Posts by StephaneLaliberte

83

Why all the hate...

by Dystopia in

...toward jehovah's witnesses?

Dystopia, is the watchtower "perfect", free from errors? If that is not the case, could you point out a few things you have seen to be wrong or you feel don't work right now? Would you feel at ease in doing this? Has the society expressed regrets over past mistakes? If not, why?

Try this: Go to your hall and start a conversation about how the measurements of a pyramid in Egypt was used to support 1914 as the date for Armageddon. Discuss on how Charles Russell spent a lot of time on this teaching explaining it at length in many of his writings and images.

Will the people you talk to be casual about this or will they feel threatened? Please reflect on that particular feeling. Why is it there? Where is the fear coming from?

Now, compare with the bible writers who reported their short comings and did not hide such information. Did people feel afraid about reading these accounts?

These questions are not the type the you should be able to answer in a second. Please take time to reflect on these. Real time. Like a day or so.

23

My Personal Invitation to the Celebration of the Lord's Evening Meal

by TMS in

by no means is this a heartwarming "experience" illustrating how an ex-jw skillfully "reached the heart" of a current jw, moving them to re-examine their belief system.

that won't be my take on my half hour visit with an elder's wife last sunday.

no one scored points here as is almost always the case in these interactions.. we live at the extreme southern tip of texas, on the u.s.-mexico border in a city of about 200,000. twenty years ago there were 20 spanish language congregations, 2 english.

StephaneLaliberte

She probably was unfazed by convincing herself that most of what you were saying wasn't true. She thought she'd be able to go home and clear things out with the WT Library. The thing is: once she'll discover you were actually right, she'll need courage to take a stand for her beliefs. Maybe that step will take years, maybe not. But I can assure you that getting a dose of TTATT is like getting exposed to radiation: Even if you don't feel it yet, it is reaching down to your bones and you won't ever be able to get rid of it.

51

Lost on how to respond...

by babygirl30 in

jw
friends

so an old friend of mine from the congregation hit me up today.

the story goes like this when we were jw's:.

- this guy used to be madly in love with me but i didn't see him as anything more than a friend.

StephaneLaliberte

I like to say things like: Oh, I’m doing great! I’m in better health, I work less and spend much more time with my family, and I also have more freedom to land a helping hand to people around me. Back in the days, I had huge material dreams, now, I realize, it’s all about what we do, not what we own.

Last week, I made a grocery for a friend in need. Sure, I needed that money to, but she sure needed it more than me. I also give my time you know… like my old neighbor, when his snow blower broke, I took care of his driveway until spring! I try to give more, do more, and judge much less. For instance, I give to beggars in the streets now, even if it’s just a little. I do what I can. I would hate to withhold my help from someone who really needed it that day.

And you know, in the end, I know that this is God’s will. Like the Samaritan. Sure he didn’t follow the rules like the Priest and the Levite, but he sure did more than the two of them put together simply by taking care of the ill. In the end, it’s all about love baby. Giving and spreading the love.

11

2 Videos If You Want Them!

by Atlantis in

some videos that just came in if you want them... you became so beloved to us.. .. http://we.tl/9parpjipfz.

.. new instruction video.

.. http://we.tl/bklkzuavfs.

StephaneLaliberte

Wow, the videos about presentations really suck... They replaced real people in the congregations for that??? Why? Isn't there enough "presentation" worthy Stepford's witnesses up to the task?

11

On the Fundamentalist Notion of Babylon Destroyed - Forgot to Tell Ancient World

by kepler in

among puzzlements of sitting down with jw reps with "what the bible really teaches", was the assertion that babylon was destroyed - forever - just like it says in these here chapters and verses.

then the nwt claims that peter i & ii were written from babylon.

but beside that, ancient greek, hebrew and roman writings are full of reference to babylon as an important center.

StephaneLaliberte

You know, thinking about this, I remember, when I was about 18 years old, I made a comment during a meeting where I said that Babylon was destroyed by Cyrus. Having read the prophecy, I had assumed that it had came true than. But the brother conducting the study corrected me: "Actually no; there were next to no damages done to the city - the doors were open and they didn't torch the city". I remember being in shock at that statement. Still, it was one of those things that my cognitive dissonance pushed me to ignore. Overtime however, little things like this brought me here.

11

On the Fundamentalist Notion of Babylon Destroyed - Forgot to Tell Ancient World

by kepler in

among puzzlements of sitting down with jw reps with "what the bible really teaches", was the assertion that babylon was destroyed - forever - just like it says in these here chapters and verses.

then the nwt claims that peter i & ii were written from babylon.

but beside that, ancient greek, hebrew and roman writings are full of reference to babylon as an important center.

StephaneLaliberte

One way or another, when you read the prophesy of Jeremiah (51:37), it prophecies that God would dry up Babylon's water and turn it to ruins in order to avenge the Israelites. Well, things didn't happen this way. The level of the water was lowered, not dried up. And the city did not turn to ruins. Unless you believe that what happened a 1000 years later, after the Israelites were rejected as God's people (according to Christians), could count as a result of executing that incredibly slow vengeance.

That's not what I call a truthful, accurate prophecy.

11

On the Fundamentalist Notion of Babylon Destroyed - Forgot to Tell Ancient World

by kepler in

among puzzlements of sitting down with jw reps with "what the bible really teaches", was the assertion that babylon was destroyed - forever - just like it says in these here chapters and verses.

then the nwt claims that peter i & ii were written from babylon.

but beside that, ancient greek, hebrew and roman writings are full of reference to babylon as an important center.

StephaneLaliberte

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the JWs don't deny this.

*** it-1 p. 237 Babylon ***
From that memorable date, 539 B.C.E., Babylon’s glory began to fade as the city declined. Twice it revolted against the Persian emperor Darius I (Hystaspis), and on the second occasion it was dismantled. A partially restored city rebelled against Xerxes I and was plundered. Alexander the Great intended to make Babylon his capital, but he suddenly died in 323 B.C.E. Nicator conquered the city in 312 B.C.E. and transported much of its material to the banks of the Tigris for use in building his new capital of Seleucia. However, the city and a settlement of Jews remained in early Christian times, giving the apostle Peter reason to visit Babylon, as noted in his letter. (1Pe 5:13) Inscriptions found there show that Babylon’s temple of Bel existed as late as 75 C.E. By the fourth century C.E. the city was in ruins, and eventually passed out of existence. It became nothing more than “piles of stones.”—Jer 51:37.

6

Are faded jw;s still counted as members by the sect.?

by atomant in

lm certain the sect would have an accurate figure would be interesting to know how many though.

StephaneLaliberte

And as for me and my household, we will not be counted as JWs. :)

56

Did any of us ever enjoy meetings?

by stephanie61092 in

this is a legitimate question.

did any of us ever find real joy in being at the meetings?

did any of us ever finish a meeting and think "i feel so enriched"?

StephaneLaliberte

NotBlind: "Self Congratulations", "obey, obey, obey"

Your right!! One of the things that started to get on my nerves was the feeling that JWs were like the Pharisee Jesus talked about.

Luke 18:11: The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

56

Did any of us ever enjoy meetings?

by stephanie61092 in

this is a legitimate question.

did any of us ever find real joy in being at the meetings?

did any of us ever finish a meeting and think "i feel so enriched"?

StephaneLaliberte

I did enjoy meetings. Without sarcasm, I actually did enjoy having shallow conversations before and after the meetings. Sure, I knew none of them were true friends, but somehow, I still enjoyed seeing them every week or 3 months (at assemblies). This summer, I actually drove to Cornwall (Ontario, Canada) where we had our district conventions and reflected on how I actually miss some of these people.

As for the talks, I’d say that on average, I was in agreement with about 60 to 70 percent of their content and as such, did enjoy these things. Back then, I had fooled myself to believe that I constantly needed to be reminded to be a good person in order to actually be one.

However, towards my last active year, it became difficult and going to these meetings became a chore. I was increasingly sensitive to talks placing the Organization as equal to God. I started counting how many times they would say “Faithful slave” and “governing body”. How these man imposed an unscriptural authority over the conscience of others. How they lied about the world and other religions. How they happily exposed the sins of others, and hid their own. How they almost rejoiced at disasters occurring around and in the world, using such stories to offer a “false security” feeling to their members. How they frequently spoke in half-truths, etc.

As time went one, these things became unacceptable and appalling to me when my kids started to repeat these things, like absolute truths.

Finally, when I realized I was spending my meetings taking notes of everything I wanted to “explain” to my kids later, that is when I realized it was time to stop.