Posts by tornapart

65

Introducing...ME

by Heartsafire in

jw
friends

long time lurker here.

i'm a fifth gen born-in baptized jw.

to say i've been struggling with doubts is an understatement.

hello Heartsafire, there are lots of us here who are treading on eggshells with our spouses. I've been fading for years now, my husband is an elder and although I can talk to him about doctrinal things, show him what's in the bible and compare it to what is taught, it's much harder to talk about scandals etc. So I try and take it very slow, drop a seed every now and then. It's very hard but he's now used to me not going to meetings or out on FS anymore (except for an odd meeting). I'm hoping one day something will happen to lift the blinkers but I'm not holding my breath. One of the best things I've found is to say that God gave us a free will, that it's a precious gift and he wouldn't want us to be forced into things that we weren't happy about. Saying that I feel uncomfortable with the way things are going and feel much happier reading my bible by myself and will stay close to God that way.He respects that and leaves me to it. Sometimes he tries to push my buttons but I usually manage to resist. LOL We find it works for us.

Hope you can find your own way to get through this. Remember, patience is everything if you want to make your marriage survive this!

225

Cult or Religion

by Richard C B in

what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?

tornapart

Richard C B :- 4. Can you identify the true religion?

Which religion bases all its teachings on God’s Word, honors God’s name, and proclaims God’s Kingdom as mankind’s only hope? Which group practices love and shuns war? What do you think?

this is telling... cults always think they are special.

225

Cult or Religion

by Richard C B in

what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?

tornapart

freemindfade:- If you want to find out if your religion is a High Control cult or not, find out what it takes to leave

Amen!!

I have been trying to leave for 4 years. It's impossible. I can only 'fade'. If I leave... ie. state that I no longer want to be a JW, any friends I ever had from my childhood onward would be a thing of the past. Family members would disown me, or at least keep their distance. The only way I can do it is by taking my time until I'm almost unnoticed. (almost impossible when my husband is an elder). I am having to keep elders and others at arm's length so they don't discover the real reason,,,,,So please tell me it isn't a cult???!!

225

Cult or Religion

by Richard C B in

what is a cult and what is a religion?

its open to debate.

who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?

tornapart

Sorry I've only read half this thread but felt I needed to say this. The reasons I believe it is a cult.

The GB are a small group of men who claim to be God's spokesperson (the Faithful and Discreet Slave) that is ALWAYS being referred to in their literature. If anyone speaks against them they can be disfellowshipped which means they can have no contact with their family whatsoever. A person is looked down on, 'marked', if they don't preach, don't go to all the meetings or other such things. A woman can't wear trousers to a meeting or out in the 'minisrty', a man cannot have a beard (if he does he's looked down on). A person cannot celebrate any holiday, or else they are disfellowshipped. Any sexual indiscretion is brought before three elders who have to go into every tiny detail, if a person is deemed unrepentant, they are disfellowshipped. You cannot smoke, take drugs, get drunk, etc.. if you do are brought before the 3 elders, who can disfellowship you. You cannot openly disagree with ANY of their teachings, or you can be disfellowshipped. If you behave in a way that is deemed 'spiritually weak' you will be marked. If you are disfellowshipped, you will be shunned. Obeying the 'Organisation' is tantamount to obeying God. There is no freedom... to think, behave or talk about.. everything you say, think or do is controlled. if you try and get away it's almost impossible.... your family is held to ransom.

There are many other reasons but these are off the top of my head. Is it a religion... yes... but in my mind it's also a cult.

8

Regarding changes and my poor mother!

by username in

well i just got off the phone with mother (thankfully she has no part in the shunning policy) and she thinks the changes are "marverless" this i would imagine is the general consensus of most hardcore rank and file!

she is even investing in a roku device so she can watch more indoctrination programming.

to be honest i wouldn't even try make her think, because she has far to much invested in the cult.

tornapart

I totally agree. I tried it with my elderly mother when I first discovered TTATT and it didn't work. I suppose I expected her to at least give it some thought, but no, it just upset her. I didn't try again and if ever she brought it up I just said it was best we didn't discuss it again as I didn't want to upset her.

My best friend is recently starting to awaken but it has taken some personal issues for it to happen. She told me that she couldn't understand where I was coming from when I first told her how I felt. Now certain things have happened to her she says she understands me now. I really think this is it, it takes something to happen to each individual, a seed may be dropped in their mind that starts to grow when they actually see it for themselves.

16

Speculation on future donation arrangements

by respectful_observer in

in the aftermath of this year's annual meeting and the recent tremors of cash shortfalls within the organization, i began thinking "what could they do next to bring in more $$$.".

many here have speculated that we're seeing incremental moves toward "tithing" (of course they would never call it that).

a recent thread (can't find it right now) highlighted that they recently raised the "suggested per publisher donation" at the circuit assembly significantly (tripled it?)..

tornapart

There'll probably be some guilt tripping involved... 'Brothers, even though we have made our pledges anonymously, Jehovah knows. We have made our pledges to Jehovah and if are not fulfilling our vow to Jehovah then he will see it'.... (or words to that effect put in Borg-speak).

37

This morning's magazine trolley encounter..

by GodZoo in

was just out shopping and came across two middle aged female witnesses with their magazine trolley..

i approached them and they were all glee and smiles and ready to hand me a couple of magazines.

one moment ladies i have just a couple of questions..

tornapart

Yes, I do know what you mean. When I first learnt TTATT I offloaded onto my mother. She just wasn't really ready for it.probably never would have been. Now she's gone and all I remember is the hurt she felt for me, thinking I was going to lose my eternal life! I meant no malice toward her, I just wanted her know what a corrupt, hypocritical and poisonous religion it was but to her it was her life. I try and be very careful now about 'bursting their bubble'. For some people it works but I've come to realise the ones it happens to are those who are ready and open for it or who have something happen to them that makes them ready for it.

Maybe those ladies will go back and think about what you said with open minds. I really hope they do.

37

This morning's magazine trolley encounter..

by GodZoo in

was just out shopping and came across two middle aged female witnesses with their magazine trolley..

i approached them and they were all glee and smiles and ready to hand me a couple of magazines.

one moment ladies i have just a couple of questions..

tornapart

You know what.... I actually feel sad for those two ladies. You felt good... but maybe those two ladies went home feeling really depressed.

I know what it felt like learning TTATT. 4 years on and I'm still struggling with it.

If I offloaded all that on two JWs.... maybe two genuinely lovely kind people... I couldn't feel happy about it.

Sorry but I don't like this post.

138

My Mother Died Two Weeks Ago

by Perry in

jw
friends

none of my jehovah's witness relatives called to tell me or my family.

just found out this morning.

tornapart

So very sorry to hear of your loss Perry. What a cruel way to find out. My heart goes out to you. Will keep you in my prayers.

81

WT Society SEC Records : Hedge Funds, Cayman Islands, Financial Losses - Links

by flipper in

so my wife and i were curious so i researched some financial links and found records indicating that the wt society has been operating at a loss since the year 2012. as you read the links it shows a loss of 10 million $$$ in 2012, about 16 million $$$ in 2013, and a whopping loss of 56 million $$$ in 2014 - where the expenditures exceeded the revenues for each of those years in the amount i've mentioned.

also there is a link on this same website with the sec records indicating that the wt society and it's representatives funneled 40 million $$$$ into hedge funds in the cayman islands as early as 2007. if you look online on other sites you can see evidence that indicates the wt society attended hedge fund conferences to look into more shadiness in 2011 and isn't it curious that by 2012 the wt society started showing losses.

anyway here is the link : https://www.watchtowerlies.com/the_watchtower_revenue.html .. feel free to check this link out and other links on that link indicating the cayman island connection.

tornapart

From the first time I found out about the hedge funds about 3 years ago I thought they'd end up losing lots of our contributions!