OnTheWayOut

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Posts by OnTheWayOut

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  28

  Are J.W's obsesed with their statis??

  by karter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i went to a j.w funeral and saw some people i used to hang out with many years ago and they all seemed to want to tell me if they or any member of their family were elders,m.s's,pioneers ect.. karter..

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  OnTheWayOut

  I moved 1000 miles to relocate and had to make my final move 6 months after the first one to where I finally settled. My new congregation had the letter of introduction and the body of elders knew I was an elder 6 months prior. Status meant nothing to me, so I generally never went around saying "Hey, I was an elder."

  So this Sunday speaker, who didn't know anyone in the congregation, comes down from the platform after the final prayer and starts his round of handshakes. I was sitting near the front and he gets to me and I say the typical hello with my name. He goes right to "Are you one of the elders?" "No." "Are you a servant?" "Um, no." No big deal to me, and if he asked, I would have explained how I moved recently, but it came off as if that was so important to him. He goes on, "Well, brother. You work on that and I am sure you can reach out blah blah blah....Can you point me to one of the elders?" I pointed and he was gone.

  It's everything to many pioneers and elders and others. It's sickening.
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  19

  Did Ray Franz ever address his thoughts on atheism?

  by JWINQUESTION in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  does anybody know if ray franz ever addressed his thoughts on atheism?

  from what i've read, he was a diligent reader of the bible.

  if anybody has any info and sources about this, it is highly appreciated.

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  OnTheWayOut

  I haven't found any thoughts on atheism nor recall reading any from Ray Franz. But Ray was not trying to establish a following. He wrote a couple books that had his thoughts that needed to get out. It would seem he remained very Christian. But he didn't preach anything when he left. He turned his energy toward his crisis of conscience and did an excellent job.

  On a similar vein, Ray Franz helped many people start down a new path, which consisted of thinking and examining the Watchtower for themselves. While I won't directly say that Ray caused people to lose faith in Watchtower and come to the conclusion that religion or even belief in God was not necessary, Ray was an important part of many people's spiritual journey that took them to atheism or somewhere else.
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  34

  A Taxi Driver Gave Me 4 Magazines This Morning

  by Tempest in a Teacup in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as we had reached my destination, i paid him and was getting down when he handed me something.

  then i saw it was the wt and awake.

  i just had the time to say: "oh, okay, thank you!

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  OnTheWayOut

  I would negative witness to him.
  "Why are you giving me these?"
  [Something to read, I'm on a mission from God, whatever]
  "Well, you could have preached to me on the way. Give me my tip back (if already in his hand). If you are just counting time and weren't ready to actually discuss your subject with me, you don't get a tip for your field service."
  
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  8

  Legally can WT forcibly remove money from KH bank accounts with out the signees permission

  by joe134cd in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i just wondered if the wtbts could legally remove the money from the congregation accounts with out the signees permission.

  are the bank accounts deemed society property with the change of realestate ownership into the societies name.

  legally could they get away with it if the situation arose , and if not how could they manipulate the situation so they could.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Once something like Menlo Park or Bonham, TX (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/197640/real-story-on-why-watchtower-society-lost-kingdom-hall-bonham-texas?page=1) happens, Watchtower changes some things. Those were so rare anyway. Most all of the members of a particular group are going to stay with Watchtower and override some "crazy independent elders."

  I hope some radical things can happen that prove that wrong. I really do. Some scandal in high places maybe.

  But "they" appoint the leaders locally and organizationally. It would be hard to get a majority of the elders to do something against them most anywhere. It is possible that it is brewing right now, though. There may have been some holdout congregation that kept it's money from Watchtower and haven't been found out yet. But keep in mind that Watchtower sends the C.O. who goes over the books and money is the most important one to cover. They can't hide it, so that congregation, if it exists, is defying openly or embezzling. It would be fun to see it.
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  8

  Legally can WT forcibly remove money from KH bank accounts with out the signees permission

  by joe134cd in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i just wondered if the wtbts could legally remove the money from the congregation accounts with out the signees permission.

  are the bank accounts deemed society property with the change of realestate ownership into the societies name.

  legally could they get away with it if the situation arose , and if not how could they manipulate the situation so they could.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Under most arrangements established before they wanted ALL the money, NO. They could not just take the money legally. But it's one big trusting family. It's for the trusted leaders to do the best with it. Plus, the local kiss-asses could be removed or demoted if they don't go along, then some new kiss-ass would send the money.
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  32

  Would you call JW HQ???

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have a friend who is still in.

  this friend is a partaker, but has serious doubts about the org.

  this friend wants to stand up as a man, and wants to call wtbts hq.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Seriously, when the receptionist doesn't patch him through, then what?

  Will he see that the anointed are not all one big happy family? There's a youtube of John Cedars calling a GB member directly (tight pants Tony). If there were a chance of some random calling, I am sure that recent call ruined that for him.
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  19

  Having a hard time holding my tongue...

  by problemaddict 2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ...recently.. i'm normally pretty calculated.

  my fade is done, my wife is out, my family and friends know, i maintain quite abit of the friendships of those closest to me jw or not, my family isn't shunning, and the few people we have kept it from for other reasons we are calculating how to break it.

  (elderly matriarch that we are simply not going to tell so she doesn't die).. but.....all these facebook meme's and stupid feeds about reliance on jehovah, distraction, staying close to his organization, persevering against satan.....its driving me nuts.

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  OnTheWayOut

  The problem is Facebook. It leads to divorce and to young people posting things that will haunt them in college or their career. I am on facebook but I am cautious. Despite that caution, it may not be enough to blow my cover. If you have a problem, just walk away from it. You can keep your regular account to keep in touch and share photos, but if the meme's and jokes, serious cultish stuff bothers you, either ignore it and walk away or get a second account anonymously and address those things anonymously.

  I choose to be fairly open on facebook, but don't allow any JW's as friends. There's still a back door that friends of friends could be JW's, so I have to watch out. I don't post personal info. and I comment on the woes of other ex-JW's whose friends wouldn't know me. Other than that, I wouldn't be able to post about it at all.
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  99

  Golden Rule: Pure Garbage?

  by willmarite in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  on another thread a poster made the comment that the golden rule was garbage.

  she said it was arrogant and made assumptions.. i didn't want to derail that thread so i started another wondering if this is a common thought about this belief on this forum.

  i guess i naively thought the value of doing to others as you want them to do to you was generally accepted as positive.. i understand people have different opinions of jesus as a person but i don't want to get into that here.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Rather than assume people want the same thing you want, you could always ask them.

  
  I think the Golden Rule doesn't omit this. I would want someone to ask me how I would like to be treated instead of just assuming. This is in line with the Golden rule.

  Flag Dislike LikeI have to go with that. The Golden Rule is short and simple, but allows for "Assume you don't want what they want and ask what they want." It's not garbage, it's just not completely everything in all situations. It's a great place to start when you need a place to start.

  
  
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  72

  Coping With Atheism (Long-ish Post...sorry!)

  by humblepotato in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  long time lurker (2009-ish), first time poster.

  first of all, i want to say thank you everyone who contributes to these boards and provokes stimulating conversations and thought processes.

  all the opinions and different perspectives are very enlightening.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Oh, I will suggest one thing for your coping with atheism. Nothing helped me more than youtubes of George Carlin's thoughts on God and religion.
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  72

  Coping With Atheism (Long-ish Post...sorry!)

  by humblepotato in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  long time lurker (2009-ish), first time poster.

  first of all, i want to say thank you everyone who contributes to these boards and provokes stimulating conversations and thought processes.

  all the opinions and different perspectives are very enlightening.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Sound, Stage, and Mics were dumped on me the first week, then a month later I was assigned as a Watchtower and CBS reader, and I was put on the schedule to pray at the meetings. (Which I felt really bad about because there were brothers who had been in that congregation their whole lives and hadn't got to do any of that stuff!)

  REALLY? Everywhere I went, they couldn't hand those assignments out fast enough to any baptized males, young or old. They might have taken away reading the Watchtower if the "brother" wasn't tolerable, but the rest of that is ordinary privileges. Why do you suppose your congregation is so different on that?

  Anyway, I think I get what you are saying. While I don't say anything like "coping with atheism," you concerns are similar to what I went through. Jehovah supposedly saved my life (long story) and gave me a purpose. But to come to the realization that He wasn't even there threw me back into a depression over issues I avoided from before I was a JW. It took me time and serious soul-searching. I went to counseling, but it wasn't over the atheism, rather it was over those issues.
  
  For atheism, I read many books and watched many videos. Everyone has to find their own path, so enjoy it rather than "cope" with it. My wife is not "hardcore" in many ways, but she does seem to be in the JW's for the longhaul, so I have to cope with that also. I slowly shifted to more freedom to be myself and ran into some snags with my wife. I honestly think I would have divorced her and had nothing else to do with JW's were it not for the need to try to keep contact with my JW mother, so I faded out from the congregation. Don't get me wrong- I love my wife. It's just that I might have thought both of us would be happier if we went through all the pain of divergent paths all at once. Since that did not happen, we have learned to be happy and not discuss religion and beliefs. I don't really say anything to her about being atheist, but I am sure she knows.