Posts by Seeker4

62

Six Screens comments on controversial conference call

by kool aid man06 in

without question, the ravyn guiliani interview on the six screens conference call created lots of controversy.

ravyn's experience with sra (satanic ritual abuse) was instantly rejected by so many.

it was as though people pre-judicated her story before she had a chance to tell it.

Seeker4

I'm with Jgnat and Ninja on this one. Outrageous, crackpot claims that are entirely unsubstantiated and that are totally contrary to everyone elses experiences in the WTS just make us look like, well, crackpots and idiots.

Ravyn's "story" was full of holes and contradictions, and completely lacking in outside verification. I've had several friends in the writing and art departments at Bethel for many years, and the concept of them using the "channelled" writings of a child as the basis for Watchtower articles is completely contrary to anything in my experience or of that of people in the know whom I trust.

I'm not saying that Ravyn is your typical charlatan. She may very well totally believe that she was involved in satanic rituals at Bethel. My take on this is that we were much more likely exposed to a person with serious mental and emotional illness and issues, a very common situation among those claiming SRA.

I understand the need to allow people to tell their stories, and I'm a firm believer in freedom of speech and the press. I don't think that's the issue here. What might have been learned from this is the need for caution so that a person with mental issues isn't taken advantage of by being allowed to expose herself in such a public platform. Most scientests I know are firm believers in freedom of speech, but that doesn't mean they book Flat Earthers or Moon Landing Deniers to speak at their scientific conventions

S4

24

Cigars N Scotch or Bourbon?

by feelinsketchy in

jw
friends

hi all, it's been a long, long time since i have posted.

maybe its because i stopped giving a crap about this religion.

at the same time, i meditate on how 5 generations of my family have suffered believing the lies perpetrated by it.

Seeker4

Irish whiskey, aged, or scotch. Then Canadian whiskey, which was on the menu tonight.

S4

2

Let's Discuss These Predictions....

by AnaA in

the first link below takes you to a long list of prophecies that were issued in the mid-1990's, that have all come to pass exactly as predicted.

it also provides you with a link to yahoo's official archives which prove they were issued in writing, in the 1990's.

as you will see: every detail, to include our wars with iraq, the actors involved, and how it will end, was prophesied in writing, in the 1990's.

Seeker4

Hmm...more prophetic bullshit.

I have trouble trusting a prophet who can't figure out how to write a grammatical paragraph, or post a legible comment at JWD.

And I read the "World Trade Center Attack Prophecy" - it was the usual ranting generalities that can end up being twisted to fit anything. I despise this shit and the people who perpetrate it. You "prophets" have been a bane on humanity for far too long.

S4

43

More scandals...J.W. Satanic Ritual Abuse discussed on the call Sat. Nov. 8

by kool aid man06 in

our special guest on the conference call sat.

nov. 8 at 7 p.m. est.

will be former jehovah's witness heidi king, our correspondent in london england.

Seeker4

Can't get the program to play, but I did read more on the Six Screens website about Ravyn's interview, and I read Randy's article on SRA.

Ravyn sounds completely unreliable. Anyone with a serious background in the JWs knows that Witnesses meeting with Satanic groups in pockets around the country, or Bethelites practicing SRA in the tunnels under Bethel, are simply fabrications and not to be taken in any way seriously.

Having this kind of an interview associated in anyway with the work of David Reed or Barbara Anderson is a travesty.

S4

43

More scandals...J.W. Satanic Ritual Abuse discussed on the call Sat. Nov. 8

by kool aid man06 in

our special guest on the conference call sat.

nov. 8 at 7 p.m. est.

will be former jehovah's witness heidi king, our correspondent in london england.

Seeker4

I remember having some contact with Ravyn several years ago when I was first leaving the JWs. We didn't meet, but she had been in the congregation next to mine in Brattleboro, VT. I was VERY familiar with that congregation and some of the elders there were very close friends of mine. Elders that had dealt with her there.

I have not yet had time to listen to Ravyn's interview, but will make these comments based on the comments here in this thread.

The idea that Ravyn was part of Satanic Ritual Abuse at Bethel is absurd beyond belief, and is either an outright lie or a sad delusion on her part. Her being a witch is not objectionable to me at all - but an assertion about SRA at Bethel or in the congregation is just simply too wacky for words.

SRA was part of an abuse mania that swept the country several years ago in the 1990s, and it has turned out to be almost totally an urban myth with no basis in fact. It also hit the congregations, and I had a sister in a Northern Massachusetts congregation tell me how she was "helping" seven sisters in her congregation that had suffered from Satanic Ritual Abuse!! Recovered memories of things like this have turned out to be almost entirely planted memories.

For Christ's sake, there haven't been 7 substantiated cases of SRA in the country!

Also, I hope it's not true that Illowy was banned from JWD for the questions he raised about this interview in this thread. Someone had damn well better question a tactic like that. Those are outrageous statements and need to be carefully scrutinized. I think it's a lapse in judgement to allow someone like that to come on and present information like that without clear substantiation.

I'll go home now and listen to the interview and comment more later.

S4

18

Feeling Guilty for "Bad" Thoughts

by snowbird in

i remember a circuit assembly where two young ladies who had recently graduated from hs were interviewed.. they went on and on about how they didn't participate in certain aspects of the graduation traditions because they'd done research and found some to originate with paganism.. they claimed that even marching into the auditorium and doing a sharp turn arose from some occultic practice.

i sat there and thought, "i'll bet those school officials were glad to see the last of you two heifers!

i was immediately smitten with guilt that i could think such a thing.. now, i laugh and shake my head at the idiocy of it all.. sylvia.

Seeker4

Oh, the precious, self-righteous idiocy that came with being a JW - and some seem to have it in spades!

All my kids marched in with their graduating class and were happy to do it.

S4

28

Jehovah's Witness British Branch - All Time Peak!

by slimboyfat in

according to the december 2008 kingdom ministry jehovah's witnesses reached an all time peak number of publishers and pioneers in august 2008. .

onwards and upwards... .

Seeker4

Billy is correct that end of the service year numbers are skewed due to "catching up" with missing reports, etc., where some publishers will be counted at least twice, or maybe more. So, in a congregation of say, 100 publishers, if everyone reports their time for the month, and then in addition, three or four are counted twice due to missing reports they finally turned in, it shows as a 3-4% increase for that month.

There still may be an increase. That wouldn't surprise me. In countries with a lot of third world immigration, growth seems to be greatest among the immigrants, as with the Hispanic population here in the US.

Keep us posted if the "increase" continues for the next couple of months.

S4

8

The Party's Over -- Farewell for JWD

by FlyingHighNow in

jw
friends

well, it's all winding down now.

it's only a matter of weeks until the posting ends.

i invite you to post comments, songs, poems to this farewell thread for the wonderful jwd.

Seeker4

Thanks Simon. I've loved it here.

All my best to all the friends I've made on JWD.

Seeker4

17

Prince Is In BIG Trouble With Gays!

by minimus in

jw
friends

according to the new yorker magazine, the la times' the envelope and perez hilton's blog, prince slammed gays and gay marriage in a recent interview.

the perez hilton blog has a number of jw sympathizers going at it with those slamming him and the witnesses.

Seeker4

Prince was divorced a few years ago. I've been wondering if he's remained celibate as a good JW! Hard to imagine that that would be easy for Mr. superstar.

I've got mixed feelings about Prince. How in hell did someone who seems fairly intelligent and super talented get involved with the JWs?? I know it was via bassist Larry Graham, but I think those two may have their own version of JWism. Hell, Graham played bass when Prince did his PayPerView New Year's Show at the turn of the century, and Graham was an elder at the time!

S4

11

Why aren't JW's exposed in the news on 60 Minutes?

by BonaFide in

jw
friends

i know we had the dateline show a few years ago, but what about recently?.

seems to me that with about a million members in the us, and all the strange policies like blood transfusions, informing authorities re child molestation, disfellowshipping, that it would be a big story.

especially with so many witnesses that are depressed, or suicidal, or with the broken marriages, or children that die or those that are shunned.

Seeker4

Tyrone, I usually agree with you, but this comment: "It shouldn't suprize anyone these days that the media says whatever the hell they're told to, or told not to. They are just puppets. The internet is about the only place you can get the unfettered details where nobodies getting paid. That's my take anyhow." is just nonsense!

I've been in journalism now for well over a decade, and I can assure you that most reporters and journalists live to be able to develop a good story that attacks a sacred cow of some sort.

The truth is more what several have already said on here: JWs are very small fry in the world of journalism. Very few people really care about the JW pedophile issue any more than they care about the pedophile issue among Christidelphians, Seventh Day Adventists, the Four Square Gospel Church or any other essentially fringe group.

All religions have pedophile issues similar to the JWs, so it's not really news. What makes it news is if the issue is massive, as it was with the Catholic Church, or if it involves some sensational elements as with organization-wide incest or polygamy in the apostate Mormon groups, or the moral downfall of a well known leader, as in the case of several evangelical preachers caught fornicating with prostitutes or their secretaries!

The WTS has pretty much dealt with its pedophile issues the same way most churches have - try to deal with it in-house, and settle out of court to keep it out of the news. I don't think the Witnesses necessarily have more problems with pedophiles than any other high control religious group.

Truthfully, the Witnesses are hardly a blimp on the radar, and the days when they were an up and coming religion to take notice of are long gone.

S4