Havor Montague was Jerry Bergman? Haven't heard that before. Is that widely known?
MrMonroe
JoinedPosts by MrMonroe
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Psychotherapy Specialist for Jehovahs Witnesses
by Marvin Shilmer inpsychotherapy specialist for jehovahs witnesses .
today i added a new article to my blog showing a licensed psychotherapist advertising a specialty in treating jehovahs witnesses.
my article is titled psychotherapy specialist for jehovahs witnesses and is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/09/psychotherapy-specialist-for-jehovahs.html.
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WRM: Watchtower Resistance Movement
by ekruks inwhen france was invaded by the nazis, they established what was called the french resistance, which attacked the nazis.
the cause was to fight evil, so it was called a guerilla movement.
in each town, rebels would meet together secretly and sabotage the nazis, doing things such as blowing up railway lines, though they didn't attack civilians who were oppressed.. i don't see for us to fight the individuals in the organisation, because many of them are just misled, confused, brainwashed.
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MrMonroe
@Mad Sweeney: My wife and I met an old friend a couple of years back; we'd been out of the org for about a year; he called us "amateurs" because he'd been gone for seven. It was great swapping old stories, and as we left, hey told us, "Hey guys, we should stay in touch. I mean, it's not as if you're disfellowshipped or anything."
We were just stunned. He'd been gone seven years, but was still prepared to let them dictate who he spoke to. He was still in their control.
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Lawyers Response Resigned and Withdrawn Elder
by Marvin Shilmer inlawyers response resigned and withdrawn elder .
today i uploaded a new article to my blog containing a 14-page incredibly detailed response from a watchtower lawyer to a long-time high-ranking elder who had resigned and withdrawn his association with watchtower.
my article is titled lawyers response resigned and withdrawn elder and is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/09/lawyers-response-resigned-and-withdrawn.html.
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MrMonroe
Interesting how unshamedly the letter states on page 9 that a decision to reject the teachings of the religion (which members of every other religion on earth are urged to do by Jehovah's Witnesses) is regarded as "wrongdoing". The two scriptures they use to justify such a punitive approach have no bearing on the issue at all. The Bible simply does not include such a directive. It is a distortion of scripture used by a religion/cult to blackmail members into remaining, despite whatever conscientious objection they may hold.
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WRM: Watchtower Resistance Movement
by ekruks inwhen france was invaded by the nazis, they established what was called the french resistance, which attacked the nazis.
the cause was to fight evil, so it was called a guerilla movement.
in each town, rebels would meet together secretly and sabotage the nazis, doing things such as blowing up railway lines, though they didn't attack civilians who were oppressed.. i don't see for us to fight the individuals in the organisation, because many of them are just misled, confused, brainwashed.
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MrMonroe
I completely appreciate where Ekruks is coming from. I was riding home from work on Saturday a few weeks ago and discovered dozens of JWs were boarding the train at Richmond station, near the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, where they'd been having their annual three-day Re-Education Camp. The buggers started handing out flyers, including the picture of the toes on the colossus, to people on the train. One idiot kept trying to get my attention to hand me one, but I ignored him and kept reading my paper. Another gaggle of them were gathered around the flyer point at it and deeply "discussing" some point in it to try to get other passengers interested.
Next year I want to be better prepared and have a brochure I can hand back to them. "Sure, I'll read yours if you read mine."
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Psychotherapy Specialist for Jehovahs Witnesses
by Marvin Shilmer inpsychotherapy specialist for jehovahs witnesses .
today i added a new article to my blog showing a licensed psychotherapist advertising a specialty in treating jehovahs witnesses.
my article is titled psychotherapy specialist for jehovahs witnesses and is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/09/psychotherapy-specialist-for-jehovahs.html.
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MrMonroe
A psychologist called Havor Montague published a medical paper in 1977 in which he discussed the furtiveness with which JWs approach mental health specialists. They fear that Jehovah's organisation will be reproached by an admission that they need psychiatric or psychological treatment, and Havor wrote, "In the writer's work as a therapist, a significant number of Witness patients would clearly have never have sought psychotherapy if the writer had not been seen as an active Witness." (Link to the paper available at jwfacts.)
Another JW, Scott Wolfenden, of Newark, New Jersey, who has been active on Wikipedia trying to promote both his website and his religion, runs a psychology practice that presumably would invite JW patients, and he strikes me as the sort of person who would do anything to avoid blaming the religion for turning his patients into basket cases.
As Montague notes, there is an incredible pressure within the organisation to hide these facts in order to present the brothers as the happiest people on earth. Since leaving this religion I have seriously wondered just how much mental damage I suffered in my two decades (including my formative years) inside this nuthouse. It affects your outlook, and relationships with others, in so many ways.
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My Letter to local Newspapaer - Your Feedback Please?
by cofty inmy local congregation has been in the news this week following a successful application for planning permission for a quick build.
a local vicar objected because the application described it as a building for "christain worship".. .
vicar fury at new home for jehovahs .
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MrMonroe
Possibly too long for a letter for publication. It's unlikely they would reproduce those long WT and Awake citations with the abbreviations; you're better to summarise the statements in a sentence of your own. But good thoughts throughout your letter and well expressed.
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Walkill Bethel Recreational Facility
by dontplaceliterature inmy wife and i just visited some friends over the weekend from another congregation.
these two are both full time pioneers, and also participate in various construction projects around the country.
the husband just got back from a 3 week trip to walkill, new york to help with construction on a new residence building at 'the farm' (does anyone call it that anymore?)..
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MrMonroe
I spent two nights at the Australian Bethel a few years ago and never put another cent in the donation box afterward. The whole setup just shocked and disgusted me.
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Credit Card Donation terminals are currently being installed in JWs Assembly Halls...
by AndersonsInfo ini received the following email from a former jw that i thought to share.
note: i retyped the boe letter that was sent from the christian congregation of jehovahs witnesses to all congregations in the us.
the letter is authentic.
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MrMonroe
Tank full of fuel to get to the convention: $80.
Three days of parking: $24.
Buying Jehovah's favour with a generous donation on MasterCard: Priceless.
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Circuit Overseers What do they do?
by Marvin Shilmer incircuit overseers what do they do?
today i uploaded to my blog an article showing documents circuit overseers send to each congregation in preparation for their upcoming inspection.
quite a few have never seen these, and they go a long way toward understanding the place and operation of these watchtower appointees within the organizations structure.
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MrMonroe
Gluten free diet. Of course. I think a dietary problem must be a prerequisite for appointment as a CO or COW.
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AWAKE! Nov 2011 - They Love Pointing Out The Shortcomings Of Others But Never Do They Look In The Mirror!
by 3Mozzies inawake!
nov 2011 - on page 29 'watching the world' section.. they love pointing out the shortcomings of others but never do they look in the mirror!.
an extensive new survey by the pew forum on religion & public life details statistics on religion in america:http://religions.pewforum.org/reports.
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MrMonroe
Excellent point, Mozzie. In their mind the only ones who leave "the truth" are those who are seduced by the world, fall prey to immorality or lose their faith in God. The one elder who has spoken to me since I found the exit door broadly hinted that he thought I was being swallowed up by materialism. Between them they don't consider any of them count or warrant further thought and back that up with an out-of-context use of a scripture that says "They went out from us, but they were not of our sort."
The fact that those leaving make up such a big slice of their congregation seems to escape their notice, so they gleefully point out the failure of other religions to keep their flock.