Posts by ThomasMore

39

Red Flags identifying Jehovah's Witnesses as a Cult

by Vanderhoven7 in

what are some of the red flags that should alert people to the fact that jehovah's witnesses are a high control and damaging religion?.

one that comes to mind is.

1. one cannot leave jehovah's witnesses with one's reputation intact.

ThomasMore

When almost every JW family is either shunning or at war with at least one member of their family. This religion has caused more dysfunctionality and division within the family arrangement than any other religion on the surface of this earth. They try to justify the practice by quoting Jesus, but his words have been twisted. Jesus did not command believers to other family members. His words indicate that non-believers would decide to stop being brotherly to believers - not the opposite.

Please take some time and list the number of families you have known who now have one member marked or shunned. It should be an eye-opener.

9

That wife who was raped at Watchtower Farms; can seek justice, starting tomorrow.

by was a new boy in

i recall reading here that a wife was raped at watchtower farms some years ago (can't find it here anymore) by a another bethelite wearing a red flannel shirt.

they found his shirt and booted him.. 'hundreds of new york women are about to sue alleged rapists (and enablers) under a revolutionary new law.

watch out, donald trump.. .

ThomasMore

Beth Sarim - you are 100% on point. WTC tried to use me as a fixer to gather estates whose owners did not want to donate. Their behavior was shameful and I was embarassed to be associated with them.

Money is their obsession, similar to other charlatans who fleece their flocks. But in WTC's case, they also go after the treasure in other flocks. Meanwhile, they are not charitable although they enjoy charitable status in most countries that they operate in.

The average JW has no idea of the extent they will go to chase a dollar.

11

Looking at things from Jehovah's perspective...actually, the Watchtower Society's perspective

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

the watchtower—study edition | march 2022. study article 12. do you see what zechariah saw?.

11. what challenges do some of jehovah’s worshippers face today?.

11 change is challenging for many of us.

ThomasMore

LHG - You see through WTC but so many do not. I give this a lot of thought on a regular basis and I still don't have a clear answer as to why this is. I know of:

1. Some very intelligent JWs who are not experiencing the detrimental effects of WTC in a severe fashion and they do not acknowledge that it is happening.

2. Others who are not so bright and are now suffering the consequences of following WTC still do not see the control in practice. They vow that the WTC magazine will only be pried out of their cold dead fingers.

3 Then there are the ones who recognize the control of WTC and fade or rebel against it. They may or may not have experienced detrimental life effects from supporting the organization.

In all 3 instances, ample proof was presented to each member but only some woke up, and rightfully left - like yourself. Why is that? There is clearly something missing in some people who are susceptible to cults and cannot leave. Any ideas what it might be? Anyone that ventures a theory or pschoanalysis, I really want to know.

Somehow I hope that we can identify a personality trait that can be reasoned with and maybe some poor souls can be helped.

26

How many preaching hours are real

by Hellothere in

how much of the preaching hours in yearly report you think are real?

they always have high numbers preaching hours.

probably increase every decade.

ThomasMore

Sadly it is mostly games now, moreso than pre-pandemic IMO. I recall not being able to get fellow elders on the Body to go D2D. Most could not doit for one reason or another. If they did, it was just for a few minutes and they were off to an important pre-engagement. Our COBE would not go out in the D2D work for anything. When I realized that it was a lost cause, I stopped asking him to join me. On the larger body, only one MS was regularly out and he wnted to be appointed as an elder. He was not effective at the door.

So, I would have to swag a percentage of about 5% being actual preaching. Cart Witnessing IS NOT PREACHING, it is cart baby sitting. There are some zealous pioneers still doing something meaningful with their time but it is rare. When the hour requirement was dropped, all the new pio's jumped on the bandwagon but few increased their hours at all.

35

Christmas, yes or no ?

by jhine in

i have just started to steep the mincemeat for my mince pies in dark rum .

christmas is a big deal in my family and circle of friends.

however among ex jws it's a bit different or so l understand.

ThomasMore

Jan, it's an interesting question for me since I have not embraced the holidays. I guess because I never celebrated, it seems silly for me to start now. I don't criticize anyone who does celebrate though. Frankly, there is waaaay too much criticism in the world as it is.

38

Which of you readers are being shunned by their relatives / friends ?

by stan livedeath in

a 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 ).

ThomasMore

I faded and all my JW family now shuns me. Almost all of my old friends in the org shun me. Some have reached out to persuade me to return so I blocked them. I really hate that the religion has broken up so many families and friends. They truly are wicked and hateful. I could almost overlook the false doctrines, but the lack of love was too much to ignore. After all, true Christians are supposed to be identified by love - I never saw it...

75

Is the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses REALLY the "faithful and discreet slave" of Matt. 24:45-47?

by Roger Kirkpatrick in

thesis: when someone who is given a responsibility mistakes that responsibility for authority, bullying is very likely to occur.. jesus spoke an illustration recorded at matthew 24: 45-51 which well illustrates this thesis.. jesus asked, “who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over all his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time?

happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so.

truly i say to you, he will appoint him over all his belongings.

ThomasMore

Hopeless - I think you have their number. I never expected them to be perfect, but I did expect honesty, which they lack altogether. They tell so many lies that I now believe exactly the opposite of everything they say. They lack scholarly skills and just expect the R&F to accept any non-sensical interpretation they float. Let me add that they have been that way since Rutherford.

13

CSA and the UK Catholic Church.

by Lost in the fog in

the comments underneath the article are almost as interesting as the article.. .

https://mercatornet.com/secrecy-confession-england-wales/81615/.

ThomasMore

Ernest, Sounds like the same old song and dance of WTC.

It is a crime and should be reported. let the police/DA sort out whether to press charges. Why are JWs trying to be judge, jury and executioner all in one?

Has their policy not done enough damage to countless lives?

i asked a relative what she would do if her young daughter was raped by the neighbor. She exploded and immediately said that she would call the police . But what if he was a JW? She reversed course. When will the insanity end?????

59

Why isn't this forum growing like reddit exjw??

by nowwhat? in

admittedly it 90% crap over there but still they are up to 80k in subscribers.

over here it's the same half dozen or so that posts something, including myself.

why is that?.

ThomasMore

The quality and substance in comments and posts on this site have more depth and relevance IMO. Reddit has it's following but most are just venting (that can be therapeutic also). I appreciate the moderation on this site and the accuracy of the information that is posted. WTC patrols both sites looking for missiles that could land in their yard, but they seem to be particularly interested in this site. That tells me that they fear what is posted here.

10

...AN ELEPHANT in my pajamas (an alternative way of seeing the world)

by Terry in

jw
friends

an elephant in my pajamas.

by the age of 2, i began noticing comedy was a verbal violation of logic.. in fact, groucho marx taught me an important way of applying my thinking in terms of logic and humor.

by the age of 2, i had been taught to develop a bias toward “what was obviously logical” and to omit all else.. that was a social bias.

ThomasMore

Terry, all I could think of was why Marx hunted in his pajamas. My mother explained the double meaning and all I could think of was that the pajamas must have been uncomfortably tight on that elephant.

I was primed for indoctrination by WTC - missing the point and the whole picture.

A restaurant in town was closed by the health dept. I was dumfounded, how could a millin roaches and a hundred rats be wrong? Sadly I used that reasoning to reassure a Bible study that 8 million JWs must surely be right. He countered with "Christendom has a billion people who feel the same way don't they?"

He was right, and he wasn't even smart. I needed to start questioning everything. I did. Here I am.