Posts by StephaneLaliberte

13

Another Kingdom Hall sold

by gerry in

berkeley kingdom hall in wollongong south of sydney australia has just been sold.

berkeley congregation are now sharing a neighbouring hall at dapto.. .

the reason given was the governing body has taken over all the halls and the building was in need of repair.

This is something to ponder about.... With the internet and the freedom of information, I believe that one day, the JW org will fade out. In 50 years, 100 years. One day or another, it will fade out. When it does, who will run away with the money?

31

Big news from Kim and Mikey, they state in thier latest video proof the WT invested in the Nazi war machine!!

by Crazyguy in

this is big!

according to what they say if i'm correct an investigation was done back in 1998 in concerning what american companies invested money in to germany.

mike and kim state that a document they have attained shows a list of american firms that had invested into germany as late as 1943. on this list is non other then watchtower !!

StephaneLaliberte

I don't believe that Mike and Kim are ill-intent. There is a large difference between intentionally lying and being overly eager and making mistakes, even huge ones such as this.

I just hope that they read this thread, remove the video and make another saying "sorry". In that regard, John Cedar's latest apology was "high class".

66

When you were fully in, did you believe that you would not die?

by TTWSYF in

i know that it must seem silly to ask, but my brother and his family think that the big a will arrive before they die.

i tried to explain to my brother that everyone else who has ever lived in the past has died and only jesus has [physically] rose from the dead.. it is amazing that anyone could buy that line.

what crazy cult culture that could make people believe such nonsense?!.

StephaneLaliberte

Magnum: I would have eternity. It turns out, though, that not only will I not have eternity, but I was robbed of even the few years that my peers had.

So true! I am still somewhat young (close to 40) and I am now starting to do things I would have done much sooner. Yet, there are things I have lost. Had I not been a witness, I know I would :

have tried out for pro football.
become a lawyer
learn martial arts
have remained a bachelor for a longer period (travel, hunt, extended camping trips, etc)
have about 3 "real friends" (I only have one).

Though I'm pretty proud of what I have done with my life so far, I still regret the fact that I wasn't entirely myself for the last 20 years as I was deeply influenced by that group.

66

When you were fully in, did you believe that you would not die?

by TTWSYF in

i know that it must seem silly to ask, but my brother and his family think that the big a will arrive before they die.

i tried to explain to my brother that everyone else who has ever lived in the past has died and only jesus has [physically] rose from the dead.. it is amazing that anyone could buy that line.

what crazy cult culture that could make people believe such nonsense?!.

StephaneLaliberte

When I grew up, I was told I would not have the time to finish high school before Armageddon would come. This to me, was presented as a hard fact. Something as obvious as a lighting in the sky.

Then, I graduated and one of my family members died in a car accident. All of a sudden, I understood death was real and close. The Generation teaching became laughable and I started to rationalize things by telling myself that the new system was close, through my own death or Armageddon, one way or another.

Still, it seems I never expected to get to 40! To be a full blown adult… far from childhood, slowly getting old. And now, my parents and their generation are literally starting to get old and die. The next generation to go the same route is mine… death is real. It’s odd that you opened up this topic as I was precisely thinking of this while driving to work this morning. I was reflecting on the resentment I have towards the Watchtower for teaching my family that doubting that Armageddon was always a few years away was in fact, a lack of faith. That this lack of faith itself was almost deserving of death along with all the others for that had no faith at all.

What strikes me even more is how these same observations could have been done by the 40 years olf who lived in the 80s. They had seen plenty of diehard Christians grow old and die, including their parents. Many of them grew up in the truth and were fed the same thing: You and your family won’t grow old. Yet, there they were, a few failed prophecies away (1878, 1914, 1925, 1975) and still, they convinced themselves and their children of the very same lie. And if they didn’t believe it themselves, well, for the very least, like parrots, they kept repeating it and preaching it over and over again. And plenty of new members and children grew up believing it.

Frankly, I don’t know if I fear death more than others who never heard such teachings. However, it seems that lately, I am more concerned by the death of those that I love even more than mine. Perhaps the fact that JWs are in denial of death makes it even harder for me to properly grieve; I don’t know. All I know is that they should not carry on with this teaching as I certainly feel betrayed today.

44

Canadian Appeal Court decision made the news: Judges can overturn unfair church edicts

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/religion/alberta-appeal-court-rules-judges-can-overturn-unfair-church-edicts.

the other day, this court decision was posted on jwn along with a link to the court document, but few expected the media to pick up the story.

so to all involved, i understand it was a surprise to see the story in print.

StephaneLaliberte

If they make disfellowshipping a conscience matter, I would be satisfied. This would automatically leave the door wide open to family members and close friends to keep a certain relationship with the disfellowshiped.

Lets not kid ourselves here. It is difficult to find things in common with JWs when their lives revolve around either work or religion. So, this lack of things in common where one of the parties believe that the other might be destroyed by God "very soon" is obviously never going to be a healthy relationship. Yet, for the very lease, much better than complete shunning.

I don't believe that the nature of relationships can be dictated by some law. But I do believe that the government could make it unlawful for religion to enforce shunning through sever religious discipline.

6

Is The Time Coming Soon When We Can Sue The Watchtower Corporation For Damages From Mind Control And Bankrupt Them?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

i think as we become a more enlightened society in the future we will be able to.i think laws of this nature may be in the works in some countries right now perhaps not addressing the actual mind control issue in those terms but laws to protect its subject from those that use those tactics to harm their people through fraudulent means.

so i think the wt hope for financial survival in the information age is very slim.

look at what spain, russia, are already doing.. but they may just go under financially from way sooner because of multple lawsuits and loss of charity status in one country after another..

StephaneLaliberte

Without talking about actual mind control, I believe that there would be grounds for "Fraud".

If someone in good standing goes about and talks to people about the various bad things that the watchtower has thought, written and done, how long do you think it would take for this person to be labeled an Apostate?

Now, if they do discipline someone for simply stating things that are verifiable facts, you'd have the right to ask why? This would mean that they are deliberately trying to HIDE facts and thus, mislead their followers. Since these followers give donations (time and money), this is nothing less than fraud. What needs to be proven is the intent to mislead.

35

WT “Study” for 11th Sept 2016 – “Why Must We ‘Keep on the Watch’”?

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

i was really puzzled when i opened this edition of the wt magazine at the above “study”.

what on earth has this picture at the top of page 13 got to do with christian watchfulness?

i wasn’t making a connection at all.

StephaneLaliberte

This new “arrangement” was among the many little frustrations that prompted me to leave. The main objective of Christian meetings is to encourage on another, but how can you do that if you barely have time to talk to anybody?

When you have a family with small kids, by the time you are done with lunch, you have about 30 minutes remaining. And now that they expect everyone to sit down when the music plays, this leaves you about 20 minutes to reconnect with old friends and all. In the end, you don't have much time to talk. And if you do, now, you’re supposed to feel “spiritually weak”?

You want to appreciate the music? You can listen to it at home, in your car, while jogging, even at work! Their priorities are all wrong!

A lot of people who have “privileges” are too busy before and after the conventions to talk with anyone, hence, the best time to actually exchange is at lunch time. But they are yet again taking time off from that period. How are you supposed to have time to make new friends or reconnected with old ones?

You end up talking saying hello and goodbye, smiling, shaking hands with everyone and not getting to any serious conversation with anyone in particular. Taking away the substance of any meaning full exchanges.

It's not about people showing real love to one another, this “arrangement” is cultish at best.

19

New blood cards came to our hall today

by LevelThePlayingField in

at the end of the meeting an elder, by way of announcements said there is a new blood document that he said would be passed out to every baptized member of the congregation by way of their service group overseer.

i knew this day was coming, just had no idea of when.

he said it was a simplified version and sure to make you sign up for suicide.

StephaneLaliberte

When I was a kid, I heard a brother making a talk in which he said that JW were persecuted in a certain area. The only way they could identify each other was through their "blood card". So, if there was sudden persecution or a great tribulation and you didn't have your blood card, other JW would not help you.

But hey... no pressure right?

34

Does it not dawn on the cart witnesses?

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

i sat in town recently, right in the window of a nice wee pub.

within minutes i realised that i had a perfect view of a jw cart and the two ridiculously dressed jw's (they have absolutely no individuality at all.

what's more, they all look like they're going to a funeral).

StephaneLaliberte

I remember, when I was in, I could go in service without talking to anyone on that day. Many were not at home and many simply did not answer the door. However, I rationalized it like this:

People see JW going out of their way to teach about "being good in the eyes of the lord". Even if they don't agree with them, perhaps they will think twice about being good people on that day. Perhaps they will NOT do something evil or perhaps they will go out of their way to do something good to someone else. Regardless of their feelings towards the JWs, I hoped that this could be a motivation to do what is right.

Now that I am out.... I'm thinking that this reasoning wasn't all wrong. However, today, I understand how people are generally better then I thought before. Hence, the positive influence is not merely as big as I had imagined it in the first place.

PS: I wasn't doing this for the hours. Never did. I didn't mind reporting 4 hours if I had to... had no shame in it. :)

6

Real Estate turn over in Amqui, Québec

by StephaneLaliberte in

so, the jehovah`s witnesses sold a kingdom hall that used to be a little too big and started to build a new one a few streets away: .

http://www.lavantposte.ca/actualites/societe/2016/7/22/l-edifice-des-temoins-de-jehovah-prend-forme.html.

what i find absolutely ridiculous is that they could have taken the profit of the sale of the first hall to have a contractor build the second.

StephaneLaliberte

What I find ridiculous is that not one of these workers seem to wonder where their efforts are going into. When I was younger, I participated at some kingdom/convention hall constructions. Frankly, I don't regret the work I did: These places had nothing. So if you support a cause, what ever that is, that makes sense. What is absolute absurdity is to use the same FREE labor in areas who can sell a previous property to buy a new one, cash! Even when I was fully "in", I don't believe I would have ever done such a thing. Oh, and to make matters even more insulting, within the first month in that fully paid hall, they will explain how everyone should still contribute financially to the hall like everyone else in the country, you know, making them feel like they owe the money to some bank!

Here is a thought: If I ever ended up helping with such a project, I would charge 30$ per hour. So, lets say I had worked a long weekend (3 days) that would be 24 hours (720$). Knowing that my regular monthly contribution would be 10$ per month, this means I would not give a dim to the contribution box for the next 6 years! Perhaps some of these volunteers have that logic... who knows.