Posts by MrMonroe

43

Australia Newspaper alerts: JWs likens "defectors to 'contagious deadly disease'

by Gayle in

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/jehovas-witnesses-defectors-cop-a-blast/story-fn7x8me2-1226155212128.

MrMonroe

Mum said that not everyone that leaves the organisation is an apostate... only those that speak negatively of the organisation.

Light bulb, she's right ... to a point. If I left and never criticised the WTS, but began celebrating birthdays or attending another church, I'd be an apostate. If I leave, I leave because I disagree with them. But the only way I can avoid being branded an apostate is to never ever say anything critical about the organisation. It's a form of blackmail to ensure people never say anything critical of the religion once they leave.

If I'm true to myself, why should I never be allowed to discuss with friends, workmates ... or other JWs ... the reasons why I left and the reasons why I disagree with them?

17

I Just Knew This Was the Truth as Soon as I Heard It !

by bigmouth in

i can't count the number of witnesses i've heard, or experiences i've read, who say this.. this is the basis on which they decide to join a high control religion ?.

do you make important decisions based on gut feeling or intuition or do you spend time researching a matter first ?

i've made some dumb decisions based on emotion and had to repent at my leisure.. actually, i was thinking about the mother with a missing child who just knows she's alive somewhere and is coming home.

MrMonroe

It's a religion that places a huge amount on emphasis on rational belief. They like to take mysticism out of it as much as possible (except where it comes in handy, like explaining how God uses the FDS to provide new light....).

I confess I found many of their teachings appealing because they made sense: why God wouldn't create humans with the intention that they'd die, why an intelligent creator suggests an intelligent purpose ...

Other teachings I just learned to swallow because they were part of the package: that God has an organisation, that only 144,000 go to heaven, that a complex set of hidden clues pointed to 1914 being a pivotal year in human history etc etc. And blood and birthdays were part of that as well.

The problem is their teaching methods, restricting information to a very narrow, predetermined course, with pre-provided answers to the questions they ask, is a very clever, and very insidious method of teaching. Indoctrination, really. You have to ACCEPT certain points before you can move on to the next step. It simply forces people to accept the whole range of teachings without room for alternative views. And that's where the mind control starts.

43

Australia Newspaper alerts: JWs likens "defectors to 'contagious deadly disease'

by Gayle in

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/jehovas-witnesses-defectors-cop-a-blast/story-fn7x8me2-1226155212128.

MrMonroe

Unlike some other papers, the Herald Sun removes stories quickly from their website, though the links remain active for years. If you visit their website, you'll find the latest story only by searching for it in the little box at the top. For that reason they don't bother adding reader comments on most stories .... anything to do with footy or crime will get tons of messages, and they'll display them all, but other stories will have none.

Still, it's Australia's biggest selling newspaper, so people will have seen it in print even though it's pretty well vanished from their website. And the JW grapevine being what it is, the Dubs themselves will soon be aware of it.

41

You All Need To Read This New Letter Sent To All Conregations In Victoria Australia About Police Checks For Elders

by Hairyhegoat in

jw
friends

police minister peter ryan has written a letter to mr unthank advising that jw's are now applying, in mass, for the wwc in victoria.

to little to late.

criminal charges still stand and cannot be backdated!

MrMonroe

I have made some inquiries with the Victorian government over any developments over the Working With Children Checks.

Its response includes the following statement:

The Department of Justice has been in regular contact with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society to ensure it is aware of its obligations under the Act. As a result, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has now advised that they will now require all Jehovah's Witness elders to apply for a WWC Check.

42

JW spokesman: We refuse blood, but it's a personal choice

by MrMonroe in

dublin news story contains a blatant lie from the mouth of a jw spokesman:.

http://www.thejournal.ie/need-for-discussions-between-hospitals-and-jehovahs-witness-patients-234833-sep2011/.

a court order granted today to allow the coombe hospital give a baby a blood transfusion against the wishes of her parents underscores the need for more discussions to take place between hospital staff and patients, says a dublin branch of jehovahs witnesses.. harry homan, from the south dublin hospital liaison committee said that the issue highlighted the relationship between hospital staff and jehovahs witness patients.. he said, however, that there is already healthy discussions happening across the country.. the parents in this case are very happy with the hospital and the care being give to their baby, homan told thejournal.ie.. there is an excellent relationship between the parents and staff and the child is receiving the best of care.. he added that a blood transfusion will only be given to the premature baby as a last resort.. at the moment, she is doing well, said homan.. rte reports that the transfusion will be given to the baby if her condition deteriorates and it is necessary to save her life.. hospitals are acutely aware of the dangers associated with blood transfusions, claimed homan, adding that it is in everyones best interests to seek alternatives.. he said the position of jehovahs witnesses is perfectly clear on the matter of blood transfusions.. we do refuse transfusions, he said.

MrMonroe

No Stillsuck, they will say, you have made your personal choice and now we must shun you. By your actions you have breached one of our fundamental teachings and have therefore disassociated yourself.

29

December 1, 2011 Watchtower - I believe there may be some lying in here...

by sd-7 in

jw
friends

our readers ask: will the earth survive 2012?.

page 10: "when will this occur?

no human knows.

MrMonroe

The WTS rarely comes right out and announces it is doing a U-turn on doctrines. Its more common tactic is to slowly slip in new attitudes, which through the process of repetition gradually supplant the old ones.

I wonder if they're starting to do the same with this, and become more like the Seventh Day Adventists, who accept that Armageddon will come at some point, but make no attempt to pin it down.

But if they're becoming less doctrinaire, why are they stepping up their rhetoric against "apostates"?

41

The Huffington Post has picked up the mentally diseased story!!!!

by discreetslave in

just posted by vampire665 on facebook.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/28/jehovahs-witness-magazine_n_985479.html.

MrMonroe

I wouldn't overstate the effect of these stories. To us on this forum, the JW leaders are a tyrannical bunch of liars who ruined our lives. To the media, and most newspaper readers/TV viewers the JWs are a very small and mildly irritating religion.

The stories may help to shake out some Witnesses who may already harbour doubts about the rationality of their leaders, and make them feel uncomfortable about remaining closely aligned with them. They may also make some people who atre contemplating baptism or home bible study to walk away from it. The key message in these stories needs to be that once you join, they will do everything they can to make it hard to leave, including name calling and organised shunning.

The stories help to chip away their support and keep the idea of "cult control" in the minds of casual readers. But the reality is the publicity isn't going to bring this religion to its knees.

27

City Overseers discontinued immediately 9/16/11

by Gayle in

letter dated 09/16/11 to all boes about city overseers being discontinued effective immediately.. this is from a very reliable jw anonymous source.. .

MrMonroe

Designs, that's really funny. I'd forgotten abut that: in both New Zealand and here in Australia the circuit assemblies always did an announcement about how much i debt they were, and (in the early days at least) I'd feel guilty and put another lot of money in the box. You're saying they had distinct accounting methods to always ensure the circuit assembly fund was always in debt? Amazing.

5

Elders as volunteers/ Shunning instructions

by Gladring in

jw
friends

was just checking the jw-media.org website and found this:.

http://www.jw-media.org/aboutjw/article41.htm.

how we are organizedfollowing the model of first-century christianity, jehovahs witnesses have no clergy-laity division.

MrMonroe

We recognise their right to leave. Then we will shun them and call them mentally diseased.

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.

MrMonroe

Their control over elders and publishers is too strong to allow a splintering to occur. For any significant splinter group to form would require a freedom for members to express what they feel and gain the sense that there are others who share their view.

The threat of disfellowshipping for any who step out of line and challenge the authority and teaching of the GB is far too strong to allow any more than a handful to leave with the intention of starting something new. I just don't see it as feasible that people would be prepared to accept disfellowshipping, with all the shame and humiliation that entails, to join others, particularly when the level of rhetoric from the WTS against the "rebels" would skyrocket.

Could it implode? I just can't see it. The movement has a momentum all its own, fuelled by the myth of divine authority and the fear of expulsion and eternal damnation. It also has its own centre of gravity that keeps pulling members (and recruiits) towards it. Few of those ever stop to examine the logic and teachings of the organisation, and because they're not allowed to read or hear criticism, they have no yardstick by which to judge it.

The internet and media exposure will cause some to drift towards the edge and leave, but the machine will keep rolling on.