Posts by pale.emperor

30

Were you aware of the shunning policy when becoming a JW

by UnshackleTheChains in

for those who became jws, were you fully aware of the societys cruel shunning policy whilst studying?

i absolutely had no idea such a policy existed until years later.

it really only hit home when reading the horrendous stories on the internet around 2002. .

pale.emperor

I was born in and i was aware that we shun disfellowshipped ones. I had no idea that people could disassociate. I thought you could just go on your merry way and continue being friends with witnesses. It wasnt until i was about 24 that i learned if you leave you get the same treatment as a disfellowshipped person.

And remember, since infancy i was taught the disfellowshipped people are the ones who wernt sorry for what they did. So i thought shunning them was right. A picture was instilled in me of a self rightous, rebel sitting in a JC with 3 elders pleading with the person to repent. How wrong i was.

39

How do you feel about the expression "The Truth"?

by stuckinarut2 in

it's amazing how the expression "the truth" has become such an ingrained term used by witnesses.. "we have 'the truth'".

"is he 'in the truth'?".

most here have found out so many facts about the organisation, and felt the effects of being "gut-punched" as we realised these facts.. so how do you feel about the expression "the truth" now?.

pale.emperor

On the rare occasion that a Jehovah's Witness will talk to me, i refer to their religion as "your religion". And if they use say "the truth" i remind them that that would mean Rutherford, Knorr, and every JW prior to the "overlapping generation" teaching wernt in "the truth" then were they?

The most annoying is the book "What Does The Bible Really Teach?" which has been updated at least twice since it was first published... so the first edition wasn't what the bible really taught? Was it in fact apostasy then? Are the writers of the first edition to attend a JC for writing such lies?

48

Jehovah's Limp Witnesses Pointed Me to JW.org When I Was Willing to Talk

by steve2 in

several months ago i approached a nice young couple who were standing by a jw literature stand in my local community.

they were pleasant and polite but incredibly stilted when it came to answering my "innocent" questions about their beliefs.

this was the occasion of jws featuring the article headlined "is religion dying?".

pale.emperor

From personal experience i never expected a conversation with anyone on the door to door ministry. I was almost always cut of by the time i got to: "Hello there, my name is XXXXX and we're just..." that was as far as i'd usually get before being told they wernt interested in which i happily took my leave. (No effort on my part to throw in a counter phrase like the demos).

I think this is likely common in my area so most witnesses will likely be unprepared. For my next visit im asking about 1914 and for an explanation from the bible alone. I know for a fact only 0.01% of them can explain it off the top of their heads.

31

Well, the Apostasy Accusations Begins...

by Sorry in

so, it finally happened.

the first time i have been called out for being an apostate.

it started out innocently enough: my family and i were watching a tv show.

pale.emperor

"Yes, like he took care of the generation of 1914."

BOOM! Well done.

As smiddy says, be careful. I'd make a point of not discussing religion period in that house. It's a can of worms waiting to be opened.

43

Australian Jehovah's Witnesses are ignorant of the Australian Royal Commission

by stuckinarut2 in

many here have asked how the average witness in australia is taking the news of the arc findings and conclusions.. is it affecting them?.

sorry to say, hardly any are even aware of the facts.

those that are, have been convinced that all the publicity is "apostate lies and satanic propaganda".

pale.emperor

I printed the Guardian news report off and shown it to my elder father in law (im disfellowshipped) and asked for an explanation.

His reply: "The media like to sensationalize things. This will be half truths and blatant lies. I'm surprised you were taken in my such trash."

45

Why Did JWs Abandon Brooklyn for the Sticks?

by Room 215 in

i may have missed this, but can anyone tell me what was the pretext the gb concocted to justify their abandonment of a perfectly suitable, high-profile, high-visibility complex in what is arguably the world's greatest metropolis for the bucolic isolation of upstate new york.

any how does the move square with their purported belief in the imminence of armageddon?

.

pale.emperor

Think of how much that building in Brooklyn would make when they sell it.

It's all very well having a nice building in a great location but when one has child abuse victims to pay out for it makes sense to sell up and pretend Jehovah guided you to do it.

That plus most cults end up in some sort of secluded place away from prying eyes.

Peoples Temple had Jonestown Guyana.

The moonies have lots of secluded centres.

Scientology has Sea Org

And now the Jehovahs Witnesses have Warwick

25

Jehovah God Is Not Real

by Onager in

there are many of us on this site that do not believe that jehovah truly exists.. i think this is a great and wonderful thing to be celebrated!

i'd like people to list the reasons why they do not believe that jehovah exists.

this is open to all, not just atheists or agnostics, but anyone that believes that the god as put forward by jw.org does not and can not be real.. i'll start: .

pale.emperor

A god such as Jehovah wouldn't appoint a pedophile elder or min servent who is hiding what he is from everyone.

A god that has, allegedly, instilled in me such traits compassion and love would surely display those qualities abundantly. Most of the OT makes Jehovah sound like an angry teenager playing Grand Theft Auto.

God should be intelligent enough to prove to every person on earth that he exists 100%.

138

Jehovah God is Real

by TakeOffTheCrown in

there are many on this site that do not believe that jehovah truly exists; that he is not a real being.

but, he is as real as next breath you draw into your nostrils.. some of you say that there is no evidence that he exists.

yet, none of you can prove that he does not exits.. cofty, (you come to mind), i appreciate that you have stated, without reservation, that you do not believe that god exists.. yet, you cannot prove it.. hope in jehovah..

pale.emperor

It seems clear and obvious to me that JW's are Christians.
Why do you think otherwise?

Hi Nicolaou. I didnt see the debate, sorry. However, i used to be firmly convinced that the JW religion was identical to the teachings of Jesus. Since leaving and studying more im convinced that they're not. I agree that the preaching, neutrality, pacifist way of living is very Christlike. However it's the intention of those things that matter. The preaching work is to make more converts for the org. There's no room for debate over doctrine. There was no real joy serving Jehovah, i always felt out of reach from him. Witnesses are spied upon by other witnesses, their personal matters are interfered with and they're not allowed to look at anything negative about the org.

It's very "organization" based. The focus should be on Jesus, God and ones relationship with them.

138

Jehovah God is Real

by TakeOffTheCrown in

there are many on this site that do not believe that jehovah truly exists; that he is not a real being.

but, he is as real as next breath you draw into your nostrils.. some of you say that there is no evidence that he exists.

yet, none of you can prove that he does not exits.. cofty, (you come to mind), i appreciate that you have stated, without reservation, that you do not believe that god exists.. yet, you cannot prove it.. hope in jehovah..

pale.emperor

None of us here were members of the Christian congregation - because the JW religion is not Christianity. Since being free of the Watchtower I see things more clearly. IF God resists then he/she/they/it should reveal themselves if they want to be worshipped. Then you need to prove it's the God of the bible. You know, that collection of books written by people thousands of years ago and compiled by the Catholic Church. Then you need to prove his name is Jehovah - a Catholic mistranslation.

And if you can do all that then surely you need to acknowledge that he's an asshole by committing mass genocide, approving of slavery, rape and the abuse of women since ancient times. Not to mention allowing Child abuse for decades in his own organisation.

Go!

26

JW.org Caption Competition

by pale.emperor in

your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to go onto jw.org.

take one of their pics from any publication and add your own speech bubbles or caption.. here's mine.

picture taken from the watchtower feb 2017.. .