Posts by freydo

37

Gulf Oil Spill More Than 10X Greater Than Thought: Experts

by leavingwt in

the news from the gulf just keeps getting worse.

gulf oil spill more than 10x greater than thought: expertsby frank james and allison richards.

npr has learned that much more oil, 70,000 barrels a day or more than ten times the official estimate, is gushing into the gulf of mexico from the deepwater horizon pipe, based on scientific analysis of the video released wednesday.. that's the equivalent of one exxon valdez tanker full every four days.

freydo

Dear NaturalNews readers,

"The U.S. government has been conspiring with the oil industry to keep the ingredients of the Corexit chemical dispersant a secret. But now, under intense pressure, the EPA has finally gone public with the list of chemicals that have been dumped into the Gulf of Mexico to the tune of over a million gallons. The toxicity of these chemicals is disturbing, and it now seems like this chemical dispersant may be worse than the oil it's supposed to be dispersing. Read more in my report today:"

http://www.naturalnews.com/028974_Corexit_dispersants.html

103

Mr. Flipper Talks with Bethel Legal Service Desk Rep About JW Child Abuse

by flipper in

well - i had been wanting to do this for a long time , to question a legal department representative at bethel about the child abuse settlements and jw child abuse, since last year when the news came out about it.

especially since my dad , an elder for years was never aware of it and has on his own taken steps to see that families with children are informed if a former pedophile is in their congregation.

i was curious as to what the current views and policies in place are .

freydo

Well done Flipper. Here's something from freeminds to add. http://www.freeminds.org/life-stories/bethelites/there-s-something-rotten-in-brooklyn-crisis-of-conscience-confirms-an-elders-suspicions.html

"..........For the first time in my life, I started questioning and researching the Watchtower Society's history, beliefs and practices. Having been raised as a Jehovah's Witness, I guess I had just accepted everything my parents had told me. Plus, my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc had all been Jehovah's Witnesses -- wasn't it presumptuous of me to think something was wrong with the organization that had been trusted by so many generations of my family? Probably, but I still had to know for sure.

So I was stunned by what I discovered. Almost everything I had thought was 'truth' turned out to be lies. Not only were the Governing Body promoting flawed child protection policies, but they appeared to have deliberately introduced loopholes that allowed alleged molesters to avoid investigation. For example:

the elders were not to investigate an allegation of child molestation unless there were two witnesses to the alleged abuse, apart from the complainant. As if any molester would ever wait for eyewitnesses before engaging in his shameful acts;
on the rare occasions when an alleged abuser was investigated by the body of elders, the Society instructed the elders not to report the matter to the police unless they were legally required to (though this appears to have been widely ignored);
despite assurances by the Society that a 'known' abuser would never be reappointed as an elder or ministerial servant, a further loophole was introduced that permitted such a man to regain a position of trust in a congregation, so long as his activities had not become public knowledge.

Victims of child abuse were threatened with expulsion from the congregation and shunning by all Jehovah's Witnesses if they told anyone about their experiences. Elders were told not to warn the ordinary members of the congregation when a child molester was in their midst, though of course, the elders all knew and made sure their own children were never alone with him. Meanwhile, the Watchtower Society's leaders continued to insist they had the best child protection policies in the universe..................................."

10

Ten Warning Signs of a Unsafe Group/Leader to Watch out For

by thetrueone in

ten warning signs of a potentially unsafe group/leader.absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.

no tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.

no meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement.

freydo

Ten warning signs of a potentially unsafe group/leader.

1. Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.

4. Unreasonable fear about the outside world,

9. The group/leader is always right.

Happened to pick up the 5/1/10 wt yesterday and happened to open to p26-7 where two articles appear side by side that illustrate the mind control technique/dangerous leadership characteristics. The first article, "Will You Walk in Loyalty" talks about trusting Jehovah with no mention of organization. Only trust in him, "no matter how others may let you down." Translation trust the borg no matter what. The second article, "How Do JW's View Interfaith?" Translation - trust only the borg - all others are evil.

53

If I'm so intelligent how did I get drawn in to it all?

by Lozhasleft in

jw
friends

i consider myself an intelligent woman...maybe not strong on the 'common sense' front, but academically i've done pretty well...so...how on earth did i not see through it all when i was studying in the beginning???.

i remember worrying about their 'sales pitching' styles and their arrogance of believing they had the 'truth' ...but still i got involved and became totally immersed in it all.

i feel like i sacrificied our whole family to them, who now shun me.. yesterday, my new son in law, he's a lawyer, asked me how i could have believed it wasnt a cult (topical word this week here) he said he didnt understand how i could have been persuaded to believe it all and trust them with so much and for so many years...... i feel ashamed of myself that i did and that i brought all this upon our family...anyone else relate?.

freydo

Intelligent people are often most susceptible to emotional manipulation, as they tend to try to ignore that side of the brain. There are many very smart jw's who give in to the corruption like attorneys and police because compromise is demanded. They make meetings, field service and personal Bible Sudy (none of which is Scriptural) requirements or else you cannot join the group that challenges your intellect. So you ignore those nagging little suspicions and go all in. And it's not all bad. The problem is getting out. i remember a young man who refused to be baptized. But he came to every meeting and went out in field service. The eldertrons couldn't touch him. He obviously understood what was at stake.

8

Using Wikipedia to Quote Sources

by Georgiegirl in

recently, i've seen alot of posts using cut-n-pastes from wikipedia.

.now, i love wikipedia - but - for those of you who may not be aware - wikipedia is not a credible source.

we aren't allowed to use it as a reference for any paper in university, and anyone who wants to be taken seriously as a scholar and researcher would lose all credibility by using wikipedia as a direct reference.. wikipedia is user-created - which means i can create a wiki on any subject i choose (whether i know anything about it or not).

freydo

You mean things are credible as long as they haven't been posted on Wikipedia?

107

which are the strong points of the WT?

by marcopolo in

jw
friends

can someone say me ?.

freydo

The subject is about the name Jehovah..Not YHWH..Not Jesus..

Not KFC`s new Chicken Sandwich without Bread..

Does it come with pickles?

81

An Elder wrote anomously...

by Butterflyleia85 in

jw
friends

i realize as an elder that i am speaking out against the very organization i try to faithfully represent, but i personally think that the governing body is wrong by teaching that only what they teach us, as printed in the watchtower publications, should be considered to be the truth.

theyve made the expression of any personal opinions or group debates over their official versions of biblical truths subject to disciplinary action often leading to someone being disfellowshipped.. .

that is why i feel that i must keep my own identity somewhat anonymous.

freydo

For somebody trying to be anomous (is that a new word?) he doesn't act like it. How long do you think it would take the wtbt$ snoops to finger somebody in the NY area and volunteering that, "I am in my early 50s, married, with four adult sons. My wife and I own our home and I drive an older four-door Japanese sedan – a perfect car to use for field service. I work as a manager for a national company connected to the food services industry."? Maybe he's from Iowa.

107

which are the strong points of the WT?

by marcopolo in

jw
friends

can someone say me ?.

freydo

http://www.eliyah.com/thescriptures/

The Third Commandment: What does it mean? RealAudio version | MP3 version

"Many take the third commandment to mean that we should not use the Heavenly Father's name alongside a swear word or profanity. I could see where it certainly might mean this. Others say that taking His name on our lips while living a life of sin is another way of taking His name in vain. I agree with this also.

However, I have found that the third commandment means much more than this. Replacing the Heavenly Father's name with a title of our own choosing such as "the LORD", "GOD", "Adonai", or "Ha Shem" is another way of taking His name in vain. Let's look at the third commandment as written in the King James Bible:

Deuteronomy 5:11 "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold [him] guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

If we examine this verse in the Hebrew text that the King James Bible was translated from, we would not find "The LORD" or any word that carries such a meaning. What is actually there is the Heavenly Father's true name, "Yahweh". I believe it is important to consider whether or not this tradition is something the Heavenly Father would desire us to follow.

Let's take a moment and look at the Webster's dictionary definition of the word "vain".............."

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