Posts by Stradman

35

My Mother died...

by david_10 in

jw
friends

it happened one year ago today.

june 4, 2004. they say these things take time and that recovery gets easier as time goes on, and i suppose that's true.

but then again, some things leave a hole in your heart that will never go away.

Stradman

Hello David.

I am terribly sorry for what happened to your mother. I too had to say “hasta luego” to mine a couple of years back. She was a devout catholic. She was a holy woman.

The problem that I see here, without the intension of offending you or whatever you believe at this point in time, is that leaving the organization as if it was the last bastion of faith left on earth, can lead to a tremendous disillusionment with God himself. That in my opinion is the biggest problem with Ray Franz and his books. For all the good he has done in exposing the falsehood of the WTBTS, he failed in helping others see the real Christ and the operation of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the born again person.

You have to remember that Ray did not want to leave the organization and did everything he could to stay inside. The Society had to kick him out and was then that he wrote “Crisis.” Obviously, Ray is free to do what he wants. I believe that what he really wanted was a “reform” and keeping a lot of the core doctrinal baggage somewhat intact.

So when you broke the news to your dear mother, it was the end of the road for her. Had you presented her with the reality of Jesus and the fact that He was there for her and she could continue to serve God with a greater understanding and purpose, things may have gone differently. I agree that we should never expose the truth if are not prepared to handle the fallout. The various scenarios of the possible consequences need serious exploration. If we do not have a sound plan to comfort the person and lead them to Christ, is my opinion, are best left where they are. Hind sight is 20/20, as the old clique goes. Don’t kill yourselves rehashing what could have been done. I think going back to the Hall may have been even more painful. Your mother just knew too much.

As to her eternal future, I just may say that the God of the Bible is just and above all loving. He knows all the facts and will reward all according to our deeds.

Free in Christ

Stradman

45

How did 1975 affect you?

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

i lived thru the 1975 fiasco.

many here did too.. on another board there was discussion about the way the congregations were before 1975. some thought that they were like small country churches in some ways.

we did our own work on repairs at the kingdom hall, like a family.

Stradman

I was baptized in September 1973, just as I began my last year of high school. I was under tremendous pressure form my peers at the congregation and those at school not to pursue a college education, not to mention the organization in general.

My mother, who was not a witness, and my teachers, had big plans for me. I had, reluctantly applied to various universities and in particular to the best engineering and architecture schools in my country. I was accepted in the engineering school but not in the architectural school, which only took 50 students per year.

The news from the school of architecture gave me the opportunity to avoid college altogether and despite graduating at the top of my class; I accepted a job with a small engineering firm earning $1.75 an hour. My mother and teachers were extremely disappointed. Although I had my doubts about 1975, the comfort of having the approval of the congregation was enough to calm any feelings of regret I may and indeed harbored about my decision.

Like many others during that period, experienced the rude awakening to a delayed Armageddon and made the best of the poor choices we made. Eventually, through sheer persistence and dedication, I became qualified as a civil engineer some twenty years after the fact. The economic losses as a result of following this route are incalculable.

Today, I have become acquainted with countless similar stories of men and women who wasted precious years of their lives chasing Armageddon. Now at 48, I have experienced fatherhood for the first time and today, one day after the inauguration of president Busch, experienced a sense of patriotism and gratitude to this country for all that freedom represents, freedom of choice, even if I do not agree with some of the corrupt things done in the name of that freedom.

I thank God that He gave me a wakeup call this early in my life. Others, at the sunset of their lives, have not been so fortunate. Some are at Bethel and, although they know better, are trapped and see no place to go. They are in too far.

God bless and comfort, all of you whose lives were affected by the teachings of immodest and plain old wicked men who sat on the throne of Christ for a season.

Stradman

66

OK, I HAVE to meet with the judicial committee. Advice?

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

hey guys,.

" you say, "no you don't, you mind-controlled idiot.

tell 'em to fark off.

Stradman

Hello Dave,

I am sorry you are being put through this manmade stupid process! Without knowing all the details of your predicament I dare say that trying to extend the process three months may be too risky.

You could, of course, play the ?humble? card, tell the elders you are spiritually week and the whole Christmas thing was a mistake and that you need somebody to study the Bible with you and help mend your ways. How sincere you can make it sound may spare you a disfellowshipping.

On the other hand, you may accept the fact that Christian freedom has a price and you may need to stand firm in your convictions and pay it, regardless of the pain it may cause.

With respect to reaching out to the elders with arguments from the scriptures, you may try. If they are typical elders, they will hate someone trying to teach them something. This ?bad attitude? will compound your problems.

The cleanest way to leave is writing a letter of resignation and walking away. This will spare a lot of pain and will keep the matter more private which, in the long run, may allow some to reach out and talk to you, especially your family members. As to the letter of resignation, I will make sure that each elder gets a personal copy AT THE SAME TIME or thereabouts. This will increase the chances that he will read it without the pressure of being in front of the others. This way you can get as personal as you want to the individual.

These are my two cents. I will be praying for you and your family. May the wisdom and the comfort of the Lord guard you.

Stradman

75

The Watchtower: Sincere Old Men or Deliberate Deceivers?

by metatron in

when a witness encounters injustices engendered by the watchtower and considers them.

with clarity of mind, he is likely to suppose that , at worst, the old men who run things.

are sincere but misguided.

Stradman

Exhibit A

 
		Back in July, 2004 I met a Jehovah's Witness and she gave me a copy of the Watchtower (July 1, 2004) where Dr. Stott (johnstott.org) candid remarks were quoted. As usual, they do not give you information on the source, because they have the tendency to take quotes out of context.

 
		The words quoted on paragraph 5, page 15, are ? Our failure to obey the 
		implications of this command [evangelization] is the greatest weakness of evangelical Christians in the field of evangelism today.? and a few other comments along those lines. Their point is to exalt their own door-to-door evangelism activity.

 
		I wanted to have access to the complete article, book, etc. in order to get the whole story. I do not trust them!

 
		Upon contacting John Stott?s ministry I got this answer:

 
		Greetings from John Stott Ministries!

 
		Thank you for your inquiry of John Stott. While still thriving at the age of 83, John Stott finds that he no longer has the energy of mind and body to respond to all the questions and requests which he continues to receive. We trust that you can understand this situation.

We do not publish John Stott books at this ministry, but you may contact the publisher InterVarsity Press directly with your question.

 
		Blessings in Christ,

John Stott Ministries

 __________________________________________________________

Not giving up, I found this information at this Web Site:

http://www.christianity.co.nz/church11.htm

 
		At the World Congress on Evangelism in Berlin in 1966, John Stott stated, in a Bible Study on John's version of the Great Commission:

By his birth, by his life and his death, God's Son identified himself with us. He did not stay apart from us or aloof from us. He made himself one with us...Now he says to us "As the Father sent me into the world, so send I you." I personally believe that our failure to obey the implications of this command is the greatest weakness of evangelical Christians in the field of

evangelism today.

 
		_________________________________

So, in 2004 they quote something said in 1966, 38 years ago as the condition of "Christendom" today. They are truly misleading. I wish I could find the JW girl again just to bring her

up-to-date with my findings.

Stradman

75

The Watchtower: Sincere Old Men or Deliberate Deceivers?

by metatron in

when a witness encounters injustices engendered by the watchtower and considers them.

with clarity of mind, he is likely to suppose that , at worst, the old men who run things.

are sincere but misguided.

Stradman

When at Bethel in mid eighties, I sat a ?G.B. Table,? meaning that every week and for the whole week, I had breakfast (and lunch for most of the year) with a different member of the Governing Body. Most of them affected my opinion of this bunch in a negative way. They went from senile and playful (G. Gangas) to plainly being rude (Henschel and Jaracz).

This experience made me doubt seriously about the sincerity of the GB. Some of the older bethelites told me stories that confirmed my suspicions. Many of the ?heavies?, as they call those with power, were not very approachable and walked around with an air of superiority. I concluded that there was something seriously wrong inside organization. But even for this symptom, they have a cure; ?Wait on Jehovah and everything will be fine.? And that is exactly what I did for another decade.

I concluded, after reading Crisis, that they know too well the work of deceit and lies told in the pages of their publications and by their ?field officers.? The problem is that through their lack of modesty and humility they have painted themselves into a corner of the room and do not have a graceful way of backing out.

How much longer will the Tower stand? For as long as the ones on the top are taken care of and continue to enjoy the celebrity status as they make special presentations at assemblies and travels, they will do anything in their power to resist change.

For my part, I am glad to be out and, although I have made many mistakes in my life and still carry some regrets, the decision to leave and my subsequent encounter with the Christ of the Bible, has made the greatest positive difference in my life.

Stradman

37

What is your experience as to buying Crisis of Conscience?

by Goldminer in

.

i've read a few very interesting stories about people's experiences when they decided to purchase coc.i'd like to share mine and read yours also.. in 1999,not long after we purchased our first computer i started reading material about jw's.before long,i got really interested in the ray franz story because even up here in northern ontario,i had heard about the apostasy of 1980.in the fall of '99 my wife decide to take a college course(bucking the jw trend),and she would stay at her sister's place during the week.one day i called a christian book store to see if they could get me this book.i was very nervous,changed my name and i wouldn't give them my phone number.i told them i'd call back in a few weeks to make sure they had it before i went in to pick it up.. when the day came,i picked up my courage by two hands and took off for my 40 mile drive to get my book.the book store is located in a small shopping mall,which had me really nervous that another jw might see me going in or out of the store.i walked in the mall looking around,making sure there was nobody in sight that i knew.when i walked in the store,i had cash ready in my hands,walked up to the counter,gave my fake name and the book i was purchasing.now i just had to walk and make it to the car and i was home free.. i know buying a book isn't that hard,i do it all the time,but at that time the implicationsof having this book in my possesion was tremendous.. anyways,it's been 5 1/2 years and still nobody here knows.the book has really opened my eyes and mind to the realities of the wts.i would definitely recommend this book to everyone here who has yet to read it.it's worth the effort to acquire it and will take away your fear of the watchdollar.

Stradman

In 1982 I read the brief interview with Ray that appeared in Time and was very curious about the incident but never had the courage to inquire further. Later in 1986 was invited to Bethel for a year and, although the wave created in the early eighties still rippled through Bethel, I still did not push the issue.

In the summer of 1998, after reading the Watchtower article on ?suffering for following the dictates of your own conscience,? I developed enough courage and entered Ray?s name in the Internet search engine. I came across Ray?s books and ordered them from Amazon to be delivered to my office. At the time I was the P.O. of a 175 publishers congregation.

I devoured the books and what followed was the greatest liberation of my life and also brought about the greatest pain. First, I stepped down from being P.O. A month later resigned as an elder altogether and in February, 1999 turned in a 14 page letter of disassociation.

Despite the fact that Ray?s writings are very candid and factual, they did not, however, lead me to Christ. The Holy Spirit did. But that is another story.

In Christ,

Stradman

17

The Governing Body - Invisible and Impersonal

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

there used to be a time when one knew who the president of the watchtower society was, and with that in mind, one could sense some kind of leadership.

perhaps witnesses then, felt that "the society" was keeping up with jehovah's celestial chariot.

maybe you felt in the 80s and 90s that you had to keep "in step with jehovah's organization" because it was making bigger steps each year - and with each new release, maybe you felt "privileged" to be a part of the "spiritual paradise.".

Stradman

Greetings and salutations to all!

This is my first intervention in this venue, although for years I have read the postings, and would like to express my experience with some of these self-proclaimed ?brothers of Jesus.? As far as I am concern, most are, at best, distant acquaintances of The Man.

In the mid-eighties I was invited to Brooklyn and had the ?privilage? of being assigned to a GB table in the dining room. On a weekley basis, all with the exception of John Booth and Fred Franz (both to frail to commute to the dining rooms twice a day), I met them all and had some ?lively? exchanges with Milton Henschel and Ted Jaracz. Booth very short tempered, easily irritated.

When I arrived at Bethel, Leo Greenless was missing. I had met the man five months before and now nobody could give me a straight answer as to the reasons why he was gone. Upon pressing an old friend, I was told he had done ?something very bad? and was asked to leave. Leo was a very gentile, almost venerable, old man. My wife described him as ?sweet.? Years later, after reading Jim Penton?s book, a clue as to his disappearance surfaced.

George Gangas, was very childish (at eighty something!) in his Society and Bible trivia games. He was always quizzing bethelites on the daily text and definitions such as ?What is the Spiritual Paradise?? His prayers were lengthy, stereotyped and what I called ?Satan slandering? was always prominent in his Greek accented language.

Sidlyk and Swingle, in my opinion, were the most credible of the group, in terms of being real. Albert Schroeder was nice, but cautious. The other older folks, Barr, Barber, Klein, etc., were pleasantly vague in their comments.

I left Bethel a year later a changed man. Besides the opportunity of having met some genuine dedicated men and women, truly loving servants, my interaction with the GB was disappointing. I expected more from these men. Perhaps as a result of all the years of self-exaltation in the pages of the Watch Tower literature.

Stradman