ray franz's ex-secretary needs help!
a friend forwarded me the following e-mail written by an ex-jw.
looks like he is discouraged and needs some help.
Frank,
You're a good writer. Publishers often pay some money upfront while you're working on a book if you can persuade them you've got something of interest to say (usually by a sample). JW scandals are a very hot topic right now. Try it. If one publisher doesn't bite, try another (and another and another). That's the 'hard part' of being a writer.
deceptive jw elders case#6 .
jw elders can be, and often are, deceptive in how they smear the names and events concerning former jws, especially where alleged apostasy is involved.. when i moved to a particular congregation, i was at first very impressed with the good camaraderie and the help we were given in getting settled.
the congregation was far more outgoing and often held events at a public park where they gathered to enjoy barbecue, swimming, sports, etc.
Read your letter.
Now, what's the nuts and bolts of your story?
Welcome. Happy to have you here.
i've been dealing with so much stuff lately, and thinking that i was "doing alright".
i'm not on any medication.
i have had emotional issues due to times of severe stress years ago, and took medication, but the main thing is, i worked through all of that.
'Michael's' is a craft store, right? Silk flowers, needlepoint, painting projects, picture frames, baskets, embroidery and such, right?
Just checking. How are you guys enjoying the new level of protection and look-out? Hope it's bringing a little peace of mind.
i am a 36 year old father of 2 girls putting himself through night school to get a college degree.
in my current sociology class we have to do a paper in an interview style of a culture, subculture or group that we know nothing about and are interested in.
i decided to find out about jehovah witnesses.
Tho JWs are often described as some kind of 'Christians' and they would describe themselves that way as well, they actually spend VERY little, if any, time learning or preaching the events of the Gospel.
They minimize the role of Jesus Christ to such an extent that I don't really think they ought to call themselves 'Christians'. They also don't really take note of any big difference between the old and new testaments ("God doesn't change").
Most of their 'bible study' is devoted to obscure scriptures or books of the Old Testament and the book of Revelation, tho they might acknowledge the writings of Paul for whatever punative words they could find there.
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i am a 36 year old father of 2 girls putting himself through night school to get a college degree.
in my current sociology class we have to do a paper in an interview style of a culture, subculture or group that we know nothing about and are interested in.
i decided to find out about jehovah witnesses.
May I add somethings? The number 144,000 is found in the book of Revelation.
JWs believe that they have 'figured out' the book of Revelation and profess to have a deep and special understanding of it, down to every scripture, every word, symbol and detail in it which they have interpreted to describe various real life organizations and/or events in the world we are currently living in.
(I'm breaking these up because I keep getting thrown off)
i am a 36 year old father of 2 girls putting himself through night school to get a college degree.
in my current sociology class we have to do a paper in an interview style of a culture, subculture or group that we know nothing about and are interested in.
i decided to find out about jehovah witnesses.
Alan, ROFL. Thanks
deceptive jw elders case#6 .
jw elders can be, and often are, deceptive in how they smear the names and events concerning former jws, especially where alleged apostasy is involved.. when i moved to a particular congregation, i was at first very impressed with the good camaraderie and the help we were given in getting settled.
the congregation was far more outgoing and often held events at a public park where they gathered to enjoy barbecue, swimming, sports, etc.
Wait....are you Frank?
some people are "morning people", some people are "night people" and some people just smile in both the night and the day to annoy me.
i am what you would call "not a morning person" and thus i like to drink coffee.
mocha's have always been my taste of choice and thus i own my own little espresso machine and make myself espresso mocha's a lot to make this "night person" a little more alive in the mornings of life.
I feel this might really be a bad place to inject this, but I'm passionate about it, so I might as well share it with you:
(You'll be happy to know there is no religious judgement of any kind)
Best wishes
i've been dealing with so much stuff lately, and thinking that i was "doing alright".
i'm not on any medication.
i have had emotional issues due to times of severe stress years ago, and took medication, but the main thing is, i worked through all of that.
Nice to hear from you. For what it's worth, some people are staying away from "Michael's" stores as, I think two of the incidents had some kind of connection to them. Hard to know what to make of that. Just thought I'd share it with you.
I'll be keeping you in my prayers.
i am a 36 year old father of 2 girls putting himself through night school to get a college degree.
in my current sociology class we have to do a paper in an interview style of a culture, subculture or group that we know nothing about and are interested in.
i decided to find out about jehovah witnesses.
Now, let's see if I could answer these the way a Witness might.
Please keep in mind that all propoganda is intact. So is all self-delusion of which I have no awareness, whatsoever. And now:
What is a JW? A person who is following the scripture which tells us that we ought to be witnesses to God (Jehovah is God's true name and we are the only people who really know it and use it.)
What made you decide to join? Someone showed me how most religions in the world were just FILLED with falsehoods, pagan traditions and lies. I started to see how Jehovah's Witnesses were the ONLY really TRUE followers of the Bible.
Are you happy being a Jehovah's Witness? Oh, YES. JWs are the 'happiest people on earth', just like it says in the Bible.
Why do you go door-to-door? The Bible says that we should preach in these last days and try to lead people to the truth.
How often do you meet? 5 meetings per week on 3 days, not counting field service
144,000 - That is the number of people who will be going to heaven - not all good people as so many religions teach. Most will live here on earth. But the 144,000 will rule everybody else from heaven.
Why no blood? Because the bible CLEARLY says it's wrong.
Organ transplants? We used to think that but now we have better understanding.
Military? No, we only have allegience to Jehovah's kingdom, so why would we fight for any other nation?
What is the Watchtower? It is the magazine that we study and share with people in our door-to-door work. It is a 'study aide' which helps us to gain a better understanding of scripture. (It's sister magazine is 'Awake!')
No holidays - Because they are just a lot of pagan traditions and take away from the REAL holiday, Christ's death. Because that was the really important thing, not his birth.
1975? some people got to thinking the world was going to end in 1975 but the WTS NEVER said that.
Contradictions? They're only human, but if you think you see a contradiction, it's possible that you just don't really understand it. Show me if you find one and I'll ask the elders about it so they could clear it up. Some people claim they find contradictions but they're mostly apostates and you should be very careful about talking with them. They could just be sent by Satan to tempt your faith in the one true God.
Shunned/Thrown out - Nobody is thrown out. Disfellowshipping is something we are instructed to do by the Bible....(etc. etc. - I just can't go on about this one)
Any version? Wouldn't you want to study the truest version? Wouldn't anyone?
Doubts? Oh no. It is Satan who teases our minds with doubt. We believe in the one true religion, Jehovah's Witnesses!
*** How'd I do? ***
