i know my view on this but would be interested to see what anyone else thinks.. .
at a court hearing recently my estranged wife, who left me (i'm not jw) asked me if i would be prepared to lie to her elders and state that i had committed adultery (i didn't) so that she would be allowed to "get on in her faith".
this from a woman who before she left got intimate (emotionally, i'm not sure about physically) with two "sisters", one of whom took to buying her large bunches of red roses and basicaly furnished her new house for her.. now my view is that she has clearly stated and put in writing that the marriage ended because of my unreasonable behaviour (i.e.
We are speaking about an organization which was founded upon dishonesty. No person of conscience ought to be affiliated with it, much less lie for it.
It is up to your wife to remove herself from an oppressive atmosphere rather than drag others down with her.
if you've read some of my previous topics you can kind of get an idea of where i am right now.. i'm still living at home.
i just turned 22 years old.
a couple months ago i confessed my true feelings and beliefs to the elders.
The elders are advised to show extraordinary consideration to one experiencing doubts. So long as you are willing to play nicely in the sandbox, they will not disfellowship you whatever your beliefs are.
Disassociating brings no advantage.
i'm a former ministerial servant and bethelite that left about six months ago.
my stay at bethel ended one year ago.
for those interested, this is my story:.
What-A-Coincidence, I was nearly brought on to the Computer department but AVS got me instead due to special effects and programming experience. The only person I know that's worked there is greener than '05.
am i the first to see this?.
"update: due to the recent passing of commentary press founder raymond franz, the commentary press estore is temporarily suspending shipments of hardbound and softbound publications as we go through a restructuring.".
http://www.commentarypress.com/index-estore.html.
I was too hasty, though I can't figure out how to delete this thread.
Very sad; this is the first I've heard of it.
am i the first to see this?.
"update: due to the recent passing of commentary press founder raymond franz, the commentary press estore is temporarily suspending shipments of hardbound and softbound publications as we go through a restructuring.".
http://www.commentarypress.com/index-estore.html.
Am I the first to see this?
"Update: Due to the recent passing of Commentary Press founder Raymond Franz, the Commentary Press eStore is temporarily suspending shipments of hardbound and softbound publications as we go through a restructuring."
i'm a former ministerial servant and bethelite that left about six months ago.
my stay at bethel ended one year ago.
for those interested, this is my story:.
mochamint22, I'm not sure what should make my answer any better than yours. People are people, and they make up their own minds for their own reasons.
That said, does anyone move to another city in an instant? No, such a large decision is preceded by a change in attitude. Perhaps you've known someone who's decided to move: for some time before their announcement they've complained that weather is bad, the people are rude and the area is ugly. They are full of reasons to leave and none to stay. When they finally declare their intentions they might believe they've decided in an instant, but in reality it's been some time coming.
The same is true of leaving the organization. Nobody decides to leave instantly. The stakes are too high and the lifestyle is too ingrained in them. The departure may be quick, but the process is slow. Naturally the more scrutiny one is under, the harder it is to leave gradually. Therefore when those who hold positions leave, they generally do so very quickly.
i'm a former ministerial servant and bethelite that left about six months ago.
my stay at bethel ended one year ago.
for those interested, this is my story:.
bigmac, it doesn't concern me a bit what they call it, but you can find the scriptural precedent here:
At this God said to Moses: "You shall call it a church, and it shall prove to be a memorial to me to times indefinite." And later he added: "This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, 'On second thought, Kingdom Hall sounds way fancier.'" (2 Balonians 3:14, NWT)
i'm a former ministerial servant and bethelite that left about six months ago.
my stay at bethel ended one year ago.
for those interested, this is my story:.
james_woods, the Watchtower Educational Center is the name for the branch office in Patterson, NY. It houses Gilead as well as Legal, Audio/Video Services, Art, Writing Correspondence and a few other departments.
i'm a former ministerial servant and bethelite that left about six months ago.
my stay at bethel ended one year ago.
for those interested, this is my story:.
Good to see that the warmth has cooled off so quickly. It's to be expected, I suppose. The first post that is being quote-murdered I originally wrote for my friends on another forum, which is not related to Jehovah's Witnesses in any way. I posted it there first because I was seeking an unbiased perspective, and prefaced the post with these words:
"Sometimes I run into situations that infuriate me to such an astounding degree that I assume I must be wrong; I must have mistaken or misjudged something, or there must be some great bias preventing me from seeing things objectively. This is one of those times. My real-life friends and girlfriend agree with me, but they are not unbiased either. How should I view this? You be the judge. Right now my head is swimming with information and I have no idea what to do or how to feel about it. I turn to the wisdom of crowds."
I saw no need to change words like "church" as they describe the location perfectly well. You'll notice that even in my second post, written specifically for this forum, I used the phrase "preach full-time" rather than the typical Witness-speak of Pioneer. Call it juvenile rebelliousness if you will, but I'm attempting to place Jehovah's Witnesses in proper perspective as simply another feature of religion as a whole. I feel that "the pure language" limits the ability to think in an objective way.
i'm a former ministerial servant and bethelite that left about six months ago.
my stay at bethel ended one year ago.
for those interested, this is my story:.
Scott77, it seems unlikely that the a dozen men from Bethel had nothing better to do than follow you. Further, why a dozen rather than one or two?
