Posts by SwampThing

For some reason you have to cut and paste the link into your browser. I had seen the same problem when an ebay link is posted in other forums. Give it another try...

Swamp Thing

5

The Internet is a scary place....

by SwampThing in

jw
friends

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/ebayisapi.dll?viewitem&category=16710&item=5510831000&rd=1

i guess they really do want to control your thinking.

mother knows best!.

SwampThing

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16710&item=5510831000&rd=1

I guess they really do want to control your thinking. Mother knows best!

Your friend from the swamp,

Swamp Thing

92

Would You Outlaw Jehovah's Witnesses If You Had The Power?

by minimus in

jw
friends

as much as i believe that the witnesses are a "cult", i don't think i'd choose to legally ban them.

what about you?

?

Does anyone know if the WTS is a 501(c)(3)? Every church I know of is. By incorporating, they become a creation of the State. It is their way of avoiding taxes, along with promising to act in a way acceptable to their master, the State. Possibly, their tax exempt status could be challenged, if it hasn?t been already. However, given that the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio has ruled that JWs can lie in court, there is probably no chance of forcing the State to treat them as any other corporation.

In case someone is interested, here are some of the rules for a 501(c) (3):

A corporation is the creation of government, and subject to any and all decrees which it's creator ordains.

corporation

An artificial person or legal entity created by or under the authority of the laws of a state. An association of persons created by statute as a legal entity.

Blacks Law Dictionary, 6th Ed.

When a church incorporates it submits a charter to the State, which the State has the power to approve or deny. The corporate church becomes subject to the State and the State now assumes authority to review the actions of the church and all corporate officers. Does your church designate the pastor as the president of the corporation? Is there a Board of Directors? Do you hold Business Meetings to discuss corporate finances?

Since the State is the creator of your corporate church, to whom are these corporate officers legally responsible?

The officers of a charitable organization are accountable to the court and subject to removal by the court, or by the State board of charities. They are bound by the ordinary strict rules concerning the authority of a fiduciary; and persons dealing with them must at their peril, take notice of the powers granted the corporation by it's articles of incorporation. [11 C.J. Charities s103]

Increasingly the properties of corporate churches are being seized by government agents, and the officers of corporate churches are being prosecuted, simply because they have taken politically incorrect (but biblically consistent) stands.

Government Restrictions on the Corporate Church

TITLE 26--INTERNAL REVENUE CODE

Sec. 501.

Exemption from tax on corporations, certain trusts, etc.

(c)

List of exempt organizations

(3)

Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.

By law, the 501c3 church may not:

preach politically incorrect sermons (propaganda)

influence legislation

participate in political action

endorse candidates

oppose candidates

publish or distribute political positions

Just a thought, given that a few people were asking about law suits.

Your friend from the swamp,

Swamp Thing

8

They became witnesses and quit smoking

by JH in

jw
friends

often, i heard elders say that some tried to quit smoking for years unsuccessfully, but when they associated with witnesses, they were able to quit smoking.

i can imagine how hard it is for a smoker to quit smoking.

what reasons would a person quit smoking faster if they associate with witnesses?

SwampThing

Hello JH,

As a smoker for the past 34 years, I believe I can speak from first-hand experience. One quits smoking when he or she makes it important enough to quit. We have every excuse in the world to ignore science, medicine, and personal experiences of friends and loved ones who died from smoking related illness. Decide what you want to be, then be it.

I have stopped on 3 occasions in my life, one time for a 2 year period. I made myself start again. I didn?t need the cigarette, I was over the physical addiction. I just wanted to smoke. I associated smoking with relaxation, the psychological aspect of the addiction. So, after having stopped for 2 years, and while I was on vacation, I decided I would relax with a cigarette. After a day of relaxing, I was hooked again.

To share my view of why someone might stop smoking because they joined the WT cult, I believe they now had something in their life which was more important to them than the cigarette. A friend of mine says that you never give up a habit or an addiction, you just replace it with another one, hopefully one less damaging than the one you traded. The interesting question would be if they suffered withdrawal. If so, then they are no different than the rest of us. If not, then maybe religion religion could have something to do with it.

I hope that helps.

Your friend from the swamp,

Swamp Thing

15

Coming up for air...

by SwampThing in

jw
friends

good morning forum members,.

for those of you who have left the cult, how do you deal with the self-righteous, holier-than-thou, nose-in-the-air arrogance of the wts and those mindless zombies who bow to its every command?.

i am currently halfway through crisis of conscience.

SwampThing

Friends,

Thank you all for taking time to send me your advice and well wishes. You continue to make me feel welcome, and a valuable member of this community. Jgnat, I will heed your well respected advice and stop feeling like an outsider. I keep forgetting that you were never a JW. You know so much about The Society, my mind just assumes that you had to be a part of it once upon a time.

Combined, your responses have caused me to realize that the frustration and anger I feel is an emotional response to losing a friend of 10 years. This concept had not occurred to me before now. Thank you, Nina, for pointing that out to me as clearly as you did. In typical male fashion, the loss of a friend has turned into intense anger. Who wants to admit that losing a friend can hurt, so the sorrow turns into anger. Very interesting.....

Several of you have commented on what a great friend I must be to spend so much time learning about the lifestyle of someone else. However, I cannot in good conscience accept your praise. I was indeed a good friend to this man, but my motives now are not so pure. I am driven by revenge, and that is not so good. But, in my defense, I did warn him when I sensed that things were going south, and told him that his worst mistake would be to deceive me. He never told me that he was operating from a different rule book than was I, one that contained the Doctrine of Theocratic Warfare. I didn?t understand that he was doing Jehovah?s work by lying to me for his own gain. Pathetic!

Obviously Secret, I don?t judge the whole of the JWs by the actions of the one or the few. I realize now that good and well-meaning people join this cult with pure and sincere hearts. This board is living proof that some of those people can indeed think for themselves and leave the cult when a line is crossed. As an aside, I have found it interesting that while surfing the net for Jehovah?s Witness sites, I have discovered 1 or 2 pro-witness sites for every 100 or more sites exposing the cult for what it is. That says something....

Czar, your suggestion for finding a weak spot is exactly what I have been doing. However, it has been very difficult for me, thus far, to attack his vulnerabilities. I know them well because I have a 10 year history with this guy. No matter how careless he has been with my trust and my friendship, I have not been able to find it in my heart to attack him where I know he is weak. That time may come, but right now I continue to struggle with it.

Avishai, Corvin, bem, HappyDad and Farkel, thank you all for your viewpoints, and for letting me know that I am welcome here. I have found a unique group of friends on this forum, and I would hate to think that I do not have something to give back to them. Maybe an ?outsider?s perspective? can be of service from time to time. I have this thing inside of me to fight for what is right & just. It?s always been there. I hate when people take advantage of others, and especially when those ?others? are at a weak point in their lives. I will leave you all with the words of a really great Bruce Springsteen song called "The Ghost of Tom Joad."

"Mom wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I'll be there Wherever somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom, you'll see me."

Your friend from the swamp,

Swamp Thing

15

Coming up for air...

by SwampThing in

jw
friends

good morning forum members,.

for those of you who have left the cult, how do you deal with the self-righteous, holier-than-thou, nose-in-the-air arrogance of the wts and those mindless zombies who bow to its every command?.

i am currently halfway through crisis of conscience.

SwampThing

Good morning forum members,

How do you do it? For those of you who have left the cult, how do you deal with the self-righteous, holier-than-thou, nose-in-the-air arrogance of the WTS and those mindless zombies who bow to its every command?

I am currently halfway through Crisis of Conscience. Since my last post, I have also read a number of other WTS publications I bought on ebay. The more I study, the more I remember and recognize the subtleties of my 10 year relationship with the JW and his associates I have told you all about. At the time, I did not realize that I was being witnessed to. I just figured we were having friendly, philosophical discussions. But I am now learning the buzz-words and techniques they use when telling you about their god. I remember one time when a cohort of my ex-friend decided to grace me whith his knowledge that smoking tobacco was a sin. I laughed and responded with "yeah? Go tell an Indian." This guy's face turned red and and his head literally began to shake. That sould have been a sign.

Never in my life have I known a group of people such as this bunch. What a pack of spineless cowards, asserting their 1 st Amendment Right to free speach when they knock on your door early on a Saturday morning. They enjoy the freedom to spew their twisted New World Translation lies in your face, then hide behind the very system of man?s laws which they profess to despise. And, to add insult to injury, they refuse to fight to defend the very rights they invoke, the rights they use to spread their adulterated version of God?s word. In other words, let some other stupid SOB give his life to protect my inalienable rights to life, liberty and happiness. What a crock!

I will forever be indebted to the members of this forum for helping me with my research, and for opening my eyes to the onion-like design of the WTS. The more layers I peel away, the worse the thing smells. On a more somber note, my heart cries out every time some new member shows up on this forum and relates their story of the trouble they are going through while trying to regain their lives. I don?t contribute to those posts because I don?t feel like I share enough in common with you all to have anything helpful to add. However, I will commend you all on the way in which you accept these lost souls into your hearts and offer them comfort. This is truly a great group of people!

So, back to my question, how do you do it? My greatest frustration right now is trying to deal logically with someone who believes it is acceptable to lie to those who are not entitled to know the truth. This, once again, demonstrates that they do not take responsibility for their actions. I?ve never encountered anything like this in my life. At the very least, most people are fearful to lie in court, as the punishment can be quite severe. But what do you do with a JW who views anyone who is not a JW as the enemy, and therefore it is acceptable to lie to them? Unbelievable! I have gained a whole new respect for those of you who still have family members in this cult. I could not imagine my own family treating me in the same way as this guy I befriended some 10 years ago.

Thanks for allowing me to vent, and I hope I have not broken any forum rules by expressing my frustrations.

Your friend,

Swamp Thing

4

How to deal with divorce/court issues

by Purza in

here it is after midnight and i cannot sleep.

my boyfriend (of 2 years) is still hashing out custody issues in court with his ex.

bf does not have an attorney.

SwampThing

Hi Purza,

It?s a pleasure to meet you, though I wish it were under better circumstances. After all the help I have received from the members of this forum, maybe it is time I can give something back.

I am in a very similar situation as the one you describe. Though my relationship with a J-dub has not been of a romantic nature, it has been a 10 year friendship/business relationship that went sour, then turned very nasty. My offerings to you with regard to coping with this situation are as follows:

1) Talk with your partner, and together take a decision whether or not you want to engage in this battle. You must commit to it if you decide to do it as there can be no half-way-in/half-way-out in a battle such as this. Make it become what you do each day.

2) Once a decision has been reached, stick with it. Make it part of your life. It can?t be something you do when you have time in your day. You must make time, even if that means giving up other things in your life to do so. This is a war, and it must be taken seriously.

3) Form a plan, then stick with that plan, even though you must be flexible at times when your enemy throws a curve-ball at you.

4) Keep a notepad and pen with you at all times, even when you go to bed, or to the bathroom. You never know when something is going to ?click? in your mind with regard to a particular aspect of your case. You don?t want to loose that thought, so write it down! Some of my best ideas have come to me in my sleep, or while I am in the shower. Write them down and reference them later when you are in front of your computer.

5) If your boyfriend is going to be a ?pro se litigant,? he must study, study, study. Know the laws which are particular to his case. You can find the laws of your state in the Internet, or at your public library. Here is a site which I have found helpful when representing yourself in court:

http://www.circuitlawyer.8m.com/

6) Another helpful read for me has been Sun Tzu?s "Art of War." This may sound like a strange suggestion, but I have been able to incorporate many of Sun Tzu?s teaching into my war plan. And, I also found his teachings to be a huge help psychologically. After all, most of what takes place in a legal battle is nothing but a mind-game. Learn how to recognize this, and play those games as well as your opponent. Weaken your opponent psychologically, and then when he/she is off balance, move in for the kill.

7) Dealing with the stress:

a) Though you must dedicate yourself to winning this battle, you also need to recognize when it is time to walk away from it for a while and clear your head. My wife and I have an agreement wherein she keeps an eye on me, and when she sees that I am in too deep, and not thinking clearly, she will arrange for me to go camping for the weekend. You must trust your partner?s observations as their part in this war is to take care of your physical, emotional and mental well being;

b) Other forms of relaxation work as well. A hot bath and a massage, or renting several of your favorite movies then spending the day in front of the TV instead of your computer, or renting a motel room for the night and pretending that you are on vacation. Trust your partner?s knowledge of what you like and follow their advice. Remember, your mind is focused on defeating your enemy, so you will not be inclined to think about your well being. It is your partner?s job is to make sure that you stay strong. Pay attention to your partner:

c) Celebrate your victories. When you win a round, take a day away from the war and celebrate. Go out to dinner, buy something you have always wanted, post your victory on the wall where it can serve as a reminder that you are making head-way. What I am talking about here is a court order ruling in your favor, or a letter from your opponent?s lawyer conceding to a fact or so forth. Keep it in-your-face so that you won't start feeling like you are being defeated.

There are a number of other suggestions I can offer, but my post is getting rather lengthy. If I can help further, please feel free to PM me and I will help all that I can.

Kind regards,

Swamp Thing