Posts by Fernando

9

SHOCKING elder's talk: "..when we are baptized we abdicate all responsibility to think for ourselves.."

by yadda yadda 2 in

i found this recorded elder's talk (presumably genuine) quite disturbing in how he states that in order to maintain unity, jw's have given up thinking for themselves and passed over their thinking ability to the governing body.. "when you're baptized, your thinking is not your own anymore...your thinking is done for you...we carry out to the letter everything the society tells us to do..." .

his concluding statement "stop thinking for yourselves!".

there's the usual reference to the korah and those who challenged moses, but "you in the congregation are safe as long as you don't speak out against the elders and jehovah's organisation...".

Fernando

*** g82 9/22 p. 18 Should I Be Afraid of What Others Think? ***
Many young persons let others do their thinking for them. Rather than deciding for themselves the best course, they follow the crowd.

*** g82 9/22 p. 18 Should I Be Afraid of What Others Think? ***
But when your peers see that you will do your own thinking and stand up for right principles, expect some problems. Why?

“The man [or, woman] of thinking abilities is hated.” (Proverbs 14:17) A young person who exercises his thinking faculties and refuses to conform to improper peer pressure is often disliked and ridiculed.

*** w56 6/15 p. 360 Getting and Giving the Thoughts of God ***
We usually believe what we want to believe, and one thing we like to believe is that we do our own thinking. Hence it is not too hard for clever propagandists to make us think their thoughts are ours. They plant the thought and nourish it, but do it so subtly that we think it is our own.

6

Please do not send your Elders to my house!

by Pinku in

this was the last sentence my dad wrote to gb in his letter explaining why he is disassociating from jws.

it seems gb did not send copy of the letter to the body of elders!

sometime later two elders visited him to encourage him to rethink his decision.

Fernando

Having taught against deathbed repentance (a change of heart) they could not avail themselves of it.

Fear of death, at the level described, is a scriptural confirmation of their captive state, in which they misled others too (Matt 23:15):

(Hebrews 2:15) . . .[that] he might emancipate all those who for fear of death were subject to slavery all through their lives.

(Matthew 23:15) . . .“Woe to YOU, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because YOU traverse sea and dry land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one YOU make him a subject for Ge·hen′na twice as much so as yourselves.

8

Jehovah's Witnesses Rank-and-File Are the Elite Witnesses Pension Plan!

by BucketShopBill in

it's all about money these days in all the kingdom halls and changing title from the congregation over to the watchtower organization so the governing body and all their trusty aids can have a nice retirement.

who is going to provide for all the jws heading towards retirement age over the next five to ten years, men and women in bad health who must work because the watchtower through their salesmen (cos, dos) promised we all would be in god's paradise and "worrying about material things shows a lack of faith".. .

the governing body is showing they are worried about money because all they are talking about is "sign the secret envelope and obey the promise you made to donate each month!

Fernando

The OP title reads like it belongs on a giant (uncle Sam style) poster, or on a billboard, on the road to a major convention.

34

Are Jehovah's Witnesses THAT Bad?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i'm not fond of any religious fanatic.

islamic fundies can be downright crazy.

mormonism seems silly to me.

Fernando

Personally I believe the minority of JWs are evil, and that the majority are forced into behaving in questionable ways due to peer pressure and bad associations (hanging out with the woe'ers of Matt 23:13-29).

In other words, the majority of JWs could be quite normal if their hearts were totally circumcised of religion (legalism, moralism, materialism, hypocrisy, sexism, supremacy, blindness, addiction, clericalism and hierarchical thinking).

42

Copy of my DA Letter

by airborne in

jw
friends

this is my first time posting here, although i have been a visitor to it for around a year.

after doing a simple google search under "jehovah'switnesses" over a year ago, i found ttat.

i was deeply unhappy with the congregation and decided to educate myself, and boy what an education i have gotten so far.

Fernando

Welcome airborne, and thank you for sharing and posting; especially your DA letter.

In my humble opinion, and from my personal perspective, this is the best DA letter ever, and on so many levels.

Articulate
Well considered
Respectful
Balanced
To the point
Brief (1-page max)
Very hard to forget/ignore/rationalise
Factual
Insightful
Plain
Simple
Renders ignorance inexcusable
Irrefutable (without compromising honesty and good ethics)
Unapologetic
Fearless (Matt 10:32,33)
Duty of care (to warn)

What are your thoughts of making copies available to every JW you know?

Greetings

Fernando

SEQ, Australia

6

Were we drug addicts?

by new hope and happiness in

jw
friends

i imagine drug addicts have a similar adiction.

you can not imagine life without a fix.

or was it we had addictive personalities?

Fernando

I do believe so NHAH.

The same mechanics at work, at least in part.

That is one reason why it is hard to help family and friends that are still trapped.

40

Reflections on 1 year WT Free-breaking the chains...

by MissFit in

hi everyone.. i just realized that it has been over a year since i discovered this site and started to recognize i was shackled by invisible chains.

i am still in the process of chipping away on those chains.. i posted on another thread how these threads here are like little time capsules.

the moment, the emotions, the attitudes are all there frozen.. .

Fernando

Hey MissFit, well described. I imagine the journey is similar for many here on JWN; it certainly has been for me too.

59

Want to make Money $ with a Web Site?

by sarahsmile in

has anyone had success with a high traffic website or blog ?.

it might take a team of people to accomplish.. ads pay and people count, lots and lots of people.

does jehovahs-witness.net make money every time someone looks at the web site?

Fernando

I would hazard a guess that Simon earns at most 1% of what he otherwise could when he donates many hours of his precious time to the labour of love that is JWN which generously and voluntarily serves atheists and believers alike.

How many hours would you and I be willing to work for one hundredth of our hourly rate?

If it is such a headache-free money-spinner, why did Simon once consider closing up shop?

Of course, I too would appreciate more civil behaviour from those JWNers that pray for my conversion to atheism.

And seriously, there have to be better ways to make money than elusive (and illusive) traffic from thousands hundreds of visitors busily ignoring adverts.

36

A silly thought on freewill...

by new hope and happiness in

this was mythought on " freewill" and made me think...i need " air" to breath..so how was i born with freewill?.

Fernando

If God exists, and I believe he does, then the existence of atheists would seem to prove free will, to my mind at least.

9

What Happened to my DEAR FRIEND?

by NoMoreHustle in

jw
friends

when i first learned about the bull $#@!

about the cult that i am in, i reached out to my good friend who brought me into this organization through a study.

this man is wonderful human being & i thought would be understanding to my struggles.

Fernando

Once we have invested too much in a scam we strangely develop a vested interest in supporting it at all costs to save face.