Posts by ABibleStudent

52

reading COC for the first time

by This is my tigersuit in

ABibleStudent

Welcome This is my tigersuit, Has your wife expressed any doubts to you about the WTBTS? Does she love you more than the WTBTS?

If she hasn't expressed any strong doubts to you and/or loves the WTBTS more than you, I hope that you do not tell her about your feelings until you have carefully planned how to. Some ex-JWs told their spouses and their marriages ended in divorce. Learn how to help her to critically think for herself so that her authentic persona can overcome the WTBTS's Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional (BITE) control techniques.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

26

Been asked to share my experience at church!!

by quellycatface in

jw
friends

my vicar asked me if i and another lady would like to say a few words about our faith journey.. she said my story was a particular powerful one, what with the da'ing and subsequent shunning.

i can also choose a hymn or christian song.. i was thinking of romans 8:38, 39 to highlight the shunning and the other scripture ne of how true christians will be indentified, if they have love among themselves etc.

i need to look that one up exactly.. any ideas for content for further content??.

ABibleStudent

Mt 22:34-40 The Greatest Commandment

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [d] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

and

Acts 17:11 - Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

How about talking about critically thinking for yourself was encouraged by Jesus Christ and Paul? As shown in Mt 22:34-40, Jesus Christ promoted unconditional love and did not promote blindly following religious leaders. If a religious leader discourages questioning his/her interpretations of the Bible, it is time to stop following that guide.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

35

Dilemma

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

gorby and his lovely wife had during dinner a chat about watchtower hypocrisy.

she faded with me since 2007 and shows sometimes affection for the organization.. we talked about the gb and ray franz.. she asked me if she could read my ray franz books.. now i have a dilemma.

the books gave me a hard time in the '90.. i know the ray franz truth can hurt and shock her so much.

ABibleStudent

Hi Gorbatchov, As long as you are tell her first about your concerns and how it changed your feelings, let her read them, or read them to her so that you can talk about each others feelings. She may also appreciate you reading the books to her, so that she can continue to say that she doesn't read apostate materials.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

28

Advice Needed

by HeyThere in

so my situation is changing and i am trying to figure out the best way for me to handle this.

i am an unbaptized publisher married to a dub who was inactive when we met and when we married and during the course of our marriage, and just went back active a year and a half ago.

he is a full believing dub.

ABibleStudent

Hi HeyThere, DITTO what Black Sheep, jgnat, and Oubliette wrote.

My additional suggestions would be to:

Learn how to overcome thought-stopping platitudes that your husband uses. To learn more about thought-stopping platitudes read 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 Beleifs"), visit his website www.freedomofmind.com, and watching his FREE videos like Strategic Interactive Approach explained 2003 (1:23:23) on his website. It is more important to ask a question and wait for your husband to respond before asking another question. You should lean to recognize when your husband feels a lot of cognitive dissonance about answering a question.
Plan fun activities/time consuming hobbies that your husband loves and will help him to meet more non-JWs. The less time your husband spends around JWs the less BITE control reinforcement that JWs can say to him.
When you ask questions of your husband, phrase them so that he must do his own independent research and how Billy the Ex-Bethelite did in exJW Psychology 102--How to Ask a Question When Questions Aren't Allowed. Example: "If you are a "True Christian" and follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ, how would you justify shunning (or not associating with non-JWs) using examples of Jesus Christ in the Bible to a non-JW who I know as a "loving arrangement"? There are numerous examples in the Bible of Jesus eating/drinking with non-Jews, tax collectors, prostitutes, etc or why didn't Jesus Christ instruct his disciples to shun disciples that left him in John 6:60-70?
If you work or want to be more financially secure, have you thought about getting more education/training? It helps to be too busy to attend meetings by doing something else that will increase your family's financial security.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

44

Where to go from here...

by Patrickday in

i'm new around here, but i've been browsing the site the last few days in hopes of finding the answer to the situation i've been going through, so hopefully you can help me.

i met this girl in highschool, but never really spoke with her until about a year after i graduated.

she's three years younger (however it's legal where i'm from, don't fret) and still a teenager.

ABibleStudent

Welcome Patrickday, RUN, don't walk away!!

If you still believe that it will work with your friend, DITTO what Witness My Fury wrote about showing her this thread or asking her to watch Strategic Interactive Approach explained 2003 (1:23:23) video by Steve Hassan who is a cult-exit counselor. You have the rest of your life to meet a non-JW woman, who will have a lot less baggage than your friend.

The WTBTS is a printing/distribution and real estate holding company that uses BITE control techniques to victimize JWs by masquerading as a religion to avoid paying taxes.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

36

Local Kingdom Hall Speakers To Be Replaced By Governing Body Video Feeds.

by donuthole in

jw
friends

so we've seen as the current gb is getting more facetime in an effort to reach the hearts and minds of the rank and file.

this took a leap with video feeds at an open annual meeting.

the international conventions are taking this a step farther.. do you think that local speakers at kingdom halls could ever be replaced by headquarter approved video feeds?.

ABibleStudent

I hope that it will happen for three reasons: it will give the GB more opportunities to screw-up with less deniability, elders may feel that they are losing status in the KH, and it will reduce the social cohesiveness (why go to the KH when JWs can view meetings from home). Less socializing with other JWs to reinforce the WTBTS's BITE control would be a good thing.

It might play into the GB's money making opportunities, because why have KH's when you can use the internet to feed the "Slaves" (JWs). It would also feed the GB's egos.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

95

The Ravings of Trolls Distracts FOCUS From Real Watchtower Scandals

by cofty in

my thread was inspired by gentledawn's insightful comment about the effect the events in wales had on her jw husband.... hope any lurkers out there can filter out the signal (storys and experiences like this) to noise (the current trolls running amok on the forums) ratios.

this the problem with those who focus on outrageous fantasies about the watchtower.

it distracts from the real issues that need to be highlighted.. what happened in wales was for real.

ABibleStudent

I agree with your sentiments Cofty. Why turn-off/alienate JW visitors with ludicrous threads?

Maybe Simon could create a Jokes & Humor section in the Members Only sub-form for the ludicrous threads.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

36

New Member Story

by No Retreat No Surrender in

jw
friends

when i found out "ttat" i felt like muhammad ali when joe frazer knocked him down in their first fight in the 15th round.

the ref came over grab my gloves and looked me in the eyes and asked me "are you ok, can you continue" and then gave me the standing 8 count.

no it didn't knock me out but it staggered me.

ABibleStudent

Welcome No Retreat No Surrender, Thank you for sharing your story. It may help another JW to see the WTBTS for what it is.

Best of wishes for you and your wife living a happy and carefree life free from the WTBTS.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

16

My First Year of Posting and How I Have Changed

by James Jackson in

jw
friends

i lurked for 2 years on this site before i joined in july 2013. what a roller coaster ride it has been.. first of all, i was a very active jw for those unfamilar with my story having been a longtime elder(21 years), regular pioneer (14 years), convention & assembly speaker, etc.

i am still an active witness because i am older now, with close to 40 years in the borg with some longtime friends.

boy how i have changed!

ABibleStudent

Hi James Jackson, I wish learning TTATT was more enjoyable and easier for you, but it is better than slaving for the WTBTS.

What kind of hobbies do you like that you and your wife would enjoy doing besides playing Fantasy Football and Beer Pong?

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

43

JW Lady Witnesses to me in My Truck While Trying to get a Nap !

by flipper in

jw
friends

incredible.

absolutely incredible.

so i asked, " isn't it 100 years since 1914 ?

ABibleStudent

Great reverse witnessing flipper! I doubt that she will approach a trunk in the parking lot again.

My only suggestion would have been to ask her a simple question that would lead into telling her about www.jwfacts.com or www.freedomofmind.com, so that she might be tempted in the future to do her own research. How do you feel she would have reacted to you asking her, "Why do you feel that the elders are imperfect men? If you visit www.freedomofmind.com (or www.jwfacts.com), you will no longer have any doubts about the Watchtower or the elders." She will know that the WTBTS is a dangerous cult.

I feel that overcoming JWs' thought-stopping platitudes is a good way to help JWs to critically think for themselves. Of course, you need to be prepared in advance to do it.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert