Balaamsass2
I quickly found similar sites. The WTS thought they could control the spread of their deceit. That just isn't possible anymore. Once it is on the 'net they can forget about controlling it.
Lee Marsh
JoinedPosts by Lee Marsh
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19
How far has Watchtower and the GB of Jehovah's Witnesses gone to stalk and silence critics?
by Balaamsass2 inwe have all watched some of the documentaries about the church of scientology hiring detectives to stalk and harass their former members,( their "apostates").
i have heard of individual cases of rabid jw elders stalking ex-jws, and of course, one would expect some enforcement of corporate copyright infringement on anti-jw websites.. what were the most outrageous jw "stalking" or investigation stories you remember?.
tonight's 60 minutes into ebay stalking a middle-aged couple who writes a newsletter reminded me a lot of the menlo park congregation watchtower "takeover", closure, and stalking of local elders to mind.
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19
How far has Watchtower and the GB of Jehovah's Witnesses gone to stalk and silence critics?
by Balaamsass2 inwe have all watched some of the documentaries about the church of scientology hiring detectives to stalk and harass their former members,( their "apostates").
i have heard of individual cases of rabid jw elders stalking ex-jws, and of course, one would expect some enforcement of corporate copyright infringement on anti-jw websites.. what were the most outrageous jw "stalking" or investigation stories you remember?.
tonight's 60 minutes into ebay stalking a middle-aged couple who writes a newsletter reminded me a lot of the menlo park congregation watchtower "takeover", closure, and stalking of local elders to mind.
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Lee Marsh
Solomon
You would think but Quotes showed them changing their beliefs so many times it was ridiculous. We were more than happy to spread their beliefs for them.
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Does Gilead have any accreditation?
by journey-on inwhen a witness talks about someone who has "graduated" from gilead, they always make it sound like such an accomplishment as if they graduated from harvard or somethin...lol.
i know it's called the watchtower bible school of gilead and is located at the watchtower educational center in patterson, ny (sounds impressive, uh?)..
it used to be known as the watchtower bible college of gilead in south lansing, ny.. does this school have any accreditation that you know of or is it just glorified classroom training for jw "missionaries"?
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Lee Marsh
Accrediting Agencies
Accrediting agencies issue accreditations. Accrediting agencies are organizations (made up of educational professionals) that:
- Establish the operating standards for educational or professional institutions and programs.
- Determine if a school meets those standards.
- Publically announce their findings through the issuance of accreditations.
The U.S. Department of Education explains that agencies determine accreditation standards based on whether graduates can gain admission to other reputable institutions or achieve credentials for professional practice.
During the school certification process, SEVP only recognizes schools as accredited if the accrediting agency is recognized by the Department of Education.
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The issue here is what are they supposed to be accredited for. Certainly not a college or university. Not even a public school. The curriculum is too narrow.
When I went to college and university not only was a required to study my chosen program but was required to study things that were not part of the program.
A certain amount of program courses were required although there was room for some choice. However there were additional courses that had to be taken and passed, English, Physical Education, Sociology, Religion, Ethics etc.
This was to help give the student a more well rounded understanding of their personal environment and the wider community.
The WTS does not meet these standards.
They may qualify for a very specific reason, to allow foreign "missionaries" to come to their program but that is not the same as a normal college or university program. Not by a long shot. My college program was a 3-year professional program in Social Service. My university program was 3-year program in Applied Social Sciences.
There is NO comparison. NONE
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How far has Watchtower and the GB of Jehovah's Witnesses gone to stalk and silence critics?
by Balaamsass2 inwe have all watched some of the documentaries about the church of scientology hiring detectives to stalk and harass their former members,( their "apostates").
i have heard of individual cases of rabid jw elders stalking ex-jws, and of course, one would expect some enforcement of corporate copyright infringement on anti-jw websites.. what were the most outrageous jw "stalking" or investigation stories you remember?.
tonight's 60 minutes into ebay stalking a middle-aged couple who writes a newsletter reminded me a lot of the menlo park congregation watchtower "takeover", closure, and stalking of local elders to mind.
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Lee Marsh
They took a poster here, Quotes, (who ran a website with nothing but WT quotes) to court to get him to take the site down. They forced him to take it down and never post it again because the quotes made them look bad. (See: https://www.chick.com/battle-cry/article?id=ex-jw-sued-for-watchtower-quotes)
JWFacts has a version of it on their website (https://jwfacts.com/watchtower/quotes/quotes.php)
Many people picked up the ball when the site was taken down and published various versions of the Quotes.
Can't keep a good quote down it seems.
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Reading the Watchtower and Awake! is like getting a college education!
by kairos inanybody remember hearing this?.
--.
is that comment in print anywhere?.
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Lee Marsh
I learned far more in one semester (3 months) at college than I learned in 22 years as a JW.
Almost anyone who actually did go to college or university or even a trade school will tell you the same.
As opposed to one unnamed source
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49
Some thoughts on the message of doom
by JeffT inone of the recent threads on the talk about the hailstone message got me to thinking.
the problem with putting out a message like that is what to do when nothing happens.
i have to think that somebody will be asking that question.
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Lee Marsh
which homes you would like to move into one these wicked people are destroyed
Not too helpful with no power for fridge, stove, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, microwave, toaster, air fryer, iron, TV, radio, computer lights as well as all the other things we have in our homes.
No need for the car either no gas or even pumps to get it into the car. And even if you have an electric car... well that won't last too long.
Sewing machine. Just how will they make clothes and sheets.
We live in a world where most people cannot function without electricity. The learning curve will be very steep.
I was there, waiting in 1975... patiently, faithfully... and nothing happened.... and nothing happened... and nothing happened.
Oops it was a few misguided JWs. Yea Right. How convenient they can wipe the minds of gullible JWs. Over. and Over. and over again
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Research paper on Effects of Shunning
by peacefulpete inafter being around this site for 21 years now, i've heard many recount their stories and feelings.
many times i can immediately relate but other times they seem to have had a very different experience with the church.
i'm sure that is because not only are all of us different in personality, but congregations and family dynamics vary as well.
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Lee Marsh
History 101:
When Joe Rutherford illegally seized the presidency of the WTB&TS after Russell died he turned it into a dictatorship. He was an alcoholic narcissist. All the toxic beliefs he brought with him became the foundation for the myriad of rules for behavior that started the ball rolling. Since then the leadership has continued the narcissistic rule making and control that both he and Russell started. Russell was no choirboy when it came to controlling and manipulation people but Rutherford took it into the stratosphere. He vowed to create the largest publishing company on earth and he clearly made great headway with that
According to
- Consolation, May 27, 1942, p. 6. It is not clear from this publication whether this included the distribution of Russell's earlier writings:
He wrote twenty-one books and was credited by the Society in 1942 with the distribution of almost 400 million books and booklets
Phenomenal for the time.
But more importantly were all the controls he placed on people, the rules for behavior that had nothing to do with serving any god but rather served his agenda alone.
In 1925, he gained full control over what doctrines would be taught in Watch Tower Society publications, overruling the refusal by the five-man Editorial Committee to publish his article, "Birth of the Nation",[85] which contained significant doctrinal changes.[86]
Rutherford later claimed Satan had "tried to prevent the publication of that article ... but failed in that effort";[87] In 1927 the Watch Tower Society ceased printing of Russell's Studies in the Scriptures.[88] The Editorial Committee was dissolved in 1931, after which Rutherford wrote every leading article in The Watch Tower until his death.[89] The 1933 Watch Tower Society Yearbook observed that the demise of the Editorial Committee indicated "that the Lord himself is running his organization".[90]
n 1928, Rutherford began to abolish the system of electing elders by congregational voting, dismissing them as "haughty" and "lazy", and finally asserting in 1932 that electing elders was unscriptural.[93][94] He impressed on elders the need to obey the Society's "regulations", "instructions" and "directions" without complaint.[95] Service directors, who reported back to Brooklyn, were appointed in each congregation and a weekly "service meeting" introduced to meeting programs.[96] In 1933 Rutherford claimed that abolishing elective elders was a fulfillment of the prophecy of 2300 days at Daniel 8:13–14, and that God's sanctuary (the Watch Tower Society) was thereby cleansed.[97]
At a 1931 Bible Student assembly in Columbus, Ohio, Rutherford proposed a new name for the organization, Jehovah's witnesses, to differentiate them from the proliferation of other groups that followed Russell's teachings.[91] Bible Students who opposed or abandoned Rutherford to form new groups were increasingly described as the "evil servant class" by The Watchtower, which said it was wrong to pray for those who were "unfaithful".[98][99] Four years later the term "Kingdom Hall" was introduced for the local meeting place of congregations.[100]
In 1937, the door-to-door preaching program was extended to formally include "back calls" on interested people and Witnesses were urged to start one-hour Bible studies in the homes of householders.[101][102] In the late 1930s, he advocated the use of "sound cars" and portable phonographs with which talks by Rutherford were played to passersby and householders.[101]
In 1938, he introduced the term "theocracy" to describe the denomination's system of government, with Consolation explaining: "The Theocracy is at present administered by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, of which Judge Rutherford is the president and general manager."[103] "Zone servants" (now known as circuit overseers) were appointed to supervise congregations. In a Watchtower article Rutherford declared the need for congregations to "get in line" with the changed structure.[104][105]
In 1927, Christmas was declared to be of pagan origin, and the following year its celebration by Bible Students was condemned as supporting "Satan's organization".[138][139] Mother's Day was condemned in 1931,[140] with other holidays as well as birthdays officially renounced in subsequent years.[141][142]
Fellow Watch Tower Society director A. H. Macmillan says Rutherford "spoke as simply and directly to the people as he knew how, and he was an extremely forthright man. He was thoroughly convinced that what he had to say was the truth and that it was a matter of life and death."[167] Macmillan added, "He would never tolerate anything that would be contrary to what he clearly understood the Bible to teach. He was so strict about that, he would permit nothing that would seem to show a compromise when it came to an issue of the truth."[168]
Other authors also address Rutherford's abrasiveness: James Penton describes him as blunt and moody with an explosive temper,[170] with "a streak of self-righteousness which caused him to regard anyone who opposed him as of the Devil",[171] while Alan Rogerson notes that he was a "dogmatic and insensitive person, obsessed with his own self-importance."[172]
The Wikipedia page carefully cites quotes from a variety of sources to support these claims. The organization has become a clear representation of Rutherford's character and personality.
ALL groups learn to take on a "personality" of those who lead. If the leaders are harsh the group will have rules that reflect that. if the leaders are loving the group will reflect that.
Sadly, people often repeat what they know. Most of us realize that we need to learn new ways of dealing with the people in our lives after we leave the JWs or any toxic environment.
As to why people join these groups: topic for another day.
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JW apologist
by jhine injehovah’s witnesses and sexual abuse: 3. some common misunderstandings.
a chap called terrill hamons who l am taking to be a jw apologist on quora sent me this link along with many others .
the sites are all about how misunderstood and unfairly treated the wt is .
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Lee Marsh
Or they get that "new light" that keeps them changing their minds about everything
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Which of you readers are being shunned by their relatives / friends ?
by stan livedeath ina simple " me" if you dont want to say more--or a short explanation about who is shunning you and how long has this been going on.. i'll set the ball rolling: my daughter--her husband and children; my younger son --no contact from them for 40 years...because i left their religion.. (edit--i just noticed the typo in the header--if should be of ).
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Lee Marsh
Ozzie
Hi Lee,
When I first read this I thought “sheesh, how could they hate so long” but then I realised my own family shunning is 25+ years.
So for me every relative, whether children, siblings or whatever share in this hate cult towards me.
How sad for them that they are in bondage, i pray that they will eventually know true christian freedom.
Cheers,
Ozzie
If they left I would welcome them with open arms. If I went back I would always be suspect and acceptance would be conditional. Not a good deal if you ask me. -
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Which of you readers are being shunned by their relatives / friends ?
by stan livedeath ina simple " me" if you dont want to say more--or a short explanation about who is shunning you and how long has this been going on.. i'll set the ball rolling: my daughter--her husband and children; my younger son --no contact from them for 40 years...because i left their religion.. (edit--i just noticed the typo in the header--if should be of ).
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Lee Marsh
Mother shuns me 37 years now as well as an uncle and his wife.
My brothers who were never baptized and have not been in for decades 50+ years for 2 of them and 20 years for the third. My sister shunned me before she died. I think this is more due to my fractured family. It would have happened without the JWs but they made it worse.
My ex YEAH I prefer it that way.
All my JW friends and relatives.
One of my daughters 10 years. She is out but refuses to tell me why she shuns me. - a practice learned when she was young and clearly still holds to.