Posts by sd-7

25

Feeling Guilty

by naazira in

jw
friends

i am feeling gulity because i will not be going to the summer convention.

i just can not sit through the talks they are sooo boring.

im cutting off all contact with the witnesses.

Missing my first convention was AWESOME. I thoroughly enjoyed the peace and quiet. I watched 'Matrix' and 'Terminator' movies, drank frozen coffee drinks, played arcade games, ate magnificent seafood, and did whatever I wanted. It was such a relief. It helped me to see that despite how they say 'there's nothing out there', the truth is there's nothing in their religion that is worth holding onto. I felt more peace being out than I ever felt at their conventions.

These events (conventions/assemblies) are designed to rewrite your thinking. By the time it's over, your true self is suppressed and wound up tight. Did you ever take note of the extreme things they said at these conventions? Your true self could easily identify that, I hope, and when you realize that they want you to be extreme, to be closed-minded and to give up all that you are in exchange for a neverending stream of empty promises, you'll understand you're making the right choice.

Honestly, it's three days of your life. You don't want to waste it on something you don't believe in. Your life belongs to you now. Live it.

--sd-7

212

Candace Conti v Watchtower Society | June 3, 2013 | Respondent's Brief - prepared by Rick Simons | A136641

by jwleaks in

jw leaks has published the respondent's brief prepared by rick simons in the case: candace conti v. watchtower bible and tract society of new york & fremont congregation of jehovah's witnesses.

(90 pages).

http://jwleaks.org/candace-conti/.

sd-7

It is telling that the WTBTS leaders insists on institutional unity among its R&F members, but they cannot achieve it amongst themselves and the most important departments which are supposedly under their direct control right there in Brooklyn!

Well, I would say that they simply don't need to achieve institutional unity. Most JWs will never even know this trial or any of the others ever even occurred. If they hear of it, they'll assume it's just apostates 'framing trouble by decree'. Thus, Legal can do whatever they want, up to and including lying in court. If anyone finds out, they can always arrange a judicial committee where a janitor, a clerk, and a pool cleaner will decide your eternal fate. Who'd have thought that, huh? [Sarcasm] From the meekest of men, Jehovah's justice is administered.

--sd-7

33

Did Jesus lie or just changed his mind?

by EdenOne in

john 7:8-10.

"go up to the festival yourselves.

i'm not going to this festival yet, because my time has not yet fully come.

sd-7

Okay. Well, then, he tricked them into going up first, so he could sneak in. It's morally gray--yeah, he deceived them, then--but a shrewd, practical move, nonetheless, I would think. WT-style response: "He evidently reasoned, 'If an angel could fool wicked King Ahab, surely I, the Son of God, could withhold certain information from the disciples.' The end result--the doing of Jehovah's will--demonstrates that Jesus retained Jehovah's favor. Otherwise, would he not have remained dead, and not been resurrected to receive God's blessings?"

--sd-7

33

Did Jesus lie or just changed his mind?

by EdenOne in

john 7:8-10.

"go up to the festival yourselves.

i'm not going to this festival yet, because my time has not yet fully come.

sd-7

But he says he wasn't going to the festival yet. Not that he wasn't going to the festival at all. He just wanted them to go ahead of him because the Jews who wanted him dead would not expect him to be travelling apart from the disciples. Like sending your right-hand-man ahead as a distraction, while you slip in unnoticed. At least, that's what I get from reading the verse you quoted here.

--sd-7

212

Candace Conti v Watchtower Society | June 3, 2013 | Respondent's Brief - prepared by Rick Simons | A136641

by jwleaks in

jw leaks has published the respondent's brief prepared by rick simons in the case: candace conti v. watchtower bible and tract society of new york & fremont congregation of jehovah's witnesses.

(90 pages).

http://jwleaks.org/candace-conti/.

sd-7

Do they feel any remorse or shame as King David did?!

More likely they want to arrange for someone to be 'put at the forefront of the battle' and 'endure loyally even until death for Jehovah's name', King David-style...

--sd-7

17

Just wondering...

by molybdenum in

for those of you who are "out" forcibly ( disfellowshipped) or voluntarily ( dissasociated) is there anything.

that you actually miss about the witnesses or meetings?.

sd-7

Interesting question. I actually had to think to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

Giving talks was interesting. But I could do that by joining a club or something. Miss it? Nah. It's not like it was my own material I was talkin' about.

So, I'm going to go with no.

--sd-7

52

Update on Candace Conti's Case

by mind blown in

just ran upon this info:.

candace conti beats the watchtower society!submitted by teeny on august 27, 2012 - 9:22 pm .

http://www.jehovahswitnessblog.com/jw-lawsuits/candace-conti-beats-the-watchtower-society/?fb_action_ids=348543075229733&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366.

sd-7

Okay, my jaw just dropped. Watchtower Society lawyer: "Ministerial servants don't give sermons, they don't conduct Bible studies, and, again, they function as helping the church elders."

WTF???

This is a flat-out lie. A bold-faced lie. I guess I shouldn't be shocked, but...I guess it's a good thing he's not under oath, isn't it?

--sd-7

52

Update on Candace Conti's Case

by mind blown in

just ran upon this info:.

candace conti beats the watchtower society!submitted by teeny on august 27, 2012 - 9:22 pm .

http://www.jehovahswitnessblog.com/jw-lawsuits/candace-conti-beats-the-watchtower-society/?fb_action_ids=348543075229733&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366.

sd-7

"But you will hear that when Mr. Kendrick was removed as a ministerial servant, that's a significant event, it doesn't happen every day, that's a signal that something is wrong."

And of course a JW is going to think this guy's a child molester and keep their kids away from him, right??? For all they would know, he could've just made 5 hours of field service a month, been looking at porn, or been unable to do too many talks due to his job. This lawyer is shovelin' some serious crap.

The other glaring question is, was this guy 'privately reproved'? One would think that an offense of this sort would warrant public reproof and maybe even a local needs talk about the need to protect your kids, like, right afterwards, so people would put two and two together on their own and keep their kids away from him. That, I would think, would be the farthest they could go and would cover their behinds legally, since they wouldn't be naming him directly, but they'd get the point across publicly that he was a threat. But even that would be too much to ask, wouldn't it? And that's the least they could've done. But I guess I shouldn't turn this into a running commentary on the transcript...

I'll keep reading...

--sd-7

52

Update on Candace Conti's Case

by mind blown in

just ran upon this info:.

candace conti beats the watchtower society!submitted by teeny on august 27, 2012 - 9:22 pm .

http://www.jehovahswitnessblog.com/jw-lawsuits/candace-conti-beats-the-watchtower-society/?fb_action_ids=348543075229733&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366.

sd-7

Hmm. It just occurred to me that I've not read the transcripts. Man! This is pretty heavy! And I'm just on the defense's opening statement....

--sd-7

27

Many ex-JWs have never read Combating Cult Mind Control

by Londo111 in

the general public knows far too little about cults and mind control...and this is reflective of many ex-jws as well.

when i meet up with former jws, either in person or on the phone, im surprised that the majority have never read combating cult mind control.

of course, i am sure many former jws do not want to read yet another publication.

sd-7

Are you serious, Londo? I thought this was like amongst the Top 3 in the Ex-JW Essential Reading List (I just made that up, of course, but I like the sound of it). First thing I started doing more of as I started to wake up was READ, READ, READ. It's a shame that most ex-JWs you've spoken to haven't read that spectacular book. It was life-changing for me.

I'm still reading 'Freedom of Mind' right now, gradually. I do think 'Combatting' was helpful in not mentioning JWs--at least it worked for me at the time. The format of it is also unique in that I feel like it does a better job of giving you the basics of what cults do early on, whereas the other books tend to put the parts about getting family members out of a cult much more to the forefront. Personally, I would recommend reading 'Combatting Cult Mind Control' first, if possible, then reading the other books.

One of the particular recurring problems--one I noticed in 'Freedom of Mind' last time I was reading--was that he writes that JWs must use the term "Jehovah" and aren't allowed to say "God". There's some truth in that statement, that is, if you never use the term "Jehovah", you will probably face accusations of apostasy. But JWs do use the term "God" frequently, but they use the name "Jehovah" like they have a trademark on it (okay, well, it is part of their brand name). Even so, I think 'Freedom of Mind' is still more detailed so far in JW issues than any of Hassan's books I've read before. So that's pretty cool.

Any ex-JW who hasn't read 'Combatting Cult Mind Control' needs to read it. Especially those who are freshly out of the cult. Trust me, it's worth it.

--sd-7