Posts by pale.emperor

20

Feeling the Guilt

by Saethydd in

i'm currently disfellowshipped and living at home with my parents, but because they are both still devout jws i have to keep going to the meetings and crap because i don't want to risk getting thrown out until i finish college or find a job that will let me support myself and go to college.. yesterday, my mother rode with me to the meeting and told me how much my best friend and my oldest sister are missing me, and it just tears me apart because during the meeting i was practically counting the minutes till it was over.

it didn't help matters that i had to sit with my family because the library was closed off, thus forcing me to follow along with the meeting on my tablet instead of reading something useful or interesting like i normally do.. when i got home i just cried out in frustration because it feels like no matter what i do, i am making the wrong choice.

either i have to keep pretending to support an organization that has caused so much pain to so many people, or i have to abandon my family and friends to it so i can save myself.

pale.emperor

Understand that the whole disfellowshipping thing is designed that way to make you feel the way you are. It's not normal, its not loving or nice and they GB know it. It's a control mechanism that's underwent modifications since it's first inception in the 1950s.

My advice would be to go along with the charade for now. Sure, sit in the main hall on your tablet. Pretend to follow along. Maybe even get reinstated if it comes up to make things easier for you then get a job and move. While you're going through this make sure you make non witness friends. Remember, this only works because they expect you to have no one else. That's why people go back. If shunning didn't exist nobody would return.

The guilt you're feeling is absolutely normal. You're going through a situation that most people in the real world are never faced with and totally unprepared for. Remember though, that YOU'RE the one that's normal. You're smart, you've figured this out young.

31

I wrote to Mr. Angus Stewart regarding the "inactive" status claims made by the Watchtower at the ARC

by EdenOne in

this is the email i have just sent to mr. stewart angus, who has been conducting the questioning of the jw leaders during the australian royal commission dealing with child abuse cases among the jehovah's witnesses, concerning the claims made that a jehovah witness who wishes to walk away from the organization can simply become inactive and avoid being shunned:.

dear mr. angus stewart,

i have followed with interest the videos of the arc regarding the jehovah's witnesses in australia.

pale.emperor

Wonderful.

What annoyed me the most watching the ARC last night was that they dont answer a single question openly and honestly with a simple yes or no. They stutter, stumble, dodge, weave and claim ignorance. Even the judge had to spell things out very clearly to get a simple answer.

32

Baptism at 10 years of age! March 2017 broadcast

by stuckinarut2 in

(i wanted to put this in the child abuse section of the forum!).

we have seen that during the march 2017 broadcast, m stephen lett has openly praised children who get baptised as young as 10!.

so lets summarize why it is wrong to push child baptism (not far off "infant baptism" that jws condemn other churches for).

pale.emperor

I think it's absolutely disgusting. These poor children no doubt want to please their parents and obviously have not been able to look at any other religion, nor had the choice to look at science outside of the Watchtower.

The Governing Body are cruel for praising this, not a hint of "are you sure you know what you're doing?" or "do you know what this means?"

And the parents that allow it should be ashamed of themselves.

33

The reality of "shunning" and character assasination highlighted at the Australian Royal Commission

by stuckinarut2 in

once again, the arc has brilliantly highlighted the reality that any witness who either fades or disassociates is subjected to active official shunning by the organization.. the "brothers" tried to state that it was the choice of the indiviual who steps away from the organization to shun them!

they actually tried to make it out to be the fault of the one who leaves!

then they tried to say that those who fade are not shunned!.

pale.emperor

Whenever i highlight the cruelty of shunning to JWs the answer is always the same "THEY chose to leave Jehovah." "THEY knew what would happen if they decided to leave". It doesn't hide the fact that it's the JWs themselves that are doing the shunning.

If it were scripturally sound they'd have a load of scriptures under their arm to "bravely" stand their ground. Why be ashamed of it if its scriptural? Ahhhh because it's not.

17

Elders Correspondence Guidelines PDF

by pale.emperor in

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0b0d-uj0uvjrasknuagrmd0vixza/view.

interesting reading.

a few things i learned from reading this that i wasn't aware of when i was a jw:.

pale.emperor

Page 97, you can get disfellowshipped for Boxing but if you do Karate or Judo you just wont qualify as a pioneer or MS/Elder.

Who makes this up? How have they come to this conclusion from the bible?

Matthew 15:3-9

3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.

Great similarity to Pharisee's here: https://bible.org/illustration/pharisaic-laws

Pharisaic Laws

In contrast to the two commands of Christ, the Pharisees had developed a system of 613 laws, 365 negative commands and 248 positive laws... By the time Christ came it had produced a heartless, cold, and arrogant brand of righteousness. As such, it contained at least ten tragic flaws.
(1) New laws continually need to be invented for new situations.
(2) Accountability to God is replaced by accountability to men.
(3) It reduces a person’s ability to personally discern.
(4) It creates a judgmental spirit.
(5) The Pharisees confused personal preferences with divine law.
(6) It produces inconsistencies.
(7) It created a false standard of righteousness.
(8) It became a burden to the Jews.
(9) It was strictly external.
(10) It was rejected by Christ.
Outlined from Fan the Flame, J. Stowell, Moody, 1986, p. 52.

32

What is having the biggest impact on the watchtower Bible and tract society?

by UnshackleTheChains in

hi all.. this is a reasonable question and would love to know what you think is having the biggest impact on watchtower.

there is a plethora of websites talking negatively of watchtower.

there are the never ending court cases regarding child abuse allegations.

pale.emperor

I know for me, and it may have been the same for you, being a witness was such a chore. I mean, i used to genuinely believe it but i hated the door to door ministry and i could tell people just pretended they had joy in it. One on one many would confess to disliking it. There was always one elder in every hall that was very pushy with the ministry and on a Sunday after the meeting would ask if you're going out. So you would just because you didn't want to say no.

Lifesaving work? Na, it didnt feel like it. I felt like i was annoying people and i felt i looked like an idiot talking about the end of the world.

Then there was the meetings. The obligation to attend all of them. Any hobby you had or anything cool going on always happened to be on meeting day. Thursday and Sundays (and before the changes came in Tuesdays too) had a grey cloud over them because you knew your morning or everning will be wasted on a meeting you're not even interested in. I envied other religions that allowed you to worship in your own home, in your own time and in your own way. Meetings and ministry sucked the joy out of being a JW.

And dont even get me started on the changes in doctrine. I was very studious. But was always discouraged from researching outside the Watchtower. Also discouraged from reading anything by Rutherford or Russell. I went through a time of reading Rutherfords books from the congregation library and was approached by two elders asking why i wanted to read them... very strange.

So in a nutshell, apathy, boredom, frustration, and the internet are bleeding the Watchtower of members and long may it continue.

13

What's up with the numbering of the songs and reading them off the screen?

by Spiral in

i don't have to go very often, but last time i took my mother they were singing songs off a screen.

the numbers weren't the same as the songs with the same number on my tablet.

seemed like a lot of people were confused, but a couple of more gregarious attendees were singing (and swaying a bit) "church-style".

pale.emperor

It's slowly spawning into a new beast. My grandad and my dad would turn in their graves to see what it's become now if they were suddenly presented with it.

In fact, there's no way my parents would have joined it in the 1970s if they were presented with this.

17

Elders Correspondence Guidelines PDF

by pale.emperor in

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0b0d-uj0uvjrasknuagrmd0vixza/view.

interesting reading.

a few things i learned from reading this that i wasn't aware of when i was a jw:.

pale.emperor

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0D-Uj0UVJRASkNUaGRMd0VIXzA/view

Interesting reading. A few things i learned from reading this that i wasn't aware of when i was a JW:

You can be disfellowshipped for being smelly.

You can get out of being disfellowshipped if you claim to have been doing serious sin prior to and leading up to your baptism which would therefore make your baptism invalid.

In cases of adultery, if the guilty party files for divorce it doesn't necessarily free the innocent mate to remarry scripturally.

They use the word "retarded" quite a bit.

Another one to print off and keep by my front door for any JWs that knock.

55

Looking forward to going to Memorial this year!

by kpop in

jw
friends

i have some tricks to play.

i know it may sound childish but i feel that creating havoc and forcing the memorial to be postponed will be the highlight of the night!

wish me luck!.

pale.emperor

Farm Girl

As long as you're not planning to do something that could physically harm someone, then GO FOR IT!
Sorry posters, taking a public stand against a CULT that destroys families and literally kills people with its no-blood policy is not even remotely similar to interrupting an Easter service at a mainstream church because you don't believe in the trinity.
And please don't fall for the old "aggressive activism will just drive them further into the cult" - that's exactly what the Watchtower wants you to think.
How can JWs possibly be pushed further into their cult when they are already willing to sacrifice their education, their job, their very lives, and even the lives of their children?!
As fellow humans, as victims of corporate exploitation, Jehovah's Witnesses deserve our respect. As for the cult that bears their name and its annual 'special day'- they deserve NONE.
Resistance to entrenched injustice is never polite. If you're not pushing people's buttons, if you're not making someone uncomfortable, then you're not doing it right.
If you believe in your heart that what you are doing is the right thing to do then do it and don't let ANYONE try to convince you otherwise.
Please keep us posted if you go through with your plans (I hope to God you do). I promise to have your back if they try to pile up on you again.

I couldn't disagree more. This isn't taking a stand.

Point 1: The members of the congregation wont have any idea about the ARC for one thing because they're not allowed to look at it. And for damn sure no elder is going to tell them about it, that's even if the elders know.

Point 2: What the members of the congregation will see is an exJW getting up and disrupting their most holy of evenings. Which is exactly how the org paint exJWs.

Point 3: They dont know they're in a cult.

Point 4: This will be remembered for years to come as "how close we must be to the end because we're being persecuted by Satans world".

If you wish to make a point then take a sip of the wine and a piece of the bread. Many fundamental Christians do when they attend because they genuinely believe they have a heavenly reward.

55

Looking forward to going to Memorial this year!

by kpop in

jw
friends

i have some tricks to play.

i know it may sound childish but i feel that creating havoc and forcing the memorial to be postponed will be the highlight of the night!

wish me luck!.

pale.emperor

I will also ask you not to. Simply because there will be children present and they might get a little freaked out. Let the witnesses have their memorial. They dont know any better. It's the org that we disagree with remember, not the individual members.