Posts by Juan Viejo2

23

Cult Documentary on Sundance

by dontplaceliterature in

jw
friends

i watched a cult documentary called "join us" on sundance today.. it is showing a few more times, if you have that channel.

it was very interesting.

the cult that it follows uses a lot of the same lingo and focuses on a lot of the same scriptures as jehovah's witnesses.

Watched "Worlds Apart" last night on Sundance. My wife (never a JW) watched it with me and was quite impressed. She realized that all the horror stories I told her were actually true. And it's just as true in Denmark as it is in the USA and UK.

The actors were all excellent, the story was even handed and quite accurate. There were a few differences (possibly due to translation or regional differences) like "rally" rather than "assembly" and some other minor problems. It should be noted that the PO / CBE wears a beard, but that seems to be common in some European countries.

I thought it was interesting when they had the elders meeting how cold and unloving they all were toward the poor girl. It made me wince to watch it, but they ultimately relent and give her another chance.

The real girl who the story is based on actually makes a cameo appearance at the end of the movie during a train ride.

I'd urge everyone to take a couple of hours to watch this movie. It's far better than I would have ever imagined even having to read the subtitles. Someone needs to remake the movie with a US or Canadian background in order to reach a larger audience. After all, they are remaking all of the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" movies and expect to make gazillions off of them. The Swedish versions were excellent, but fighting the subtitles can be tough, unless you have a 55+ wide screen in your living room.

Be sure to watch for it on Sundance over the next few weeks...

JV

93

To SO CAL: What CO's and DO's do we all know?

by IreallydidwalkoutofaKH in

jw
friends

okay, in order it goes like this for me............brother peace 1980-83, brother rose 1984-86, brother yasko 1986-88, brother sekella 1988-91, brother billy ford 1992-95, brother davis 1996-99, brother irskin 2000-03 and then it gets kinda blurry....brother burge and another, brother hairston.

okay, that just about does it.

i have this topic becauce i tried reading the favorite co and do thread, but did not recognize any names......

Juan Viejo2

Can anyone share stories about DO Steve Misterfield and CO Paul Koehler, recently of the San Mateo, California area? They are two of the defendants in the Menlo Park Kingdom Hall federal court lawsuit.

Koehler was recently reassigned to the Napa Circuit. In the past couple of days I posted an article about this case on Ex-JW.com. In the article, I share information relayed to me about Koehler's claims to have been a "Navy SEAL."

I've heard from several JWs and former JWs in the northern Cal area that Koehler consistently tries to intimidate and bully anyone he takes a dislike to. He definitely plays favorites, having little time to mingle with regular publishers. One of my contacts told me that whenever Koehler was due to visit a congregation the elders would quickly spruce up the Hall, hide anything that might seem out of place, and let all the members know that they were to dress in their best duds. Here is what he shared with me:

"You could see the fear among all of the brothers and sisters - but especially the elders when Koehler showed up. I know that the other halls experienced the same thing. Many knew about the Menlo Park takeover and were scared to death that he would come into their hall and toss every elder out on their ears. So we had to make extra nice and try to avoid any confrontation with him at all.

"What you hear when Koehler is in the hall is: Yes, Brother Koehler! Right away, Brother Koehler. We'll take care of that tonight, Brother Koehler."

That's where the elders in the Menlo Park Kingdom Hall differed. They said, "Wait a minute! Let's think about this? Is that really fair to our sister? Should we really spend money on refurbishing this Kingdom Hall? The RBC report shows that we are in excellent shape." Next thing you know, they're all out as elders - replaced by Koehler's cousin and a group of "we'll do whatever you say, sir!" types.

Anyway read the article and the PDF of the Veterans' Records report (bottom of article) on Mr. Koehler at:

http://ex-jw.com/menlo-park-the-truth-vs-the-truth

In the meantime, I'd love to hear from anyone who knows Mr. Koehler and Mr. Misterfield that does not attend the Menlo Park KH. It's OK if you have some nice things to say about either one or both - it would be nice to hear something positive about these guys. You can PM me here or comment at the end of the article at Ex-JW.com

JV

82

I just can't do this anymore

by Awen in

dear friends:.

for years now after my exit from the wtbts i have searched for god.

as i have previously mentioned in other threads i looked into many other religions, including druidry, zen and tibetan buddhism (not really a religion), asatru, native american shamanism, kemetic orthodoxy, gnosticism and pandeism.

Juan Viejo2

I just reread "Misquoting Jesus" by Bart Ehrman. Then I listened to it on CD while driving back and forth on a recent trip. I strongly recommend that everyone searching for the TRUTH of the Bible take time to read it for themselves. It's very enlightening.

While some of it is a little technical and can seem to be redundant at times, when you finish you fully understand why the Bible, as we know it today, can not be the "word of God," nor is it even an accurate account of the life of Christ. Ehrman never comes right out and blurts out those facts, but let's you come to that understanding on your own.

So why would any of us base our lives, our hopes, and decisions on a book that has no authority, no real basis on any facts, and has been changed thousands of times since the earliest manuscripts were copied nearly one hundred years AFTER Jesus lived?

Bible thumping religions like the JWs claim to base everything they do on the "inerrant words of the Bible." There are no such things as "inerrant words of the Bible" - PERIOD!!!

Some time ago I also read the "Greatest Show on Earth" by Richard Dawkins. He very clearly explains how we know for sure that the earth is not 10K years old. Anyone ever heard of the Petrified Forest? I've been there a couple of times. There are petrified forests all over the world, some buried hundreds of feet below the surface. Those old rock-hard trees still show their rings and those rings are like a magnificent history book. They make it very clear that the earth is millions of years old, not 42,000 or so as the JWs teach.

AWEN, you've made some good points. Mankind tends to believe only what they are taught based on the limited understanding of their parents, their geography, and their time in history. "Truth" has nothing to do with what we believe. Environment and social pressures demand that we believe a certain way.

We live in a wonderful time. We have a massive library at our fingertips here on the Internet. We can read, watch, and almost feel the facts of life, science and history that appear on our screens. To discover the paths to real truth, all we need to do is open Google, Wikipedia, and other resources and then ask the questions we want answered. Then we can toss out all those answers and search again for new ways to come up with our own understanding of what is "truth" based on hard evidence.

Good on you all!

JV

78

Do you sense that the Watchtower will implode?

by AK - Jeff in

since leaving the organization 8 years ago, there have been more significant changes in the actual, physical activities of the organization than occurred in all the 40 plus years i was 'in'.

bethel closings.

bethel layoffs.

Juan Viejo2

Excellent post, Randy. You have clearly pointed out a point that I've tried to make to some of my former JW friends. Besides the Christian Scientists, you could add the Seventh Day Adventists, more closely related to the JWs. There are also some Swedenborgians. Don't forget the remaining Bible Students and Russellites - that hang on but have no descernible growth or influence. And yet they survive. The Watchtower cult will probably slowly die back until it has just a few million worldwide members and then the growth will cease. My guess is they'll last another one hundred years or so, but will be of no consequence within the next 25 years.

JV

40

It's official, the internet IS the Watchtower's nemesis!

by cedars in

i have been inspired recently by some of the comments on this forum regarding the society having reached a "tipping point".

it's been observed that, despite the overwhelming weight of evidence that the society is nothing more than a damaging cult, the number of witnesses continues to increase, albeit gradually.

the latest figures i have available are those in the 2011 yearbook, showing a global 2.5% increase between 2009 and 2010.. as we all know, the internet is steadily rising in accessibility (or "penetration") around the world, and it provides a wonderful resource for those who are curious about joining the faith, helping such ones to quickly identify precisely how warped the teachings of the watch tower society really are.

Juan Viejo2

cedars - you have a PM

46

My father's funeral

by jwfacts in

last week i attended my father's funeral in hobart.

i was the first time i have been in a kingdom hall in several years, and many years since i had attended the hall of my childhood, but felt like it was just yesterday.

the funeral talk was quite a departure from normal, so worth writing about.

Juan Viejo2

Paul, check your PMs

22

New court docs for Menlo Park KH scandal

by Juan Viejo2 in

i've been fighting computer problems for over a week, but i finally got a new article up at ex-jw.com about the status of the court case in san francisco.. the plaintiffs will be going to court this week and possibly again in ten days.

the big issue is the bank account statements and signature files.

plaintiffs claim that defendants opened up unauthorized bank accounts and allegedly forged the then current coboe / ceo's signature.

Juan Viejo2

traveb, you have a PM.

140

Why So Many Young People Are Leaving The Watchtower

by Jeremy C in

i have been giving a lot of thought to the young people who are leaving the watchtower organization in recent years.

last night, i was reading the thread posted by jwfacts a while back in which he provided some statistics and graphs showing the rapidly declining growth in the watchtower.

one factor that was discussed at length was the high number of young people who do not stay in the organization.

Juan Viejo2

Jeremy was kind enough to let me adapt it for my new site. Check it out http://insidethewatchtower.com/doctrine/why-young-people-are-leaving/ .

Jeremy definitely has a gift and I hope he'll submit more of his wisdom and experiences here and over at ItW.com and Ex-JW.com. I'm sure he love to red your comments on this little gem of his.

JV

19

Does anyone know what the Watchtower's corporate ladder would be like?

by dgp in

i was wondering if anyone knows how a brother would make his way up to the governing body.

in my (worldly) opinion, there has to be something like a corporate ladder to climb.

does anyone know what the "procedure" would be?.

Juan Viejo2

Mad Sweeney wrote a post and article on this very subject...

http://ex-jw.com/watchtowers-pecking-order

JV

7

Elder Involvement Graphic Conclusion

by Marvin Shilmer in

jw
friends

today i added to my blog page 13 of the 13-page submission by a doctor of psychology that is a watchtower appointed elder.

i also added the documents bibliographic page.

he had ideas about elder involvement with jehovahs witnesses suffering mental illness, and particularly victims of child abuse, and thought it best to share these with watchtower.

Juan Viejo2

That should have been IE9. Sorry...