Posts by Listener

13

Didn't G. Jackson tell the ARC that JW's don't smack their kids?

by Splash in

the wt book "family life" (1978) had something to say on this topic:.

*** fl chap.

10 pp.

Listener

JW Leaks, I wonder if there are some talk outlines from the past that have encouraged corporal punishment?

58

No more official visits to disfellowshipped & disassociated ones

by AverageJoe1 in

new letter today (please visit avoidjw.org for a copy of the official letter and yes, i also noticed they got the date wrong!).

february 28, 2017. to all bodies of elders.

re: visiting disfellowshipped or disassociated individuals.

Listener

For those JWs that love those individuals who were disassociated, they will be very disappointed. I've heard it said by JWs that they felt the Elder visiting arrangement is a loving one .

With no one reaching out to their loved ones I think they will be distressed.

32

Watching the World - MEGA THREAD of topics

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

an esoteric hotchpotch of topics, from the mildly interesting to the rather boringi'm posting here to avoid the 'new topic' forum limitations, and besides it also helps to avoid clogging up the forum if you think something is of passing interest, and you wish to comment on it, please feel free to re-post as a new topic - thanks!

.

Listener

The faithful and discreet slave is far from discreet these days. Now they are advertising themselves in a glossy brochure.

58

No more official visits to disfellowshipped & disassociated ones

by AverageJoe1 in

new letter today (please visit avoidjw.org for a copy of the official letter and yes, i also noticed they got the date wrong!).

february 28, 2017. to all bodies of elders.

re: visiting disfellowshipped or disassociated individuals.

Listener

Didn't the CO spend time doing this also? If so, it will reduce their work also, which was already cut back not long ago.

11

Presentation by Paul Grundy (JW Facts)

by Listener in

i came across this recent down to earth presentation given by paul grundy.

it's very long but provides a good overview of the jw religion and its dark side.

it was hosted by "sydney atheists" so may not be an ideal link to send to jws.

Listener

Sounds great Stuckinarut. I had no problems listening to the whole talk. It's missing the questions and answers which would have been good too.

It was nice to hear the reaction of normal people to the many cultish ideas and behaviours.

I thought the way he presented the organisation as unremarkable and ordinary to start with and then proceeded to explain the problems or dangers later on was good.

11

Presentation by Paul Grundy (JW Facts)

by Listener in

i came across this recent down to earth presentation given by paul grundy.

it's very long but provides a good overview of the jw religion and its dark side.

it was hosted by "sydney atheists" so may not be an ideal link to send to jws.

Listener

I came across this recent down to earth presentation given by Paul Grundy. It's very long but provides a good overview of the JW religion and its dark side.

It was hosted by "Sydney Atheists" so may not be an ideal link to send to JWs. Hopefully he uploads it to his own Channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXil4OYrqA8

39

June 2017 Watchtower - Jehovah's Sovereignty is at stake if you disagree with us

by Listener in

four years ago the watchtower made the following demand.

all of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.

they are not content with obedience and in the upcoming june watchtower they have this to say -15. how does respect for theocratic headship reveal our love for jehovah’s way of ruling?15 what is our response to divinely authorized headship?

Listener

Four years ago the Watchtower made the following demand

All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.

They are not content with obedience and in the upcoming June Watchtower they have this to say -

15. How does respect for theocratic headship reveal our love for Jehovah’s way of ruling?
15 What is our response to divinely authorized headship? By our respectful cooperation, we show our support for Jehovah’s sovereignty. Even if we do not fully understand or agree with a decision, we will still want to support theocratic order. That is quite different from the way of the world, but it is the way of life under Jehovah’s rulership. (Eph. 5:22, 23; 6:1-3; Heb. 13:17) We benefit from doing so, for God has our interests at heart.

The Governing Body is neither inspired nor infallible. Therefore, it can err in doctrinal matters or in organizational direction.”

So now, to show that they support Jehovah's sovereignty the JW must support directions and decisions that they do not agree with.

Too bad for the individuals own conscience on a matter. Even if their disagreement can be supported by the Bible, it doesn't matter. The GB know they can be wrong but expect to be supported even when they are.

It is clear to most ex JWs that their Child Abuse procedures have been very flawed. The Australian Royal Commission is making that quite clear to them but the good JW is required to support their decisions which has caused great distress to individuals and families.

The question asked in the above paragraph is "How does respect for theocratic headship reveal our love for Jehovah’s way of ruling?"

This means that they see all their decision making that results in terrible consequences for JWs as being a demonstration of Jehovah's way of ruling - wonderful.

65

My Introduction - An ex-elder's story of waking up later in life.

by doubtfull1799 in

background:.

my parents got the “truth” while i was in primary school.

i was baptised at 14. i loved school and was extremely studious.

Listener

Welcome Doubtful1799, I hope things continue to go relatively smoothly. It's still early days and your other Elders may have a change of heart for one reason or another.

58

Assembly Dramas:They were so bad.... but.... you waited for them to break away from the monotony!

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

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you do remember the four day assemblies... sitting outdoors being fried in the sweltering heat,getting heat stroke in the middle of july in an outdoor baseball stadium.sitting outdoors from 9:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. was so much fun while you wore a suit,long sleeve shirt and a tie while your brain fried.

mom's who had children to take care of,lug strollers,feed all the kids,take them for bathroom breaks and try to not faint from the heat.. the sound and audio was always breaking and barely audible from the wind,airplanes flying over and (if you attended the cicero,illinois circuit )you would smell horse manure from the horse stables next door.. you know that you are a jehovah's witness.... when the only excitement waiting for the drama... where brothers and sisters dress up in ancient cloths,fake beards,fake rocks and fake soldier uniforms and wave their hands incessantly to pretend that they are acting out a drama.the excitement was unbearable!.

Listener

R & R where brothers and sisters dress up in ancient cloths,fake beards,fake rocks and fake soldier uniforms and wave their hands incessantly to pretend that they are acting out a drama

Here in Australia the exaggerated American accents stood out even more and made for a colorful change to the boring, repetitive speeches.

The one time our Congregation was chosen for the Drama it was made clear that the actors who were chosen were amongst those who were spiritually strong and as a special privilege. They obviously weren't aware that at least one of the Brothers selected was sleeping around with one of the Sisters.

75

Poll - Will you accept blood?

by OrphanCrow in

i have made a poll to try to determine the impact of the wt's no blood policy on ex members.. if you are an exjw, please participate.. vote here:.

*oops...hang on here...i have to make a new poll...this one lets you vote more than once.

i will post the new one .

Listener

Ten years after leaving the Org. I gave birth to my first child. It was a difficult birth and immediately after (in the shower) I lost a lot of blood. I had already signed a non consent form to a blood transfusion.

I was told that due to the amount of loss I should consider a transfusion. The Nurses were very pushy but that is their job- to encourage the patient to do what they believe, is in the patients own best interest. Amongst other comments they said that as a new mother I would be better able to look after my newborn with a transfusion. I refused and felt like I was being treated with disgust.

I was exhausted and on waking I found a bag of clear fluid flowing into my arm. I didn't have the energy to find the buzzer to call the nurse but managed to stay awake waiting for one to come into my room. I was alarmed, thinking it was a blood product. I mustered the energy to ask her what it was and whether it was a blood by product. She nastily told me it wasn't. If it had been, I was going to ask her to remove it. On her reassurance I immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Sometime later I was given 4 iron tablets to take and told that the Doctor didn't want to give me a painful injection so I would need to take these four times a day. I questioned the amount and was told smartly that 'it's what the Doctor ordered'. Before the second round of 4 tablets a few hours later I asked a more approachable nurse who acknowledged that it seemed like a lot and checked with the Doctor. He advised that the dosage was 1 tablet four times a day, not 4 tablets four times a day (16 tablets every 24 hours).

It was not a pleasant experience and after 7 days I asked to be discharged. They did not want to do so and after pleading with them and telling them that my stay in hospital was difficult and I was sure I would recover better at home they agreed to let me go.

It was difficult at home as I was very weak. I didn't know that I was developing Mastitis (which was making me even weaker) and fortunately a Child Care Nurse noticed it during a check up a few weeks after giving birth, she told me it was so bad I may need an operation.

Overall it took a few months to feel 100% and I could have prevented the trauma I faced in those months if I had accepted the transfusion. Also the joy, fun and elation of having my first child would have been felt by me so much more but that's probably just being selfish :( Even breast feeding was a problem.

Now this isn't anywhere near as traumatic as many others have had to face and it wasn't life threatening (but could have been if I had not taken advantage of the health care provided afterwards). However, it did make life difficult for me and unfortunately I wasn't able to do my best for my newborn.

I had told my non JW mum what had occurred who later told me what my JW father had said. There was no sympathy from him, rather disgust. He said I had accepted a plasma transfusion. I don't know what upset me more at the time, the lack of sympathy or the false claim.

Thanks to guys like you, who examine what the Bible principles are, share them and allow discussions, I would now accept a blood transfusion when it is necessary. When I say necessary I don't just mean when it is a life or death situation but when it is in the best interest of the individual concerned and their own particular circumstances.

Certainly there are a number of things that must be weighed up in deciding whether a transfussion is appropriate but that is the case with any medical treatment we receive (even with what may appear to be simple things such as accepting 4 iron tablets, 4 times a day, lol.)

I was glad that I could rely on my never a JW husband would authorise a transfusion, if necessary, for our children but to be honest, even when I still felt it was not okay, I would have permitted my children having one. After all, my reasoning would have been that it wasn't them that would be doing anything wrong, but the guilt would be all mine.