Posts by cbew
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32Does your heart still race when suddenly coming accross a JW?
by Fernando init did for me even though i eventually walked out on my terms and fully convinced of the apostasy of the watchtower pharisees and sanhedrin (governing body).. initially it was very confusing and bewildering since i was a 3rd generation born-in and the watchtower was the only "reality" i'd known for more than 40 years.. a psychologist diagnosed ptsd (post traumatic stress disorder) and recommended attending a cult conference and workshop for victims of psychological manipulation.
i learnt about "triggers" that cause turmoil and upset whilst one is suffering from ptsd.. for nearly 2 years i could not answer a phone without a minor panic attack.
i could only respond to voicemails.
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32
Does your heart still race when suddenly coming accross a JW?
by Fernando init did for me even though i eventually walked out on my terms and fully convinced of the apostasy of the watchtower pharisees and sanhedrin (governing body).. initially it was very confusing and bewildering since i was a 3rd generation born-in and the watchtower was the only "reality" i'd known for more than 40 years.. a psychologist diagnosed ptsd (post traumatic stress disorder) and recommended attending a cult conference and workshop for victims of psychological manipulation.
i learnt about "triggers" that cause turmoil and upset whilst one is suffering from ptsd.. for nearly 2 years i could not answer a phone without a minor panic attack.
i could only respond to voicemails.
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97
Never Wake Up
by brotherdan injust got back from an awesome time in maui.
today we got a call from my fil.
my mil has been in utah for the last week or so and found out that her family past was full of "demon activity".
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cbew
Hi Brotherdan,
Sorry to hear about your situation. Been thru it myself and have been out 10 yrs now. Here is a suggestion that may help you whenever your wife uses "How does Jehovah feel or think about this or that". First of all acknowlege that she brings up a good point and then calmly turn the tables on her by saying yes "How do you think Jehovah feels about an individual or organization that attaches His name to false predictions?" Then take out one of the older Awakes to show her how they said "...God's promise of a new world before the generation of 1914 passes away". Make sure it is right from the actual Awake or bound volume to show that so called "apostates" did not alter it. Any Awake prior to 1995 will contain that statement on the first page. I guarantee you she will either be stunned or flustered as to what to say. This may even help her to begin to start critically thinking again. Then if she is open to more discussion show her newer Awakes that edit out the "generation" statements. This one thing was the start of my exodus from the organization it may well be your wifes catalyst to begin investigating. Once they begin to question and investigate on their own it doesn't take too long for them to exit but the key is they have to be willing to do it on their own. You can't force them to no matter how logical your arguments are. You must be patient bro. but little bit here and there may start the process. By turning the tables on her I guarantee you she will not be using their favourite weapon of " What does Jehovah think..."
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67
The serious conversation with the wife about the cult
by OnTheWayOut inif you needed my background, this thread will tell it-.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/121888/1.ashx.
my wife recently asked me about not commenting at a wt study.. our discussion was the topic of this thread-.
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cbew
Wow, onthewayout, they must be really getting desperate to retain elders who are stepping down! When I also left a few years ago I served as an elder for 7 years and I knew of several elders who decided to step down because of "health reasons". I can only wonder now whether some of them also had conciences that bothered them to take decisive action in this regard. One fellow elder I knew stepped down over some disagreements with his BOE. A year latter they tried to get him back by enticing him with sweet assignments on the platform and on parts in the cicuit assemblies! ( I kid you not!) Talk about politics, but then again that's how things always get done in the BOE. Forget about the scriptural principles. I'm just curious though what sins are pardonable? Did they mention any specifics in the letter?
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54
Are Circuit Overseers Getting Discouraged?
by metatron ina sister i know went out with the c.o.
's wife in service recently.
sister c.o.
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cbew
I am not crying to much for them Justita, just saddened because they sacrificed so much for nothing. I didn't realize their medical needs are looked after by the Society when they retire from circuit work. I suppose to receive their "benefit package" they still have to tow the organizational line. I just remember how zealous this brother was to reach his goal to be a CO. He pioneered for nearly 5yrs all while working at his job. I know on many occassions he passed on more than a few promotions and even cut the number of days he had to work to continue pioneering. This brother was very smart and intelligent and could of ended up being head of the city planning department making well over 100K/yr with a nice cushy pension to boot. Gave that all up to be a glorified CO ( guess he wasn't too smart from that standpoint ). I'm not trying to say that money should be everything in a person's life but it sure does help nowadays to meet living costs and raise a family. Anyhow, one has to live with his/her choices and we all to some degree gave up much to be a JW.
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54
Are Circuit Overseers Getting Discouraged?
by metatron ina sister i know went out with the c.o.
's wife in service recently.
sister c.o.
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cbew
A good friend of mine who came into the organization around the same time I did also achieved his goal of becoming a CO. The sad thing was he was also very smart and had a management position in government earning well over 70K/year. He had to drop his job to accept his new CO assignment but I can recall talking to his wife one day in service and she distinctly gave me the impression she was not to eager to go into the circuit work but nevertheless resigned to this fate to be a good obedient CO wife. Now after 15 years later I hear thru the grapevine they both have health problems and are leaving the CO work. I can only imagine their financial situation now with no savings, no pension, disability pay etc. and now with this brother in his mid-50's and having been out of the real job market for 15 years where he will end up working. Probably doing janitorial work or window cleaning for minimal pay if his health can still take it. What a waste and tradegy! No wonder so many COs and their wives are depressed and miserable. Many of them do not have anything to fall back on once they leave the work! I would be depressed and miserable too! The Society has certainly conned alot of people. I hope their day of reconning comes all the more sooner.
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64
FRANCE-WTS BIG SCANDAL IF TRUE
by DannyHaszard invendors of paradise in district xvi
cafe babel - strasbourg,france .
jehovahs witnesses are often criticised.
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cbew
705 Billion in assets sounds like a typo error to me. If that were true, each JW would of have to given over $100,000 in their lifetime being a JW. In my 20 years of being a JW my donations probably amounted to no more than $30,000 and I am in the typical middle class income bracket. Twenty years ago there were only 2.5 million JWs as I recall and then you have to account for the fact that most JWs are in the lower income brackets not to mention many children and housewives who do not work. Also many JWs are in third world countries where the per capita incomes are usually only a few thousand a year. Taking all this into consideration it does not seem likely that the Watchtower has assets totalling 705 Billion dollars. Maybe more like 7B would be a credible figure.
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14
Witnesses dont ask for help (ha ha)
by buffalosrfree inwe are visiting down in province and my wife much to my displeasure on her last few visits has been donating money to the building of a new kingdom hall, of course this has been going on for a couple of years.
well when they found out we had arrived, this elder comes around to visit and it wasnt hi how are you it was "hi i would like to offer you an opportunity to donate once again to our building fund", then he got around to asking how we were doing and were we enjoying our visit.
what a buch of bull.
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cbew
It seems to me the Society has this all figured out. While each KH is owned by a separate corporation while the congregation exists the Society is insulated from any liabilities and legal responsibilities incurred by the congregation but as soon as the congregation dissolves the Society gets the proceeds of the sale. The mafia couldn't have done any better. What a scam and racket!
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69
watchtower red flags
by Ticker inwhen i was studying and in the org i never did put two and two together becuase first off it was peer pressure and a young baptism age.
i was indoctrinated as a child so i never got a chance to ever use sound reason and judgement toword the validity of the society's claims.
but anywho i was thinking the other day about certain things that are obvious red flags and far fetched claims that the org makes.
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cbew
JW Ben,
You mentioned that the JWs seemed to be the only ones who teach doctines closest to the biblical truth as you see it. My question to you is have you actually examined what other christians believe? If you do you may just be surprised at what you find. Many sincere christians that I have talked to do not hold many of the traditional teachings of the church they belong to. Some believe many of the doctines JW also teach such as no hellfire, purgatory, immortality of the soul etc. The big difference is that they are free to express their views and not be shunned or thrown out of their church for doing so. Can you say that being a JW?
The problem that many of us have had being a JW was not so much that they right or wrong about doctrine ( there is no church or organization that has the entire truth - at least none that I have come across ). The main problem that many of us have had is their total insistence on absolute conformity on all current doctrine with little regard for individual conscience. For example, many have died over such issues such as vaccinations, organ transplants, alternative service, blood fractions etc. and continue to die because freedom of conscience is not permitted in this organization. As an ex-jw elder I myself looked into the blood issue and came to the conclusion that I could no longer concientiously support it. This issue along with some other issues is what led to my disassociation from this organization and the consequent shunning that followed.
You say you are not loyal to an organization but to God and that is commendable. What will you do though when you find that loyalty in direct conflict with loyalty to men and their organization? Many of us have had to face that very challenge. What will you do also when you see a friend also treated unfairly because he cannot conscientiously support some of the Societies teachings? Will you speak up in his behalf and perhaps also risk being disfellowshiped yourself?
Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, called us out to be courageous and bold, to stand up for what is right, to stand up for our brothers against tyranny and oppression and sadly I have seen very few of my fellow elders do so. This is a challenge all christians face whether they are JWs, Catholics, Baptists etc. This is why many of us have left and are leaving. It is a "crisis or conscience" that we face. If you haven't done so yet please read Ray Franz's book "Crisis of Conscience" and you will see the issues that this courageous person faced and why he was disfellowshipped. It may well open your eyes to the truth about this organization that many of us have discovered. For your own sake I challenge you to do so JW Ben.
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17
I have peered into the abyss and seen the Watchtower evil !
by Undaunted Danny ini have peered into the abyss and seen the evil.
the jehovah's witnesses are diabolical disciples of satan.they do eat their young and have murdered more innocents than the global terrorists .
we have tackled a wide range of topics here,such as wrecked family's and marriages,and their blasphemous gospel of gobbledygook.
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cbew
Hey Danny,
I hear ya man. I've been in 19 yrs and seen alot heartache and misery. Many broken families, premature deaths etc. 80% of the kids that I knew who grew up in my old cong. live broken and disfunctional lives - a testimony to the warped doctrines and beliefs of this destructive cult. I remember one bright young bro. in our congr. who dropped out of school early so that he could "pioneer". I thought he was making the biggest mistake of his life and I told our PO that we shouldn't encourge him to do it. Every elder thought what a "wonderful" example he would be in the congr. and held him up there by giving him many parts in the service meetings etc. He even had parts in some circuit assemblies as I recall. Eight years later this brother ends up being married and seperated with one kid, stops pioneering, works at some menial job in a warehouse, and is an abusive alcoholic according to his estranged wife. Yup, all because of the "bad" advice he got from "Jehovah's Organization". Take this story and multiply it by hundreds of thousands and this gives you an idea of the destructiveness of this cult.