Posts by StephaneLaliberte

9

WT brags about suing indigenous peoples and winning!

by Slidin Fast in

jw
friends

i know we get a bit cynical and hard boiled about the exploits of wt inc. but this takes the biscuit.

apparently these ecuadorian indigenous people objected to being targeted by the sect.

so wt inc rode in and guess what?

StephaneLaliberte

The OP brings up Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in something that has nothing to do with it. But from what I am reading, the Jehovah's Witnesses won another court battle to safeguard their right to build a kingdom hall and preach to their neighbors. Forgive me for asking, but what's the problem here?

I believe in freedom of speech (that includes preaching your none sense) and freedom of religion (that includes building your assembly hall, church, mosque, whatever). So, I don't see any problem here at all.

In fact, good for them! Winning this court battle protects the freedoms of everyone else in that country!

9

WT brags about suing indigenous peoples and winning!

by Slidin Fast in

jw
friends

i know we get a bit cynical and hard boiled about the exploits of wt inc. but this takes the biscuit.

apparently these ecuadorian indigenous people objected to being targeted by the sect.

so wt inc rode in and guess what?

StephaneLaliberte

A link might be nice.

https://www.jw.org/en/news/region/ecuador/Constitutional-Court-of-Ecuador-Upholds-the-Right-to-Freedom-of-Worship-for-Jehovahs-Witnesses/

42

Why do most Ex jW W‘s seem to be liberal?

by JaredScott-1977 in

i’m just curious about this dynamic i don’t care personally one way or the other but i do have friends who have chosen to be conservatives and they get totally destroyed on social media pages for their choice.

it’s almost like a lot of ex jw w become as toxic and his judgmental as jehovah’s witnesses themselves what’s up with that?

i also know conservative ex jw’s that can do the same so again i’m not leaning one way or the other i’m just noticing factual observations.

StephaneLaliberte

I consider myself to be in the center.

I'm for abortion rights but don't agree with forcing truckers to get vaccines.
I'm for immigration but within reasonable, controlled limits.
I'm for freedom of religion but not when teachings of that religion goes against basic humain rights.
I'm for free education and healthcare but don't think these should be managed by the state.
I'm for social programs but expect tighter oversight, where people must participate to earn, as with cooperative housing.
I'm for more accessible mental health care but believe we should consider bringing back mental institutions.
I'm for free speech but believe people should be held accountable for spreading deliberate and demonstrable lies, similar to how defamation is handled in court.

17

Dr. James Penton - goin' up yonder dirt nap

by Nathan Natas in

jw
friends

i saw a post on reddit by "big_routine1112" announcing that james penton died.. well, there's always the resurrec... oh, nevermind.. as always, the person expressing the most profound grief and dismay wins!.

"he was my friend" .

"there will never be another of his ilk".

StephaneLaliberte

Nathan Natas: I think I get your point. The older I get, the more I'm exposed to the deaths of people close to me—friends, family, people who influenced me, and even celebrities. The more I go through this process, the less deeply it affects me. Yet, socially, we're still expected to show grief, pain, and other signs of mourning.

So, a lot of people who, like us, feel something but not profoundly, end up expressing more grief than they actually feel, just to be accepted or to be part of some homage. And we see through it; it comes across as phony.

In the case of Dr. James Penton, the world certainly lost someone who helped thousand others have a critical, rational mind. But once I'm done writing this message, I'll go about my day like any other. Such is life.

29

WT vs Norway - WT sends letter to the goverment saying they have now changed their practice on DF. Asks for their funding back

by liam in

disfellowshipping is slowly fading into the night.. last efforts to survive.. https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1gh3ilq/wt_vs_norway_wt_sends_letter_to_the_goverment/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button.

StephaneLaliberte

The exact extent of this limited contact will depend on each individual’s personal circumstances and conscience.

Ah! Right there! I spotted the lie! I knew there'd be one!

31

Loss of a Jehovah’s Witness who I considered a friend

by Fallen_Winter in

jw
friends

i have known a jehovah’s witness for approximately 15 years and i have considered her a friend although i know that jehovah’s witnesses cannot have friends who are not jehovah’s witnesses.

approximately two years ago, i was going through a very difficult time and i asked my friend if we could have bible study.

she said yes and we have been studying the bible since.

StephaneLaliberte

I’d like to add that whatever you thought you had, it wasn’t true friendship. True friendship is built on mutual trust, respect, and loyalty. Unfortunately, that’s often not the case with JWs and many religious individuals. If someone is unable to respect your personal beliefs, they cannot truly be your friend. When JWs engage with outsiders only to try to convert them, it reveals a lack of respect for those beliefs.

31

Loss of a Jehovah’s Witness who I considered a friend

by Fallen_Winter in

jw
friends

i have known a jehovah’s witness for approximately 15 years and i have considered her a friend although i know that jehovah’s witnesses cannot have friends who are not jehovah’s witnesses.

approximately two years ago, i was going through a very difficult time and i asked my friend if we could have bible study.

she said yes and we have been studying the bible since.

StephaneLaliberte

although I know that Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot have friends who are not Jehovah’s Witnesses.

That sums it up. Unfortunately.

13

JWs on LinkedIn

by usualusername1 in

jw
friends

when i'm extremely board i look up jws on linkedin.. steven is clearly counting his time.

lol.

StephaneLaliberte

I honestly don't understand the logic of only connecting with Jehovah's Witnesses when the thing you boast about the most is your preaching activity. Wouldn't you want to connect with as many people as possible who might be interested in your message and religious activities?

Oh, right! It's because the Watchtower doesn't want you to do that! They want absolute control over anything related to the message. You're a minister, but you're not allowed to publish anything publicly!

I can't remember exactly when that instruction came out in the Kingdom Ministry, but I do recall it was one of those things that solidified my desire to leave the cult.

73

JWN, 23 years posting Blondie

by blondie in

jw
friends

can i call you friends, i think so after 23 years posting here.

i am dismayed how jwn is being "dominated" or taken over by a few posters, peppering the comments.

in the past, the admin did not approve of this and did remove some posters from jwn.

StephaneLaliberte

Some of the posts are soo long that I sometimes find myself using chat gpt to resume the text.

14

rant about the stupidty of JW r/f

by enoughisenough in

putting this under beliefs,doctrine and practices because i don't see a better heading.

here is what i have been thinking for years now and the situation with the recent storms and the devastation brings in closer to home in my thinking.

i lived in western nc for 20 years and moved to wv in feb of this year.

StephaneLaliberte

Simply calling Jehovah's Witnesses "stupid" for believing all this ignores the very real psychological mechanisms that can affect us all. Personally, I see them as a cautionary tale about how I, too, can be misled by my own delusional reasoning, influenced by my motivations.

Confirmation bias, cognitive dissonance, and denialism all play a role in leading them to find merit in the claims of the Watchtower. As for their motivations? Fear of losing a sense of purpose, comfort in hardship, community, ethical guidance, family, identity, and a sense of security. And, last but certainly not least: they fear God's wrath.

So, I wouldn't call them stupid. I grew up in the JWs and was one as an independent adult for 15 years; 15 years! I wasn't stupid—I just had to free myself from all the wrong motivations that kept me upholding baseless arguments.