no doubt more of their conniving interpretations and speculations in this 21st century.
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  16

  the Wt Study last Weekend

  by thedog1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wasn't at the study at the weekend, the reason was family health problems, but even if that had not been the case i wouldn't have been there.

  has anybody else who was there or read the article noticed the unbelievable begging bowl being produced for the pioneers and cos and bethelites, etc?

  maybe this has been commented on already but in effect witnesses are being asked to financially support, not only pioneers, but circuit overseers if they need medical help, and to fill in with dealing with aged parents if missionaries are abroad.

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  SAHS

  “Oubliette”: “‘Those who enter the full-time ministry do so, not to gain financially, but to give – to Jehovah and to others.’ – w2014, 9/15, p. 32, para. 21” “So why don't the GB members "give" the money they control to others?”

  That’s because the GB consider themselves to be the “others” (i.e., they want people to give to Jehovah and to themselves). And since in reality the GB and Jehovah are one and the same (yes, folks, it’s really, in effect, a psychological thriller with a twist), all the money just goes to the empire of the oh so great and wonderful GB. (Sarcasm indeed.)
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  24

  CAN WE SOLVE THE MYSTERY of why Watchtower doctrines changed when they changed?

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if a person gives a police report of a traumatic event, but later changes their facts during cross-examination, these changes are used to impeach the honesty of the witness.. this impeachment flows from a logical understanding facts must match reality without contradiction.. lets examine the history of the watchtower corporations leaders with a view to the harmony of.

  true teaching over a period of years from 1879-1942.. "even though christmas is not the real anniversary of our lord's birth, but more properly the annunciation day or the date of his human begetting (luke 1:28), nevertheless, since the celebration of our lord's birth is not a matter of divine appointment or injunction, but merely a tribute of respect to him, it is not necessary for us to quibble particularly about the date.

  we may as well join with the civilized world in celebrating the grand event on the day which the majority celebrate - "christmas day.

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  SAHS

  It would seem that those later changes toward banning Christmas and birthdays, dogmatically insisting on a stake/pole as opposed to the standard cross (which was, in fact, used in Rome at the time), as well as the ban on transfusing whole blood or the four major components thereof, including autologous transfusion (can’t store your own blood to transfuse back into yourself because it would be “stored,” but blood tests are allowed) – all those and many other changes weren’t so much to do with any supposed scriptural validity but, rather, as a mechanism to foster a black-and-white, “us-verses-them” view pertaining to the “world” in general. And that, of course, is quite an instrumental means used by the WTS in securing control over its ignorant and bewildered membership.
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  5

  JW's and Ambient Abuse

  by Jehovanomics in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ambient abuse is the stealth, subtle, underground currents of maltreatment that sometimes go unnoticed even by the victims themselves, until it is too late.

  ambient abuse penetrates and permeates everything but is difficult to pinpoint and identify.

  it is ambiguous, atmospheric, diffuse.

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  SAHS

  “Jehovanomics”: “Her membership in the abuser's "kingdom" is cast as a privilege and a prize.”

  That sure sounds familiar! The WTS keeps always saying what an inestimable “privilege” it is to serve God them.
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  12

  What Is The Ideal Discussion Board For You?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i think these boards are great!

  it gives us the opportunity to express our feelings, our viewpoints, our concerns, etc.

  when we were jws we could not freely do any of that.

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  SAHS

  “Terry,” you beat me to it! My sentiments exactly: “THIS ONE.” This is the one and only discussion board I got into about eleven years ago when I really began questioning the JW religion, and I found it most informative and eye-opening. I came across a link somewhere on this site to a detailed chronological synopsis of the ever-changing doctrines and policies of the WTS called “Spiritual Food At the Proper Time” on the “http://www.freeminds.org” site, which really did if for me. But it was this particular site – “http://www.jehovahs-witness.net” – which began my journey to discover TTATT. This site seems to be the best one out there for in-depth inside information, insightful analysis, and a massive support community.

  “Simon”: “The limit is now about 4 billion [posts] so we should be good way into the new system and beyond.”

  LOL!