Quendi

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Posts by Quendi

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  14

  Jehovah Witness Governing Body gets 'wakeup call' - "The internal church “process” followed here was awful." - SNAP Media Statement

  by Sol Reform in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  jehovah witness governing body gets 'wakeup call' - "the internal church process followed here was awful.

  " - snap media statement.

  given the mean-spirited treatment by jw officials, it's a miracle that sewell's victims are willing to cooperate with the secular justice system.

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  Quendi

  You can bet that no matter how much SNAP and other organizations publicize this horrible man's crimes, most Witnesses will be kept in the dark about it. Those who do learn of it and speak about it to others will be told to shut up because their speech is bringing "reproach on Jehovah's organization."

  Some years ago, we had a similar circumstance occur in the congregation I associated with in Boulder, Colorado. The perp in this case was not an elder but an older man with a long history of sexually abusing his own daughters as well as other young girls and women in the congregation. The story was published in the local newspaper and broadcast on Denver TV stations. I myself knew the molester and his entire family but never got much of the details. Anyway, this man never went to jail. The congregation elders formed a judicial committee which disfellowshipped him. However, he was eventually reinstated and no restrictions (as far as I know) were placed upon his proximity to children. Meanwhile, steps were taken to limit the exposure other Witnesses had to the information so that in the end, I daresay many Witnesses in metropolitan Denver knew nothing more than they read in the papers or saw on TV.

  In another case, a Witness I knew who had molested his oldest daughter was told by the elders that despite legal restrictions placed on his contact with minor children, he would still have to engage in the door-to-door canvassing work. I asked him what he was supposed to do if a child answered the door. In such a case, he told me, the elder who worked with him was to do the talking. I never understood why this requirement was placed on him, but it very well illustrates the organization's obtuseness and callousness about this very serious matter.

  Now what struck me most about this particular case was the fact that this man, though contrite, was told he had to do the canvassing work. The people in the different neighborhoods he canvassed were not told of his crime or that he was a registered sex offender. For that matter, not even all the elders in the congregation were given this information and the publishers were also kept in the dark. This included people with young children. That is still the situation more than seven years after his release from prison. He is still a registered sex offender and although he hasn't assaulted any other child and lives a very quiet and self-effacing life, his crime is still unknown to the congregation and all but the elders who served on his judicial committee. I think that is just plain wrong and is another grievous sin this organization has committed.

  Quendi
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  35

  Elder: I threw out all WT & Awake and only keep the last ten years...

  by adjusted knowledge in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i had a recent conversation with an elder from my mother's congregation.

  he with another elder was at my mom's house.

  my mother has all the bound volumes for both the awake and watchtower plus most of the older books.

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  Quendi

  Really, when you think about it, this elder's response was right in line with WTS policy. How so? Well, look what the WTS did when it instituted its online library. The only publications featured were those published from the year 2000 forward. That was the signal to the rank-and-file that they should do likewise, the old "monkey see, monkey do" routine. The selective amnesia practiced by the Governing Body is very clever. Without ever directly saying that the theology proffered before the end of the twentieth century is bogus, the WTS made the same point more subtly with its digital library. So if anyone wants to accuse a Witness of having no respect or place for older publications, the example of the WTS can always be pointed to as the proper one to have.

  Quendi
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  56

  Kicking the "Gay Habit" at the IC

  by breakfast of champions in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  heard from a reliable source that this was part of friday's program.

  they even interviewed a "former gay man" who "kicked the gay habit".. evidently kicking the "gay habit" is difficult, not unlike quitting smoking or avoiding sugary snacks.

  the persons who related this to me found the whole thing to be laughable at best, but honestly seemed quite disturbed by it (which is good!

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  Quendi

  Thanks AnnOMaly.

  So, this man has to "fight against improper desires at times", does he? I can remember when the WTS called all such desires "Satan-inspired." Now they are merely "improper" until some hardliner on the Governing Body decides otherwise and the pendulum will swing back in the former direction.

  Many of us gay ex-JWs took the course this man did. We ended old associations. We immersed ourselves in full-time work such as pioneering and Bethel and/or Giliead service. We tried everything to numb our feelings and deny our nature. This man claims that has been his course over the last eight years and that while he still struggles, he has remained celibate. Well, it's not for me to call him a liar, but frankly, I don't believe he is telling the full truth. He says that he has drawn close to Jehovah and this has boosted his self-respect and that now he is a happy man. I think that like so many of us who have walked more than a mile in his shoes, he is simply deceiving himself.

  How happy can he be as a "non-practicing gay", living in the strait-jacket of an unnatural and painful celibacy? How happy can he be when he routinely hears LGBT people ridiculed and condemned from the speaker's platform or in Witness gatherings? How happy can he be when he realizes that he can never have the love and support of a spouse like other congregation members can? How much understanding and support does he really receive from other congregation members? What is his message to other Witnesses who would frankly find the full time work a waste of their time and talents since that is the only remedy he and the WTS offer for their pain and struggles?

  I find it disgusting that the WTS would say that LGBT people are acting out of a bad habit and not sexual orientation. A habit is acquired. Did no one tell David Splane that? That being the case, how could a child have done so? What circumstances caused this? What does this say to Witness parents who are bewildered when they discover that one or more of their children are gay? Wouldn't they blame themselves, believing that if only they had paid more attention to their child or provided better parenting that their son or daughter would have grown up straight? Statements like this only saddle both parent and child with guilt and shame that are unwarranted.

  DJS is right to call the Governing Body "Dark Lords" and their headquarters the "Dark Tower." I can only hope that the old biblical saying will hold true for them: "But their end shall be according to their works." They are sowing to the wind and I can only hope that I will still be around when they reap the whirlwind. Their inhumanity and vicious disregard for the truth and other people never cease to amaze me. The old guard of the Governing Body is gone. Their successors have proved themselves to be even worse.

  Quendi
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  37

  MINISTERIAL TRAINING SCHOOL, full course leaked!

  by hildebrando in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  all classes, all questions, all anwers, all 9 subject!

  all leaked for do in spanish!.

  http://www.hildeydesa.blogspot.com/2014/06/escuela-de-entrenamiento-ministerial.html.

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  Quendi

  bookmarked
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  54

  The Society is no longer printing hardcover books.

  by kneehighmiah in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  letter read that the society will no longer be making hardcover books.

  also the told people to not place orders for daily texts or calendars if they had the ability to download these.

  who downloads a calendar?

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  Quendi

  The remarks of ADCMS and BluesBrother are proof of the "invisible ink" the WTS plans to use. No paper-and-ink books mean no paper-and-ink trail to nail them on their sham theology. When you think about it, this is a brilliant and underhanded way of covering their tracks. The WTS is already revising some of their electronic publications so that they don't have the original text which appears in the hard copy versions. Going completely electronic would be a logical next step for it is doubtful that many publishers would retain a backup copy of the original files. They would simply download the revisions and just keep on marching in lock-step with the Governing Body, all the while cooing about the wonderful "blessings" and "new light" Jehovah is lovingly providing. Beneath the benign appearing velvet glove of concern is the iron fist of control and obfuscation.

  Quendi
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  30

  "Banned in Brooklyn"

  by Quendi in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i hope this thread generates some discussion as well as some amusement.

  i want to talk about "banned books".

  back in the middle ages, the roman catholic church issued its index librorum prohibitorum, the list of prohibited books.

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  Quendi

  I thought I would revive this thread in light of the discussion on the attitude the WTS has displayed toward playing chess. I think this topic is related.

  Quendi
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  12

  Jesus' 100th Anniversary of Kingdom Rulership - ONLY 100 DAYS REMAINING

  by Calebs Airplane in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  "on october 2, 1914, charles taze russell, then president of the watch tower bible and tract society, boldly announced: the gentile times have ended; their kings have had their day.

  how true his words proved to be!

  -watchtower may 1, 1992 page 6.

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  Quendi

  Back in 1996, PBS aired an excellent series on The Great War, as my grandfathers called World War I. My maternal grandfather served in France in 1918 and was wounded in action, a fact I did not learn until 2012. I remember while watching the PBS series that the air-headed Witness I was living with at the time called me a "war lover." The look of stupidity that crossed his face when I asked him what significant event happened in 1914 (aside from Christ's invisible "enthronement") was priceless. He had no idea of the events which transpired: Archduke Ferdinand's murder (which occurred on 28 June in Sarajevo); the ultimatum Austria-Hungary issued to Serbia on 23 July; or the war which broke out five days later. Yet he fatuously went door-to-door declaring 1914 was a "significant year"!

  When I have taught high school history, I would tell my students that the twentieth century had two starting dates. One was 1 January 1901 and the other was 28 June 1914. The significance of World War I cannot be overstated. We are currently feeling some of its myriad aftershocks in the current crises in southwest Asia and doubtless will feel more in the years ahead. As for Jehovah's Witnesses and their take on the year, I believe that many have already given up on their hopes of seeing a paradise earth in their lifetimes--at least many of those residing in developed nations have. Nearly forty years have passed since the much-ballyhooed year 1975 ended in humuliating disappointment for so many. Even if they don't openly admit it, the most sanguine among them must be silently conceding that the hopes and dreams of their youth are doomed to unfulfillment.

  Quendi
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  12

  KIngdom Melodies 7 & 8

  by SuperBoy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  would love to know why they aren't on the jw.org.. any ideas?.

  it's a bit sad but i still listening to them.

  i feel quite industrious when they are on so get the housework done..

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  Quendi

  I started a thread on kingdom songs a while back that got some interesting responses. There were a few songs that I liked but I thought most of them were mediocre at best. Many were downright bad. I think I still have an early KM cd in my collection but I haven't listened to it in many years and have no plans to ever do so again.

  What floored me after I left the organization when I thought about it was the asolutely absurd assertion by the WTS that the kingdom songs were somehow "spiritual food" and should be viewed as such. To compare these simplistic and jingoistic noises to music worthy of religious worship and devotion was absolutely nauseating. And when I would compare that music to the works of Bach and Handel, I realized that it was like comparing a pigsty with a palace. I don't doubt there were and still are many musically gifted Witnesses, but it is obvious that few of them were allowed to contribute their talents and abilities to the Witness "liturgy." And for those who tried to do so, I don't doubt they weren't allowed to do so in a way they would have found satisfying or fulfilling.

  Quendi
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  62

  How We Come Across On The Board

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  most people here have never met you.

  we converse, discuss, argue, laugh, agree, question, share our lives..... quite often, you kind of get to know what a person is like.

  some people, we tend to gravitate to and others, we shy away from.. how do you think you come across to other people?

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  Quendi

  WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get

  That was a catch-phrase the late comedian Flip Wilson used with great effect years ago. Hope that helps, minimus.

  Quendi
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  69

  G.B. TALK URGING CHILD BAPTISM!

  by The Searcher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the introduction & conclusion to this video is in german, but david splanes' words are loud and clear in english - get your kid baptized asap!.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h33pwdsuvlq&feature=youtu.be.

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  Quendi

  Just a comment on Apognophos' math. I don't doubt his overall conclusion about growth for the WTS, but I think (and I may well be completely wrong) that his calculations may be mistaken. This looks like a problem of conditional probability and so would be subject to Bayes' Theorem. Someone else may want to look at this and correct me if I'm wrong. I don't have the time to do the Bayesian mathematics right now but I believe it would lead one to the same conclusion Apognophos has drawn.

  That being said, I concur with the rationale he has proposed for the WTS pushing child baptism so aggressively. The Governing Body is looking at its bottom line and how it will have to adapt to twenty-first century reality. Without the financial support that only first-world Witnesses can give, the cult will implode, so it is important to lock in youngsters and bring them fully into the fold. The Governing Body is well aware of the high attrition rate among Witness youth. They do a marvelous job of hiding this fact from the rank-and-file using such smokescreens as promoting child baptism and full-time work to engage their youth. Despite this, the youth drain continues and that must be a source of great worry to the Governing Body.

  Quendi