Anders Andersen

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Posts by Anders Andersen

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  52

  New to the truth

  by MatthewHewey in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been meeting with member's of the kingdom hall, and i have attended a few times now on sundays.

  i'd like to discuss experiences with this group since i'm new.

  so far, i love it.

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  Anders Andersen

  I'll make an analogy that you might be able to relate to: In many ways Jehovah's Witnesses operate exactly like street gangs!

  1. The contact starts by just hanging out with some members. All is cool. No pressure.
  2. During this initial period, you may be asked to run small errands, make some small changes in your life.
  3. After some time there's a big initiation that makes you a full member of the group.
  4. Once your in, you can't get out without being damaged somehow. The pressure to stay in is enormous.
  5. There's a dress code: tattoos and hoodies in a specific color, or suits, ties, skirts and a fake 'Kingdom smile'
  6. The leader is always right and cannot be contradicted. Do not doubt their decisions. Loyalty trumps all else.
  7. You're not allowed to be friends with people in other gangs/groups. Can't date a rival either.
  8. The group cultivates and us vs them mentality, whether that be our gang vs rivals or police, or our religion vs 'the world'.
  9. Fear is used as a motivator.

  Well...if you have to choose, please join the JW. At least they aren't shooting people up or selling drugs.

  But if you value your own freedom to make decisions, to live your life as you see fit, you might want to reconsider....
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  15

  O no!!! The HQ song

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  never througt there would be a jw.org hq song.. they have become mad.. https://tv.jw.org/#nl/mediaitems/latestvideos/pub-osg_40_video.

  g..

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  Anders Andersen

  Just...wow.

  Their appearance reminds me of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
  Except their clothes actually match...including their underwear :-D

  
  And that cult does know how to make music...

  • Down by the riverside (very catchy!)
    
  • You raise me up

  If I have to watch a cult choir, I'll take LSD LDS any day :-)
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  340

  Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

  by dubstepped in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

  i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

  i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

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  Anders Andersen

  I recommend reading a book or two on the subject. That way you'll get a structured approach to the topic, as opposed to piecing bits together yourself.

  Some I've read and liked (in recommended reading order):

  • Why Evolution is True - Jerry Coyne
  • The Greatest Show on Earth - Richard Dawkins
  • The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins
  • Your Inner Fish - Neil Shubin
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  2

  Service report for all countries published on JW.org

  by Anders Andersen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  an 'old style' service report for 2017 has been published on jw org.

  so far it appears to be only for igbo language.. https://www.jw.org/ig/akwukwo/akwụkwọ/2017-service-year-report-of-jehovahs-witnesses-worldwide/.

  i wonder if this is a fuck up, or other languages will be posted later, or igbo readers can have this while others can't?.

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  Anders Andersen

  Thanks Darkspilver!

  I wasn't paying attention....
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  2

  Service report for all countries published on JW.org

  by Anders Andersen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  an 'old style' service report for 2017 has been published on jw org.

  so far it appears to be only for igbo language.. https://www.jw.org/ig/akwukwo/akwụkwọ/2017-service-year-report-of-jehovahs-witnesses-worldwide/.

  i wonder if this is a fuck up, or other languages will be posted later, or igbo readers can have this while others can't?.

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  Anders Andersen

  An 'old style' service report for 2017 has been published on JW org. So far it appears to be only for Igbo language.

  https://www.jw.org/ig/akwukwo/akwụkwọ/2017-Service-Year-Report-of-Jehovahs-Witnesses-Worldwide/

  I wonder if this is a fuck up, or other languages will be posted later, or Igbo readers can have this while others can't?
• 
  5

  How can?

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with all those happy holidays gorby took some time to search in online dutch newspaper archives.

  great to see how much information is on the net.. i searchedon the subject jw and many articles, from negatie to positive and all in between came on the screen.. like the blood issue, 1975 worlds end, ray franz incident, former witness, finance,etc etc.. the question i asked myself, is that if there is so much kind of scandals and negative information over the years,how can a person ignore this?.

  if it looks like a pig, it smells like a pig and makers the noise of it... it has to be one.. g..

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  Anders Andersen

  To take myself and my wife as an example:

  • We don't read any hardcopy newspapers.
  • We don't watch TV news.
  • Both of us normally only read news online through a single source (nu.nl)
  • In the car we have the radio on, so once or twice a week we may hear the news there.

  So even with the recent avalanche of news paper articles in our country, my wife saw exactly....none of it.

  JW aren't interesting enough (yet) to make headlines or be top articles online. Unless you have a decent (hardcopy) newspaper that you read front to back, it's unlikely you ever see those JW articles.

  And it's not like the JW that do see them share them on Facebook or talk about it with others....don't want to stumble anyone yo...

  I now have Google alers set up to notify me of JW related news. But my wife doesn't...

  So she only knows about these issues if someone tells her about it....as a return visit did some weeks ago...
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  58

  Don't you think that some people are just better off within the org?

  by paradiseseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is my first post, i will introduce myself later.

  first of all, i must say that english is not my mother tongue (i'm spanish), so excuse me if i make any mistake.. do you think that some people simply can't cope with being outside the jws?

  some of them are too worldlyphobic to be around non-jws, too dependent on a fixed set of rules in order to carry on with their lives, too dependent on the hope of paradise and resurrection, too unable to leave their personal comfort zone within the organization.

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  Anders Andersen

  Don't you think some people are just better off within the org?

  No.

  • They may suffer from anxiety, loss of identity, loss of structure or whatever when exiting the cult, but all that can be addressed by education, therapy, etc.

  • The JW mind disease is contagious. Any JW who exits the cult is one less recruiter that can ruin someone else's life by drawing them into the cult.
  • If a JW leaves others may be triggered into waking up as well.

  • Any JW who exits the cult is one less money source to keep the cult alive.

  • Any JW who exits the cult is one less seat filler. Less filled seats equals less 'encouragement' and a lower morale for those who stay in.

  So even if there is no apparent improvement for some individual, their exit may likely prove beneficial for society in general, for people both in and outside the cult.

  Therefore I'll likely try to wake up anyone I can, regardless of their individual benefits.
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  14

  Important spiritual food

  by moreconfusedthanever in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  todays watchtower study is all about singing complete with instructions on how to sing.,............

  "but we all have the responsibility to sing praises to jehovah.

  so hold your songbook up high, lift your head, and sing with enthusiasm!".

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  Anders Andersen

  They seem to be suggesting that Jehovah is hard of hearing.

  Well.....they know he is. Everybody knows that. Or is prayer useless for different reasons?

  
  
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  14

  FINALLY sexual abuse among Dutch JW gets attention on national TV! 80 reports received at Reclaimed Voices reporting centre during 1st month

  by redpilltwice in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  those who have been aware and informed have seen this coming.. of course it's just the beginning.

  80 reports seems to be only the tip of the iceberg.

  reclaimed voices is expecting hundreds of cases more.

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  Anders Andersen

  As far as I know my wife hadn't heard about it in the congregation, but a RV threw it at her....

  And that was some weeks ago. Since then we have seen more coverage.

  @George, what region are you located? Of course feel free to keep that to yourself :-)

  I'm in Groningen.
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  14

  FINALLY sexual abuse among Dutch JW gets attention on national TV! 80 reports received at Reclaimed Voices reporting centre during 1st month

  by redpilltwice in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  those who have been aware and informed have seen this coming.. of course it's just the beginning.

  80 reports seems to be only the tip of the iceberg.

  reclaimed voices is expecting hundreds of cases more.

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  Anders Andersen

  Quite a lot of news sites and newspapers reporting on this:

  (all links to sites in Dutch language)

  • Trouw (frontpage of the site!)
  • AD.nl
    
  • Telegraaf.nl
    
  • NU.nl
  • Nederlands Dagblad (frontpage)
  • Reformatorisch Dagblad
    
  • Dagblad van het Noorden (1)
  • Dagblad van het Noorden (2)

  Then there are probably more regional and local newspapers reporting on this both online and in print.
  

  Reclaimed Voices and the media do an excellent job to get all this out in the spotlights!