Posts by ABibleStudent

10

Random Thoughts from a Double Life

by Red Piller in

hello, i rarely get to post.

so, here are some things i've experienced in witness-land.. 1st off.

you know, we had a family tragedy.

ABibleStudent

Red Piller - . . . Made me real sad -all of it. How I can't be genuine around these folks. And how underneath the layers of cult control - there are some really good people. That can be forgotten sometimes - while we rage against this machine. . . .

Hi Red Pillar. I hope that you never forget that JWs are victums of the thought reform techniques that the WTBTS uses. The WTBTS is not a religion. The WTBTS is a dangerous cult that publishes and distributes literature that it trys to market as religious.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

16

Is There A Need For Any Publications Electronically

by allyouneedislove in

hi everyone,.

i know a number of people who would definitely lend me old watchtower publications (booklets, books, etc).. is there a need for any scanned publications?

does anyone know when publications can become public domain?.

ABibleStudent

Welcome allyouneedislove to the JWN forum. You might want to PM Atlantis about scanning WTBTS literature, because he posts scanned material every now and then.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

13

I hate the GB ...

by Dudu in

it is strong word but i do hate them ... for the first time in my life i have this feeling so strong.

today i was talking to my mom and she went on about how leaving the wt was the worst decision on ive ever made and how embarrased and hurt she was about my behavior (not going to meetings) i am loosing my relationship with my mom and the more i grow apart from the jw the more i will loose her , it is just sad .....

ABibleStudent

@OUTLAW, I do love your humor, but a couple of those old guys in the GB picture are dead and don't feel anything (according to the WTBTS). Can you use an updated picture or cross out the dead ones?

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

54

The Ideas Thread - all are welcome!

by cedars in

jw
friends

sorry it's been a while since i posted anything.

i've kind of had my hands full of late.

there are some things i want to say, but i am saving some of it for a more appropriate time.. i thought i would start a simple "ideas thread" as a thread on which we can, well, share our ideas!

ABibleStudent

Sorry, I'm reposting my letter to the editor, because it some how got garbled when I first posted it.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

Dear Readers: When you are busy at home, would you like to prevent members of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society from knocking on your door and bothering you? Would you like to learn a secret about how to prevent members of the Watchtower from knocking on your door? You can ask the Watchtower to add your name and address to their "DO NOT CALL LIST", which is not advertised by the Watchtower. To leave a message at a nearby Kingdom Hall, enter "Places for kingdom hall near (your City, State)" using Google's search engine, call the nearest kingdom hall(s) , and leave a message requesting to be added to the Watchtower's "DO NOT CALL LIST" and not to bother you again. Or, leave a note on your door to Jehovah's Witnesses to add your address to the Watchtower's "DO NOT CALL LIST" and not to bother you again. My experiences with members of the Watchtower began by feeling that Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) are friendly, well groomed, and knowledgeable about the Bible, and changed into believing that the Watchtower is a dangerous cult. I attended bible studies and meetings at Kingdom Halls and read Watchtower literature. Knowledge is power, so I did independent research and critical thinking prevented me from becoming a JW. I visited www.jwfacts.com, www.watchtowerdocuments.com, www.wikipedia.org, and www.silentlambs.org to learn more about the Watchtower and its history. I communicated freely with current and former JWs about the Watchtower by visiting www.jehovahs-witness.net, www.jwsupportforum.com, www.exjehovahswitnessforum.yuku.com, and www.jehovahswitnessrecovery.com. I affirmed my suspicions about why some JWs behave strangely by reading Steve Hassan’s books and visiting his website www.freedomofmind.com to learn more about why the Watchtower can be classified as a dangerous cult using Hassan's Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional (BITE) control model.

The following example demonstrates how much control the Watchtower has over JWs and their children. JWs believe that they must blindly follow the Watchtower Governing Body even if that Body directs JWs to refuse whole-blood transfusions that might save their lives (or their child's life) and to shun a JW, who elects to receive a whole-blood transfusion to save their life (or their child's life). The Watchtower even encourages JWs to shun their family members.

Sincerely,

Robert (please publish first name, City, and State only)

25

Is true faith possible?

by freshstart in

i still feel the need to worship and the desire for faith, but having been raised as a jw and not knowing anything else, i just feel confused and lost as far as faith goes.

sometimes i think that maybe their isn't a god, i just don't know......

ABibleStudent

freshstart - I just feel confused and lost as far as faith goes. Sometimes I think that maybe their isn't a God, I just don't know.....

Hi freshstart, take a deep breath and enjoy your life's journey to discover who you are, what your values are, what you like, and what you believe. I believe in Our Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit because of experiences in my life.

The only recommendation that I will give you, is throw away your NWT Bible. If you want to study the Bible, get a respected study Bible with notations to help you understand how different Biblical scholars interpret the scriptures. When I read my NIV Study Bible, I focus on what Jesus Christ taught to help me understand the other scriptures and pray.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

81

New Member

by Twisty in

jw
friends

hi.

my wife and myself are active witnesses.. before i go into great depth about our past and what brings me here, i would like to make sure i am posting this in the right section.. i'm a little technologically retarded so please bear with me.. .

twisty.

ABibleStudent

Welcome Twisty to JWN. I'm glad that you and your wife were able to awaken together. Besides reading Raymond Franz's books, you should also read Steve Hassan's books Combatting Cult Mind Control and Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves so that you are able to communicate better with JW family and friends. Good-luck and wish you and your wife the best in your journey.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

78

The WATCHTOWER isn't DECEITFUL , they are just IMPERFECT

by Minimommi in

i recently started questioning my beliefs and i am not happy with what i found out.

i am married to a born in who admits that wtbs has some problems.

one of his favorite scriptures to quote is psalms 146:3 to "not put your trust in nobles", including the so called fds.

ABibleStudent

Welcome (((((((((Minimommi)))))))) to JWN and good-luck with awakening your husband. I agree with Found Sheep and leavingwt to read Crisis of Conscience by Raymond Franz and Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steve Hassan. Have you considered instead of showing your husband that the WTBTS is deceitful, to ask your husband does he get tired of always being told that JWs are never doing enough? Or, does he want to get away for a relaxing vacation? I would recommend planning fun activities with your husband to meet new "Worldly" friends so that he is not as dependant on JW condtitional friends than to proving that the WTBTS is deceitful.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

15

What is all the buzz about Steven Hasaan?

by AvocadoJake in

do you actually belive psychotherapy works or are you like the health insurance industry who belive it's not worth paying for.

where did steven hasaan get his doctorate and how many years has he worked in a mental hospital and what is his pioneering research with the brain and mind?

is he a neuroscientist-psychiatrist?

ABibleStudent

Steve Hassan's book Combatting Cult Mind Control affirmed my observations about JWs and practices of the WTBTS. I was a little disappointed that Combatting Cult Mind Control did not present information about how to help born-in cult members from escaping a cult, but I understand how difficult it is to help a cult member to create an authentic personality from scratch.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

54

The Ideas Thread - all are welcome!

by cedars in

jw
friends

sorry it's been a while since i posted anything.

i've kind of had my hands full of late.

there are some things i want to say, but i am saving some of it for a more appropriate time.. i thought i would start a simple "ideas thread" as a thread on which we can, well, share our ideas!

ABibleStudent

I wrote a Letter to the Editor of a local newspaper tonight titled "Letter to the Editor: Secret to Preventing Cult Members from Bothering You at Home" about notifying the local community how to add their names and addresses to the WTBTS' Do Not Call List. If other members of JWN would write similiar letters to local newspaper organizations, may be it would help at least one innocent life.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

Dear Readers: My experiences with members of the Watchtower began by feeling that Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) are friendly, well groomed, and knowledgeable about the Bible, and changed into believing that the Watchtower is a dangerous cult. I attended bible studies and meetings at Kingdom Halls and read Watchtower literature. Knowledge is power, so I did independent research and critical thinking prevented me from becoming a JW. I visited www.jwfacts.com, www.watchtowerdocuments.com, www.wikipedia.org, and www.silentlambs.org to learn more about the Watchtower and its history. I communicated freely with current and former JWs about the Watchtower by visiting www.jehovahs-witness.net, www.jwsupportforum.com, www.exjehovahswitnessforum.yuku.com, and www.jehovahswitnessrecovery.com. I affirmed my suspicions about why some JWs behave strangely by reading Steve Hassan’s books and visiting his website www.freedomofmind.com to learn more about why the Watchtower can be classified as a dangerous cult using Hassan's Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional (BITE) control model.

The following example demonstrates how much control the Watchtower has over JWs and their children. JWs believe that they must blindly follow the Watchtower Governing Body even if that Body directs JWs to refuse whole-blood transfusions that might save their lives (or their child's life) and to shun a JW, who elects to receive a whole-blood transfusion to save their life (or their child's life). The Watchtower even encourages JWs to shun their family members.

Sincerely,

Robert (please publish first name, City, and State only) When you are busy at home, would you like to prevent members of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society from knocking on your door and bothering you? Would you like to learn a secret about how to prevent members of the Watchtower from knocking on your door? You can ask the Watchtower to add your name and address to their "DO NOT CALL LIST", which is not advertised by the Watchtower. To leave a message at a nearby Kingdom Hall, enter "Places for kingdom hall near (your City, State)" using Google's search engine, call the nearest kingdom hall(s), and leave a message requesting to be added to the Watchtower's "DO NOT CALL LIST" and not to bother you again. Or, leave a note on your door to Jehovah's Witnesses to add your address to the Watchtower's "DO NOT CALL LIST" and not to bother you again.

54

The Ideas Thread - all are welcome!

by cedars in

jw
friends

sorry it's been a while since i posted anything.

i've kind of had my hands full of late.

there are some things i want to say, but i am saving some of it for a more appropriate time.. i thought i would start a simple "ideas thread" as a thread on which we can, well, share our ideas!

ABibleStudent

cedars - An email campaign would have to be extremely well written indeed, so as to entice someone to open it and get past the first few sentences. I'm not sure that's possible without being overtly misleading, however I am always open to suggestions. There is also the legal issue of "spamming", although a simple way around that is to say something like "if you object to this email, please email back that you no longer wish to receive similar emails, and you will be taken off our list" etc.

Hi cedars, if exJWs (and JWs) send anonymous emails to JWs (and exJWs), who they have/had a relationship with other than sending an email, sending emails to JW family and friends, like what I proposed in http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/211893/1/Youe28099ve-Got-Mail-TM is not considered spamming in accordance with anti-spamming laws and I doubt that a disclaimer is required in an email. Sending an email anonymously is only required when an individual wants to protect their relationship with a JW. I can think of several simple titles that would peak a JWs' curiousity and would not be deceptive: "OMG, can you believe this?", "How are you feeling?", "Have you checked out this?", "How do you feel about this?", "How do you think about this?", and "Did you hear about this?".

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert