Posts by StephaneLaliberte

15

burning another bridge

by enoughisenough in

i feel like i am burning another "friend" bridge.

i just can't seem to keep the lies the wt prints to myself!

i don't know how the pimo do it!

Enough is enough, PIMOs do it so as not to lose their family and friends, which is still possible for some. I faded nearly 10 years ago and still have contact with my parents and some very limited conversations with one or two friends; its not much but its still that. This is only possible as I didn’t give any details as to why I was leaving other than a generic expression: I no longer agree with the theology (aka: teachings), the official doctrine thought by the organization no longer aligns with my values.

If they pressed me for more details, I’d go with:

Think of something you don’t agree with in your religion; could you freely talk about the matter with people in your congregation without fear of any reprisals? If not, why would discussing an insignificant matter cause division in the congregation? If it is not trivial, should you really ignore your disagreement?

16

Am I being unreasonable in this ?

by smiddy3 in

hi friend`s ,i have my son and dil living with us ,which has been ok,overall ,quite a few years now ,however ,a few months ago they decided they wanted a dog ok ?

we had one a toy poodle for about 16-17 years and i just loved her as did my wife.. a few months ago my son wanted a dog and got a french bulldog as a pup ,which was ok by us .. however to cut a long story short, yesterday i was out in the back yard and the dog lunged at me and started attacking me in such a way as i can only describe as being frenetic in his attack ,in trying to ward off his attack and getting away from him i fell over and i believe if my son hadn`t finlly restrained him he would have mauled me .

i am 83 years old and my wife has just turned 80. and i dont want that to happen to her .. i don`t know the dog is what 4-5-6 months old i`m not sure , and been living with us all this time ,however i`m going to tell them to get that dog out of my house by the week and and a half or i will one way or another .. i am not going to tolerate that in my household and if he don`t like it he can go also .. i`m not being unreasonable am i ?

StephaneLaliberte

What if instead you insisted that the dog attend an obedience school.

The dog is insecure/aggressive. Training a dog is to teach him how to behave around various scenarios and to follow orders, it won't change his personality. I mean, you can make changes to a lot of things, the way you talk, where he sleeps, which room he's allowed in, how often he walks out, his toys, etc. These all contribute to addressing his insecurities. It will work, until one day, the routine is not followed, something will happen that wasn't planned, and the dog will fall back on his lower instinct. That day, you'll blame yourself for not properly training him, or for not keeping up the routine, but the real problem is that you invested all this time and emotions into a dog that was aggressive to begin with.

16

Am I being unreasonable in this ?

by smiddy3 in

hi friend`s ,i have my son and dil living with us ,which has been ok,overall ,quite a few years now ,however ,a few months ago they decided they wanted a dog ok ?

we had one a toy poodle for about 16-17 years and i just loved her as did my wife.. a few months ago my son wanted a dog and got a french bulldog as a pup ,which was ok by us .. however to cut a long story short, yesterday i was out in the back yard and the dog lunged at me and started attacking me in such a way as i can only describe as being frenetic in his attack ,in trying to ward off his attack and getting away from him i fell over and i believe if my son hadn`t finlly restrained him he would have mauled me .

i am 83 years old and my wife has just turned 80. and i dont want that to happen to her .. i don`t know the dog is what 4-5-6 months old i`m not sure , and been living with us all this time ,however i`m going to tell them to get that dog out of my house by the week and and a half or i will one way or another .. i am not going to tolerate that in my household and if he don`t like it he can go also .. i`m not being unreasonable am i ?

StephaneLaliberte

What? You shouldn't need to ask if you are being unreasonable. Your son should have taken steps straight away to keep you safe in your own home. - Listener

That's exactly how I feel. If my dog was unprovoked and yet attack any member of the family living in my house, I'd give him a nice last meal and end his life the same day. Was nice to have you around until you messed it all up you miserable violent psychopath.

50

1969 Awake on Education - A Sore Spot for Me

by NotBlind in

jw
friends

my father would have started college 49 years ago this week.

about three months earlier, the week he graduated high school, the awake!

magazine came out with some very clear direction to teenagers.

StephaneLaliberte

Aside for my family, all I got was push back and judgment from my congregation when I attended University. They even made a “congregation’s needs” talk over it. I ended up quitting university in the first year, in part, due to this lack of respect for higher education, making me feel like I was not relying on Jehovah enough, I lacked faith. It’s not the sole reason, but it played a major role in my decision to stop attending.

Despite quitting school, I eventually became a senior solution architect in IT and when I look at my career path, while different, it did have the same momentum than many others who did complete their higher education. Heck, I’m even further along than many who do hold diplomas. Still, I’m an exception; I’ve never come across anyone else with a similar career path.

Anyways, even if I got “there”, I still hold a grudge against the WT as I am not doing what I really wanted to do: Law. I would’ve liked to become a lawyer, probably go into politics! But that was a big no-no, even to my family at the time. And unlike computers, where I learned while I earned, there is no way you can start without formal education.

Anyways… just thought I’d share this, this morning.

43

Anthony Morris responds to Norway's denial of financial aid

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

https://direkte.vg.no/nyhetsdognet/news/jehovas-vitner-nektes-statsstoette.5z-pnao3e?utm_source=share-btn.

08:20 27.1.kristoffer solberg.

jehovah's witnesses denied state aid.

StephaneLaliberte

I wonder - so as not to be seen as discriminating/persecuting JW's - if the Norwegian government will target any other religion for their unpleasant practices, and create new laws to deal with them?

The practice of enforcing shunning among the JWs is beyond "unpleasant". It isn't simply: You should keep away from people who left our group. It's: If you don't follow this practice, you will also suffer shunning as we'll throw you out as well!

Unpleasant would be more like, this person ...

is the only one in your group who doesn't eat pork
will not go to war (assuming they are a small minority in your country)
will never work on sundays
will not celebrate christmas or halloween on your street
will preach all the time
will ask for special time off due to religion
etc.

Enforcing disfellowshipping goes beyond mild inconvenience by threatening the freedom to choose your beliefs, your religion; the very thing they demand!

How would they react if people, upon hearing that they are JWs, would stop talking to them completely, shun them and not hire them anywhere? They would cry out "Persecution!" from the rooftops. But when THEY do it, it's ok? They're hypocrisy is loathsome.

43

Anthony Morris responds to Norway's denial of financial aid

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

https://direkte.vg.no/nyhetsdognet/news/jehovas-vitner-nektes-statsstoette.5z-pnao3e?utm_source=share-btn.

08:20 27.1.kristoffer solberg.

jehovah's witnesses denied state aid.

StephaneLaliberte

I'm very happy to see this. I think this is the right way to go. Make it clear that the reason this religion is not recognized is due to a specific belief.

The only thing though: when Anthony Morris says: "We have the right to disfellowship", I'm not sure if the rank and files hear:

1) You have the right to "disfellowship" whoever you want from your life.

-- Afterall, people don't need religion to keep toxic people out of their lives. So, nothing really wrong about that.

OR

2) Watchtower has the right to order you, under threat, to disfellowship specific individuals as they see fit.

The problem with JWs is that it's not a personal choice. Either you ignore who we tell you to, or you'll suffer the consequence of being expelled from our group, thereby, being ostracised as well. This is a very big threat when you consider that for many people, this is in fact their entire social construct.

I just hope that people inside can make the difference between these two.

26

Noah's Ark - Kentucky

by BoogerMan in

jw
friends

regardless of belief/non-belief in the bible account, why is the ark nearly always depicted by both believers & non-believers as a huge boat, with a rounded hull & stern, and a tapered bow?

https://arkencounter.com/ .

the ark was crate shaped according to the measurements.

StephaneLaliberte

The bible doesn't describe the shape, it simply gave the height, width and depth. From there, Noah could have made it a box shape or a boat shape; Both options are valid as both can be measured the same way.

It just amazes me how JWs are almost offended at the sight of a boat shaped arc because that's not the way its been drawn by Watchtower artists.

21

Another HUGE Building Project

by pontoon in

jw
friends

i haven't been on site in a while, don't know if has been discussed but here is a link.

https://rcbizjournal.com/2022/09/29/watchtower-bible-world-headquarters-project-in-ramapo-moves-ahead.

StephaneLaliberte

I'm looking at this and all I see is a lot of people must've signed over their inheritage to ~~God~~ Watchtower. Think about it... how many other non-for-profit organizations do you see with that much real estates? Only religion has that pull on people's final will.

15

Another diabolical, disingenuous, nutcase illustration

by Beth Sarim in

this has been weighing on my mind all day,.

i just have to vent and get this off my chest.. the latest jw brainwashing, indoctrination session i think it was a broadcast.

toward the end where the speaker was spouting-off about being in a 'race' again and 'enduring until the end',.

StephaneLaliberte

I agree that the example never made much sense to me, but to their credit, its actually an example that was provided by the Paul in the bible.

8

January 2023 Study Watchtower - both sides of the mouth!

by BoogerMan in

i've added to it in bold letters:.

january 2023 study watchtower, page 20, pars.

1 - 3.. almost 2,000 years ago, jesus gave his life in our behalf, opening the way for us to gain everlasting life.

StephaneLaliberte

And Paul wrote to the corinthians: "Let us preach to all who are not part of us, to join us for the Lord's meal, which he established to commemorate his death. Let us go forth and instruct them that they are no longer to celebrate the pass over as their fathers and forefathers have done for a thousand years since it was put in place by Mose our prophet. No longer shall they partake in a pass over meal with their families in their own houses. Christ was nailed on the torture stake so that all those who believe in him may now, once a year, join us at our public place of worship in order to celebrate the new covenant of which the vast majority are not part of. They are now to silently observe those who are part of the new covenant take a small taste of wine and a small bit of bread. And while no one is to be physically fed during this lord's meal, let us feed ourselves on spiritual food as we preach and praise our lord for the greater part of our celebration."