Could you be Double Disfellowshipped????? Oh, thats why they came.
Some folks are just disfellowshipped...others are very, very disfellowshipped.
Rabbit ( vewwy, vewyy marked...)
complete shock came over me this past saturday when an elder and young bap.
guy showed up at my door to see me.. i had attended some meetings for a few weeks back in early 2006 as an appeasment for my mother and had spoken with an elder because he asked what my intentions were.
i of course told them that i wanted to come back.
Could you be Double Disfellowshipped????? Oh, thats why they came.
Some folks are just disfellowshipped...others are very, very disfellowshipped.
Rabbit ( vewwy, vewyy marked...)
i just ran across this on upi (united press international) .
so the question is: would the borg/gb/legal consider this blood or an organ transplant, since it comes from cultured stem cells?.
snakesinthetower (of the curious sheep .
Snakes...
Thank you for posting that. Science is moving at light speed, while the WT walks at the same pace as the goat-herders that wrote the Bible. Sooner, than later, I think most JW's will see the GB & their lawyers are BS 'have beens' and walkout.
*This, of course, apparently does not apply to my JW relatives.
if you look in your various yearbooks, you'll find that the society makes a statement each year about.
how much money they supposedly spend supporting the preaching work.
in the late '90's it was .
The World-wide Preaching Work ™ can get real expensive... when you allow pedophiles to rape children under protection of the Bible's 2 witness rule.
two months ago i stepped down as an elder in the cong, it was a tremdous relief although a shock to the cong.
two and a half days ago i sent in a letter of explaination concerning why i wanted to step down and why i will be absent from the kh.
it only took two and a half days for the accusation of apostasy to be made against me.
First off ...Welcome !
This site is a good place to land when you're having a "Crises of Conscience". It's amazing how many newbies show up everyday, there are lots of JW's, no matter what their 'rank' is that see the hypocrisy and unloving WT practices that had been defining their life. Finally, they must do something about it.
I am losing my wife over this situation as well, which is quite disturbing. But, my two daughters have also left and my son never took to the truth so I do have a support system. But, I have learned to keep many things to myself since I see little benefit from speaking up. Most do not accept the negative info concerning their faith.
concerned x
I am sorry about your marriage. When I first started questioning 'All Things WatchTower' with my 'uber-dub' wife of 25 years...rather than try and help me thru those problems...she panicked. I wasn't trying to obstruct her faith, I just wanted to stop my own involvement. She declared me "spiritually dangerous" and our marriage began to crumble, ending in divorce.
Unfortunately, as you read here you'll see ...this is extremely common. My children and JW relatives all shun me as "marked" and I'm not DF/DA. I did remarry a wonderful never-been-dub a few years later and am very happy. My marriage according to JW thinking is "adulterous." This 'Crises' is what brought me here initially.
The s**t has hit the fan for you and you haven't done anything wrong. It's gonna be rough, but, please let time be your friend. There can be a very real and happy life outside the Kingdom Hall -- no matter what the WT says.
Welcome again !
Rabbit
Btw, have you read, "Crises of Conscience" by Ray Franz ? Formerly of the Governing Body ? A real eye-opener.
would there be a backlash from current jws if the blood transfusion ban was lifted and made completely a conscience matter?.
i suspect, that only those who had lost a close relative would be bothered.
the others would just be relieved that they didn't have to worry about this traumatic issue anymore and they would carry on as ususal.. so, what is it, except for fear of legal action, that is stopping the ban being lifted?
Gill
Both my parents filled in their Advanced Medical Directive refusing ALL blood products. They made their suicide pact with the Watchtower Society's Help.
I'm so sorry. I'm sure all my kids and other JW siblings and relatives have done the same. And they watched the same good person die...at the same time as I did. The WatchTower Gobs and their lawyers must be smiling. They've carefully played chess with their followers lives...while maneuvering to protect the WT Queen from legal liability at any cost. Now, they've given their pawns a carefully worded written test, er, "choice" that guarantees them death, in case of an emergency.
Check mate. Don't pawns know they are expendable ? Nope.
Rabbit
would there be a backlash from current jws if the blood transfusion ban was lifted and made completely a conscience matter?.
i suspect, that only those who had lost a close relative would be bothered.
the others would just be relieved that they didn't have to worry about this traumatic issue anymore and they would carry on as ususal.. so, what is it, except for fear of legal action, that is stopping the ban being lifted?
Stapler99
I do believe that there is widespread confusion about the blood policy within the ranks of the witnesses. At one book study group someone was asking about the Advance Healthcare Directive that all JW's are being made to fill in now, and the option of whether you will accept blood fractions. "Is that not still blood?" was the question, and everyone in the book study group nodded. The conductor said something along the lines of "Well, I can sort of see how one might feel that one might accept fractions, er, well, its really a conscience matter..."
Unfortunately, the GB have done their fear mongering and mind-control jobs very well. You know what those Witnesses are really thinking ? Remember...they have been conditioned for years to be paranoid...about always being tested ! They believe this is just another Test...being sent down the pipeline thru the FDS...to them. Just another "separating work", a "winnowing the wheat from the chaff".
Right before "the End of this Wicked Old System of Things ™"
When the WT finally 'allowed' Hemoglobin onto their growing "Conscience Matter ™" list, I took the opportunity to talk to one of my grown JW kids about the "Advance Healthcare Directive". I encouraged her to allow all these fractions, especially the one that would have saved her grandmother's life. She firmly declined, saying, "...it's because there has been so many changes and so many JW's leaving ..that I think it may be Jehovah testing us...to see who has a weak conscience...so, I selected, No Blood Products of any kind..." and then she smiled...proudly. (She made Jehovah smile, too)
*sigh* I really don't want to attend another JW blood issue funeral.
Rabbit
deaths due to watchtower blood doctrine - statistics on one patient population.
to date there is no vetted study of records offering estimates of overall mortality and morbidity attributable to the wts blood doctrine.
vetted literature frequently expresses adherence to the wts blood doctrine as causing premature death and/or disease, but the question of overall mortality and morbidity is very complex and, so far, unaddressed statistically.
Gill
Rabbit - That's an interesting point that you make there about telling the story in all its gory details. Not one JW ever wanted to hear the graphic account of that day. Even my parents who visited when I was in HDU did NOT want my husband to tell them exactly what happened. It was brushed away with, 'You see! We don't need blood transfusions. You're fine now!'
It's absolutely important, imho, that the real painful details are recited to make your point. Otherwise, JW's will quickly fill in that gap with pure sugar-coating.
I was holding my Mom's hand when that l-o-n-g b-e-e-p came from her heart monitor, then, her beautiful eyes stopped moving...and stared straight ahead...at nothing. I was leaving the JW's slowly at the time and I did understand how wrong this was and had tried to stop it. I cannot explain the absolute fury that came over me, quietly, as I felt my mother die...needlessly.
BUT, within seconds of her death in a silent room full of faithful JW's, one fader and several normal people... there were the appropriate gasps and muffled cries of loved ones...
Then, quietly...I started hearing Witnesses saying:
"I am SO proud of Mom...she stayed faithful to the very end !"
"Yes, she sure did, I hope when I die it will be with her same integrity."
"Now, because of her Godly obedience, she's guaranteed a resurrection in Paradise™."
"Now, it's up to us to stay faithful and we'll be there to welcome her back at the Resurrection ™."
"I'm so glad she didn't give in on the blood transfusion, she's made Jehovah so happy. I know He's smiling down at her right now !."
These days...when I hear certain words...really strong emotions come up: faithful, integrity, obedience, guaranteed, happy,smiling... used to have just one definition each, now, I know the other very real meaning is... Danger.
Rabbit (Of the, If there is a god...I don't care... if he/she/its happy or not.)
deaths due to watchtower blood doctrine - statistics on one patient population.
to date there is no vetted study of records offering estimates of overall mortality and morbidity attributable to the wts blood doctrine.
vetted literature frequently expresses adherence to the wts blood doctrine as causing premature death and/or disease, but the question of overall mortality and morbidity is very complex and, so far, unaddressed statistically.
bttt...this is too important to be lost
deaths due to watchtower blood doctrine - statistics on one patient population.
to date there is no vetted study of records offering estimates of overall mortality and morbidity attributable to the wts blood doctrine.
vetted literature frequently expresses adherence to the wts blood doctrine as causing premature death and/or disease, but the question of overall mortality and morbidity is very complex and, so far, unaddressed statistically.
My mother told me that I was 'fine'. Not having a blood transfusion actually makes a person get better faster so I should be going back to the meetings by now!!!
My mother...didn't 'get better', she literally smothered to death. No matter what the doctors tried...her oxygen level just kept going down...until her heart stopped from lack of that needed oxygen. She needed red blood cells. But, her belief in the WT GoBs, murdered her.
Gill, I'm glad you're here to tell your story. THANK YOU...for being so detailed...and graphic. Death is not pretty, clean or sanitary. Witnesses need to read graphic stories like yours to 'shake them up' a little, hopefully making them think. The doctors in my Mom's case, just like in yours, reacted the same painful way...they are doing their jobs... trying their best to preserve life and cannot because of idiotic religious beliefs. At the end of the day, it's not only the JW that pays dearly...the doctors, nurses, relatives & friends are all victims, too.
Marvin, thank you for researching this. Somebody HAS already done a 'study' and knows the exact figure of the WT blood doctrine victims. The WatchTower...knows ! Not only do they know...they are proud of it ! Remember the Awake ? magazine where they showed the smiling pictures of a few of their youth victims ?
[Somebody...Please post a scan of that most appropriate "WatchTower Pride" article on this thread.]
To Bethelites: If you know and can get this information from the WT...and get it published here or somewhere...you could be instrumental in saving thousands of innocent lives...by embarrassing the GB so much, that they might finally abandon this deadly doctrine.
Rabbit
first of all i wanted to say that many of you have given some very good suggestions.
there is about 5 different things i'm making a point to do now that i wasn't thinking of before.
thanks a bunch!
Geez...guys this fellow needs some real help and suggestion, which, he's getting, so-o, what's with the 'pissing' contest ?
2nd...and on topic...someone in your other thread said that recordings were illegal. They are...only according to WT rules, anyone is allowed to record any conversation -- that they are a party to -- if they aren't part of the conversation, that's when wiretapping laws come in. Playing a recording of a conversation - to - someone - not - a part of the original conversation could be illegal.
Look in the front of your phone book...there are usually printed explanations of recording laws. Also, in my only recording attempt with elders, a lot of the tape had poor quality sound due to the 'white noise' caused by my suit coat 'scratching' the microphone, as I moved. Also, my voice was great, but, the Elders was muffled by the cloth. Try to find a concealed external mike at your local 'Spy' store ...and do a rehearsal to check your recording quality.
Good luck !
Rabbit