last week i attended my father's funeral in hobart.
i was the first time i have been in a kingdom hall in several years, and many years since i had attended the hall of my childhood, but felt like it was just yesterday.
the funeral talk was quite a departure from normal, so worth writing about.
((((((jwfacts))))))) it sucks losing a parent, especially one who you love and respect. Your dad sounds like a very caring person and he helped raise a very caring and honorable son. I hope and pray that someday your mom will change her mind about you and that you will continue to write about the WTBTS on www.jwfacts.com.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
ABibleStudent
is it their door-to-door incessant preaching?
is it their view on blood?
is it that the religion itself is simply often misunderstood?.
JWs believe that everything is good or bad, they are always right (narcissistic), intolerant, change subjects to topics that they are comfortable talking about, cherry pick scriptures without reading all of the scriptures, lie, and appear to have two personas (i.e., authentic and cult personas).
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
ABibleStudent
have awakened to what fooo-king sh1t (sorry!
) i've been living in these last years.... well since i was born.... i am left if quite a weird state.
i have some weird friends.... jws.... i used to think they were normal.
Welcome ekruks and I am sorry to hear about your situation. It is going to take you time to feel better but you will feel better, so don't give up! First, make your plan of how to get a better job than being a window washer (i.e., get a better education), make "Worldly" friends, and, if you are living with your JW parents, get a place of your own. Keep posting on JWN, ask for help from other exJWs, read other threads to help find your answers, visit other websites (i.e., www.jwfacts.com, www.watchtowerdocuments.com, etc.), and read books. If you want to learn how to communicate with you JW family when they are in cult mode, you should read Steve Hassan's books (e.g., "Combatting Cult Mind Control' and "Releasing the Bonds"), visit his website (www.freedomofmind.com), and watch his videos on youtube.com. I know that some libraries have "Combatting Cult Mind Control" because I checked it out from a local library. Good-Luck!
By the way making new friends is easier than you think, just be careful and choose your friends wisely. Think about what you love to do (i.e., bike, read books, dance, etc.) and that other people like and search for ways to meet those new friends. Always smile at other people, ask them simple questions about what they are doing, answer questions that they ask you and ask them more questions about them - let them talk and listen to them. By asking people questions, you show that you are interested in them and you are also able to control the conversation. Checkout www.meetup.com to meet people to go on hikes with etc., and exjw.meetup.com to meet other exJWs.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
ABibleStudent
the center for constitutional rights, a new york-based nonprofit legal group, requested that the pope be indicted by the international court for church practises protecting catholic priests, who abuse children: http://news.yahoo.com/abuse-victims-seek-intl-court-case-against-pope-100135627.html .
if the pope is indicted by the international court and found guilty, could the gb be indicted for protecting elders, who abuse children, or for not advising child abuse victums to go to civil authorities?
if the gb is found guilty of not following victoria's child protection laws and an elder in victoria raped/abused a child after 2002, could the gb be indicted in the international court, because gb members would refuse to surrender to australian authorities?.
The Center for Constitutional Rights, a New York-based nonprofit legal group, requested that the pope be indicted by the International Court for Church practises protecting Catholic priests, who abuse children: http://news.yahoo.com/abuse-victims-seek-intl-court-case-against-pope-100135627.html . If the Pope is indicted by the International Court and found guilty, could the GB be indicted for protecting elders, who abuse children, or for not advising child abuse victums to go to civil authorities? If the GB is found guilty of not following Victoria's Child Protection Laws and an elder in Victoria raped/abused a child after 2002, could the GB be indicted in the International Court, because GB members would refuse to surrender to Australian authorities?
Peace be with you and everyone, who you know,
ABibleStudent
are there any jws on this site???
i think i may be in the wrong place.... why am i only seeing atheists and other denominations of christians?.
bushido8000 - Cool thanks everyone! And I'm just here to discuss various things and meet friends. I myself am with the JW faith but am not baptized.
Welcome bushido8000. What things interest you? How long have you been studying with the JWs? What country do you live in? With a username starting with bushido, Japan?
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
ABibleStudent
fyi: the following material that im providing comes from a source in australia, an xjw who is now monitoring the case and will provide feedback, comments, and opinions.
barbara.
the governing body of jehovah's witnesses was recently summoned to appear in the magistrates' court of victoria on september 13, 2011 in relation to a number of indictable criminal offences allegedly committed.
Thank you Barbara Anderson and Steven Unthank!! Any news? To me a victory would be the WTBTS having to comply with Victoria's child protection law and Steven Unthank being vindicated for standing up to a modern day Goliath.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
ABibleStudent
okay, for those of you who don't know, i was raised jw by really great though uber-zealous parents.
i'm now an adult and have been inactive for about two years due a bunch of reasons, the primary one (or at least the one that got the ball rolling) being the pathological intellectual dishonesty of the wt in how it handles secular quotes and citations.
anyway, my parents are aware of all that and have left the issue alone for about the last year.
Hi ((((((((((((Cadellin)))))))))))))), Have you read Steve Hassan's books? You probably have, but it might help to reread them again to brush up talking with your father when he is in cult mode. Also, I would recommend learning about using mirroring, validating, and empathizing techniques to discover how to unlock your parent's emotions. If you want to learn more about mirroring, validating, and empathizing, please read chapter 9 in “Getting the Love You Want – A Guide for Couples” by Harville Hendrix.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
ABibleStudent
my 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 .
*** w99 3/15 p. 13 "Pay Constant Attention to Your Teaching" ***
"A word of caution, though: A Bible student may be progressing rapidly but may still have some unchristian ways to overcome. So it may not be wise to be unduly close socially with the individual. Proper Christian boundaries should be maintained."
*** W11 07/15 p. 31 "When Someone We Love Leaves Jehovah" ***
"But what will those dear parents do? Will they obey Jehovah’s clear direction ? Or will they rationalize that they can have regular association with their disfellowshipped son and call it “necessary family business”? In making their decision, they must not fail to consider how Jehovah feels about what they are doing. His purpose is to keep the organization clean and, if possible, to incite wrongdoers to come to their senses. How can Christian parents support that purpose?"
*** A/09 July p.29 “Balancing Family Loyalty” ***
" Although the Bible makes a clear distinction between true and false teachings, God allows each person the freedom to choose how he or she will respond. (Deuteronomy 30:19, 20) No one should be forced to worship in a way that he finds unacceptable or be made to choose between his beliefs and his family. Does study of the Bible lead to family breakup? No. In fact the Bible encourages a husband and wife who practice different religions to remain together as a family – 1 Corinthians 7:12,13."
*** W/58 05/01 p.261 "Is Your Religion the Right One?" ***
"It is important, then, that you "keep testing whether you are in the faith," as Paul declared . Keep checking to see whether the things you believe are in keeping with God's Word. But the question is, Are you willing to put your religion through such a test? There is nothing to fear, because if you have the right religion you can only be reassured by the examination. And if what you believe is not in keeping with the Bible, then you should welcome the truth, because it leads to light and life."
Hi Cofty, the aforementioned are some of my favorites. Unfortunately, you will need to explain from your JW experience what the WTBTS means by "unchristian ways", 'Proper Christian boundaries", and "Jehovah's clear direction". Although you are more of an expert about the actions of the WTBTS than Steve Hassan, the WTBTS would be less likely to refute/mention your letter if you mentioned names like Steve Hassan, Raymond Franz, and Barbara Anderson in it.
Cheers,
ABibleStudent
my 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 .
I was raised in the sect and was an elder in the Berwick congregation before being ousted for “apostasy” in 1996. I still have close family members in the organisation and I have no hesitation in saying that there are plenty good people among its ranks. Shortly we will all be invited to marvel at the astonishing speed and efficiency of their building project. If they opt for their well rehearsed “quick-build” method the hall will appear at a rate that will astonish their new neighbours.
On the west-side of the pond, I would replace "organisation" with "organization" and "neighbours" with "neighbors" in the preceeding paragraph and in subsequent paragraphs. If you just want to pop off on the WTBTS, your letter is fine the way it is. If you want to educate "Worldly' people about the duplicity and dangerous cult characteristics of the WTBTS, I would write a summary about that and reference experts like Steve Hassan. Most people don't understand how dangerous cults like the WTBTS can be to people.
Cheers,
ABibleStudent
while at a gas station, i saw an acquaintance from my jw days.
i spoke to him first and he responded.
we had a little small talk.
Hi purpleplus, congratulations on being honest and couragious!!
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
ABibleStudent
