- 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.
StephaneLaliberte
JoinedPosts by StephaneLaliberte
-
42
Why do most Ex jW W‘s seem to be liberal?
by JaredScott-1977 ini’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. -
17
Dr. James Penton - goin' up yonder dirt nap
by Nathan Natas ini 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 indisfellowshipping 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 ini 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 ini 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 inwhen 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 incan 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 inputting 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.
-
62
Ten reasons Jehovah’s Witnesses have the true religion (plus a bonus one)
by slimboyfat inthinking back when i was a true believer these are probably the top ten reasons why i believed jws are the true religion.
1. they show love among themselves by not going to war.
not killing your fellow believers in any circumstances, including war, would seem to be a very basic requirement for true christianity.
-
StephaneLaliberte
You are trying to put an exact number something that is impossible to put an exact number on.
You're right—JWs probably don't have an exact number either, but I’m willing to bet that their margin of error is smaller than what historians have to work with.
One of the reasons I spent so much time looking into these numbers is that I was raised as a JW and repeatedly told that had I lived in Germany at that time, I would have been sent to jail and likely faced execution. And, as you seem to believe, I was told this story to reinforce the idea that JWs were the true religion because of their persecution.
However, the numbers show that the majority of JWs weren't incarcerated, and only a fraction were executed. While this doesn't diminish the heroism of those who were (in my book, they're heroes), it is a disappointment compared to what I was led to believe when I attended meetings.
JWs were an “island of spiritual resistance” and that other churches have had to come to terms with the “widespread complicity” of their leadership and ordinary members
While this statement is true, "spiritual resistance" was not what the Nazis needed at the time. As I said before, martyrdom didn’t win the war—physical resistance did.
any act of resistance was remarkable in the circumstances
That's where you and I agree. However, Jehovah's Witnesses don’t share this view. They don't believe in physical violence. In their view, those who picked up a gun to fight the Nazis were enemies of God. While the Nazis were killing millions, JWs were preaching that God would soon bring about Armageddon and kill exponentially more people who didn’t share their beliefs. Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc., would all be destroyed.
Essentially, they didn’t see resisting the Nazis as a way to serve the greater good of humanity. Now, nearly 100 years later, history shows that humanity needed Catholics, Protestants, and Muslims to pick up arms and fight back because God remained idle and did nothing.
Someone who spoke against the regime, went to jail, renounced their faith in custody, was released, later regretted that decision and rejoined. Did they resist, or not?
You enumerated several scenarios in which people could have renounced their faith, even temporarily, in the face of persecution. I completely agree with you there. I'm not in a position to judge them from the comfort and safety of my home. I probably would have been the first to sign the paper and say, “Heil Hitler.” But I’d like to think I wouldn’t have given up names, that I would have helped people evade the Nazis, and that I might have blown up some train tracks.
The point is that the same can be said of millions of Catholics and Protestants who faced similar choices. Was their faith worth any less than that of Jehovah's Witnesses?
Someone who was a JW for social or family reasons but decided it wasn’t worth it when the Nazis came to power.
The same can be said for other religions. You also have to consider that, in Germany at the time, you were either Catholic or Protestant. But how many of them truly believed and practiced their faith? Those who did often lied to the Nazis and fought clandestinely.
All this to say that the JWs response to the Nazis didn't make them the true religion. It was one way to face it, but it didn't make them the one and true religion.
-
62
Ten reasons Jehovah’s Witnesses have the true religion (plus a bonus one)
by slimboyfat inthinking back when i was a true believer these are probably the top ten reasons why i believed jws are the true religion.
1. they show love among themselves by not going to war.
not killing your fellow believers in any circumstances, including war, would seem to be a very basic requirement for true christianity.
-
StephaneLaliberte
Former JWs who attempt to deny reality on this do themselves no favours. It’s a sign of being in a bubble. Not everything about JWs is bad. - Slimboyfat
Yes, the Jehovah's Witnesses were notably the only religious group that publicly opposed the Nazis. As a result, about one-third were imprisoned, and by the end of the war, around 1,500 were killed. Remarkably, they did this peacefully!
Martyrdom is a powerful story—one that inspires and captivates. The willingness to die for one’s beliefs is a narrative celebrated on monuments, war memorials, and museums throughout the Western world. People need inspiration, and what could be more courageous than a virtuous death?
However, the situation is more complex. Before the Nazi era, there were between 25,000 and 30,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany. By the end of the war, about 20,000 remained. To account for this:
- About 1,500 were killed.
- Between 1,000 and 2,000 signed a loyalty declaration to the Nazis, renouncing their faith. (historians' estimate)
- Let's estimate around 1,000 fled Germany.
This means that by the war's end, between 500 and 6,500 individuals stopped practicing and did not return to the JWs.
Consider that between 1939 and 1945, 13,000 to 20,000 Jehovah's Witnesses managed to stay free despite the Nazis systematically targeting them. This was no small feat, given their beliefs, which included not saluting Hitler, reciting loyalty oaths, or participating in holidays and political events. It’s likely that some may have compromised their beliefs to remain undetected.
So, when you say, “The overwhelming majority of JWs resisted the Nazis,” that’s not entirely accurate. The actual numbers suggest that between 75% and 94% resisted.
Interestingly, while historians have made estimates, the Jehovah's Witnesses likely know the exact figures but choose not to share them. Anything less than 99% would cast a slight shadow on their heroic narrative against the Nazis.
Again, this is not to diminish their sacrifice, which is indeed commendable. However, absolutes rarely exist. The JWs were not entirely good, just as Catholics and other religions were not entirely bad. Millions of other Christians also died in war and resistance efforts, and many suffered in various ways. Ultimately, evil was defeated through the efforts of countless soldiers and fighters. The sacrifices made by Jehovah's Witnesses are no less significant than those of others who fought for justice.