StephaneLaliberte

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Posts by StephaneLaliberte

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  22

  Murmurs from the locals

  by Moster in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was ministered to by several different people at a jw funeral i attended today.

  one older lady said to me, "you know the end is right around the corner, just look at the state of the world today".

  i said, "well yes but that has been the mantra for decades, remember 'stay alive till '75'".

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  StephaneLaliberte

  What I find particularly awful about the ‘75 prediction is that some zealous brothers and sisters went all in and sold their houses to dedicate themselves in field ministry.

  In the early 70s, they were treated like prophets, taken as examples at the meetings, conventions and even watchtower articles! Then, when ‘75 passed, the Watchtower turned against them and placed all the blame on their shoulders as if they had been spiritually weak all along!

  Faced with this abuse, many of them left. Rather than admitting their responsibility, the Watchtower stood its ground until finally, in 1981, they called them out as apostates/anti-Christ for leaving the organization!

  Since then, most JWs are too afraid to consider what happened. How could they be in a loving religion and concede that their religious leaders acted this way with their most zealous members? They sacrificed their homes and retirement plans to ultimately be called anti-christs! How low can you go?
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  13

  #Persecution selfies: what do you think?

  by Diogenesister in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  so apparently the new watchtower russia exhibition features a pretend cell for jws to take pretend "persecution selfies' and wallow in the glorious suffering that is essential for watchtower theology to work - yet is strikingly missing from the lives of 99% of witnesses.. in fact most governments go to great lengths to protect the rights of witnesses, spending millions in public funds either directly to watchtower - in the form of grants ( norway, germany etc) - in various types of tax relief, or in the money spent in court cases establishing watchtowers rights and freedoms (& protecting their kids, whether they know it or not).. i'm interested to know how everyone feels about this...particularly terry walstrom and other guys who have spent time in jail in the name of watchtower's freedom of conscience.

  personally i think it reeks of desperation by watchtower and is another example of the type of fantasizing that witnesses regularly indulge in.. also....funny how the end is soooo close that they've had time to build a museum of watchtower history!!

  anyone else see the irony in that?!

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Quite frankly, I'm not sure about this one. The watchtower might very well have produced that stage so that JWs could walk in and meditate on what happened or is happening to their brothers and sisters. What is distasful however are the JWs themselves taking pictures in the way that they are doing it. This type of thing is not limited to JWs. For instance, think of the people who take glorious selfies in places dedicated to the rememberance of the holocost.

  Did I miss something? Was there a sign next to that thing instructing JWs to take pictures? Were they instructed by their guides to do so?
  
  Regardless, I know I would never have taken a picture like that.
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  30

  We pray for the governing body

  by StephaneLaliberte in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  since when has it become cool to pray for the gb?

  i noticed that at the begining of my fade back in 2015, it had already been there for a good while and was already getting on my nerves.

  i means, i grew up in it, but can't remember much further than the 90s and i don't remember this being always in the payers.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Thinking about this further, I do remember hearing "We pray for the bethel family" often in the prayers when I was a kid (back in the 80s/90s). From what I can tell, it is only recent that they shifted this to the Governing Body (GB), which makes it so much more cultish!
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  10

  JW earworms

  by neat blue dog in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you ever find yourself starting to hum a jw tune subconsciously?

  several times while driving alone i started singing one of them, and then i get to an offensive lyric which jolts me 'awake', and i say something to myself like 'no!

  if anybody heard they'd think i was a few bricks shy of a load 😆.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  I left 5 years ago and still have those moments where I hum some of their songs. Some of these songs will send me straight into feelings of anger and rage as they are strongly linked to particular moments of my life where the JWs destroyed my family.

  On the other hand, there are some other melodies that I still appreciate for its artistic value in the same way I appreciate Catholic Churches while disagreeing with the teachings. Or an appreciation similar to my love for the movie “The 10 Commandments” while I certainly don’t believe any of it.

  Of course, I guess this is also due to the fact that I already forgot the lyrics! I don’t believe that any of the lyrics produced by the JWs are strong enough to appeal to me even on a purely artistic level.
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  15

  head coverings

  by loveforgod in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hi there i am not a jw but i am having bible study.

  i came to christianity a few months before and i was searching for the right path.

  one of the things god spoke to me about and directed me in was to do away with all the vanity that was in me and now i wear the head covering and the modest dresses.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  while I don’t believe in head covers, there is nothing in the bible against it. Interesting question indeed.
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  30

  We pray for the governing body

  by StephaneLaliberte in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  since when has it become cool to pray for the gb?

  i noticed that at the begining of my fade back in 2015, it had already been there for a good while and was already getting on my nerves.

  i means, i grew up in it, but can't remember much further than the 90s and i don't remember this being always in the payers.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Since when has it become cool to pray for the GB? I noticed that at the begining of my fade back in 2015, it had already been there for a good while and was already getting on my nerves. I don't know if it was always there, or was it?

  I means, I grew up in it, but can't remember much further than the 90s and I don't remember this being always in the payers. "We pray that you help the GB as the give us food at the proper time".

  I remember, towards the end, I was hearing it often, even at weddings and funerals. was it simply because I was more alert or was it not as bad as it has become?
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  56

  Montana Supreme Court will hear the $35M case tomorrow

  by Corney in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  the montana case enters the home stretch.

  the state supreme court will hear oral arguments tomorrow, 13 september, at the northern hotel in billings during the state bar of montana’s annual meeting (announcement 1, announcement 2).

  an introduction to the argument will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the argument starting at 10 a.m. (4 p.m. utc, 9 a.m. sf time, 12 a.m. ny time, 5 p.m. london time, 2 a.m. saturday sydney time).

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  StephaneLaliberte

  JC323: here is a new catholic policy that if a priest confesses to another priest in the confession, that it must be reported to the archdiocese.

  Yeah, that sucks... if they are to report to anyone else, including the archdiocese, then why not the police as well?
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  56

  Montana Supreme Court will hear the $35M case tomorrow

  by Corney in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  the montana case enters the home stretch.

  the state supreme court will hear oral arguments tomorrow, 13 september, at the northern hotel in billings during the state bar of montana’s annual meeting (announcement 1, announcement 2).

  an introduction to the argument will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the argument starting at 10 a.m. (4 p.m. utc, 9 a.m. sf time, 12 a.m. ny time, 5 p.m. london time, 2 a.m. saturday sydney time).

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  StephaneLaliberte

  I listened to the video yesterday and I must say... looks like the court is scared of impeding over religious freedom. Yes, religious freedom is very important, but to the extent that they can deliberately keep silent about pedophiles? Really?

  To me, the clergy rule works only in the context of how it is applied by the Catholics. A pedophile goes to see a priest in the secret of confession and gets advices from the priest who will not retaliate and won’t share the story with anyone, including other priests. This procedure is meant to provide spiritual guidance to someone that, otherwise, would have none. Without this guaranty of absolute secrecy, the sinner/criminal will never confess and will loose on the opportunity of receiving valuable advices. It’s similar to a shrink. In fact, most priest actually go through university studies, crossing over into psychology, specifically for this purpose.

  Jehovah's Witnesses is not about this concept. People who confess to an elder will land in a judicial committee. Along the way, details of the confession will be shared with various stakeholders. In this context, what is the incentive for a criminal/sinner to confess? Considering he will have religious consequences, why not add legal as well? This scenario should not be protected. However, the court seems to be afraid of defining the limits of the proper scenarios and I would not be surprised to find that this will go nowhere.

  If the JWs win this particular battle, politicians will need to pass laws that are more precise.
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  22

  Question from yesterdays persecution article...

  by JW_Rogue in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what are you resolved to do if under ban?.

  i wonder how many people were thinking about how that would be a great excuse to leave!

  finally, a good out, you were just too afraid of the persecution.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  While I don't believe in JW, I am even more against the concept of government persecuting people for their beliefs. I would never, ever collaborate with the government to turn in peoples.

  And yet, depending on the circumstances, I could potentially make an exception for elders and higher ups. These man bully people and deny freedom of religion by enforcing the shunning practice and hunting down any one second guessing their authority. Why should they expect the right to freedom of religion when they deny this very right to people under their authority?
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  16

  News report - Montana Supreme Court Hearing: Silent No More: The Justices (Silent Part 4)

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  https://www.wlwt.com/article/silent-no-more-part-4-the-justices/29040023?fbclid=iwar1beverlfko8g4lz5hbsize6dl1b87ukfabevyv07iizgziawzq1gfvevu .

  silent no more: the justices.

  jehovah’s witnesses argue montana supreme court justices should overturn $35 million verdict—largest in u.s.. mark albert .

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  StephaneLaliberte

  If for whatever reason the victim told an elder first, then I agree that that elder should report it (especially if it was mandatory law to do so, which is why all states should all have such laws) but if an elder was not told first, then whoever was/is should be the one/s to do so.

  If the parents tell the Elders and no one tells the police, all of them, the parents and the elders should face legal concequences for not reporting.