passwordprotected

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Posts by passwordprotected

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  41

  The trouble with fading as your leaving strategy

  by eyesthatsee in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  whatever your chosen strategy for leaving jws, the fundamental truth is that there is no clean / simple exit.

  the mind control, the manipulation of normal family relationships etc will make any strategy very difficult at times.

  the key issue is to know this ahead of time and be prepared, as best you can.. we've all chosen leaving strategies acording to our personal circumstances, preferences and learning from others.

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  passwordprotected

  @besty - you've been away from Perth for too long.
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  17

  I Attended the Memorial Last Year Disfellowshipped and Partook

  by Clint Bussey in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  check out my video about why i did it and what the response was by the elder who handed me the emblems that night..

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  passwordprotected

  If you're a Christian it's probably worth remembering;

  Ephesians 6:12 (New International Version)

  12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
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  41

  The trouble with fading as your leaving strategy

  by eyesthatsee in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  whatever your chosen strategy for leaving jws, the fundamental truth is that there is no clean / simple exit.

  the mind control, the manipulation of normal family relationships etc will make any strategy very difficult at times.

  the key issue is to know this ahead of time and be prepared, as best you can.. we've all chosen leaving strategies acording to our personal circumstances, preferences and learning from others.

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  passwordprotected

  I couldn't sleep at night for a while, worrying over the flicker of hope I knew existed in my old cong that I'd return to the "fold" one day. I couldn't handle giving people a false sense of expectation when ultimately I knew I'd let them all down. I worried that my anxiety over this may even drive me (kicking and screaming inside) back to the congregation.

  I quickly saw, though, that the whole idea of fading just so that some semblance of a relationship with these people could be maintained was bonkers; their friendship with me was absolutely, 100% conditionally based on me living the life of the Watchtower magazine. I couldn't live that life anymore. So I would have to be a phoney so that I could continue to 'enjoy' their phoney, conditional approval?

  I've been outspoken here before (as has Besty) about the problem of faders/fading. I usually get tossed back the line, "well, I've got family that are still in". Guess what? So do I! My entire family is still in the cult! Every single friend I ever had - apart from 2 - are still in the cult.

  One problem with the fading strategy is that you don't speak up about your reasons for no longer going to the meetings. You become impotent and are reduced to creating hilarious fake Facebook profiles so that you can act out your passive aggression towards the Witnesses on Facebook (how many pages did that thread run to?) while real ex-JWs are going from door-to-door, toe-to-toe with the JWs handing out 'apostate' leaflets to householders. Only one of these actions has any real impact or effect; guess which one it is.

  Here's the real trouble with the fading strategy; you're still handing all of the power back to the hands of the Governing Body and their representatives in the local congregations. 14 years before you can get some of your life back?? Being scared to answer the phone in case it's an elder? Hiding behind the sofa when the JWs are in your street? Not letting your kids celebrate birthdays or Christmas in case a local JW finds out? But at least Auntie Betty still gives you a curt smile as she passes you on the frozen food aisle in Sainsburys. Really?

  If all of the faders took a stand for what they now believed, the WTS would experience a tsunami from which they'd struggle to recover.
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  42

  2010 DC" Remain in Gods Love"...Most Unloving Yet??

  by JWFreak in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the talk outlines for the summers conventions are only being printed over the next 2 weeks or so.. the finished outlines were ready in the middle of december 2009, however sources that i trust tell me that at least 5 of the talks were returned for last minute rewriting which is highly unusual.

  this has held up the printing until now, a delay of over a month.

  this is a fact!!.

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  passwordprotected

  I've been convinced for a while that the GB needs a new tentacle of control. On this post I posit that this will come through inculcating a fear of leaving the Organisation;

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/172677/1/The-WTS-need-a-new-tentacle-of-control

  In this thread I argue that 2014 is the catalyst for the tightening of the cult handcuffs;

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/180595/1/Tightening-of-the-Cult-Handcuffs

  I'm certain that the WTS needs to start moving away from anything approaching a "loving, Christ-like" way of ordering their adherants if they want to keep financially afloat....
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  13

  The New Songbook, Joe Biden and 49% Less Jesus !

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  jesus is treated as a redundant, almost minor character in watchtower- land.

  he sat around heaven with nothing to do for almost 2000 years until "the truth" was re-discovered by an american haberdasher.

  he never seems to get any personal mention/appreciation even in life stories by the supposed "anointed" as published by the society (in contrast to the apostle paul and other early christians).

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  passwordprotected

  Whenever a Christian organisation asks "How do we know Jesus will be loyal in his reign as King?" (as it did in a 2009 WT) we know we're in trouble.
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  31

  DESTROYING the Individual: the goal of Watchtower Authority

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the governing body wants to disable individuality.

  individuality is evidenced by self-expression.

  no self...no expression of self.. personal desire leads to expression of personal desire.

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  passwordprotected

  Good, you'll feel better soon.
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  31

  DESTROYING the Individual: the goal of Watchtower Authority

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the governing body wants to disable individuality.

  individuality is evidenced by self-expression.

  no self...no expression of self.. personal desire leads to expression of personal desire.

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  passwordprotected

  Terry, have a lie down mate.
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  18

  New WT Article on "grieving" Jah's HS

  by daniel-p in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so an old jw friend just contacted me on facebook to tell me to check out some new article on not grieving jehovah's holy spirit--he said everyone was talking about it and that i should check it out.

  he knows i've been inactive, and this is the first time he's contacted me in years.. of course, he's known to get excited about things quite easily, especially in his manic states (bipolar).. anyway, does anyone know the article of which he was talking about?

  probably just a bunch of gobbledygook, but i thought it would be funny to read the latest gb tirade..

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  passwordprotected

  Do R&F JWs have the Holy Spirit in the first place? I thought only the "faithful and discreet slave" have the Holy Spirit? Romans 8:23 says that those who are guided by God's Spirit are his sons. But I thought only the 144,000 were God's sons, not the R&F.

  So I take it the WT article is directly solely to the anointed remnant of the "slave" still on earth, and they're mostly old dudes, right? Hence the questionable music must be an album of Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby Christmas songs.

  Seriously, though, isn't greiving the Holy Spirit the unforgiveable sin? So, now the GB are using "questionable music" to fatally crush with guilt the kids in their organisation? They really do shoot their young.
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  52

  THE FINAL VERDICT IS DELIVERED!!!

  by Hobo Ken in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is the final of my series of podcasts in which the 3 circuit overseers decide my fate as a jehovah's witness.. my blog- deathorobedience.blogspot.com.

  podcast 12 the final verdict- play the audio.

  also available free on itunes (just search on itunes).. .

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  passwordprotected

  And then we have Shanks's comment about the organisation being "like a club". Notice how he chews this over, as if the thought was coming to him for the first time. Basically faith in Christ is like being in a club to these people.

  And remember, it's loyalty to "the slave", not the King, that determines if you're worthy of retaining your club membership.
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  52

  THE FINAL VERDICT IS DELIVERED!!!

  by Hobo Ken in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is the final of my series of podcasts in which the 3 circuit overseers decide my fate as a jehovah's witness.. my blog- deathorobedience.blogspot.com.

  podcast 12 the final verdict- play the audio.

  also available free on itunes (just search on itunes).. .

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  passwordprotected

  A few observations – like others , I always felt that essentially the 3 Cos were just trying to uphold the appeal & get away as soon as possible. There seemed to be no effort made to “gain you” , but I guess this is a consequence of the appeal system which simply seeks to determine if the DF one was repentant at the time of the original hearing.

  The Appeal Committee would have been fully briefed at the destructive influence Matt was on my and my wife. People were out for Matt's blood for what he'd done to us, how he'd poisoned our minds against the "slave" (not the King). In truth, I was the one who went to Matt with my doubts and issues, not the other way around. That fact is merrily ignored as it doesn't fit with the presumed truth.

  Notice that Matt was asked about attending religious services in homes or other buildings. That had nothing to do with the original decison to DF and the Appeal Committee (Phil Jones in particular) knew that. This question arose because it was strongly suspected that Matt was going to church services with Gail and me. Which he was. This alone points to "behind the scenes" discussions on how to nail him, along with the question on blood transfusions. Blood transfusions weren't mentioned at the original hearing, but it was known that Matt had questions about blood fractions and hadn't carried a Blood Card for years.

  As Phil Jones pointed out, in Matt's current "condition" he's "had it" at Armageddon. That's the level these guys are operating on; they genuinely believe they have the power of eternal life or death over you. Is awareness of that power matched with humility and love? Well, as Ian Shanks said, "he has a diploma from the Society", all they care about is "the slave", not the King. And certainly not the lives of the people over whom they preside.