Posts by Juan Viejo2

66

Youngest person disfellowshipped -- ever?

by FatFreek 2005 in

well?.

Freedom From the Borg!!!

by Mad Sweeney in

jw
friends

how does it feel to be free from the watchtower?

while you were in did you realize you were enslaved and/or mind-controlled?

now that you are out and looking back, what are your thoughts about the mind control you were under when you were in?.

Juan Viejo2

What? No audio on your preview for the 7/9 program? All the others are working fine...

JV

54

Growing up a Jehovah's Witness - New Video

by jwfacts in

i have put together a video - growing up a jehovah's witness 1960 -2010. it aims to show the things a witnesses would be taught as they age over those decades.

it is 15 minutes long.

this is my first attempt at a video and it took a while to work out how to use final cut, so please feel free to make suggestions if anything should be changed.

Juan Viejo2

jwfacts - Great piece of work! I especially liked the way that you did the end credits and your handling of the (c) and CC notices at the end. Very nicely done.

Lance's mid-American accent blended well, but also balanced nicely against your more Commonwealth voice over.

I intend to post it on one of my websites and take full credit for it. In the meantime I am working on developing an Aussie accent so that I can be credible voiceover pronouncer like you.

"Credits? I don't need no stinkin' credits!"

Seriously, I will be highlighting both your videos and your website in one of my future articles. And you can be assured you will get full credit for your fine work.

In the meantime, JWfacts please watch for a PM.

JV

52

Maximum Damage to the WT.

by Essan in

i have to hand it to the society.

they understand the power of organization.

they demonstrate that no matter how ridiculous your message and how much the facts don't support your position you can still accomplish a lot if you are organized.

I think your fears are misplaced. New people are stepping up and speaking out every day. Every so often we will lose some of our outspoken friends due to health, lack of funds, disinterest, and other natural causes. But just go to YouTube and type in "Jehovah's Witnesses" and you will find scores of new videos - everything from well-made ten-minute documentaries to satirical, but painfully true, cartoons. There are testimonies and demonstrations, along with announcements of new books or new podcasts practically every week.

This movement is not in danger of dying. There are dozens of nominally active JWs, faders, recently DA'd and DF'd elders and others connected to the JW religion that make themselves known here and on other forums every week. They are here where they want to be, while still showing up at a KH to keep the rest of their lives functional.

I'd like to see the day (I pray I live that long) where the practice of "shunning" begins to work against itself. If the power of "conversion" ever shifts to those who have left the religion and away from the brainwashed cult followers, then maybe a faster decline of the WT will become apparent. In other words, when "active JWs" realize that THEY will lose their friends and family members IF THEY STAY IN THE CULT, maybe they will finally wake up and come out SO THEY DON'T SELF-DESTRUCT AND LOSE EVERYONE THEY LOVE.

As editor of Ex-JW.com, I get emails and contact form responses every week from those trapped inside the WT cult looking for a way out. Thank goodness there are so many wonderful volunteers that run Meetups and support groups all over the US and Canada that hold out their arms in welcome. I've referred dozens of brothers and sisters to these good folks for help and consolation.

My own connection with the Menlo Park Kingdom Hall scandal has put me in touch with so many wonderful and supportive (but still "active") JWs that admit that they finally see the damage that the WT leadership has done to once tightly knit congregations. They know we are out here and most now know how to contact us. Forums like this one, created and managed by Simon, Moxie, and many others, have really made a difference and active JWs are reading them every day. The "conscious class" among JWs is a reality.

I once told my wife that if I could educate just one "active" JW enough to convince them to leave, I would feel that all of my efforts were successful. Maybe my involvement hasn't been the only thing to get some folks to leave, but perhaps in concert with efforts by Barbara, Silent Lambs, Randy, MadSweeney, Richard Rawe, and even Kool-Aid Man, my efforts may have helped a few sincere ones leave the Borg. May those efforts continue to pay off.

We can't stop this movement. Even if some of us leave or take a break, it will continue to grow and more JWs will find us and leave the JW cult forever.

JV

52

Maximum Damage to the WT.

by Essan in

i have to hand it to the society.

they understand the power of organization.

they demonstrate that no matter how ridiculous your message and how much the facts don't support your position you can still accomplish a lot if you are organized.

Juan Viejo2

Something is in the works that might be a step in the direction that this thread treds...

We'll see.

JV

140

The effect we are having on the Watchtower is HUGE

by jwfacts in

i was inspired by a recent thread i know i aint gunna crumble the wt, but a girl can dream to look at the effect we as individuals are having on the watchtower society.. 3dogs1husband quoted a story to show that even helping only one person is worth it.. it is encouraging to note that the one person you may have helped has lead to millions being helped, due to the power of compounding growth.. compounding growth is well illustrated by the rice on a chessboard problem.

if you start with 1 grain of rice on square one, and double it to 2 on the second, 4 on the third, 8 on the fourth, by the last (64th) square there would be 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 grains of rice.. likewise, if you help one person out of the grip of the watchtower this year, then next year you help one more and they help one, in a few years that is going to have a formidable result on the number of jehovahs witnesses.

look at the following statistics.

Juan Viejo2

Sweeney, Facts, and BOC,

As we move further into the 21st century, and the Internet becomes as much a part of everyones lives as TV and radio were in the late 1900s, the Watchtower will find itself forced into a corner and will have to change tactics.

Someone knocks on your door. Quick howdy-do and gives you a magazine. Who are these people? you ask. Let's look them up on the Internet. Let's Google them. Oops, what this? Freeminds - JWfacts - Watchtower Documents - JWN - Ex-JW.com? Oh my! Even Wikipedia! Obviously they're a cult, made bad predictions, covered up child abuse, treat women as second-class citizens, shun dissenters, break up families, etc., etc., etc.

No way would you want to join or even be a part of such a religion. Might as well join a Bible-thumping Baptist church. At least they let their kids celebrate their birthdays and play Little League baseball. And if you leave the church, you won't lose your family.

And if you're already in the religion, who's going to see you check out a site like JWN once in a while? Won't you want to find out what the latest scandal is or what the most recent version of the Elder's handbook has to say? You'd find that in about 5 minutes on the Web.

Let's face it. Every home will have a computer or iPad or something similar. Their new TVs will have Internet access so that they can get streaming movies. People are curious and will look to see what the latest "gossip" might be. As the over 50s JWs die off (or get DF'd) they will be replaced by a more informed group of people in an out of the WT who will finally have the knowledge that leads to "living a real life" unencumbered by the WT cult.

JV

18