hello all, i'm 'researching', a jw who is in the first steps of taking a look at their beliefs.. i've semi-recently (about a couple weeks ago) heard about the sexual abuse cases (pennsylvania attorney general’s investigation request) and then the arc in 2015. this lead to a deep investigation, which lead to many questions arising.
a jw friend of mine suggested i be careful (due to apostates) and ask the brothers.
so i typed up my questions + concerns and emailed an elder my mother has known for a long time.
"The Elder did admit to my mother, who didn't believe me at first, that they keep records/a file of serious wrong-doing, seal it, and store it."
So much for forgiving up to 77 times. Hypocrites!!
Everything against WT is "apostate." Even a worldly thing, such as the ARC. They put their fingers in their ears and go.....lah lah lah. How can you even try and reason with unreasonable people? We quit trying. Life is too short!
I admire your persistence.
i just noticed the clam illustration of "reject brazen conduct" a young man in service walking past 2 others drinking beer and playing cards.
i know elders who do both.
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Spot on Phizzy!
a guy i was great friend with in my teens 'phoned me out of the blue today, and brought back a lot of fond memories, he was df'd, because he was a very naughty boy lol, but as he said, as is common with a lot of us exes, he took a long time to grow up.
he spoke of my parents, who despite being jw's, were lovely people, they took him in to our home when his mum was in hospital for some weeks, he also spoke of the good times we had as kids, and how his parents were good to him, and made him what he is today despite being jw's.. we sometimes do not give credit where it is due, my parents made me a lover of truth, but it is real truth i espouse now of course.. perhaps this kind of view of our upbringing is more positive than concentrating on all the downsides of what is basically an evil cult ?
looking at the (very few) positives can perhaps help us heal ?.
If it wasn't for "the truth" (not so true), I would not be married to my wonderful spouse and have great kids. I also had a great up bringing. I was one of the fortunate ones.
I just can not condone the upper crust of the Borg and it's decisions and unloving practices. I believe they have "conduct unbecoming a Christian." The minions follow along blindly, I hold them accountable also.
i ran across this short essay and thought it was worth passing along.
trauma is not your fault, but healing is your responsibility.
what happened to you was not your fault.. it was not something you asked for, it was not something you deserved.. what happened to you was not fair.. you were merely collateral damage on someone else’s warpath, an innocent bystander who got wrecked out of proximity.. we are all traumatized by life, some of us from egregious wrongdoings, others by unprocessed pain and sidelined emotions.
So true!
Thank you for sharing.
a few weeks ago i had an really interesting conversation with three male jws who were loitering around a trolley at the west end of princes street in edinburgh.. i managed to completely avoid giving any hint about my jw past and focussed on why they thought the bible was a reliable moral guide.
i used the subject of slavery to illustrate my concerns.. one of the three was in his early twenties, knew a lot about his own beliefs but nothing about the real life and it was difficult to get through his thought-bubble.
the second one was in his 60s and not very bright.
"He humbly admitted he had no answer to my challenge"
We have received similar responses from family on subjects they can't answer us on. They just either don't speak to us anymore or just don't raise any JW subjects when we are around. We were told by a couple of our family members that, "we are just too smart." Yeah, too smart to remain in a cult.
within the very documentary is a reason i think that jw's for the most part will not wake up even if they watch this program.
the one lady actually saw as her family sat behind the abuser in court supporting him despite the established fact that he had abused their very own child.. this shows how deep the indoctrination is.
i am not saying that some won't wake up, but the majority will carry on, not even because they think these things are lies but because they will look past that at all costs to side with jehovah.
"Rome wasn't built in 1 day. The Watchtower cult will unfortunately not go away immediately but it is losing its influence, control and credibility even amongst the die hard members."
Spot on krismalone!
We have family members well into their 70's who do the bare minimum. They have no education, no savings and no retirement. They were the generation that was told that they would not graduate from high school. Are they bitter? Hell yeah! They barely attend the meetings or assemblies (dial in only) and no longer participate in field serve us. They are broke, so I don't think they are donating. They attend the memorial once a year and that is about all they do. Are they still counted? Yep! They hang onto the belief that Jah will see all they have done in the past. They really don't know anything about the teachings (overlapping generation) and they know nothing about the child abuse cases, the GB, the ARC , etc. They bury their heads in the sand and hope that when Armageddon comes, Jah will let them enter the Kingdumb.
someone has uploaded both episodes to google drive.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l0ubvtriw6ytinnenmsmxpefotphconi/view.
Thank you Kim and Mike!!
i just had this flashback when commenting on another thread about how they used to announce reproof or dfing from the platform.
at least in our congregation, it was a dramatic event (this is what i can remember from back in the mid-late 60's or early 70's when i was a kid).. at the end of the service meeting, just before singing the final song, the brother would announce, "we have a letter that must be read.
the "congregation servant" (my grandfather or later my father) would then slowly walk from the back of the kh to the platform.
I have heard so and so has been DF'd, reproved, privately reproved for such and such.
What I have NEVER heard from the platform....so and so is a pedophile and is attending our kingdom Hall.
A true case of gulping down the camel and straining out the knat.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2020/02/08/jehovahs-witnesses-under-investigation-pennsylvania-attorney-generals-office/2425260001/.
Thank you Satan! This could not have happened to a more deserving bunch!
we know all the dissolved congregations in minneapolis/st.
paul now:.
1. lake of the isles .
"What is the spin that the organization is using to justify this downsizing? "
A family member (uber dub) told us it is "to make better use of donated funds."
My question (just thoughts to myself): "Well, what has Watchtower been doing with our funds for over 140 years? Why do they need to make better use of funds? Have they been mishandling the JW's hard earned money?"
When you shine a light on cockroaches or rodents, they will scurry and hide. Same thing here. If you shine a light on all that is wrong, the critter (WT) will run and hide. They will gather as much money as they can, sell off all the kingdumb Halls and go online. Their example of hunkering down in attics and basements goes completely against what we were raised with back in the day. "Boldness and standing erect because your deliverance is near." Really Watchtower? You all are now telling members to hide. Just like those critters who can't stand the light shining on them!!!
Watchtower is scared and nervous. They are getting exactly what they deserve.
HOW DOES IT FEEL WATCHTOWER, TO BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE JUDICIAL TABLE?
Karma is a bitch.
