Steven Hassen is a well know cult expert and counselor. He has written a couple of books that are very good on the subject. His first is "Combatting Cult Mind Control" and his most recent is "Releasing the Bonds." He has some good resources listed in the back of them.
Mrs. Fiorini
JoinedPosts by Mrs. Fiorini
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exjw related counselor thoughts?
by Ronnie38 inthis thread is actually not for me, but for others who have recently broke free from the jw org.. does anyone happen to know of good exit counselors out there for the witnesses??.
i was trying to get a list of a few, so any thoughts are appreciated.. .
ron.
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Russell's Deathbed Recant?
by StAnn intoday i was talking to someone who is a history professor.
he said that he heard that, on his deathbed, russell admitted that the whole religion was just something that he made up for profit.
i've never heard anything like this and kind of dismissed it.
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Mrs. Fiorini
I have not heard this before. Who was the history professor? Would he be in a position to know this? What are his sources? I would be very interested to hear more.
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ANNUAL MEETING:Not gleening - still fully in the harvest
by still_in74 inbrother at our kh last night reveiwed the annual meeting.. nothing earth shattering but went on about how the gb was really being "transparent" and showing who they are and how they think.
that they are people just like us!
they have apparently been pondering the bs change for "years" in order to provide more time for the essential 'family study night" - so much for gas prices suddenly increasing.
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Mrs. Fiorini
I don't understand this either. All JWs are supposed to be conducting family Bible studies already. Did they conclude that only a small percentage were actually doing so? If that's the case, what makes them think it's going to change now? They change their reasons more often than Sarah Palin explaining why she fired Walt Monegan! I wonder what the real reason is, and why they won't reveal it.
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Is it the JW's or the God of the bible you no longer believe?
by reniaa ini have a question for the ex-jw's on this forum after months of reading the forum..... many say how good it is to be free of the oppressiveness of the jw's that they can now enjoy the freedom to... have sex, celebrate christmas, gamble, embrace politics etc.
there are still biblical scriptures and principles in place that if you still followed the bible would mean you avoid these things and yet these are now embraced as one of the perks of no longer being a jw so in my confusion i ask.... if these are what you want, isn't it more correct to say you no longer follow the bible as apposed to just the jw's?.
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Mrs. Fiorini
This has been an interesting thread and a variety of different perspectives have been presented. I will share a point that might add to the discussion about Christmas. Some people feel that the pagan roots of Christmas make it unacceptable for Christians. Of course, no one should violate their own conscience. However, I came across some interesting information after leaving the WT. There are at least two Psalms that have pagan origins. Psalm 19 and Psalm 29. According to John F. Craghan's book, "Psalms For All Seasons" (The Liturgical Press, 1993), the first part of Psalm 19 "was originally a pagan hymn honoring the Semitic god El...In its Israelite form the hymn naturally praises the God of Israel." He goes on to say regarding Psalm 29, "Scholars generally agree that this psalm was originally a pagan composition extolling the Canaanite god Baal, the weather god who through storms and rains brings fertility to the earth...In appropriating this hymn for her worship, Israel substituted the name of her god Yahweh (translated "the Lord") for that of Baal." That indicates to me that God isn't too worried about things that were once pagan but have now been "Christianized". If not, why did he allow those two Psalms to be in the Bible?
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Has anyone read this book?
by LunaFing ini just started reading this book called: a history of god, the 4000-year quest of judaism, christianity, and islam by karen armstrong.
has anyone read it?
what did you think?
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Mrs. Fiorini
I have not read it, but Mr. Fiorini has and highly recommends it. The best chapter, in his opinion, is the one about the mystics in all the different traditions.
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...Are Jehovah`s Witness`s Christian`s?...
by OUTLAW inchristians recognize "jesus",as the mediator between god and man.....jehovah`s witness`s recognize the "watchtower bible and tract society",as the mediator between god and man.....jesus is out of a job!
!..the wbt$ fired him a long time ago!..lol!
!......................jehovah`s witness`s don`t follow the words of jesus.they follow the words of the wbt$.....are jehovah`s witness`s christian`s?...................................outlaw
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Mrs. Fiorini
They are considered Christian by those who study religions. However, their own literature, as Satanus quotes, shows they do not consider Christ to be the savior for everyone in the same way. While they see themselves as saved by Christ, they believe that they become the savior of their followers. Sounds like the definition of a false Christ to me.
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...Are Jehovah`s Witness`s Christian`s?...
by OUTLAW inchristians recognize "jesus",as the mediator between god and man.....jehovah`s witness`s recognize the "watchtower bible and tract society",as the mediator between god and man.....jesus is out of a job!
!..the wbt$ fired him a long time ago!..lol!
!......................jehovah`s witness`s don`t follow the words of jesus.they follow the words of the wbt$.....are jehovah`s witness`s christian`s?...................................outlaw
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Mrs. Fiorini
They are considered Christian by those who study religions. However, their own literature, as Satanus quotes, shows they do not consider Christ to be the savior for all. While they see themselves as saved by Christ, they believe that they become the savior of their followers. Sounds like the definition of a false Christ to me.
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Witnesses = christian? consider this:
by DoomVoyager ini was bored at the bookstudy the other night, and the book being studied is of course "live with jehovah's day in mind".
this book is (ostensibly) based entirely off ot writings, specifically the minor prophets.
however, you'd expect to see the odd mention of jesus here and there, seeing as they do claim to be christians and all?.
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Mrs. Fiorini
I think they very much want to minimize Christ. They have already tried to set themselves up as the only real "savior" by teaching that you must be part of their organization to gain everlasting life. They try to knock down the competition by condemning all other religions as being from Satan, but their biggest competitor is Jesus.
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boy are they delusional
by booby ini wonder if people really stop and think about us.
markets, courthouses, street corners, gas stations, town centers, and.
at their front door, to mention only a few places you'll find a witness.. .
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Mrs. Fiorini
Where did you get this? Is it for real? What is an appropriate response to something like that? From the WT point of view, any moment now God will destroy the vast majority of human life from the earth in a huge holocaust that makes Hitler's version look amateurish. And, according to this person, moments before their eternal damnation, those billions of people will be remembering the JW's who may have crossed their paths, realizing that their decision to ignore them is why they are now judged unworthy of life. What a vision! I just don't even know what to say to someone who thinks like this. The Watchtower's teachings dehumanize their followers. Or, should I say, teach their followers to dehumanize everyone else. This is profoundly sad.
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Being Shunned
by sadfox ini knew this day was coming but i thought somehow there might be a loophole.. i had my "last supper" with my daughter on monday.
i am disfellowshipped, her father and i are divorced, he is a witness, she lives with him and will be 18 on sunday the 5th.
therefore as a baptized witness, she can no longer visit me and must keep communication to the bare minimum.
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Mrs. Fiorini
I'm so sorry you are going through this. I also have family members who shun me. I am not df'd or da'd, only faded, and for a number of years my family still associated with me. They stopped when they found out I was attending another church. Like you, I didn't talk to them too much about religious issues for fear it would rock the boat. Now I wish I had. Since they refuse to talk to me, I can't say anything now to help them find their way out of the WT cult. You can still talk to your 16 year old. Is there any way you can discretely help her to see her way out? Since she can still talk to your older daughter, there may be a way you can help them both. Steven Hassan's book "Releasing the Bonds" gives helpful advice on things you can do to help your daughters find their way to freedom. My thoughts and prayers are with you.