Posts by ABibleStudent

11

Poster with basic math on shunning - for JW parents

by Fernando in

your thoughts on such a poster?.

(http://religions.pewforum.org/reports says: "jehovah's witnesses have the lowest retention rate of any religious tradition.

only 37% of all those who say they were raised as jehovah's witnesses still identify themselves as jehovah's witnesses.").

ABibleStudent

How about, "If 67% of children leave JW.org, shunning will destroy families."?

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

25

A must to be MS?

by crazyhorse in

so is it a must and an absolute requirement to be a ministerial servant in the org?.

i was told that if i refuse an appointment as an ms then it means i'm opposing "jehovah's call to service".

ABibleStudent

Hi crazyhorse, DITTO what El_Guapo wrote, or that you are waiting on Jehovah for a sign that you are ready to serve. On the other hand, JW sisters would find you more appealing as an MS than a R&F.

Have you tried playing the incompetent card? The more mistakes that you make the less likely that the WTBTS will want you as a MS.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

2

Anyone Know What Happened at the "Undoing Undue Influence Workshop" in London?

by ABibleStudent in

few pictures from london's "undoing undue influence workshop" (aug 23, and aug 24) photos courtesy of #aawa http://ow.ly/i/6g4sahttp://ow.ly/i/6g4t4http://ow.ly/i/6g4tthttp://ow.ly/i/6g4tp.

just curious about what was discussed.

steve hassan attended it along with aawa members.. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,.

ABibleStudent

Thanks for the tip cantleave. I will have to watch the John Cedars YouTube channel later to see what was discussed.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

2

Anyone Know What Happened at the "Undoing Undue Influence Workshop" in London?

by ABibleStudent in

few pictures from london's "undoing undue influence workshop" (aug 23, and aug 24) photos courtesy of #aawa http://ow.ly/i/6g4sahttp://ow.ly/i/6g4t4http://ow.ly/i/6g4tthttp://ow.ly/i/6g4tp.

just curious about what was discussed.

steve hassan attended it along with aawa members.. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,.

ABibleStudent

Few Pictures from London's "Undoing Undue Influence Workshop" (Aug 23, and Aug 24) Photos courtesy of #AAWA http://ow.ly/i/6G4SA http://ow.ly/i/6G4T4 http://ow.ly/i/6G4Tt http://ow.ly/i/6G4TP

Just curious about what was discussed. Steve Hassan attended it along with AAWA members.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

103

I'm meeting with my congregation Elders Today HELP PLEASE

by LennaB in

meeting with my congregation elders today.. going to tell them about the things i discovered about c.t russell.

(astrology, racism, ect.

) i don't know how to present this information or what to say.

Take one day at a time. You are twenty and have a lot of time to make changes in your life. Have a good cry, get some sleep, talk with your husband about your feelings, and start planning how to make the changes that you want in your life. The WTBTS is not God's organization, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a God.

If you feel that the WTBTS is not a dangerous cult, then read what cult-exit counselors say are the characteristics of a dangerous cult. Have you checked out www.freedomofmind.com yet?

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

32

Formal Introduction - Hi!!!

by Gustv Cintrn in

jw
friends

been lurking here for yyyyyeeeeears, but was too busy with school, jw life and other interests.

now that i'm done with education for the time being anyway, plus the jw life is under pretty good control, i can spend some time and throw my views here and there in some attractive topics.. born-in, and deeply indoctrinated, but with life experience came better comprehension of my lot in life and have come to accept that, just like the family one is born into, jws are my family, friends, my ultimate and overall identity.

a jw is what i am; like the song 'hotel california', and like so many on this board, check out anytime you'd like but one could never leave.. remember like it was yesterday the failed 'the wolf is coming' calls of 1975, mid-80s, late 90's, y2k, 2004 or so, and same will be with the latest effort to get people overly excited about 'the end'.

ABibleStudent

Welcome Gustv Cintrn, I'm glad that you have found happiness as a JW, even with the WTBTS limitations.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

103

I'm meeting with my congregation Elders Today HELP PLEASE

by LennaB in

meeting with my congregation elders today.. going to tell them about the things i discovered about c.t russell.

(astrology, racism, ect.

) i don't know how to present this information or what to say.

ABibleStudent

Welcome LennaB, DON'T GO! The elders care more about following the WTBTS's rules than what you think. Remember the GB's instructions, "Listen and blindly obey!"

Continue researching your faith, the Watchtower's history and doctrines, and what cult-exit councelors recommend to help overcome the WTBTS's BITE control that victimizes JWs. Have you read cult-exit counselor information such as Steve Hassan's books (i.e., "Combatting Cult Mind Control", "Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves", and (his latest book) "Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs"), visited his website www.freedomofmind.com, and/or watched his FREE videos on his website?

Best of wishes to you.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

20

JW.org to be regarded as fulfillment of the signs of the last days.

by jwfacts in

i struggled as a jw to accept that the good news of the kingdom was ever going to be preached in all the inhabited world by jws, as there were many parts of the world with few to no jws.

there are not enough to cover the 3 billion plus people in asia to allow everyone to get a chance to hear the message.

it also was offensive to me that jehovah would kill those billions that had never had a chance to accept the watchtower message.

ABibleStudent

JWfacts - Obviously that reasoning is wrong, as most people will never look at jw.org, and a cursory glance will have absolutely zero affect on what someone believes, but I can see it being a powerful tool in satifying JWs that question their global relevance to Mat 24:14.

Individual JWs are way ahead of your prediction. JWs have been posting pictures of JW.org signs on NY Bethel and referencing Mt 24:14 for about a month.

Considering current geopolitical crises, JWs must highly anticipating the "End of this System". I wonder how they will feel in a year or two.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

38

First post

by BenRichards in

jw
friends

i've been lurking here off and on for a few years, figured i would introduce myself and share the clif notes version of my story.. i'm in my late 30's and was born in.

mom was a jw, dad wasn't.

got baptized in my teens and started dating my eventual wife.

ABibleStudent

Welcome BenRichards, As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. The same applies to JWs. I'm glad that your wife feels the same as you and has read CoC.

If you want to help your other JW family and friends, have you thought about doing the following?

Read information by cult-exit counselors like Steve Hassan's books (i.e., "Combatting Cult Mind Control", "Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves", and (his latest book) "Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs"), visiting his website www.freedomofmind.com, and watching his FREE videos on his website.
Only ask your JW family and friends simple questions. Watch their body language. Ask them how they feel. Let them know that you love them unconditionally and will not judge them. Let them be the first ones to express their doubts first. Encourage them to independently research their doubts - the owe it themselves! Empower their authentic personas to overpower their cult personas.
Learn how to ask questions like Billy the Ex-Bethelite wrote about in the thread exJW Psychology 102--How to Ask a Question When Questions Aren't Allowed.
Learn how to overcome thought-stopping platitudes that your JW family and friends use.
Encourage your JW family and friends to become involved in non-WTBTS, time-consuming activities/hobbies where they are more likely to make new non-JW friends.
Encourage your JW family and friends to use the internet to search the internet for cheaper travel and hotel accomodations. Eventually they may use the internet to search for WTBTS information. You could suggest to them to Google to search jw.org for information with the hope that they may read links to non-JW.org webpages.
Research the WTBTS by visiting reputable websites like www.jwfacts.com and www.watchtowerdocuments.com. It will help you to know what words to suggest that your family use when doing their own research.
If studying the Bible with your JW family and friends does not offend you, study the Bible with them and show them what Jesus Christ thought about the Pharisees and Sadducees using Steve Hassan's BITE Model. Let them draw the comparison to the WTBTS on their own. Have you read MT 23?

I hope that you continue to post on JWN to vent your feelings so that your JW family and friends do not become suspicious of your feelings.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

22

Help me help my DF'd friend

by OneEyedJoe in

jw
friends

so i got a text from a friend of mine today telling me that he'd been df'd.

since i'm still nominally a witness, this puts me in a tricky spot.

i intend to tell him in no uncertain terms that i will not shun him, but i'm not sure where to go beyond that.

ABibleStudent

Hi OneEyedJoe, Don't write or leave messages for your friend.

Talk with your friend (preferably face-to-face). Tell him that you will not shun him, that you love him unconditionally like Jesus Christ taught his followers, and that nothing he can say will change your mind about the WTBTS.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert