http://www.balidiscovery.com/messages/message.asp?id=11719.
dismantling the watchtower .
five jehovah witnesses deported from bali for conducting door-to-door religious ministry .
@ Watchtower-Free - this is something the WTS will never post on their 'newsroom' link.
I've always wondered why faithful witnesses who were killed doing WTS work were never mentioned on their site or in their magazines. When they were mentioned in magazines they would downplay the deaths as something that Jehovah willed which always made me sick. The WTS always try to play both sides of the argument.
from so many posts and conversations on here, you'd think over 1/2 the posters here possess doctorates in theology, physics, biology, etc.
i'm curious aside from the books and research people have done here, what degrees they have.
to start, i just got an aa and going straight through full time to an mba.
AAS
BSBA
MBA
PhD - in Bullshit from WTS (dropped out, will never graduate)
I do distinctly remember a book that came out a few years ago that specifically pointed out that Jesus had not YET appointed his belongings to the FDS. Then I remembered how Matthew 24:48-51 and how Jesus would take these away from the evil slave due to his beating of his fellow slaves. While Jesus has not yet arrived yet the belongings have been taken away from the FDS leaves me a bit dumbfounded as to the WT motives. Now this concentration on Jesus putting Jehovah on the back burner perhaps just temporary who knows.
I've always had this feeling that the WT resembled the Antichrist in how they showed shoved Jehovah in everyone's face and Jesus would barely get a nod. Yet in most of Paul's letters and other apostles, it was Jesus first and THEN God. Go figure. They just make it up as they go along. It's almost as funny as the WT saying that prophecy most of the time can only be understood as it's happening or even after it has happened.
http://www.pamplinmedia.com/ht/117-hillsboro-tribune-news/255785-125363-jehovahs-witness-sex-abuse-case-in-feds-hands.
lawsuit seeks $10.5 million from hillsboro church, watchtower society .
attorneys for a 40-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man who say they were sexually abused nearly 30 years ago by a church elder in hillsboro want to have a lawsuit filed by the pair last fall placed back in state court jurisdiction.
While they may have admitted to keeping a perpetual list of pedophiles in their records in open court, they may be willing to take a huge gamble and destroy their documents on purpose and offer up some stooges to the courts to take the rap. This would be similar to the CIA and how they knowingly destroyed MK-ULTRA files before having to present them before Congress.
The WT will try and prolong these cases in order to build up as much cash as possible.
i remember studying this book years ago and how it impacted my belief system.
i no longer believe the bible is god's word.
however i do have a couple of lingering questions on this subject.
@ azor, Finkelstein, and truthseeker100 - You all make valid points. I understand this discussion can be tiring and debated for hours on end. There are certainly points that even make me question the validity of an intelligent creator. For example, ancient designs and writings and also the fossil record.
What you point out 'azor' is definitely one of those conundrums. That this intelligent being never had a beginning. Finkelstein points to the meteorite that seemingly points to being the dinosaur killer. And then there's truthseeker100's comment on deadly viruses wiping out millions. These questions hold valid arguments I agree.
Let me also add 'fukitol's' comment on God's moral standards. The pillaging and murdering of innocent women, men, children, and babies, ranks up there with some of the most horrific crimes being perpetrated even today. This is one of those arguments that I also have a tough time reconciling with a beautiful loving Creator.
Sometimes we see a cup half full and others see it half empty. Therein lies the fundamental reason separating our opinions.
i remember studying this book years ago and how it impacted my belief system.
i no longer believe the bible is god's word.
however i do have a couple of lingering questions on this subject.
If God did not exist, how does one explain how thanks to the perfectly positioned Moon the Earth is tilted just slightly enough to give us the four seasons? How about the Coriolis effect which allows for rest and night/day? And also how this effect allows for the water cycle in order to keep the land watered and humans can grow food? How about the Moon and how it affects the oceanic tides? How about not having the moon and seeing our days shrink down to about 8 hours instead of 24? How about the moon providing just enough light for us to see at night?How about gravity and keeping us on the ground? How about the Earth being perfectly positioned away from the Sun so that we don't either burn up or freeze to death? How about our bodies and how they are perfectly controlled by the brain? Our circulatory, vascular, and organ systems? How is it that all of these things are fully automatic without us having to do anything? How about the amazing way the kidney's function in filtering the impurities from our blood? There are many more things that point to someone having designed it and created it.
With all due respect, everything points to an intelligent creator.
and i am finding the adjustment to the real world far more difficult than i ever imagined...i f...it has been about five years since i totally woke up to the fraudulant nwt and then all my other doubts i had carried for years were proved true as well.
but almost all of my few friends are exjw or slack jw's and i feel so isolated...my sons friends are mostly exjw too but not their gf's and they have way more normal friends .
how have you done at replacing lifelong friends and family?
Thank you Tenacious for bumping this thread. Eric was a friend of many on this site. His pain was real.I only wish I could have met Eric. The pain he endured really must have consumed him. Prior to joining this forum I would drop in and observe his and other's comments on different topics. What specifically called my attention about him was his avatar. As a fellow human being, I wish I could have been there for him. But I understand why he isolated himself. Many of us tend to do the same. The amount of anger that comes to me just knowing that Eric is dead as a result of the Org policies is incredible. And I didn't even know him. I guess because I know how the Org continues to perpetuate these rules and policies where if anyone awakes they might end up doing the same.
and i am finding the adjustment to the real world far more difficult than i ever imagined...i f...it has been about five years since i totally woke up to the fraudulant nwt and then all my other doubts i had carried for years were proved true as well.
but almost all of my few friends are exjw or slack jw's and i feel so isolated...my sons friends are mostly exjw too but not their gf's and they have way more normal friends .
how have you done at replacing lifelong friends and family?
I'm bumping this thread as a testament to those that still do not believe the Org can lead you to do the unthinkable. The thread author 'oompa'/Eric committed suicide due to the overwhelming emotional pain and turmoil from having his life turned upside down by the rules and policies that the Org deems scriptural when in fact they are not. Yes, shunning. The ultimate mental torture imposed and adhered to by devoted members that guarantees they will be saved and loved by Jehovah.
Ask yourself. Is this loving your enemy? Is this having mercy? Is this loving thy neighbor? Jesus adhered to these statements. So much so that he made the very human act 'to love one another' a commandment second only to loving God!
I never knew Eric and I can't possibly begin to understand how he must have felt during that last hour of his life. What his thoughts were, what his reasoning was, how he felt about the Org, his wife, his family, and those brothers who considered him a friend. I do know this. And I'll state this emphatically. If you are a practicing 'brother' or 'sister' and truly delude yourself into thinking you are merely carrying out the Org's policies.
Think again!
Eric's blood is on your hands. You are guilty!
If you were smart enough to come on here and peruse to try and convince yourself that the Org is in fact 'The Way' don't kid yourself. If you still attend and participate, you are just as guilty as those that drove this kind loving man to his death. You are not exempt. You can try and rationalize all you want, but when judgement comes, you won't be spared. Try as you may, you are inconsequential to the GB and the Org. You are merely a pawn in a much sinister power plan.
You are nothing without accepting the truth and what scripture truly teaches.
Rest easy Eric, you feel no more pain, you are quietly sleeping now. I hope to see you soon my fellow loving neighbor.
i stumbled upon this site about a week ago while googling a question.
the question was "why can't jw's have beards?
" i read the responses and realized the truth in them.
My dad would always be talking about how Jehovah didn't want anyone serving him just because they felt like the were being forced to.Yeah, that would be about 95% of the members. They are forced either directly (spouse, children) and indirectly (mom, dad, friends).
....a JC was created, I wasn't DF'ed because I hadn't actually done anything but was told either dump my fiance or be publicly censored.I would have laughed my head off and probably rolled on the floor in front of them. Of course, that's today.
i just wanted to add another piece to the puzzle that is the exile from the organization.
a little background about myself first.
i was not born into the religion, technically.
but at the same time asked to have all my privileges revoked, no longer a reader, no talks, no prayer at meetings, no doing the sound, etc. They were fine with that but clearly disturbed at my though process.Wow, this sounds so much like my situation as well. I also gave up everything as I knew I would one day have to walk away. The same as you bradford, brothers started shunning like I had the plague. It was actually quite funny to see. Up until a few weeks ago, many have started to come around again. I look at them with a big smile that says 'get the **ck away from me you hypocrite'. Those that do manage to make it to the handshake get a very cold icy look that has 'you two-faced **cksucker' written all over it. These are people that are supposed to be there for you when you are down spiritually but instead they chose to look good by avoiding you. What a sick **cken organization. Just sick. I hope one of these days to put up my story when I have plenty of time on these boards. Welcome and hope everything turns out good for you and your wife. I wish you the very best my man. I truly do.
