I agree with what you did. It is important that toxic family, including those pushed into acting that way, are shown that their behavior is not acceptable. Whilst it may be too late to fix your family, hopefully it will get the younger generations thinking.
jwfacts
JoinedPosts by jwfacts
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76
Family is now reaping what they sowed and they don't like it.
by Gemmel ini resigned from the jw's in my 20's over 30 years ago, i was immediately shunned by my entire family and it's remained that way with a few exceptions ever since.
one of those exceptions was being contacted by a cousin a few years back and during that conversation i discovered that my mother had been and still was the prime mover in my complete and continuing shunning.
i then used what contacts i had left to confirm it.
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Question regarding WT policy of divorce in the Philippines
by joe134cd ini was told the other day by a philippino work colleague, that to obtain a legal divorce in the philippines is so drawn out and expensive, that it can put it beyond the reach of most people.
most don’t even bother getting one.
so my question is what is the situation with jw who are in reality separated /divorced but in practical terms can’t legally finalise it..
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jwfacts
Divorce is illegal in Philippines. The is a process to get the marriage annulled, which is what can be expensive.
JWs are allowed to marry again, even though it is not legally recognised, if the previous marriage has ended up in separation on what is deemed by the elders to be Scriptural grounds.
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King of The North: circular news top?
by Gorbatchov infriends,.
with the circular speading of my satire tread about the annual meeting on many different ways, even informal across the jw organization, i'm pretty sure that the news about russia (new king of the north) is not real.. there was a moment i thought that it was a coïncidence that incoming messages mentioned it also.. now i suppose it started all with my op, went trending through the organization (even through bethel belgium) and became a story on it's own.. this is not realy my style and i'm not proud of it.. g..
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jwfacts
If it wasn’t real, it probably will become real. After observing all the online hype, Watchtower will see it as a great motivator. Between Russia’s involvement with Trump’s election and it’s attack on various Christian sects, it fits Watchtower’s agenda.
Long term, I don’t see Russia remaining seen as a credible “world power.” Both economically and militarily, China is a bigger threat.
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World Powers
by Fred Franztone injws have a unique interpretation of the seven kings of revelation.
they of course refer to roman rulers, but the wt believe they represent certain 'world powers'.. the problem with these world powers is how arbitrary they are, not to mention the fact that none of them truly were world powers, in fact none of them even covered the entirety of europe, and the anglo-american world power isn't even a distinct entity.. then there are all of the world powers that are left out for convenience, many of which were far bigger.
the mongolian empire and the ottoman empire were both bigger than half of the chosen world powers, such as medo-persia.. has anyone ever taken this topic up with jws?
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jwfacts
Similar to Sir82, the world powers only count those that directly affected the Israelites, with 3 being named in Daniel. Rome and the "Anglo-American" world powers went on to affect Christians. There is a vast missing gap from Zenobia to Britain. JW's don't seem to care about the 2,000 year gap from Jesus to Russell, which they dismiss as the virgins sleeping.
I have some information touching on this at https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/blog/daniel-prophecy-history.php
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Notes I drafted for a local JW at a cart
by Doug Mason inin recent weeks, a grizzled old man, obviously harmless, has been engaging with a nice lady as she regularly stands by her cart displaying watchtower material.. on monday, she eagerly wanted to know what this old man thought of the book she gave him, "what does the bible really teach?".
when this old man posed some questions, she was very keen for him to write them down.. she also promised to provide facts that earthquakes proved we are living in the last days.. anyway, to make a short story longer, the old man drafted questions and observations on the topics that were covered.. would you please criticise the stuff that this old man has drafted for his next encounter.
any help, anything at all, is most keenly looked for.
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jwfacts
Are you planning to give her that document in all its colourful glory? Quite impressive.
Have you asked her what specifically convinced her it is the truth? You can frame it that every religious person thinks their religion is the one, what is it about JWs that convinces her. The reason I ask is because you document questions both the Bible and JW doctrine. Is it the Bible or Watchtower that you could more easily undermine?
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Here's another subtle reverse-witnessing topic:
by neat blue dog inthe next time a jw brings up a natural disaster or severe weather event as proof of the last days, and they preface it by reciting a fact they heard on the news like, (just for the sake of example) 'it's the worst earthquake in 70 years' or 'the worst plague in 200' years', (you get the picture), then simply reply: "oh, so that means that ____ years ago there was one that was worse, right?".
i did this twice.
both times got the same response:.
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jwfacts
That is a good point to make.
Media reports are generally poorly presented. Often a headline will be that “... rates are going up” without referencing the timeframe. Also it is significant if it is a reference to a number or percentage.
By most measures, things have improved significantly over the last few centuries.
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What Privileges do you get when you are baptized ?
by LOLS inmy husband was baptized at the recent 2018 convention in south africa ....... he was very annoyed that his non-believing wife did not attend the baptism....... but i think he received pressure from his jw father & elders as to why his wife was not attending ....... anyway ..... it's really water off my back .
i wanted to know what privileges you get as a baptized jw man , as i saw a message from one of the elders at his cong , congratulating him on his baptism and to earning more privileges ..... what are these privileges the elder is speaking about ,,,,, .
i don't feel like asking my husband as it just lands up in a stupid fight ..... or a long winded explanation ..... thanks .
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jwfacts
Privilege is used to make people feel better about being forced to do hours a week of unpaid, menial labour. As a man he can work his way up to some new titles too
He is now in line to be a servant - Ministerial Servant.
Then he can progress to being an Elder or Shepherd of the Flock. These Shepherds get to spend many hours a week working for free, preparing talks and listing to people’s problems.
The top role is to be the Slave class, which is a total misnomer, as they are anything but slaves, they are the ones that get to Lord it over everyone else.
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Bethelites Vow Of Poverty
by pale.emperor informer governing body assistant howie tran has shared his bethel vow of poverty contract.
it reads rather culty.
i think clause number 9 is particularly worrying...to adhere to, not the bible alone, but also the watchtower literature and the governing body.
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jwfacts
I worked when I was at bethel, doing a few income tax returns and accounting. Earnt a couple of thousand dollars. I asked for permission from a Branch Committee member, who gave me verbal permission, provided it didn’t interfere with my Bethel work and congregation duties.
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What I wish I had known at 18
by NewYork44M inthe financial times had an article with the above question.
the author asked various people to answer the question.. https://www.ft.com/content/169705e4-b4dd-11e8-b3ef-799c8613f4a1.
while i was not interviewed, if i was asked this question i would say that i wish i had known in 1975, when i was 18, that i was raised in a cult and that the continued focus on armageddon over my lifetime was a cruel joke.
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jwfacts
Somewhat the opposite to this question, but I used to think that if I was still a JW at 75 and looked back on my life, would I be proud of who I was. I realised I’d be ashamed that I never had the strength to leave. That is what made me realise I should leave and face the loss of family, rather than get old and face my own shame of staying.
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Bro. Geoff in September 2018 Broadcast vs Serena Williams
by NeedToKnow inthe september broadcast opens up with a story of 80 yr old brother geoff who gave up been in a band all them years ago.
fast forward to 2018 and we have a world renown tennis player and jw as far as we’re told.. so where some are encouraged to leave the world and it’s futile pursuits of fame and fortune, others are not.
or even punished for their behaviour on court or for been photographed with their country’s flag where others have been executed for refusing to salute flags.
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jwfacts
A brother I knew turned down a career with an Australian basketball team (I know, not quite US standard) as he was studying and got baptised instead.
Prince, particularly in later years, acted in a manner at his concerts that few JWs would get away with.
As far as I’m aware, Serena was never baptised, so little can be done to stop her giving glory to Jehovah for her wins. Publicity nevertheless that helps JWs become known
I agree that the situation of Prince in particular makes mockery of experiences of brothers that felt compelled to give up fame based careers for their Watchtower beliefs.