i couldn’t help but notice the juxtaposition of the day text for jan 14 and 15. the first is about following the disfellowshipping decree, the second is about showing compassion.
i ask you, “if an active jw were to miss following both of these texts, which one would they most likely be counseled on?”.
Direct conflict in th website...
jw.org faq on shunning
What of a man who is disfellowshipped but whose wife and children are still Jehovah’s Witnesses? The religious ties he had with his family change, but blood ties remain. The marriage relationship and normal family affections and dealings continue.
daily text Jan 14
Despite our pain of heart, we must avoid normal contact with a dis- fellowshipped family member by telephone, text messages, letters, e-mails, or social media.
Define “normal”
in my ten years as a witness i never read the whole bible end to end, what with four magazines a month, the book study, meetings and talk preparations, there just wasn’t the time.
i knew all the important references to ‘prove’ the various jw doctrines, and the cherry picked chapters that help foster the idea that it’s a good book, but that’s not reading it.
well after nearly forty years out, i decided i would do it.
i haven't been posting here much lately, i think i only created one topic in 2018!
but this is worth it.. i am a grandfather 😊.
it happens all the time but damn, it feels good.
Babies! Congrats!
in my ten years as a witness i never read the whole bible end to end, what with four magazines a month, the book study, meetings and talk preparations, there just wasn’t the time.
i knew all the important references to ‘prove’ the various jw doctrines, and the cherry picked chapters that help foster the idea that it’s a good book, but that’s not reading it.
well after nearly forty years out, i decided i would do it.
I feel more inspired to read it end to end now then I ever did as a witness. Though I have never done it. I have 9 different visions in my house. I would struggle picking a translation that hasn’t been twisted with an agenda.
this is a very good document from a law school exploring religious freedom vs an individuals right to religious freedom without blackmail, pressure, etc, and also explores why certain lawsuits did not win and what it would take to win them.
https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=3827&context=penn_law_review.
a person born in, and whose parents or family pressured to shun because they simply left the religion, who has evidence of damages, etc, would likely have a good case if they find a good lawyer.
If there was a class action lawsuit against the orginization I would sign my name up, but this is not something I would peruse on my own.. maybe it’s laziness, maybe it is some crazy sense of loyalty to my own brainwashed family, this to me seems more like a power in numbers thing. For the record I do not agree with the shunning doctrine and it is distrucrive for individuals and families. It just seems like an uphill battle that would dig a lot of emotions and pain out of the closet.. while I do like to read articles and keep up with the exjw “news” so to speak, I really do feel like I have moved on with my life. My family was a part of my life, and now they are not. Like an old job I have no ill will towards.
when i first seen this website i actually thought it was a jw website hence the home page and not an ex jw website and i posted a topic thinking people were real witnesses then i quickly discovered it was not and all these people were commenting and embarrassing me and i couldn’t even delete the thread.
then i asked the admin to delete it and i said it was very misleading saying it’s a jw page and he’s like are you serious i deleted your topic and now you are attacking me and it clearly says ex jw page.
he was very rude and btw no where does it say ex jw and you should be able to delete your own threads you start.
when i first seen this website i actually thought it was a jw website hence the home page and not an ex jw website and i posted a topic thinking people were real witnesses then i quickly discovered it was not and all these people were commenting and embarrassing me and i couldn’t even delete the thread.
then i asked the admin to delete it and i said it was very misleading saying it’s a jw page and he’s like are you serious i deleted your topic and now you are attacking me and it clearly says ex jw page.
he was very rude and btw no where does it say ex jw and you should be able to delete your own threads you start.
So you posted a topic and people responded, but you didn’t like the criscism. So in turn you Critcized the creator of the website? What was your question in the first place?
as we all know, this org has metamorphosized from one ugly creature to another continuously since it's inception.
but more so it seems in the last 30 years.. i got to thinking what my dad would think if he were to be brought to life for 5 mins to see the way things are now.
how would he even react?.
I’ve thought about going back to “study” just to try to understand how they are teaching people this nonsense now. It is not the same religion I grew up in.. it makes me sick to my stomach how people still buy into it. My father is a smart man but he got got.... it’s disgusting.
if you are a true believer, then you are toast.
because you will be a slave to everything the watchtower, circuit overseers, elders, pioneers, imply.
believe me, there are not many true believers anymore, and the majority of them are old.
I kind of agree with what you’re saying.. as long as you keep your mouth shut and are constantly looking over your shoulder you can Do whatever you want. What kind of life is that though?
was sent this by a catholic friend who knows of my previous life.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttkqtp-ulwa.
This makes sense. “Pagan” has always been a hot word with jw and they regect it. So the fact that their roots are “pagan” would be counterintuitive. I questioned my father in law about the Freemasons gently and he seemed somewhat ashamed/embarrassed that he didn’t follow his fathers footsteps.. even my husband stated one day “when he grows up” he might pursue it. I don’t care either way. Is it a religious affiliation or a trade affiliation?
