Posts by ABibleStudent

16

2014 SNAP Conference in Chicago; Report by Barbara Anderson & Kerry Louderback Wood

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

2014 snap conference report.

posted on august 20, 2014 by barbara.

from august 1 3, kerry louderback wood* and i attended the 2014 annual snap** conference, which was also its twenty-fifth anniversary celebration, in chicago, illinois.. .

ABibleStudent

Thank you Barbara for keeping everyone abreast of what you are doing.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

17

help needed....cult question from watchtower

by goingthruthemotions in

so i was looking at the boards not too long ago and saw a list of questions that were related to whether or not a religion was a cult that looked like it came from the watchtower.

i've been trying to find those questions again so i could find the watchtower and hopefully one day show this to my wife who is still asleep to the troof of the gb.. .

the help would be greatly appreciated.. .

ABibleStudent

Hi goingthruthemotions, Here is the current JW.org explaination of how to recognize a cult is: http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/are-jehovahs-witnesses-a-cult/#?insight[search_id]=9d26e05b-4c9d-4994-9af6-3d9c69d062ed&insight[search_result_index]=0. Are "Some" [people] cult-exit counselors?

How do you feel that your wife would respond to you asking her, "Is JW.org a cult-exit counselor or a religion? If you are afraid to read how cult-exit counselors determine when an organization manipulates and victimizes its members, you are probably being manipulated by JW.org. Prove to yourself that you are not manipulated by JW.org by visiting websites like www.freedomofmind.com."

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

30

Hard time coping with shunning

by bsand20 in

jw
friends

it's almost 1am and i can't sleep...again.

i hate to think the organization is still taking my sleep from me 16 years later but i can't help it.

i run a page on social media for ex jw support and advice and i'm usually there helping others but it definitely takes a toll on me when i'm having to argue and disprove jws that troll my page.

ABibleStudent

Hi bsand20, You have done nothing wrong. You love JWs unconditionally. You can only control your actions. You cannot control other peoples' actions. If you are thinking about going to a counselor, do it sooner verses later, especially a cult-exit counselor. You can ask for a recommendation for a cult-exit counselor in your area through www.freedomofmind.com or talk by phone with Steve Hassan or another counselor to address your unique issues.

Have you read any of 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")? If not, you should to improve communications with JW friends and relatives. When JWs shun you, have you thought about saying, "Shunning me only proves to me more and more that JW.org is a dangerous cult. I will never return, so why waste time shunning me when we can talk instead?"

Instead of arguing with JWs, have you thought about asking them questions? How would they respond to you asking them on Facebook, "Can you disprove [name of a specific article] on www.jwfacts.com? the point is to turn the tables on JWs and let them do the work to disprove your beliefs. They can count the time and you do not have to argue with them.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

34

It's All About Tablets

by metatron in

jw
friends

well, that seems to be the latest hot thing amoung witnesses.

everybody buys a tablet.

even the poor families that eat carb heavy meals are gettin' em.. maybe they can't afford the latest apple product like the maxi/mini pad or whatever they're calling it these days so a trip to ebay or overstock.com fills the bill.. use it instead of a songbook.

ABibleStudent

As more JWs connect to the internet, the GB is gonna need truckloads of Alka-Seltzer. Curiousity will eventually overcome mind manipulation.

All a home owner needs to say is "I'm sorry. JW.org is not truthful and victimizes JWs." JWs will just say good-bye. That's what happened last Satuday when I said "I'm sorry, JW.org is not truthful." Unfortunately, they will not automatically put an address on the "Do Not Call List". May be new light will be coming.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love

Robert

33

Is taking a blood transfusion a "Disfellowshipping or Disassoication" offense?

by booker-t in

i remember back in the day when i was a devout jw in the 90s elders would go to the hospital to try and see if a person took a blood transfusion.

i remember my cousin was having surgery after a severe car accident and if he did not take blood the doctor said he would have died.

the elder came to the hospital and badgered my cousin's wife until she told him my cousin did get some blood.

ABibleStudent

Band on the Run - How did they know about oral sex?

BITE control is powerful enough for "Spiritually Strong" (non-thinking) JWs to confess to elders. As crazy as it sounds, I know, that my former friend who is a "Spiritually Strong" (non-thinking) JW confessed to elders that she committed pornei with the JW, who she was/is dating. She was disfellowshipped. I don't know why she was disfellowshipped, because she was obviously repentent by confessing to the elders.

Who would want to be in a relationship with someone who cannot resolve issues privately between each other?

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

Eliminate Statute of Limitations when "Undue Influence" Occurred?

by ABibleStudent in

undue influence: noun law - influence by which a person is induced to act otherwise than by their own free will or without adequate attention to the consequences.. if mind manipulation (or bite control) qualifies as "undue influence", should laws be revised to eliminate statute of limitations in extreme cases of violent crimes such as rape, child molestation, and child abuse when a victim is abused by a perpetrator and then "undue influence" was used to discourage a victim from reporting the crime to law enforcement?

how is justice being served when a wtbts elder is not charged for a crime because the victim was "unduly influenced" by either parents and/or religious leaders (see thread pedophile elder is harassing victims his victims, what can they do?)?.

i feel that it would be easy to establish a few criteria for eliminating the statute of limitations for violent crimes.

ABibleStudent

un·due in·flu·ence: noun LAW - influence by which a person is induced to act otherwise than by their own free will or without adequate attention to the consequences.

If mind manipulation (or BITE control) qualifies as "undue influence", should laws be revised to eliminate statute of limitations in extreme cases of violent crimes such as rape, child molestation, and child abuse when a victim is abused by a perpetrator and then "undue influence" was used to discourage a victim from reporting the crime to law enforcement? How is justice being served when a WTBTS elder is not charged for a crime because the victim was "unduly influenced" by either parents and/or religious leaders (see thread Pedophile Elder Is Harassing Victims His Victims, What Can they do?)?

I feel that it would be easy to establish a few criteria for eliminating the statute of limitations for violent crimes. I feel that the following criteria would be a good start to eliminate the statute of limitations for violent crimes:

Victim was under the age of 14 years old when crime was committed.
Victim was under the age of 18 years old when crime was committed, and perpetrator was a blood relative.
Victim was under the age of 18 years old when crime was committed, and parents discouraged victim from reporting crime to local law enforcement.
Victim was a member of an organization that used BITE control techniques to influence members to obey leaders of an organization.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

32

The Time Is Coming For Progressive Governments To Make Laws Against Oppressive Cults To Protect It's Citizens, Making Lawsuits More Plentiful Against Them

by frankiespeakin in

i think as black&white thinking becomes lesser governments will start makeing laws that will put cults open for more lawsuits.

what do you think..

ABibleStudent

Manipulation, coercion, and abuses can occur in any type of organization. It occurs in governments (i.e. North Korea, Russia and China to a lesser extent, and sometimes in the USA under the guise of "National Defense" or corruption) to control individuals. It occurs in business (i.e. Enron, WorldCom, ect. ). It occurs in non-profit ogranizations (NCAA, "The Second Mile", etc). It happens to hide corruption or crimes that have been committed, or to manipulate people to support a person or group using "undue influence".

I do feel that revising USA tax codes to enact societal requirements that all non-profit organizations must comply with or lose their status, would be a start in the right direction. How can an organization being required to promote individuals' basic human rights of freedom of thought and protect children from molestation and abuse be considered unConsitutional under the Freedom of Exercise clause of the 1st Amendment? Child abuse and molestation occurs in organizations like the WTBTS because those organizations use "undue influence"/manipulation to control the thoughts and behavior of members.

Since people can think and organizations cannot, I don't understand why the judicial branch allows organizations to use the Free Excercise clause of the 1st Amendment of the USA Consitution to protect organizations from complying with laws that do not establish a national religion and attempt to protect individuals' rights. Without checks and balances in organizations, it is very easy for corrupt leaders to decide to manipulate members.

In practise freedom of religion is the last thing that some organizations want to promote to their members. Otherwise members would be leaving those organizations in droves.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

3

Another Story about JWs Placing JW.org Tracks

by ABibleStudent in

while i was writing my 1-page bio to send to managers today, a 30-ish, nicely-dressed jw man and woman knocked on my door.

they wanted to give me a track to visit jw.org.

i don't believe that jw.org is truthful.

ABibleStudent

While I was writing my 1-page bio to send to managers today, a 30-ish, nicely-dressed JW man and woman knocked on my door. They wanted to give me a track to visit JW.org. I said, "I'm sorry. I don't believe that JW.org is truthful." They said thank you and left.

Within a couple of minutes, I was kicking myself for not telling them something else to engage them in a conversation. So, I went out after them to engage them in a conversation. Picture an unshaven guy in shorts, sandals, and a tee-shirt going out to talk with well-dressed JWs.

I didn't initially find the couple that knocked on my door, but I did meet a man in a suit and an attractive, well-dressed JW sister. I started the conversation by showing them and asking them if they knew what the "No Solicitation" sign meant. They said that they were not selling anything. I then explained how the property manager had asked the local KH not to distribute tracks in my condo complex. The man said that it was his constitutional right.

A conversation ensued with up to 4 JW males and 1 female. I don't remember everything that was said. It lasted for more than 30 minutes. I tried to ask simple questions to help them to critically think for themselves. I did tell them they could come to my condo to read only the Bible without any JW.org propaganda and if they wanted to learn about "undue influence" and how people are manipulated by organizations, visit www.freedomofmind.com.

I did not see any deer in the headlight looks and they did not say any thought-stopping platitudes, so I doubt that anyone will visit me. But, I did try to plant a few seeds of doubt on the WTBTS's doctrines of blood, shunning, blindly following the GB, the JW.org golden calf, and the latest donation arrangement. From what they said they either were lying to me, do not read WTBTS propaganda, or do not fully comprehend what is written in JW.org's propaganda.

I was amazed that two male JWs were not wearing suits and that four males and 1 woman tried to have a conversation with me together and individually.

If more exJWs will respectfully have a conversation with JWS D-2-D, may be the latest JW.org pamphlet campaign will backfire on the WTBTS. I know that I initially did not want to confront them.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

35

The Reason Why JWs Won't Leave The Cult Is Because They Won't Think!

by minimus in

jw
friends

they simply refuse to think, to reason, to ponder.

they are lazy!.

even if they might feel that something isn't right, they won't research an issue or a question.

ABibleStudent

Walter C. Langer - “People will believe a big lie sooner than a little one, and if you repeat it frequently enough, people will sooner or later believe it.”

Is this thread's title a little biased? I am sure that many JWs do think, they just don't think like non-JWs. BITE control can make a person percieve things differently than a person who is not manipulated by BITE control techniques.

Most JWs would rather believe that by following Jehovah they will be rewarded by living in Paradise forever in perfect health and surrounded by loved ones, rather than be responsible for thinking for themselves and making their own mistakes. For those JWs it might be easier for them to leave by replacing that fantasy with a better reality - easier said than done.

Once JWs are seriously disillusioned with the WTBTS, they will make their plans to fade or remain a JW because of social relationships. Emotions are known to overcome thinking logically.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

44

Fresh Newcomer

by Yondaime in

hi guys, my name is yondaime,.

my will to remain in this relgious sect is fading, i'm about to be a freshman(just turned 18) in college.

, i have seen so many terrible things happen to good people in this cult and i'm sick of it!

ABibleStudent

Welcome Yondaime, Will you share what your father told your BIL about your going to college? Other JWs who are your age might benefit from learning your Dad's reasoning.

The best advice for you is show your Dad how much you love him and make him proud of what you do in college. Help your Dad to become involved in time-consuming non-jW hobbies/activites that he loves. Ask your Dad simple questions that will encourage him to learn how to crtically think for himself and encourage him to use the internet. Have you read any information from cult-exit couselors 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"), visited his website www.freedomofmind.com, and watched his FREE videos on his website?

Does your Dad use thought-stopping platitudes? If he does, learn how you can overcome them every now and then to help his authentic persona to overcome his cult persona.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert