Posts by OnTheWayOut

16

Are Jehovah`s Witnesses a CULT?

by Driving Force in

steven hassen is a well known name for many, if you do not know him google can help.

this information is certainly not new, but as almost every exjw has deep affection and concern for active jws it is certainly my wish and i hope the wish of other exjws that any active jw considers this information.

this information cannot be deemed as apostate, it is just stating the opinion of someone who has spent much of his adult life in helping people to realize what a cult is.

OnTheWayOut

"Cult" is a loaded 4-letter word. Various people give various definitions. Basically, a cult is a group that deviates from the majority. JW's would be proud of the label if it ended there.

I use the word too. In modern usage, it has taken on a different meaning that applies well to JW's or Heaven's Gate. Steve Hassan uses "dangerous mind-control cult" as the complete term. If in serious discussion, I always add that part. That's the part that leads to discussing the dangerous aspects of their practices.

18

May 2015 JW Broadcast, "The Watchtower Has The Most Multilingual Speakers in the World? True or False?

by RoyalFlushPhil in

stephen lett about 33 minutes in to may's "liar liar" episode of the monthly worship broadcast said "jehovah's witnesses have the most multilingual speakers of any organization in the world!".

the catholic church has the most people i thought, do you think he's telling the truth and where is he getting these facts?

i finally broke down and decided to watch this in order to work on my reverse witnessing skills, lots of ammunition for anyone needing fuel to extinguish their dirty flames of lies!.

OnTheWayOut

"Jehovah's Witnesses have the most Multilingual speakers of Any Organization in the World!"

It's one of those statements that JW's would think just must be true.

On the surface, it's really unverifiable. But logically, people in Africa and Europe tend to speak more than one language, and JW's are such a minority. Logically, the Catholic Church or some Asian group would beat them out for the title.

The claim just seems to bolster their idea that only "THEY" are doing a worldwide work. We know they are not really working at all in Muslim countries and in most Asian lands. Even the Mormons are working harder to penetrate such areas than JW's are.

35

behind the curtain: literature offer for the month

by Magnum in

i was an extremely sincere, zealous pioneer.

i really cared about the people in the field.

i thought their lives were in danger.

OnTheWayOut

When the product is made by unpaid volunteers and sold by unpaid volunteers and decisions are made by unpaid volunteers who kissed ass to get up the chain, these things are bound to be a bit screwed up. It seems that back in the day, it was assumed that money would not be an issue and it was easier to run millions of each publication on the presses and put them in boxes, than it would be to run the now-needed number and run more later.

I always thought the monthly offer was driven by overstock. But there were plenty of simplistic and not-so-simplistic books mixed into older 192-page books, so I assumed the angels would make sure the householder would get what he needs.

53

Ties at the Kingdom Hall

by CloseTheDoor in

couple of weeks ago an elder took a young man aside and crawled all over him after the tms for wearing a "skinny" tie.

it was one of those 2 inch wide ties.

nothing bright or scandalous about.

OnTheWayOut

On theWayOut, "As an elder, I wore animal ties."

Village Idiot, I had some like your picture, but mostly more like this:

27

Lett's Historic Moment

by Icarus in

jw
friends

with all the furor over the jw's cash strapped pleas, i'm surprised no one noticed a different issue with this broadcast.

it was historic!

yes, all 7 of the gb have broadcast in the 7 months of the channel's existence!

OnTheWayOut

Yes, all 7 of the GB have broadcast in the 7 months of the channel's existence! Is that not HISTORICAL?

Just as the non-events of Cedar Point became so pivotal in their revelations, it is highly likely that they are going to refer to these early times of jw . tv and the Governing Body becoming prominent on it as another pivotal time period.

When I resigned as an elder, I told the C.O. and COBE that while trying to follow the guidance for members, particularly elders, I kept reading how we are supposed to "know" and "work with" the anointed and that I did not know any anointed, and the only way I could follow was to "know" the Governing Body. I said that they were not visible to me and I knew absolutely nothing about them. Sure, I was kind of making a straw man, but that would be much harder nowadays with the GB all over the videos.

53

Ties at the Kingdom Hall

by CloseTheDoor in

couple of weeks ago an elder took a young man aside and crawled all over him after the tms for wearing a "skinny" tie.

it was one of those 2 inch wide ties.

nothing bright or scandalous about.

OnTheWayOut

White shirts only, skirts/dresses that stay below the knees, stockings for the ladies, never pants for the ladies, clean shaven only (maybe a mustache is okay). Now some congregations object if your tie isn't wide enough.

They might as well have a uniform. It would be easier.

Here's one for the women:

As an elder, I wore animal ties. I would have a wolf or elephant on my tie or maybe dolphins. I would tame that the slightest bit when delivering a public talk and just go with a colorful pattern. There were sisters that did not like my ties and thought they were a bit too much for "the platform" but I was never counseled for stumbling them.

33

Richard Ashe Court Deposition - " Let elders handle child abuse- don't talk about it "

by flipper in

as some of you know i was given pdf files of much of the conti and lopez child abuse court cases and asked from a friend to peruse through it and post some excerpts on the board here that may have been missed or not addressed in the pbs newshour report or the abc news nightline report.

so after going through this richard ashe testimony i feel i found something quite interesting that exposes the real attitudes of the wt society leaders towards child abuse and the attitudes wt leaders put into it's appointed men's minds as well.

the viewpoint that richard ashe displays is repeated in elders throughout thousands of jw congregations on this planet.

OnTheWayOut

The solution, IMO, ( IS TO BURN THE WTBTS TO THE GROUND ) is to instruct the Elders in an actual school and to have them pass background checks as individuals. Any prospective MS or Eldub should have to pass a background check. Then, if there is ever an allegation of abuse, trained Elders should try to help while simultaneously cooperating with local authorities.

That's one way- but it will never happen. They would need millions to leave Watchtower in order to have enough elders for the remainder. But I like that.

Instead, I say: TREAT IT LIKE A CRIMINAL ACCUSATION LIKE MURDER. If little Suzy or Johnny says that Brother Chester killed someone, the elders are not going to handle it, they are not going to refrain from reporting to the police. If they think Suzy or Johnny is lying, they aren't going to just forget about their accusation. They can stand by the child without judging them and they can accompany them as they deal with this tragedy if that's what Suzy or Johnny wants. Turn it over to professional people and follow their lead. If the Watchtower wants to retain that rule about 2 witnesses, they don't have to disfellowship the guy if that's not present.

18

What to say to JWs at a funeral

by dogon in

my father passed away this week.

we are going to have a funeral for him.

he was not a witness for many years but a lot of his family is still associated.

OnTheWayOut

No matter the comment, you can say "Thank you for your concern." If you like what they say, "It means a lot to me."

Sorry to read of your loss.

33

Richard Ashe Court Deposition - " Let elders handle child abuse- don't talk about it "

by flipper in

as some of you know i was given pdf files of much of the conti and lopez child abuse court cases and asked from a friend to peruse through it and post some excerpts on the board here that may have been missed or not addressed in the pbs newshour report or the abc news nightline report.

so after going through this richard ashe testimony i feel i found something quite interesting that exposes the real attitudes of the wt society leaders towards child abuse and the attitudes wt leaders put into it's appointed men's minds as well.

the viewpoint that richard ashe displays is repeated in elders throughout thousands of jw congregations on this planet.

OnTheWayOut

The old "Pile on and contradict yourself" tactic:

"Your honor, my client never raped that woman. He never even met her and he was out of town with his wife. Besides, she consented to having sex with him that night, so how could it be rape. Plus, this isn't the woman he raped anyway."

According to legal experts:

In general, when a party accused of a crime contradicts himself, it is presumed he does so because he is guilty, for truth does not contradict itself and is always consistent, whereas falsehood is generally inconsistent and the truth of some known facts will contradict the falsehood of those which are falsely alleged to be true.

A lawyer for the client could substitute for "a party accused of a crime" in this case. I presume the rest of what that says above.

130

Atheist Miracles

by Perry in

jw
friends

i reworded a variation of a common critique of atheists to my own liking.

no, i do not hate atheists, i love them!

they keep me from getting bored.

OnTheWayOut

This was written thousands of years before scientists started to think of space, time and matter as a fabric. And apparently, it is no more difficult to demolish and rebuild than changing a T shirt ....for God.

Another vague scripture applied in a specific way to fit reality.

Well actually, Perry's thought is pretty good- the T-shirt part.

Alright. I am sold. The impossible flood happened, Man is less than 7000 years old despite the fossils, the one true God had a baby with a human woman but not using sex like all the other myths, raping young girls after killing their parents was okay with God as long as you called the girl a 'wife,' any thought that scientists have about analogies proves the Bible because there's something similar in there somewhere.