ABibleStudent

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Posts by ABibleStudent

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  19

  Mom is coming over tomorrow. What should I ask?

  by Faithful Witness in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my mother is visiting us again tomorrow, only 5 weeks since her last visit.

  things seem to be going pretty well with her, and the kids are enjoying having grandma back in our routine.

  she is retiring at the end of may (age 65), so she promises that this is going to mean more time with family.

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  ABibleStudent

  Hi Faithful Witness, I feel that your ideas about focusing on rebuilding your relationship with your mother, pledging donations, and that your BS with Miss K is raising more questions than answering are excellant ideas. You're doing a fantastic job of trying to help your mother critically think for herself.

  The only ideas that I can add to what you wrote and that might be helpful to you are what I have already written. Be prepared to

  1. Overcome thought-stopping platitudes that your mother may use (or at least take note of them to overcome them later),
  2. Ask simple questions like Billy the Ex-Bethelite wrote about in exJW Psychology 102--How to Ask a Question When Questions Aren't Allowed,
  3. Practise/learn how to turn off your mother's cult personal,
  4. Help your mother's authentic persona become stronger by helping your mother get plenty of rest, eat well, get some excercise, make happy and fun new memories with her, and help your mother remember how she was (i.e., her wit) before she became a JW.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
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  20

  Meeting with an Elder and his wife

  by Abe Ostate in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm a non-witness who is doing research on jehovah's witnesses (and has been for several years).

  i just got out of a meeting with an elder and his wife.

  i'm still somewhat stupefied.

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  ABibleStudent

  Hi Abe Ostate, During your research, have you visited reputable websites like www.jwfacts.com and www.freedomofmind.com?

  The elder and his wife were trying to recruit you into the WTBTS. The WTBTS teaches JWs how to confuse and indoctrinate potential recruits using BITE control techniques, thought-stopping platititudes (i.e. "Where will I go"), and unhealthy conversations. If you would like to learn more about BITE control and unhealthy conversations, please watch the short videos The BITE Model (Behavior Information Thought Emotion) (5:03) and How Big is the Phenomenon of Undue Influence? (2:01) by Steve Hassan, a reputable and recognized cult expert.

  Once you except that the WTBTS is a dangerous cult, everything makes sense about JWs and how they behave.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
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  26

  Who are the Players in the Ukraine crisis

  by designs in

  1. social
  2. current

  interesting shout down occured in eastern ukraine between two factions of the christian orthodox following a deadly shoot out.. ukrainian orhtodox leader patriarch filerat condemned putin and company as being against god's will while pro russia patriarch kirill spoke of the west trying to destroy holy russia.. like the syrian war there are multiple players adn complex agendas.

  how do you see the political landscape changing depending on who prevails..

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  ABibleStudent

  I would like to learn more about how average Ukrainians and Russians feel about the crisis in Ukraine. The American news media seems to only provide snippets of rhetoric from polliticians. Does international news media do more indepth reporting of how average Ukrianians and Russians feel about this crisis.

  I do feel that Putin has aspirations of increasing his influence over neighboring countries and Russions, as well as hiding problems within Russia. How do Russians feel about the trail of Alexey Navalny, a vocal critic of Putin, for corruption? How do average Russians feel about their news choices within Russia?

  Lots of questions: no answers.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
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  28

  The Governing Body told two Elders to call !!!!

  by Phizzy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a friend from the other end of the country just 'phoned and told me that a couple of days ago two elders knocked on his door.

  he has been out for four or more years.. they told him it was c.o's visit, and the governing body have asked them to call on those whom they no longer see at the k.hall.. i guess this is an easier "field" than knocking on doors that never open, or where they are told "not interested".. my friend bill though, was not such an easy call.

  apparently he managed to get in about 1914 being rubbish, the bible not being the word of god, because we cannot trust it, 1919 being rubbish as to the choosing of the fds and several other telling points.. i liked particularly that he said to them they were rather hypocritical asking householders to examine their faith, when jw's were simply not allowed to !.

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  ABibleStudent

  leaving_quietly - This is a new program for the C.O. visit... call on all the inactive ones in the congregation. This will happen now twice a year.

  Why would the GB want to put over-worked elders into situations where they would be exposed to people like Bill? It seems like a Lose-Lose situation for elders. If the WTBTS is having a hard time keeping elders, I feel that this will only discourage more JWs from serving as elders.

  People who want to quietly fade will probably keep the meeting brief by saying, "I'm busy. Thank you for your concern, and I will call you when I need your advice. Please call me and obtain my permission before dropping by unannounced."

  Other people might ask elders questions like, "Why do you feel that "imperfect men" of the GB have the truth, when they discourage JWs from critically thinking for themselves? Please do not drop by again until after you can disprove anything on www.jwfacts.com. And, obtain my permission to visit by calling me first."

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
• 
  10

  Wow! I saw my sister last night, and she came as her old self!!

  by Faithful Witness in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i went to watch my niece's orchestra recital last night.

  i knew my parents were coming, and was pleasantly surprised to see my jw sister and niece were there also.

  i don't think my family realized (nor did i) that this was a christian homeschool music program.

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  ABibleStudent

  Enjoy those moments with your JW family's authentic personas, Faithful Witness! Those are great opportunities to laugh, remember other special moments, and possibly to ask them to join you in some fun outing(s) that will get them away from WTBTS meetings. Do what you can when you can to help their authentic personas grow stronger.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
• 
  35

  My first post: Pet Peeves from my JW past

  by BarHarborBarbara in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  first post here: longtime lurker but hesitant to take the leap.

  my story is pretty much like everyone elses with little variance, but i thought id add a few details that especially tormented me when i was in.

  im sure these are familiar, im afraid this is a bit of a rant.. --paradise: the constant chatter about a perfect world when most in the hall were not even slightly interested in taking care of the earth now.

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  ABibleStudent

  Welcome BarHarborBarbara, Thank you for sharing your feelings/experience abou the WTBTS. If replaying meeting songs in your mind is the worst that you experience leaving the WTBTS, than you are truly lucky.

  It is interesting that you noticed how JWs would have unhealthy conversations with you - it was always your fault or weakness and not theirs. I am glad that you were able to leave the WTBTS for your emotional health.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
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  20

  Give me some examples of 'good lawyers'.

  by LogCon in

  1. social
  2. humour

  for some strange reason when i previously asked to give me examples of how evil attorneys are and then reworded to give me examples of evil lawyers, many misinterpreted that i was labeling all lawyers as evil.

  i simply asked a question.

  i did not state or imply anything.. now, without labeling all lawyers as good, what examples do you have of 'good lawyers'?.

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  ABibleStudent

  When I was getting a divorce from my ex-wife, my lawyer's advice was "Give, Give, Give [possessions that were accumulated during marriage] until it hurts." It was good advice because by giving my ex-wife any possession that she wanted and we accumulated together she was more agreeable to not ask for allimony or drag out the divorce. My lawyer's objective was to help me cut financial obligations and emotional ties as soon as possible, get rid of things that might remind me of my ex-wife, defuse emotional triggars, and reduce legal fees.

  It was strange how the strategy worked. Within a year of the divorce being final, my exwife even gave me somethings that she wanted while we were seperating.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
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  16

  7 Things Remarkably Happy People Do Often

  by Oubliette in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i came across this article today and really appreciated it's positive message; and so i wanted to share a few choice excerpts that i thought were particularly relevant for this group:.

  7 things remarkably happy people do often1.

  make good friends - make real friends.

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  ABibleStudent

  Thanks for sharing Oubliette!

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
• 
  21

  So I got called on today...

  by Thumblina in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  poor sod.

  i felt quite sorry for him in the end.. for context, i was brought up as a jw since i was very young.

  i left 6 years ago (faded) a little before turning 30. i was on here a lot around that time but under a different profile that's no longer active.. for the past 18 months, i'm back living in the territory of the congregation i grew up in.

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  ABibleStudent

  Thumblina - I would like to think there was one or two things I said that at the very least made him think. Towards the end he asked me to keep an open mind about what he'd said, which I said I would (PAH! ) . I followed up by saying that if there was anything I had said that made him curious that I hoped he would give himself permission to look up more about it later when he was back in his home. You never know I suppose....

  Welcome back Thumblina, Predictable that JWs ask others to keep an open mind, but will not independently research the WTBTS for themselves nor critically think for themselves. The WTBTS indoctrinates JWs to believe that JWs are right and everyone else is doomed!

  I wonder what that JW would have done, if you had responded to his query, "My mind is open. Is yours? Have you visited www.jwfacts.com or www.freedomodmind.com? If you won't visit those websites, why ask me to keep my mind open, when you won't."

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
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  69

  Any Suggestions on what to say if elders ask why you stopped going in FS?

  by BU2B in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was curious what might be some good things to say if i am questioned by the elduurs about my decline in fs.

  anything too honest may get me a jc (although that would be for the best in the end..) the co visit is this week so they may be getting more agressive than usual.

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  ABibleStudent

  Hi BU2B, DITTO what quellycatface wrote. Within the last 6 months someone suggested acting as if you are incompetent when performing WTBTS duties.

  Last November I greeted two JWs at my brother's house. One JW appeared to be a Bible Student (new recruit) and the other person appeared to be more experienced. The Bible Student (new recruit) gave the sales pitch. She mumbled and seemed very scared during her presentation. I could barely understand her.

  If you told the elders what quellycatface wrote and behaved a little distracted/frightened/incompetent, would the elders pressure you as much in the future?

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert