Posts by Phizzy

20

Did You Think The Majority of Elders Were “Qualified “?

by minimus in

jw
friends

in my opinion, in a body of elders let’s say with 7 elders , 2 or 3 were pretty much on the ball.

they were reasonable, intelligent and moderate.

the others were either extremely extreme about everything or very liberal.. did you have qualified older men or were they all lousy to you?

Phizzy

The congregation I was in as young man was totally unique. When the Elder arrangement came in, NOT ONE of the guys who had been filling positions felt that they qualified !

That was wonderfully humble of all of them. Eventually the C.O visited, and persuaded the guy who had been Congregation Servant that at least HE qualified. He had been asked to move to our Congregation to try to get it to be a bit more in line. ( he struggled with that, but at least he got the guys to wear a Tie when they were on the Platform).

After another C.O visit a few more " qualified" , but still there was a humble reluctance from some of the guys who eventually became Elders.

As the years went by we had a few more "appointed" and some of them were not just not qualified, as per the Scriptures, they were decidedly dodgy !

Very few were really qualified to perform duties that would benefit the "Flock", they were amateurs dealing with things best left to professionals.

We had a couple of good "Speakers" , by J.W standards, but in common with nearly all Congregations, Pastoral Care was virtually non-existent.

43

On the current migrant crisis

by LoveUniHateExams in

thousands of migrants have come to england this year, already beating last year's total.. some may have fled syria and other war-torn countries; others are economic migrants.. let me try to get my head around this phenomenon: migrants are relatively safe in france and other countries.

they then leave the relative safety of continental europe and risk their lives and that of their children by crossing the english channel in rubber dinghies.

there's just no fixing stupid, is there .

Phizzy

Welcome to the Forum RWAI !!! you will find yourself a voice in the wilderness methinks, but please stay and talk some sense as long as you are allowed to !

As you rightly say, this place is very full of people who do not want to listen to things that do not align with their point of view, it makes me wonder how they managed to leave the J. W Org. with that kind of rigid closed mind.

Keep up the good work !

103

I'm now turned off by this site

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

in one form or another i've been a member of this site for almost 10 years.

in the past this was a great place for debate, news and support for ex jws.

i logged on several times a day and posted several times a week.

Phizzy

Never mind Davidtwatfeatures Min, we all love and respect you, and appreciate your many Threads

I think it is possible this Site will eventually be redundant, but as long as there is a need, as long as it helps a few to free themselves from the Org. then I hope it keeps going.

What will hasten its demise is if it becomes too polarised Politically, and is not the tolerant place it used to be. Or if it degenerates in to a place where people trade personal insults. ( Mine in the first sentence was simply humorous.................. honest).

7

Hello

by allieoakley in

jw
friends

it's nice to meet you all.

i have been awake since i was a child and i am thinking about leaving jehovahs witnesses soon.

i am looking for some new friends because i know i will lose the ones i have.. my question is, how did your spouse react when you left?

Phizzy

I do think it is good advice from DOC above, to pose questions, artfully, to your husband. Done in a way that is non-threatening, as in " Do you know what I was thinking about the other day ?......"

If he is a "You should not question anything about the Org" type it may be difficult.

My personal experience was that I intended to "fade" slowly, but one night I just decided I could, in all conscience, never go back. I just left, cold. I did not know how my wife would react to this, would I lose her altogether ? I had given myself no time to prepare the ground.

Luckily she supported my decision, and left too, though she still misses the Social side of JW life after all these years. And she was slow to slough off all of her JW beliefs, which now she has done. But I was lucky.

Prepare the way as much as you can. Good Luck !

5

A suggestion to improve the site's search engine

by Disillusioned JW in

i wish the search engine of this site would gain the added feature of being able to search for exact phrases (such as by using quote marks around phrases).

that way i could find specific information on this site much more easily.

if a such a feature was available, then this site would be much more useful in finding relevant old posts..

Phizzy

I guess updating the Search facility is s lot of work, but if it can be achieved sometime, it will be greatly appreciated.

Quite often things are discussed on here anew, and I know that Brilliant Posts and often whole Threads are on here that would benefit the new guys, but they are difficult to locate at present.

7

Never expect anyone to solve a problem when their livelihood depends on that problem existing

by Simon in

imagine you were a leader of a "gender equality" group started as part of the 'metoo' movement?.

now fast-forward and you're the one trying to discredit victims who have come forward with accusations.

but not they are accusations against someone you work for.. it's a perfect example of how activists so often end up unwittingly (or quite intentionally) perpetuating the very problem they claim to be against.

Phizzy

The ones to watch are Activists who make a living by being such, problem solved, job gone. As bad are those who like the publicity and slight fame of being an Activist as much as, or even more than, the Cause itself.

Certain XJW Activists against the Org. come to mind.

We do NEED Activism on many fronts, as Governments, Corporations and Officials are loath to act where they should, or to act correctly. But Activists need to be motivated purely by a desire to see the proper outcome for their cause, not by narcissism or greed.

103

I'm now turned off by this site

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

in one form or another i've been a member of this site for almost 10 years.

in the past this was a great place for debate, news and support for ex jws.

i logged on several times a day and posted several times a week.

Phizzy

Carla's final point is good one : " Maybe it is better they are not quite as indoctrinated as the older folks? (Biblically/doctrinally speaking) or at some sort of different level? I dunno."

It is a good thing we do not have to battle hardly at all now about Doctrine, I admire all those old Posters who did, and at the time it was beneficial to many, but it must have been wearisome hard work !

I happen to think that most JW's now waking up would be put off by long discussions on Doctrines they knew or cared little about, rather than Political discussions they can easily avoid if they are not for them. We are all here to help them in practical ways, if they want.

15

Prince Andrew, the Walls are Closing In

by Simon in

one thing i've learnt over the years is to read between the lines.. that means reading statements carefully.. if you have never met someone, would you say "i have never met them" or would you say "i don't remember ever meeting them"?.

the latter is just a get-out out in case evidence is presented that you did in fact meet them, because there is a photo of you with your arm around them in the upstairs of a pedo's friends, girlfriends house, which you also claim you never went to.. what will happen if the us jails a uk royal?

who knows.. before then i just hope he does another of those "utterly convincing" bizarre interviews to "prove" how he couldn't have done it because he is incapable of sweating (cut to photo of sweating andrew).

Phizzy

I do hope that Justice is done in this Case, and any future ones, but the Establishment will pull every string, and call in every favour and utilise every dirty trick that they can to make sure he does not face a Court.

The Justice system in the U.K is pretty dodgy, the Government are a proven bunch of Crooks, the Royal family and the rest of the Establishment protect their own no matter how heinous the Crime.

I do not have much confidence that he will face any Court, but we shall see.

Maybe the best we can hope for is his being found Guilty In Absentia. And he has to pay Compensation and Court costs etc.

43

On the current migrant crisis

by LoveUniHateExams in

thousands of migrants have come to england this year, already beating last year's total.. some may have fled syria and other war-torn countries; others are economic migrants.. let me try to get my head around this phenomenon: migrants are relatively safe in france and other countries.

they then leave the relative safety of continental europe and risk their lives and that of their children by crossing the english channel in rubber dinghies.

there's just no fixing stupid, is there .

Phizzy

"Phizzy: I fact-checked your post and found it to be blatant lies and propaganda. So it's removed. You're welcome."

Could you be kind enough to let me know what material you removed ,as I wish to challenge the source I used. I cannot remember exactly what I posted ( old age). P.M. me rather than clutter this Thread if you prefer. Many thanks.

43

On the current migrant crisis

by LoveUniHateExams in

thousands of migrants have come to england this year, already beating last year's total.. some may have fled syria and other war-torn countries; others are economic migrants.. let me try to get my head around this phenomenon: migrants are relatively safe in france and other countries.

they then leave the relative safety of continental europe and risk their lives and that of their children by crossing the english channel in rubber dinghies.

there's just no fixing stupid, is there .

Phizzy

The method of travel was not discussed by me, I simply asked how 20,000 or so Asylum seekers absorbed by a Nation of 66 million is a "Migrant Crisis".

There are Migrants who are not true Asylum seekers, and the Authorities have the onerous task of trying to sort out who is genuine. And we know that the E.U has been remiss in not supporting sufficiently their member Nations who are geographically most affected first. The whole thing should be handled much better, it is something that will continue as Political unrest, Economic problems and Climate Change affect many people.

But I hate to see the plight of any people used as a political Tool by people like Patel , Farage et al

What we need is International solutions to the problem of Migration, not blaming the victims of circumstances, who are forced to take desperate measures.