Posts by iamfreenow

28

Facing reality about getting older

by JH in

jw
friends

as jw's we weren't supposed to get that old and fall sick, all depending on how old we were when we joined.. but time is passing by and we are getting older, and sicker and uglier....lol.

was it hard for you to accept that you will one day die, after being told that paradise is just around the corner?.

.

iamfreenow

Growing old, sick and dying is a reality that the Watchtower has never prepared it's followers for. Armageddon has alwaysbeen "just around the corner". It's neverbeen worthwhile for any young JW at any time in the history of the Organisation to go to college or university to pursue a career. The best, indeed the onlycareer any young Witness should pursue is regular pioneering.

That has been the Society's message to the young for the whole almost 60 years that I was in the Watchtower. I responded to it personally, setting a goal of regular pioneering as soon as I left school. I well remember an Awake from 1969, when I was 23, that stated as fact that young people would never grow old in this system of things.

As for accepting that I will grow old, I really have no choice, as I am well on my way to that now.

24

Is it wise to wake someone sleepwalking into the Watchtower trap?

by Gill in

is there a time not to speak out?.

is there a time when it might be better not to say something and put doubts into someone's mind?.

we, as a family are 'faded' for well over five years now.

iamfreenow

Gill,

I feel you are right to consider doing something to at least help this family make an informed choice about joining the Watchtower. It's possible that joining would split their family anyway. I just wonder how their teenage children will react to the sudden loss of freedom they are certain to experience if their parents do get baptised.

Knowing the softer approach taken towards potential converts by Watchtower study aids nowadays, it might be a reasonable approach to inform them of the implications of the blood policy, which I very much doubt has been explained properly to them, and what it could mean to them if any of their family is in a position of needing blood.

Also, if they have young children, particularly daughters, the Watchtower's record on child abuse might be interesting for them.

Personally, in your position, I would feel obliged to at least try to do something.

Marion

95

First & Last, One-time post

by journey-on in

jw
friends

i have been lurking for quite some time now on jwd.

my story is pretty much just like everyone else's, "only the names have been changed".

in reading your posts, i have both laughed and cried till tears ran down my cheeks.

iamfreenow

Hello journey-on, and welcome to the forum

Your letter is excellent, I hope it isn't the only post you ever make.

Many JWs could do with reading something like that.

13

My mother finally got her liver transplant...........

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

yes, it has finally happened!

after years of being on recipient lists, she finally got the call on saturday evening that a liver was waiting for her.

of course we packed and drove the 5 hours to the medical center that would perform the operation.

iamfreenow

I am happy it went well, Wing Commander

I wish her a speedy recovery

28

What kind of hobbies would you like to try?

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

we were deprived of so much as jws.

service and meeting had to come first which meant putting a lot of interests on the side - waiting for the new world when of course we would be too busy trying to convert the resurrected.

i've tried many different things.

iamfreenow

I have always enjoyed knitting and sewing, and have much more time for them now.

I have been doing a writing course, which is interesting, and a computer course, which was confusing to begin with, but is clearer now. I need a pc of my own to really progress with that.

I like gardening. I have a small flower garden at home, and a larger vegetable garden, so I will be spending more time in them fairly soon.

15

"God Boards"

by AllAlongTheWatchtower in

you've probably all seen them; those church message boards in some prominent place along the road so passing drivers can read them.

most are simply informational, like "sunday services at 12pm" or the like.

some use little witticisms to gain attention, and these are the ones i'd like to talk about.

iamfreenow

That sort of catchy signage has been around in some form or other for many years. I remember my late husband used to laugh at a sign outside a Liverpool church that a JW who had visited that city had taken a photograph of.

The sign said "WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF JESUS CHRIST CAME TO LIVERPOOL?"

At the time, Liverpool Football Club had a player named Ian St John playing for them , and someone had written in equally large letters underneath it

"MOVE ST. JOHN TO INSIDE LEFT"

I think the sign was removed soon afterwards.

56

How did I conclude it was not the 'truth'?

by jgnat in

a new board member asked me this.

i asked if it would be all right to publish my reply.

the question, in full, is, .

iamfreenow

Fred E. Hathaway wrote

Independent thinking refers to thinking that does not at least attempt to take Jehovah's personality, thoughts, and ways into account.

Not true, in a Watchtower context anyway,

The Watchtower have set themselves up as the only channel through which the Bible can be understood. (To be fair, most cults do exactly the same). The following quotes from Watchtower publications illustrate this

Only this organization functions for Jehovah's purpose and to his praise. To it alone God's Sacred Word, the Bible, is not a sealed book." The Watchtower; July 1, 1973, pp. 402.

The Watchtower magazine is the means of God's communication
Quote: "It should be expected that the Lord would have a means of communication to his people on the earth, and he has clearly shown that the magazine called The Watchtower is used for that purpose." (1939 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, p. 85.)

Where exactly did God show this? Probably in the Watchtower itself!

Cannot understand the Bible outside of watchtower organization
Quote: "We all need help to understand the Bible, and we cannot find the Scriptural guidance we need outside the ‘faithful and discreet slave' organization." (The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1981.)

Again, no one can understand the bible without the Watchtower to tell them what it means

Those who think apart from the Watchtower's guidance are like Satan
Quote: "From time to time, there have arisen from among the ranks of Jehovah's people those, who, like the original Satan, have adopted an independent, faultfinding attitude...They say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home. But, strangely, through such ‘Bible reading,' they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendom's clergy were teaching 100 years ago..." The Watchtower, August 15, 1981.

So if you think independently of the Watchtower interpretation of scripture, you are like Satan. Is this mind control? It seems so to me.

"We cannot claim to love God, yet deny his word and channel of communication." The Watchtower, October 1, 1967, p. 591.

So if you love God, you will be in the Watchtower Organisation. To not be in the Watchtower is to reject God, according to the Watchtower.

All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the "greatly diversified wisdom of God" can become known only through Jehovah's channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave. The Watchtower; 10/1/1994; p. 8.

What the Watchtower is saying here is that God's word can only be understood through their teachings. Therefore, one must be in submission to them, and any attempt to understand the bible by those outside the organisation will fail.

These quotes should be sufficient to show that the Watchtower seeks to control the thinking of its' members, and discourages any form of independent thought, tactics typical of any high-control cult.

Marion

25

Views of worldy folk as a witness

by fifi40 in

i bring this subject up because personally i dont get it.. i have noticed that some posters use words such as 'evil' or 'stinking goats' to describe the view (either their own adopted view or that of the jw org) they had of worldly people whilst a jehovahs witness.. the reason i find this difficult to understand is because i never felt that way toward 'people of the world' whislt being a believer of of the teachings of the jw organisation.

and i didnt pick up on it being rammed down my throat by the org either.

now i wonder if i was ignorant of something, not paying enough attention or if it is just each individuals approach toward life that makes the difference.. what were your views of 'people of the world and why?.

iamfreenow

To me it was just Watchtower terminology denoting the differrence between sheeplike people who responded to our message and goatlike ones who did not, in line with Jesus parable in Matthew 25. I never used it in a derogatory way to describe people who didn't respond. I had empathy for them, as they just refused to try and grasp the "truth", and would thus die at Armageddon, whereas I would survive.

59

Evaluating Raymond Franz

by greendawn in

what do you think of ray(mond) franz?

i have seen here some people critisise him as not being a really heartfelt opponent of the wts, but my view is that he was quite honest about his expressed motives against the cult.

with his revelations he gave a lot of momentum to the ex jw movement (the apostate organisation according to the jws) and offered valuable assistance to those seeking to shake off the ideological and social dependance on the oppressive cult.

iamfreenow

When I was experiencing my initial doubts about the Watchtower, my friends lent me Crisis of Conscience.

Once I'd read that, I knew the Watchtower Society did not have the truth, and that I would do the previously-unthinkable, and leave the JW religion. I might have left eventually anyway, but reading Rays' wonderful book brought the event forward, and I thank him for the freedom I have now.

29

Watchtowers Investment in Warfare Technology

by carla in

http://www.geocities.com/wtgreed/article.htm just a reminder and for newbies

iamfreenow

I think they also hold tobacco shares

Yes Greendawn, they do. I could'nt believe this until I was shown the evidence of that involvement, at this link:

http://www.pepheugasjehovahswitnesses.com/sm.html

The Henrietta M. Riley Trust.

The H M Riley Trust is a U.S. trust that has the Watchtower Society as the sole beneficiary. Basically, it is a vehicle to make income for the Watchtower, using assets left by Henrietta Riley. The income generated by the trust is transferred to the Watchtower by means of a "donation". For the year ended April 30, 2002, the trust generated income of $1,740,127 and donated $1,945,645 to the Watchtower. In comparison, for the 2001 year the trust generated $2,939,731 in income, and donated $3,285,050 to the Watchtower. The difference between income and expenditure is made up by realising gains on the assets held.

The income of the trust is from two main sources. The majority is from "oil and gas royalties." The trust also has almost $2 million of investments in various stocks and other vehicles.

Figure 3: Extract of investment listing of HM Riley Trust, April 30, 2002
full size

One name that jumps out from the list above: Philip Morris Companies Inc, one of the world's largest manufacturers of cigarettes and tobacco products. Philipmorris.com states:

The Philip Morris name has long been associated with high quality tobacco products and globally recognized cigarette brands. Today the name is proudly carried by the leading cigarette manufacturer in the United States, Philip Morris USA, and by Philip Morris International, the world's leading international cigarette business with products sold in 160 countries worldwide.

Thus, the trust has made an investment in a cigarette company, with the object of generating income which will be transferred to the Watchtower Society.

III: Conclusion.

The initial quotes showed clearly that the Watchtower regards smoking as an unchristian activity. Indeed, smoking is a disfellowshipping offence for a Jehovah's Witness. A Jehovah's Witness is also not permitted to be employed in the tobacco industry, even to the extent of working at the cigarette serving counter of a store. There can be no doubt that if an individual Jehovah's Witness invested in the cigarette industry, the Watchtower would consider this an unchristian type of investment.

Yet, a trust which exists for the primary reason of generating income for the Watchtower, invests in a cigarette company. While the amount of the investment is small, it is not the amount that is the issue, but the principle: The Watchtower Society will benefit from an investment made in the tobacco industry.

They will do this knowingly, because if I can get hold of this information, do you really think that the Watchtower Society doesn't have a copy of these very same documents? And while the objection could be made that it is not actually the Watchtower Society itself making the investment, but just receiving the cash, is this a valid defence? If they know that the money is from a source they have condemned as unchristian, are they not hypocritical in receiving it? Remember that the sole purpose of this trust is to generate income for the Watchtower.

In fact, here is another example of the Watchtower's hypocrisy in matters of principle. That which they condemn other religions for, and restrict their individual followers from, becomes acceptable when it results in $$$ for the Watchtower Society itself.

From their own lips:

g70 2/8 23 Churches in Business
After listing some of the many companies in which the Vatican has substantial interest Mr. Lo Bello observes: "The foregoing details provide an uncomfortably sharp realization that the Vatican and its men have indeed carved a niche for their firm in the world of big business."

The vast business holdings of the and of other religious organizations bind them inseparably with the business world. How unlike the true Christians concerning whom Jesus Christ said: "They are no part of the world"

The religious organization that truly is serving God, in harmony with the example set by Jesus Christ, concentrates on preaching and teaching the liberating truths of his Word and does not become involved in commercial businesses. Following the Bible’s instructions, it does not involve itself in “the commercial businesses of life." 2 Tim. 2:4.