Posts by boyzone

19

Advice please: Would you loan your copy of Crisis of Conscience to your JW friends or create awareness/curiosity about its existence?

by LUKEWARM in

jw
friends

about 12 months ago i ordered the book.

i thought i was sinning against god - showing a lack of faith in him and in his organization.

i prayed to jah to forgive me but i was curious as to why a person, who spent over 50 years in full time service, was of the anointed and served on the governing body left "gods organization".

boyzone

Jabberwock

What about donating a copy to your local library? This makes it possible for people who are interested in the book or those who are just curious to take a look without having to buy their own copy. Also, there may be some (Witnesses, relatives, bible studies) who want to research Jehovah's Witnesses beyond the WTBTS publications that could come across this book.

Has anyone ever tried this?

Yes I did. I donated CoC and Christian Freedom to my local library. I look on the shelf now and again and they're regularly checked out. I'm very pleased about that.

14

Interesting blog post about JWs knocking on a door

by passwordprotected in

jw
friends

http://kristievosper.typepad.com/honestlyspeaking/2009/05/jehovahs-witnesses-and-a-better-approach-at-opening-the-door.html.

(sorry, can't make it clickable in safari 4).. .

jehovah's witnesses and a better approach at opening the door.since i just moved into my house, i had my first jehovah's witness visit this morning.

I had the very same thought this morning Olin. I saw 2 sisters walking along a street in the ministry (they couldn't've moved any slower if they tried!) and it struck me how little impact the witnesses have on the people in the locality. Do you remember how all the info at the meeting was to big-up the work and the H-U-G-E effect we were having in giving a "greats shout of praise" to Jehovah? How the door to door was reaching the hearts of "so many" and we were the only ones putting the kingdom first?

Yet as I saw these bored, plodding sisters knocking on empty homes, then observing all the people that were busy with their daily lives that passed these sisters without a word, the total lack of impact their message was having was obvious. It suddenly made me feel very sad for these 2 sisters and the thousands like them that totally waste their counted time on a work so ineffective and pointless.

I could only stand and wonder what on earth joe public really thought of this strange little religion. My guess is that a few have a rough idea about their odder beliefs (blood, no christmas, birthdays etc) but in the main, they haven't a clue about the kingdom message.

Why? I suppose you could blame it on the public for not listening at the door, the witnesses would use this excuse. But to be fair I don't think this is right. The blame must lie with the insipid way the message is conveyed. The public mags are simpering and patronizing and take a long time to get to the point-if ever. The witnesses are not trained to get to the point either and its ages before the kingdom message is conveyed, if at all. They carry a bible but often don't bother using it but resort to WT literature instead. Many a time I pioneered and spoke to no-one, didn't get my bible out once and placed no literature, but still counted the time.

In amongst all this you have a householder who's busy, got a job to go to, or tea to cook. They want the witnesses to GET TO THE POINT of why they're there.

No wonder the message is lost. (If its the right message at all!!) There's far too much waffle.

But if you're counting time, its best to waffle just as much as its best to walk slow. In your own eyes, Job done.

38

HOW THE ORGANIZATION HAS LASTED THIS LONG...

by Mary in

jw
friends

this is in response to a post i did on another thread about the borg not having as much swagger as they used to.

it was suggested that i post it under a new topic so here it is.

it's a brief summary of the decades and how they've managed to get away with claiming that 'the end' is nigh for over 130 years now.

boyzone

Excellent critique Mary. I just read it out to my hubby and he said that ALL witnesses should be made to read that!

Can I copy it to the BBC forum where it'll get a wide audience? with credit to you of course.

11

My letter to all the schools about the effects of JW teachings

by boyzone in

i wrote this letter several months ago but didn't feel strong enough to deal with the jw flack it might cause.

now i'm feeling better and ready to let the professionals around me know just how insidious the jw teachings can be on susceptable young minds.

the forst 6 letters will go out to the high schools in my area.

boyzone

Hi Iknowall

I'm so sorry to hear of the effects the shunning is having on your son. For me it was the most distressing part of the whole process and one that I am furiously angry about. To see my beautiful boy deteriorate so badly and the anxiety symptoms take over his life to such a degree that he couldn't eat or sleep was almost more than I could bear. If the teacher at his school hadn't taken action to protect him and reassure him I would've moved him too.

You have 13 to cope with???? My God! It must be a real nightmare to walk past that lot every day. How are YOU coping with this? These so-called friends are just more wicked than they realise. I tell you something, if they EVER step foot near my family again, my response won't be very christian.

I'm glad the letter was some help to you and I hope you and your son will soon be out of that school and away from such unkind people. Love BZ X

46

A LOOK INSIDE BETHEL LIFE, THE ORGANIZATION BEHIND THE NAME

by Bethelite Elder in

when i first came to bethel, the going reassurance was that if you stayed more than 5 years, you would be considered permanent.

many of the bethelites bought into the idea and stayed many years.

however, a few years back they had a test of faith.

boyzone

Hi Bethelite Elder and welcome.

No matter how benevolent the Society protrays itself or how logical their financial and personnel decisions seem, the bottom line is that long term, faithful unselfish, giving people have been left high and dry by an organization that tacidly promised to take care of their every need.

The Society have taken, and taken...and taken some more. And as soon as they're done taking, they wave bye bye.

Your account of whats happened at Bethel reminds me of the George Orwell story Animal Farm. As soon as the faithful hardworking horse Boxer worked himself to a standstill for the good of the farm and was no longer useful, he was "retired" - to the knackers yard.

43

Who is going to the District Assembly this year?

by asilentone in

jw
friends

i do not think i will be there!

.

boyzone

You're a brave man Bonafide, with a strong stomach.

12

...I Don`t Believe That!!...

by OUTLAW in

1975 was getting close......1975 was the topic of the day,for any jw during that time......our vancouver bc assembly was in full swing.......pretty jw girls wandered the area looking for cute guys like me!..lol!!

......my best friends annointed,apostate dad,was outside the assembly with a bullhorn..telling everyone about wbt$ lies..we all thought he was crazy,we were right!..lol!

!........................jw assemblys in those days,were huge events..nothing like today..local media always showed up.................it was the 2nd day of the assembly..the 2nd day had ended..we went home and turned the tv,to the new`s..............the local tv station was covering our assembly..the announcer said jw`s believed armageddon would be here by 1975......right at that moment,i knew i did`nt believe that.....i was supposed to believe it,but i did`nt..................have you ever had a similar experience,with any jehovah`s witness beliefs?.....................................outlaw.

boyzone

The October 2005 Watchtower did it for me. It was the Watchtower that tightened the screws on higher education again and the whole tone of the rag was condescending and patronizing. I sat through that study gettng angrier and angrier. People sitting near me could hear me mumbling "what a load of crap" under my breathe (I was only just whispering) Couldn't stand the tripe any longer and walked out the hall before the end. Left the shredded Watchtower in the car park to blow in the breeze....

36

Friends, Study Partners, and then GONE...

by ptucker8357 in

jw
friends

about a year and 12 ago, after much conversation with a jw co-worker, we began a formal study.

we studied religiously (no pun intended) almost every week unless i was on business travel or there was a sickness or other item that precluded us from getting together.. .

during that process, we became very strong, close friends... at least that is what i thought was happening.

boyzone

I'm so sorry you had to experience the pain of this firsthand. In the main, Jehovahs Witnesses are friendly people but always with an agenda to that friendship. When it looks like that agenda (gaining a convert) isn't going to be fulfilled anytime soon, the friendship is dropped and the Witness moves on.

You see, the Watchtower Society have told the witnesses for decades not to make friends with people of the world,(all non-witnesses) but if you do have association with them, then it should be to only give a fine witness and encourage them to become witnesses too.

If in the event of that not happening, the time is described as too short to waste on timewasters, so the witness moves on.

To be fair to the brother studying with you, he has lost his job too and the stress he's feeling may be causing him to withdraw in many areas of his life, not just from you. He may even be having doubts about the "truth" himself, who knows?

But whatever the reason, your friendship with this brother wasn't what you thought it was and its best to realise that now rather than wait until after baptism to find out. Witness friendships are always conditional. Always.

73

The "swagger" of the Organization is gone - or is it my imagination?

by BonaFide in

jw
friends

i am in my early forties.

grew up in the truth.

i remember talks at the assemblies by the governing body in the 80's.

boyzone

Mary,

Superb summary.

81

My JW Daughter sends a Letter to us Explaining her Shunning of Me

by flipper in

jw
friends

my wife and i sent my 22 yr.old pioneer witness daughter and her husband a anniversary card and $ 40.00 and flowers the end of april.

my daughter wrote mrs. flipper and me each our own individual letters thanking us initially for the gifts - and then went into detail as to why she has not spoken to me for over a year and shunned me.. keep in mind as i paraphrase some of the highlights to these letters that the only negative thing i have said about the organization to my daughter in 3 years was to show her the ap news release about the child abuse settlements by the wt society .

i'll quote parts of the letter to mrs. flipper first :.

boyzone

Hi Pubsinger

I think that you shouldn't confuse getting some sort of relationship back with your daughter with getting her out of the Watchtower.

In part, I agree but its the Watchtower and their policies that stand in the way of the relationship. If a relationship can be re-established without the daughter leaving the Watchtower then that is a possibility for some. But in many instances this would depend on the personalities involved and the willingness to bend the rules on the part of the witness. Only Mr Flipper knows his daughter and whether this is likely in her case.

Rushing or having an agenda of your own could be disasterous.
I'd forget Steve Hassan's book at the mo and ask yourself which you want more - a relationship with your daughter or the possibility of her batoning down against your approaches.

If I was Mr Flip, my agenda would definately be a relationship with my daughter first. This is the same with my dad. My agenda isn't to get him out of the Watchtower, thats something only he could do anyway - but the agenda is to see more and more of the gentle funny guy I knew as dad and less of the hard-hearted JW he's become.

Steve Hassan offers some sound advice. Some of it may be applicable in Mr Flips case, some of it not.