OnTheWayOut

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Posts by OnTheWayOut

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  102

  Any atheists here? Have you come to terms with your new reality?

  by kpop in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  alone, without my safety net of "god" being there to remember me when i die.

  after much consideration, examining science, history and using logic, i have come to the conclusion that there is no "god" at least certainly no loving, personal "god.

  " shortly before my final conclusion was reached, i read an excerpt from an expression attributed to marcus aurelius, .

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  OnTheWayOut

  Figuring out that God isn't there was almost as mind-blowing as figuring out that "The Truth" was all lies.

  But processing the facts and the philosophies helped. Live as if this life is all there is, because it is.

  Enjoy people in your life.
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  36

  Sample Disassociation Letter please?

  by LifesNotOver in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i want to send a disassociation letter to the elders at my old congregation.

  how do i address it and what wording do i use?

  i know it's not something i have to do, it's symbolic for me.

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  OnTheWayOut

  I don't need to get anything off my chest, particularly. Just want to "formally" get my name off any lists or anything.

  Then this one from that link might be best, but feel free to leave out the optional part on information, and any elder's name if you mail it to the "XXX Congregation" at their Kingdom Hall address. Be sure to sign it or they will call you.
  
  Date
  
  Elders name
  Congregation Address
  
  To Whom it May Concern:
  
  Information on reason for the decision to disassociate. (optional)
  
  This letter represents my formal disassociation from the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses and from Watchtower.
  
  I do not wish to be contacted over this decision. (optional)
  
  Salutation
  
  Signature
  
  Full Name
  
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  80

  Lots Of Whining And Complaining About Us JW's

  by Deaconblues1914 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in reading these posts, it sounds like a lot of you are very jealous of the wt.

  society’s annual income and the money they/we have in the bank.

  jehovah has indeed blessed us.

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  OnTheWayOut

  In reading these posts, it sounds like a lot of you are very jealous of the Wt. Society’s annual income and the money they/we have in the bank.

  You really aren't doing a good job reading these posts, then. Not the case from what I read.

  What other religious organization on earth has been able accomplish what we have?

  What other man has accomplished what Adolf Hitler accomplished? NONE.
  ....or better, what organization has become more focused on self preservation than on aiding their own children, so it hides ugly truths about pedophiles in their midst?

  And if you left the "truth," come back to the truth before it's too late. Time is running out folks.

  I won't bother with "the truth" part, because if you truly read this forum, you will know more about that. But "time is running out." We hear that from the beginning. Why does Watchtower doctrine keep changing? Because the sky didn't fall. It didn't fall in 1914, 1918, 1925, 1975, the 20th century, within one generation of any Watchtower marker.

  
  
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  26

  Observations from an Ex-Elder Part 1

  by doubtfull1799 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was thinking about the fog model this morning, particularly about the "obligation" part.

  my mind went back to the last elders school i went to.

  one of the parts in the section on appointments was discussing how we should not place too high a bar (human standards) for brothers to try and jump over when we are considering them for appointment as a ministerial servant.

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  OnTheWayOut

  He coldly and unmercifully suggested that all the work this man did for the congregation and the brothers meant nothing if his hours were not at the bar the Society (unofficially but in all reality) set. That this brother should be encouraged to do less other stuff and spend longer out in the ministry, the other stuff (practical and charitable things like helping brothers move house, working on hall maintenance, helping with IT issues at the hall etc).

  Ray Franz tried to point out that doing good for each other was part of our ministry. He was shot down.
  Sad, all the brother had to do was put down a fictional number and he was golden. Heck, it didn't even have to be fictional- he could just learn a better way to "count time" like many pioneers and others have done. He could attempt to hand a tract to someone before a drive and at the end of the drive, while driving for some other reason. Now he has the whole time of that drive to count. I could go on, but I think we understand.
  
  
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  36

  Sample Disassociation Letter please?

  by LifesNotOver in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i want to send a disassociation letter to the elders at my old congregation.

  how do i address it and what wording do i use?

  i know it's not something i have to do, it's symbolic for me.

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  OnTheWayOut

  You are free to say what you want. The long wordy letter will just be searched through for "I disassociate." So be short and get one or two zingers in there.

  If you must try to make a point, here is a great link that includes some "sample letters" and some thoughts on disassociating. http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/blog/disassociation-letters.php
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  35

  February 26, 2017 TO ALL BODIES OF ELDERS Re: Witnessing in Public Places

  by wifibandit in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  february 26, 2017 to all bodies of elders re: witnessing in public places.

  and.

  february 25, 2017 to all congregations re: magnetic boards and posters for public witnessing.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Let me get some things straight.

  They are in their own personal public ministry, not one sponsored in any way by Watchtower.
  They are to know, on their own, about what kind of liability they have in doing so.
  If they block a public way to any degree (and they do), they are on their own for doing so.

  I will say, however, that any court would recognize that the cart or table is a set-up prescribed by their mother corporation and that members, whether on their own personal ministry or not, are required to get out there and do this by their mother corporation.
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  52

  Convention program 2017 AM3

  by George One Time in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/convention-program-2017/friday/.

  why would our beloved gb member be on the top picture of the program?.

  any ideas?.

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  OnTheWayOut

  The art to the right seems like it is the exodus. So maybe this is subliminal for saying that Tony Morris is part of the current exodus from whatever JW's used to be- on to wandering in the desert for the next 40 years.
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  13

  Cart Witnessing Today In Liverpool [See Pic]

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  remember the jw command only a few years ago "fully accomplish your ministry"?

  looks like these young jw's didnt get the memo.. whats interesting is, just a few meters away were some street preachers handing out flyers and shouting about jesus.

  i cant stand them either but at least you couldnt say they were skiving on the job.. bet they're still counting this as time as well.. .

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  OnTheWayOut

  The main things to the members- get some time, get a good parking space, get a place to sit, have coffee & lunch.
  
  I imagine they laugh at the street preachers and think about how much of a nuisance they are- without thinking about their own past or their own door-to-door nuisances.
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  22

  I need some serious help

  by bulldogg1877 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i grew up a jw kid until the age of twelve.

  since then i have lived a worldly life.

  i have enjoyed alot of my life experiences, but i now feel like i am lost.

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  OnTheWayOut

  As Smiddy pointed out on page 1, you left at 12. You don't know the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. You only know that they say they are right and everyone else is wrong, they teach living forever in paradise.

  I can tell you that anyone can start a journey of spiritual learning. Each person's journey will be different. I will tell you a little about mine if it helps.

  I first started learning that the religion I believed (Jehovah's Witnesses) was loaded with contradictions and changes and failures of predictions. jwfacts . com was a big help. Reading books such as COMBATTING CULT MIND CONTROL and CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE was my biggest help.

  Next, I assumed that "Christendom" was probably correct. But I continued learning before just accepting that. I examined the Bible, their main tool. One great book that helped me was THE BIBLE UNEARTHED by Finkelstein and Silberman. Also, there were two video series, one from Nova and one from BBC, both called THE BIBLE's BURIED SECRETS. There was much much more, but all must find their own path.

  After being positive that Christianity was not the way, I briefly looked at Buddhism. The greatest thing about Buddhism is that you can accept any or all of it, you can reject as much as you want and still benefit from the wisdom and guidance remaining. But that wasn't satisfying enough. As a former JW, I had to know "the truth" from the lies. So finally, I started learning what science has to say. I read about the origins of the planet, life, the universe, the big bang, etc. Also, while I was learning about beliefs outside of Christianity, I was meditating on thoughts that were critical of God. Would a "loving" god allow a tsunami that wiped out tens of thousands of children? ....or an earthquake that killed and injured tens of thousands of children?

  Anyway, I think you can see where I went. My point is not to just return to the religion of your youth. I did that in a time of trouble and went back to Jehovah's Witnesses. I wasted precious time and stayed in a depression for a long time. I could have gotten the professional counseling that I needed and started my proper journey of spiritual learning much sooner.

  Best to you.
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  37

  WT Society Creates the Atmosphere which Spawns Child Abuse in Congregations

  by flipper in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  been thinking about this lately after almost 14 years out of the jw cult myself.

  when you think of the language used within the jehovah's witness organization in such a closed society environment in how the wt society promotes almost absolute " trust " in the elders , the governing body, and trust even in the " friends " in the congregation themselves- is it any wonder that unscrupulous child molesters can enter any congregation pretending to be " spiritual " and take advantage of unsuspecting children or the parents ?

  think about it : an individual is judged as a " spiritual " person within the jw organization based on what wt functions or duties they are good at performing.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Even today after all this trouble, they would think nothing of allowing their male or female child to be isolated with a "brother in good standing" especially a pioneer, ministerial servant, or elder. At the same time, they would never do this with a barely known outsider. Much of this is because they continue to deny any problem in their ranks and to hush up such talk anywhere that the problem actually does exist.

  This is because they perpetuate the idea that all of their people that perform the regular recruiting and Kingdom Hall assignments are spiritual and good and trusted.

  It would be a simple matter to say "NEVER EVER leave your children (minors under 18) with people outside of their family. They should never go into the ministry without an adult from their family. And Watchtower does not approve of any activity where they are potentially isolated with any adults." [And of course, trusting/not trusting family members is another discussion, but at least this is a first step toward eliminating hunting grounds for predators.]

  But I don't see them ever doing that. Can you imagine actually forbidding teens under 18 to "pioneer" without their parents? I mean, an even simpler answer would be to forbid the minors from even doing any recruiting work but could you imagine such a decision?

  Despite their changes in rules about such a problem, they still stick to a basic idea- Call Watchtower first and foremost. Elders assume this is because they will get guidance from men in the best way to aid their abused minors. But it also has become common knowledge, even to those same elders, that they call Watchtower so that lawyers can figure out what is legally necessary and what will most minimally trouble the congregation.

  Even when a predator is found, he can deny charges. He can appear to be repentant. And despite changes, local elders still go on a "witch-hunt" often to blame the victim for participation in sexual acts.