Posts by UnshackleTheChains

21

JWs shunning other active JWs

by Roger Kirkpatrick in

jw
friends

how many others have noticed how common it is for active jws to ostracize and shun other active jws?

as far back as i can recall, jws have had an ongoing problem with cliques within congregations, and special needs talks would be given from time to time to address that trend.

but, it seems to me that the practice has become even more pronounced with entire congregations actively shunning other congregations.

I remember a Watchtower study a year or so ago and recall how we EVEN need to be careful of our associations within the congregation. I came away from the study feeling paranoid after it. This religion doesn't unite people in love. It judges and divides. They go way over the top to ensure everybody is in line with Watchtower thought control.

A while ago, an elderly sister told me she doesn't actually really know anyone in the hall. She knows people's names and says hello etc, but doesn't know anyone intimately. She has never socialised very much with members of the congregation and she's been in it for decades. She said her 'worldly' daughter is always coming round to visit her and support her. She gets SFA from the hall. She sounded really hurt when telling me all this and felt sorry for her as clearly been bottling it up. I felt like opening up and saying ' d'ya wanna know what I think'?

16

I'll Be Walking Into The Convention Arena Today

by pale.emperor in

i work in the city, the liverpool convention is this weekend.

what better way to spend my lunch hour than pop over to the liverpool echo arena and see my daughter.

im in jeans, tshirt, adidas tracksuit jacket and worldly beard.

UnshackleTheChains

Hey pale emporer

Fair plays to you.

Conventions give off a little bit more of a liberal feeling than the smaller assemblies. You tend to find that people are just milling about among the hordes aimlessly. The younger ones are too busy looking for a potential marriage mate, whilst the older ones look a little more aged and lost.

Its interesting the beard rebellion is down south too :-)

Hope you enjoyed your time with your daughter.

105

Subliminal images - why and who are the individuals behind it?

by UnshackleTheChains in

i remember about 5 years ago reading on another site about subliminal images in wt literature.

i honestly thought it a load of bs until i checked out one glaringly obvious image of a creepy skull in clouds within the knowledge book.

i was shocked and even showed my wife at the time who thought it was creepy.. so my question is why?

UnshackleTheChains

Thanks OC

105

Subliminal images - why and who are the individuals behind it?

by UnshackleTheChains in

i remember about 5 years ago reading on another site about subliminal images in wt literature.

i honestly thought it a load of bs until i checked out one glaringly obvious image of a creepy skull in clouds within the knowledge book.

i was shocked and even showed my wife at the time who thought it was creepy.. so my question is why?

UnshackleTheChains

Sorry. But can't quite read what it says on boys shirt. Enlighten me?

38

Latest Study Watchtower - JW's NEED to confess to elders

by The Fall Guy in

watchtower november 2017, page 10, paragraph 8 - "today, a christian guilty of serious sin needs to seek the help of congregation elders to recover.

) why is this so important?

first, the arrangement for elders to handle cases of serious sin comes from jehovah, (2nd lie!

UnshackleTheChains

Another way juicy details come out is when the local needs warn the congregation about specific sins a few weeks after an individual has been ' publicly' reproved. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out who has been involved in such sin.

34

cleveland ohio RC notes

by nowwhat? in

peak attendance 7100. baptised 38 mixed bag of old and young.

youngest age 10. saw no brothers with beards.

better than average .50% growth.

UnshackleTheChains

@ UnshackleTheChains. And, this whole time I was told by many brothers that it's allowable for brothers in Europe to grow beards bc it's their "custom" (unlike in the US). I'm quickly figuring out that their reasoning is a copout. It just seems brothers everywhere are realizing that there is nothing wrong with it! In our congregation, all but a few were completely fine with my growing a beard. They simply didn't see what the big deal was.

Hi Sandino,

The whole beard thing is a farce. Rutherford brought this rule into Bethel and it eventually permeated out through the whole organisation as what many of us believed to be an unwritten rule.

What amazes me is that for many years I believed this to be an unwritten rule when in actual fact it is a written rule. I managed to read the branch correspondence guidelines that basically instruct elders to not give privelages to any brother wearing a beard after having been admonished.

The elders encourage those wearing beards to read up on watchtower articles. Thankfully many brothers can see through this MAN MADE RULE and are making a firm statement that It is completely natural and normal for men to grow beards. It's a God given right.

38

Latest Study Watchtower - JW's NEED to confess to elders

by The Fall Guy in

watchtower november 2017, page 10, paragraph 8 - "today, a christian guilty of serious sin needs to seek the help of congregation elders to recover.

) why is this so important?

first, the arrangement for elders to handle cases of serious sin comes from jehovah, (2nd lie!

UnshackleTheChains

I was an elder a long time, and we did very well not talking out of turn.

True it's not foolproof, and some people like to show they are big shots about what they know.

I think what happens more often is that people put 2 and 2 together and think someone f#cked around. And that's true 90% of the time.

Don't get me wrong - JWs are the BIGGEST Gossip Whores you will ever find.

I have experience that to a large degree after fading

Hey ttdtt

Thanks for your comment. There is a lot of truth in what you say. I don't doubt the sincerity of many elders as confidentiality is a must. However. Having experienced the star chamber myself, I can only say that my experience felt like an interrogation. I also felt that it was very intrusive. The questions asked of me were unbelievable. Having been through a JD in the past has been really off putting. Matters should be kept private. No one else's business. Announcing that someone has been reproved before the whole congregation for a one off sin is disgusting and wrong. It flies in the face of scripture. The GB have their policies upside down. They need to read their bibles and get it right.

332

The most successful teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses and an amazing new book on the divine name

by slimboyfat in

jehovah's witnesses have had to revise their chronology and various doctrinal interpretations due to events and scholarly corrections.

but the one teaching where they have been consistently ahead of the curve is the importance of jehovah's name.. .

i'm going to run through a (necessarily selective) timeline of jw events and scholarly publications that demonstrate the phenomenal success of this teaching in the last days.

UnshackleTheChains

I remember jotting down how many times the name Jehovah was used during a talk given at an assembly. Jehovah was mentioned about 80 times. Jesus was mentioned once.

38

Latest Study Watchtower - JW's NEED to confess to elders

by The Fall Guy in

watchtower november 2017, page 10, paragraph 8 - "today, a christian guilty of serious sin needs to seek the help of congregation elders to recover.

) why is this so important?

first, the arrangement for elders to handle cases of serious sin comes from jehovah, (2nd lie!

UnshackleTheChains

Yep. You've committed a one off serious sin. Let's say you are a young man on a night out. Youve had a bit too much to drink. You end up having a one night stand. You are deeply remorseful for your error. Totally cut up about it. You go to the elders to confess. What happens? Well that's a big gamble for you. Depending on the whims of your body of elders. They will either

1. Reprove you privately.

2. Reprove you publicly

3. Depending on the circumstances and your past sins taken into account, in a worse case scenario, you get disfellowshipped.

Great system. No wonder people are afraid/ reluctant to go to the elders!

34

cleveland ohio RC notes

by nowwhat? in

peak attendance 7100. baptised 38 mixed bag of old and young.

youngest age 10. saw no brothers with beards.

better than average .50% growth.

UnshackleTheChains

In relation to beards, it just shows how Watchtowers most recent study article on dress and grooming is having an impact. It's just so borderline. Yes it's fine to have a beard etc....BUT...

Now brothers worldwide are pushing the boundaries as to what is and what is not acceptable in JW land and has everyone talking about.....like yeah...what the hell was all the fuss about!!! Welcome to reality Watchtower.