Posts by Giordano

12

Another Unnecessary Early Death

by Slidin Fast in

a young man in somerset in england, under massive pressure from financial and relationship issues lapsed into mental illness.

he was unlucky enough to have as his support system the local congregation of jehovah's witnesses.

one of the symptoms of his illness was the use of tobacco.

Giordano

The WTBTS is totally ignorant about mental stability and/or mental health. They run away from it. It's all about praying and attending meetings.

How can religious beliefs make clear what mental health issues are dangerous when there is no ability to separate a sin from a crime?

Believe and have faith. Wrong every time!!!

They land on the side of sin........ not mental issues. A JW committee is as useful as the Catholic Church........or as useful as one different left or right shoe. Clump clump.

Stupid is the word for all religious issues regarding sexual practices or sexual crimes.

Sins are the same as Crimes......usually. The Elders don't seem to get that.

It's a sin/crime to sexually abuse children once ... or over and over again. That's pretty simple isn't it? We used to shoot people for that....... oh for the good old times.

But of course the abusers are also mentally deficient.

Because of the lack of higher education the Society, the Catholic Church..... and many others like the Boy Scout's.... were at a loss when it came to the mental health of their Priests, Elders, Coach's, older brothers............ official's of all sorts..... who engaged in child sexual abuse.

Pray....is the proper response for most religious people.

But guess what....it will not absolve anything.......nor make anything right. The children have grown up and are getting their revenge!

And that's the way it should be.

95

Jesus Believed In Adam and Eve

by Parker in

i'm new to the forum.

i'm an ex-jw who actually faded from jws.

i'm here to drop by every once in a while to ask a question or two.

Giordano

Hi Parker! And welcome.

Many were born-ins to this religion or in our case my wife and I....... were exposed to the JW world view by one or two of our parents....usually our mother's........ after they converted.

To be honest........ our families were totally ignorant about what their new religion was about.

Never having to die was it's big selling point. So living in a 'Paradise Earth' was reassuring. Except paradise earth was never mentioned in the Bible.

What they actually joined was a corporation before it became a religion. One that could and still can......... change it's beliefs and rules.

Jesus was brought up in the Hebrew religion and tradition. So there is no doubt that he would have believed in Jewish history like Adam and Eve, the great Flood. ...etc.

The biggest problem with Jesus was that he never wrote anything down. We know him only by hearsay. Even Paul could not fill a postcard on both sides with quotes from Jesus.

48

My letter of disassociation, what do you think?

by James Jack in

dear brothers, july 27, 2020. in 1919, the president of the watchtower society made a bold prediction, “millions now living will never die”.

that quotation was constantly repeated by the organization till the year 2000 when they realized that everyone in attendance at that assembly, who listened to j.r. rutherford repeat those words, are dead.. that teaching has guided my life.

statements were repeatedly made at assemblies, conventions and in print that there was no career in “this system of things” so you don’t need a job with benefits or retirement, your fulltime job is to “preach the good news”!

Giordano

Since you intend to run as a candidate I would think the local Elders would be on the phone to the CO who would then be in contact with the Society.

There are certain situations that the Society will not touch with a ten foot poll.

It is your right to run for office. The voting pubic might get really upset with the JW's who feel they must shun you.

I also think you might want to talk to an attorney for a potential slander issue. The Elders may be told to be cool about your situation but the congregation may gossip and slander you.

You have reached a point where you want to exercise your right to be free of this religion. Holding political office may have built in protections.

Something to think about.

58

When did WT lose the spirit?

by Smiles in

at what time would you say that the watch tower schema lost the spirit?.

like the ancient nation of israel which struggled maintaining divine blessing due to a long series of grave errors that eventually culminated in definitive loss... how and when did watch tower lose the spirit?.

can we pinpoint a time or event?.

Giordano

I agree with Vidiot the moment they decided to become a religion (Tax advantage anybody?) they lost their message and advantage. It once was a bible think group under Russell and then it became a corporation with a religion......... under Rutherford.

Knorr and Franz went along with these changes because it suited their life style....... Hell they dreamed up what the JW's were to think and how the printing corporation was to be productive. Their bull shit was all about meeting goals and a slippery number of beliefs that many were corralled into.

Like the Christian Scientist Movement and the Scientologist's they tapped out. People walk by their places of worship and hold their nose. Who's next...probably the Mormons.

It's a bitch creating a religion.

33

Are You Afraid To Publicity Express Your Opinion?

by minimus in

jw
friends

are you reticent to express your opinion when it comes to religion or politics?.

when we were jws , we had to be so careful that we didn’t stumble anyone.

are you comfortable saying that you don’t agree with someone or something even if it appears you are in the minority?

Giordano

I have expressed my opinion by giving well founded information about the JW construct to small church groups who meet regularly....... usually monthly...... and who invite individuals who have had experience with a religion ....in my case I was asked to discuss the JW's beliefs and organization.

Here is a brief run down of the information I shared and how it was received.

The group was approx. about 20 people many who I knew in my community through my volunteer work. So there was recognition but what they didn't know was that I had been a witness who left the religion in the mid 1960's.

I opened by saying that my very presence appearing before this church group, was that if learned by any JW , it could cause me to be disfellowshiped. Banned from friends and family who identified as being a JW. A lot of these folks looked at one another and frowned at the idea of what could happen by my just meeting with them..

I skipped through the JW history and moved to the problems that the Society was facing today. I started with the JW pedophile issue , the two witness rule that made it difficult to take action against the sexual abuse of minors.

From there I moved on to their belief that a life saving blood transfusion was discouraged. That thousands died needlessly.... that it was Jonestown each and every year.

That higher education was discouraged. It wasn't necessary because they had a firm belief that only a JW was going to be saved and Billions would die at the Battle of Armageddon.

I then made it personal and mentioned that it was a common response of JW's who went door to door to comment on how nice a particular home looked and said that they would consider occupying the home after Armageddon.

I wanted it to be personable so people had an understanding of how smug the JW's felt about their own families and if you didn't worship as they did you were not important nor significant at all.

The half hour that was allotted for this meeting stretched to over an hour.

I don't think a lot of doors will be opened to the JW's in my community. Since my wife and I live and volunteer in this community...... I have noticed a trend that they are not growing or make up a significant presence any longer.

Though to be honest they never did have a presence. Never lifted a hand to help any non JW out. Never voted.

8

Tips on a successful stumble

by Fadeaway1962 in

hi i don't mean tie my shoe laces together,.

i realize some theocatic warfare involved (lying) getting fed up with trying to fade .. how do jw family members react?.

Giordano

Fadeaway1962

The WT power is a weak vestal. It has consistently lied about the two witness rule and how it impacts it's followers especially the children.

Jesus recognized the two witness rule as a means of getting to the truth. But he was apparently factoring adults.

But could the voice of the women be of value. Good.......... at least they got something right for a change.

Luke 18:15–17; Matthew 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16 - Now they ...

www.esv.org › ...

But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not ... he was indignant and said to them,“Let the children come to me;do not hinder them."Jesus was in no way talking about child sexual abuse. More so the pecking order of which of his followers could seek him out.

Well...... I would think sexual child abuse could be a hindrance.

Make this your position.....read up on how the Jehovah's Witnesses fared in the Australian Royal commission that took place two or so years

ago.

The victimizes were called under sworn oath to describe the sexual abuse they experienced as children.

The Branch service the same. the Elders the same... A Governing Body member who lied to the court. ...the same. A real punk.

Look up the ARC re the Jehovah's Witnesses child sexual abuse issue.

This is an issue you can embrace, so do your home work on this.... if it pisses you off ....good... you should be pissed off. it's all on Google...... from the Court.

Your position...........

Until Jehovah cleans up this wrong you are not attending meetings.

Here's a guarantee......not one Elder or Circuit Overseer will want to touch this with a ten foot pole.

Keep in mind that no one is prepared to argue with you since they might be guilty of that sin and crime.

Hold to this as your great stumbling and be direct with any Elders who think they got you. Just tell them if it comes to this you are going to present all of the facts to your local newspapers. And their congregation will have to close down. If they are supporting the two witnesses rule when it comes to child sexual abuse.

58

When did WT lose the spirit?

by Smiles in

at what time would you say that the watch tower schema lost the spirit?.

like the ancient nation of israel which struggled maintaining divine blessing due to a long series of grave errors that eventually culminated in definitive loss... how and when did watch tower lose the spirit?.

can we pinpoint a time or event?.

Giordano

Smiles it's a a false narrative. The Society sold a productive product and if you didn't believe it...... you were cast out.

Your questions make no sense to the 90 % of people who have turned their backs on this stupid and ignorant JW's religion who once believed the lies.

This is Jonestown on a low boil with the capacity to become a death cult

15

In the USA, why so often is the vote for President just a vote against someone?

by RubaDub in

jw
friends

in my lifetime, (i will include kennedy even though i was probably breast-feeding at the time), but it seems that there have been relatively few presidents that we vote "for.

" my list would be kennedy, reagan, clinton and obama.

i'm not talking about their politics here but who generally got voted for, instead of simply voting against.. any thoughts?.

Giordano

Out of respect I would also list Eisenhower.....however I was a kid during his term.

Kennedy was an if for me. He got us into Vietnam. Like Lyndon and Clinton he could not resist the ladies.

However Lyndon Johnson did get some important laws past. "After taking office, he won passage of a major tax cut, the Clean Air Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After the 1964 election, Johnson passed even more sweeping reforms. The Social Security Amendments of 1965 created two government-run healthcare programs, Medicare and Medicaid.

But he kept the Vietnam war going instead of pulling out.

I would delete Reagan and Nixon who were terrible Presidents.

Nixon discouraged the Vietnam peace talks instead he continued the war because he thought it was the path to his reelection. An additional 22,000 US soldiers died.....needlessly......... so he could get reelected.

I'd add Bush senior as a highly qualified President based on his military service, being the head of the CIA and a Vice President. He had great credentials for the job. He only got four years as President but was smart enough to not press an invasion into Iraq........ something his son totally botched up.

Speaking of his son he was a terrible President. Got us in two wars and tanked the economy.

Obama...... Yes indeed! He inherited a financial meltdown and two wars all thanks to Geo Bush JR. Obama got the financial part handled though it took a good two years. Trump likes to take credit for Obama's financial success as his own.

Trump........ the worst president........ maybe ever. Everything he touches he screws up.

47

Court confirms:--Severe Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses is Justified!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

court confirms: severe criticism of jehovah's witnesses is justified!.

https://docdro.id/axa555i.

petra!.

Giordano

I read through all nine pages and found this amazing! The Swiss Court got it! Shunning was not about freedom of religion. The Societies rules were and still are against freedom FROM their religion.

It's a big open door to enter the JW world but if you want to leave it's going to be a big slap on your butt.

It is very apparent that the Society uses coercion to enforce their policy of severe shunning to the point that JW's were compelled to shun or be disfellowshiped in turn.

The Swiss court's summation used the term Bullying. The definition of Bullying among other acts is to intimidate or coerce........

Here is a section that speaks volumes in SlimBoyFats post:

"Shunning (ostracism) Baptized members of Jehovah's Witnesses who turn away from the faith or break rules are expelled from the community. Other Jehovah's Witnesses may no longer have contact with them or even acknowledge them. This also applies to close family members. Those affected often lose all of their loved ones at once, including those closest to them: parents, children, siblings, partners, grandparents, and friends. Ostracized persons often learn about the marriage, birth or death of their closest relatives from third parties. Today, children are often baptized at the age of 11 or younger. After that, they can no longer freely decide how they want to live and what they want to believe in -because otherwise they will lose their family and loved ones"....

32

Old Literature

by RolRod in

jw
friends

what did you do with your jw literature when you left?

kept it, sold it or dumped it?

Giordano

The wife and I tossed out everything related to the WTBTS including their crappy bible.

We had relocated to a new area......... Fort Lauderdale Florida, and had a merry band of former JW's who had left when we did in the mid1960's.

Thinking back none of us ever mentioned the JW beliefs, never attended any meeting other then a family funeral.

We were over all of it.