Posts by Phizzy

4

Ten Mind Games Jehovah's Witnesses Play

by Sea Breeze in

jehovah's witnesses are masters at changing definitions of words to redirect thoughts.

they have done this effectively with common theological terms.

the result is that even when people leave, many still think the jw's have "some truth" and that maybe its just the leadership that is the problem.

Phizzy

I realised that Proverb referred to the life course of a Righteous man ONLY, when I was in the org. it was patently a misuse of its obvious meaning to extend it to greater enlightenment on Scripture etc. it simply has nothing to do with that.

I also thought that the "Righteous man" in the Proverb could equally be someone who lead a morally upright life without necessarily being a worshipper of Jehovah.

It is a stand alone Proverb, probably originating outside of Israel. I also while still in ,and in fact years before I actually left, realised the profligate use of Trigger Words by the Org to exercise Mind Control over the members. But at the time I just thought it was designed to guide new converts, which it was of course, but was far more insidious than I then realised.

These things were just some of the matters that made my Cognitive Dissonance rise to screaming level, and I finally properly examined the org's Doctrines and Practices, and then felt compelled to walk away.

20

Memories of Excessive Laughter

by Sea Breeze in

jw
friends

jw's are not known for laughter.

there are the rare exceptions.

they are more known for their fear mongering and doomsday scenarios where "the dead shall come to be as manure on the surface of the ground from one end of the earth clear to the other".

Phizzy

The Congregation I joined when I moved after marrying my wife in 1970, was much as Blues Bro described his first one.

But maybe a tad more relaxed, with even more laughter, I remember one occasion when something that was said, I cannot remember exactly what, resulted in uproarious laughter from the audience, and the Elder on the Platform laughing so much his head ended up resting on the Rostrum as he struggled for breath !

One new convert remarked to me "This place is more like a Music Hall than a church !" , he was referring to the many audible comments from the audience that were regular at the time, and often funny.

But today the org. is a dull miserable place, where laughter is minimal, and an event as above described would be frowned upon, so not happen.

The J.W's have indeed lost more than they know, and made the org. far less appealing.

9

gossip

by Nancy1919 in

i was once was told by an jw elder it was a rule not to gossip or swear as it could harm someone, but i guess the new light allows this.

it was bad enough when they were calling people worldly now i heard a jw gossiping about someone and it was mean.just another reason i would never go back.

.

Phizzy

Hi Nancy ! and a warm welcome here !

I was born in to the Cult in 1950, and all my life was conscious that Gossip was rife constantly among the J.W's. To be fair, but not totally excuse the individual J.W's, Gossip is ubiquitous throughout Human Society.

But the counsel was always that J.W's should be better than "worldly" people, and IMHO they were a hell of a lot worse ! Yes, humans tend to gossip, but it was a HUGE part of every J.W conversation !

The trouble was that confidential matters, many that should not have become known outside of an Elders Meeting, became common knowledge as soon as a few J.W's got together, there was no confidentiality.

We used to know which Elders wife would spill the beans, and her husband would as well ! It wasn't a matter of him telling her, and trusting her not to repeat what she knew. Both of them seemed to think that telling tales on their fellow J.W's made them look better, and of course it was all part of the horrible judgmental attitude that they have. And of course, as is common with Gossip, the story got changed in the telling.

Decades before I left I noticed the contrast between a J.W congregation and a "worldly" Club I belonged to, and still do in fact. The Club was and is a warm friendly place, where you always get a warm welcome from all, whereas only a few welcome you as you enter a K.H, and though a bit of what we could call gossip goes on, it is never malicious, or heavily judgmental, and confidences are kept, not spread far and wide.

6

Scam Marketing !

by Phizzy in

we are constantly being attacked by scam marketers who create a perceived need , not a real one, and hence create within us a want.

if we fill our desire for that thing or things by buying in to it, we then end up with totally unnecessary expense.

we have been scammed.. whether that be something to do with the latest fashions and trends, the latest 'phone, car or something similar.. the longest running, and most lucrative marketing scam in all human history has been religion.

Phizzy

We are constantly being attacked by Scam Marketers who create a perceived need , not a real one, and hence create within us a want. If we fill our desire for that thing or things by buying in to it, we then end up with totally unnecessary expense. We have been Scammed.

Whether that be something to do with the latest Fashions and Trends, the latest 'phone, car or something similar.

The longest running, and most lucrative Marketing Scam in all Human History has been Religion. Religions create a perceived need, and hence a want, for gods in our lives, and create a "sin" or "sins" that are no more real than their gods, that we need "Salvation" from. It costs us much, in the form of actual $$$, and personal cost to our Quality of Life.

The J.W religion from its start, but especially since the time of Rutherford, has used Scam Marketing.

As Mark Twain sagely observed : " Religion was invented when the first Priest met the first Gullible Fool".

Learn to identify all Scam Marketing, and you can lead a Happy, and Fulfilled life, at a much much lower cost !

18

Shunning--newest directive

by stan livedeath in

so just what is the latest directive on shunning?.

asking for a family member.

Phizzy

" In next to no time JW's will be asking if anyone has ever heard the term disfellowshipping! "

True, but they must keep up with "Jehovah's Chariot" , and use only the current "Cult Speak", the term is now "Removed" we learn, as with a number of changes in the J.W Esoteric Cult Speak over the years, the word has changed, but not the practices associated with it.

The "removed" person will still be shunned, which IS intolerant and cruel !

19

Reddit thread: ‘This Cult is Dying and it Brings Me Joy’

by LongHairGal in

this is an excellent thread to read that i saw yesterday and the poster hits the nail on the head and tells it so well.

he is really knocking pimi witnesses and has a lot of well deserved criticisms about them.. he says he hopes at this point that they never wake up….

i am inclined to feel the same.

Phizzy

Agreed Beth, to a degree, but with some it is merely fear of the unknown that is the main reason they stay. I was in exactly the position you describe, when I walked away most of my friends, family and contacts were J.W's, I relied on them for business, also my wife had been in from birth, and I did not know if I would lose her !

But, it is so much a part of me to be a Lover of Truth that when I learned that far from being "the truth" the J.W religion is The Big Fat Lie I simply had to leave cold turkey, I could no longer be a part of that without sacrificing every shred of personal integrity, and denying who I really was !

I took my chances, of course the J.W's cut off all contact, I lost business, and my J.W family became "distant", a sort of mild shunning. My darling wife it turned out was happy to leave, she hated "Field Service" and the Meetings, apart from the socialising after.

Within a few weeks she told me she was an Atheist now too. I survived financially, made contact with my ex-JW and never J.W family, with whom I am now very close, and I made closer ties with friends I had who had never been J.W's. Those friends are wonderful, they have helped me through tough times, and their evident love is unconditional.

So PIMI's should have no fear of leaving, if they are Lovers of Truth, and have personal Integrity, but how many actually do now ?

11

Revising History

by no-zombie in

while i'm aware of wt books being revised without noting the differences on newer editions (the truth book is a classic example of this) ... is there evidence of the writing committee revising the online versions of wt articles, as compared to the printed editions?.

if there is a previous thread on this topic, just link it ... as these is no need to reinvent the wheel.. thanks.

Phizzy

They also did it with revising in the Bound Volumes of the Magazines what was said in the original Edition. For many years I had a Copy of one of the original Mags, and the appropriate Bound Volume.

The change they had made was subtle to a degree, in that the ordinary "Publisher" would not have noticed, but they changed embarrassing statements in the original, for the version that they Bound , that takes EFFORT ! a new Print Run for one Magazine, to hide what they had originally said, and had sold, as "truth" to the J.W's and Public alike.

In the end I got rid of old Bound Volumes and Mags, but it confirmed to me just HOW devious those Liars are !

7

Beard quote from WT 1975

by joey jojo in

extreme hair styles can easily lead one into a trap of the devil also, and cause others to stumble.

for example, a young man in the united states was making fine progress in his study of the bible, and he was moved to share with an experienced witness in preaching to others about the good things he was learning from the bible.

from early youth he had let his beard grow, and since some in the business community wore beards, he felt that his wearing one in preaching to others would be acceptable generally.

Phizzy

Spot on Rivergang, and Knorr continued the anti-beard trend as he wished the Org. to emulate, as closely as possible , Corporate America.

Once again the Org. is way behind the times, as beards are less popular in the general Populace now than some years ago, when the Hipster beard trend was popular.

They have succeeded in fact in maintaining the status quo of the org looking to the general public like a bunch of weirdos, so many beards now that they are more like the Amish than the general populace.

7

Beard quote from WT 1975

by joey jojo in

extreme hair styles can easily lead one into a trap of the devil also, and cause others to stumble.

for example, a young man in the united states was making fine progress in his study of the bible, and he was moved to share with an experienced witness in preaching to others about the good things he was learning from the bible.

from early youth he had let his beard grow, and since some in the business community wore beards, he felt that his wearing one in preaching to others would be acceptable generally.

Phizzy

I remember that Article well, and being in the U.K that seemed so USA centric, the example of the fictitious lady, that I decided to grow a beard ! I kept it for well over a decade, all the time serving as an appointed man here, with never a comment from Elders or visiting C.O's.

I was invited to give Public Talks in nearby Congregations too.

It was different here, then, in those days, I'm not sure if the attitude changed some years later, but some Elders had beards then. And even in recent years guys with beards were appointed as Elders, long before the current relaxation of rules took place.

It always amused me, and still does, how the Org. and its members use the old "stumbling" rubbish, one wise Elder said to me he had been accused of "stumbling" someone ,wrongly, it was an excuse for the family to stay away from Meetings, but he said " I do not expect perfection from them, they cannot do so from me"..

That put that "stumbling" nonsense in perspective for me, and boy, gave me some freedom !

26

Norway didn't fall for it

by Jalisco in

la norvegia non è caduta nella trappola della torre di guardia di agosto.. https://files.accessjw.org/s/sdzfgcgk4bi48jb.

Phizzy

Indeed the Court was NOT fooled ! They saw through the obvious obfuscation of the truth of how utterly horrible and inhumane is the J.W Disfellowship practice.

For too long the J.W org has got away with speaking out of "both sides of its mouth", presenting a seemingly mild face for Public consumption, and then imposing evil rules and practices on J.W's themselves.

As a young person, especially a teenager, who was brought up in the J.W's, usually has no friends outside of the org. that she or he is close to, the normal loving contact with family is removed, AND all support from the kid's Social network !

Such harsh isolating of an individual, who finds themselves alone in the world, rejected by all family and friends, has resulted in some young people, and some older ones, taking their own lives. The Disfellowship practice also is against internationally upheld Human Rights, however the Org. tries to dress it up. All they have done is sprayed a Dog Turd with glitter, in an effort to fool the Courts, so that they can still get $$$ from Governments.

The Court has made to right decision.