Posts by zophar

"parents of ghislaine maxwell's 'lieutenant' sarah kellen worry their daughter will be arrested and charged in epstein's child sex trafficking ring, as they claim teen was 'brainwashed.

quote: but with concerns mounting over her behavior, kellen was disfellowshipped, a disciplinary sanction whereby she was expelled from the church and ostracized by its members, including her own family.‘it was all handled out there.

it’s very private, there’s a committee that meets and they go over everything.

zophar

This interview is just sad.

Their daughter was vulnerable to manipulation because she was disfellowshipped. What difference would it have made if her parents showed unconditional love?

They call her their “prodigal” daughter. Well then get out on the road and welcome her back!

This is just sad. And Sarah is responsible for her own actions. At $200,000 a year salary, just how much was she taken advantage of?

15

Hello!

by Caedus in

been reading here for a few years.. 4th gen jw, born and raised, served for a few years which was the catalyst for me.

the politics, backstabbing, slandering and coercive tactics in particular caused a constant internal struggle.

i started researching and focused only on the stories of ex-elders/servants to see if i was the only one - i wasn't.. the rest is history..

zophar

Wow, fourth generation. Of course you are right, you are not the only one. Was there a particular issue that opened your eyes?

After “reading here for years” what prompted you to post a comment?

1

This is the one Guy I'd love to heard his take on this Covid-19/Coronavirus! He kinda foretold it

by StoneWall in

jw
friends

he hit the nail on the head with so much of this in people trading their liberties because of a germ.george carlin: comic,philosopher,actor,atheist.https://youtu.be/x29lf43mulo

zophar

Right! And let’s be sure to use the same brush on all four area’s!

Love Carlin but don’t know that he was trying to teach the same lesson you see ..... unless you are a 2 times a week hand-washer.

41

EVERY Religion has Hypocrites- even the TRUE One!

by MuchCloserLook in

so, if you expect to find 'saints' with halos, you will never find real christians.. after over 30 years of being a jw, there are many things about the org that disturb me- yet no one else even acknowledges the only true god, as jesus referred to him.. not a 'they' or 'them' ('trinity')- but him!and he has always had the name jehovah (yehovah in hebrew)- even though the koine greek had no version of it when the nt was written.. so among the many things real christians have to endure- is often each other!

.

zophar

Just wait. You will have plenty of opportunities to defend your position in but a little while!

55

Circuit Overseer to Answer My Questions + Concerns...or Not

by Research in

hello all, i'm 'researching', a jw who is in the first steps of taking a look at their beliefs.. i've semi-recently (about a couple weeks ago) heard about the sexual abuse cases (pennsylvania attorney general’s investigation request) and then the arc in 2015. this lead to a deep investigation, which lead to many questions arising.

a jw friend of mine suggested i be careful (due to apostates) and ask the brothers.

so i typed up my questions + concerns and emailed an elder my mother has known for a long time.

zophar

Or...

“Questions I can’t answer vs Answers I can’t question.”

60

Rec'd a letter from my Dad - need some advice...

by Fadeaway3pointer in

fader here - last meeting was in autumn 2005. lurker on this site and others.

not one to get all controversial.. typical situation, pretty much a born in and left the church at age 38 and never looked back.. i'm 53 now, parents getting older - late 70s but very active, dad is still an elder.. parents, in laws, brother and brother-in-law still uber active jws.. my family (wife and 2 adult children) out since 2005.. we have stayed close to our parents - we have treaded religion lightly and have had a pretty good relationship and have kept our personal lives and beliefs/opinions separated from them.

this was intentional - as we love them and do not want anything to cause shunning since they are getting older and want to be there for them and we respect their beliefs.. got this letter today.

zophar

It is obvious that your situation has resonated with many here in this site.

You mentioned you have been a Lurker and not controversial. Many of us on this site, probably me included, are rather more confrontational in our personalities than you are, and I see good in both personality styles as long as one is balanced. Something we have not been taught by our shared religious backgrounds.

Isn’t it interesting that even from your parents perspective, Jehovah has not brought final judgment on individuals, including your family, and the Jehovah’s Witness organization has not judged you by disfellowshipping you, yet your parents feel they must render judgment.

Would it do you any good to respond, not to your father, but to your mother? Mentioning that the letter was written by your father and you wish to respect HIS wishes.

You could tell her that you have absolutely NO desire to: “drive down to express your negative thoughts and feelings towards us, the congregation and the organization.” but, that you very much love both of them and only want the best for them.

The “Awake!” from 2009 could be quoted but I would use the complete paragraph as it appeared:

“Although the Bible makes a clear distinction between true and false teachings, God allows each person the freedom to choose how he or she will respond. (Deuteronomy 30:19, 20) No one should be forced to worship in a way that he finds unacceptable or be made to choose between his beliefs and his family. Does study of the Bible lead to family breakup? No. In fact, the Bible encourages a husband and wife who practice different religions to remain together as a family.—1 Corinthians 7:12, 13.”

I wish you well and I sympathize with your situation my friend.

29

What does "The disfellowshipping of xyz is now rescinded" mean

by cognitivedizzy in

it has happened somewhere i know.

what is it and what does it mean.

zophar

Well, I know of a reinstatement that was rescinded. Young single woman reinstated and it's discovered she is pregnant. Announcement, " Reinstatement has been rescinded and she remains Disfellowshipped".

8

Interesting news - Supreme court throws out case against Watchtower.

by pleaseresearch in

so my mum sent me this link, i need to speak to her about how she feels about this.

maybe she didn't even read it.

but the website looks to pro jw.

zophar

I agree Simon. You could even properly say I am Jehovah’s Witness. You are Jehovah’s (possessive form or tense) witness. It somehow doesn’t sound right and I bet a true JW would be suspicious of someone who used that expression, but grammatically I think it is proper.