Thanks for sharing your research. It's inte eating to Knw there is so much information out there. I wonder if any of his relatives are currently either bible students, Jws, or members of other splinter groups.
Dreamerdude
JoinedPosts by Dreamerdude
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10
Russell Family Tree
by ILoveTTATT2 inunfortunately i had to zoom out to put all of the family tree in one picture.russell had 2 full brothers, 2 full sisters, and a half-sister.
it's interesting that margaret went on to be a jw (i.e.
stayed with the watchtower organization), whereas mabel, his half-sister, went on to stay with the bible students.it would be very interesting to find the descendants of both margaret and mabel... wondering how many still are bible students / jw's.... .
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Watchtower today
by Gorbatchov inshame to see our multi bilion property and media corporation asks for the last coins of an indian child, the coconuts from a sri lanka man and the last olive oil of a greek poor.. message to the poor is: no money, then your other belongings are belonging to jehova (read:jw.org).. at the end of the article i can click on a donate button and get a visa / mastercard sign om my screen.. follow the money: were are the property bilions?.
g..
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Dreamerdude
Yes, Gorby's sick examples come straight from today's study article. There's another one, which actually appears to be a real person named Lucia Moussanett, a 76 year old woman from Italy. She is praised for recruiting 60 Albanians to the cult. But before she was recruited she was a Catholic nun and actually did work to help people. The ironic part is that they reference her life story, which explains that when she was a nun she actually helped terminally ill people who had no family, taught children of immigrants, and helped poor people find housing and medical care. Of course none have of that practical help shows up in the study article. There was no financial or power benefit to Wt.
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Born Ins, How Did Your Parents Get "The Truth™"?
by pale.emperor inborn ins are in a unique position in that we never knew any other way of life.
no birthdays, christmas and overly superstitious family just seemed normal.
when my parents talked about their pre-jw life it seemed like they were talking about completely different people (actually, that's true, the cult had taken their real selves).. so i'd be interested in hearing how your parents were indoctrinated.. my dad.
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Dreamerdude
My mother was suckered in while she was pregnant, somewhat along the lines of the scenario described in 2 Timother 3:6, where sly guys captivate women while they are weak. My father was cooperative, but they never convinced him to get baptized. He hated disfellowshipping and refusal of blood transfusions when doctors insisted it is the only way to survive. He got upset a few times when he caught the JWs abusing his generosity. The JWs just thought Jehovah was using him to bestow blessings upon them. It kept him at arms length from the worst of the religion and gave me some freedom also. My mom would have liked to see me pioneer and go to Bethel, but dad helped me avoid those traps.
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I was impressed by part of today's symposium entitled ' Safeguard your children from what is evil'
by UnshackleTheChains inwell i have to give credit where credit is due.
it was the part of today's symposium - build a house that will endure.
the part i was most impressed with was 'safeguard your children from "what is evil".
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Dreamerdude
I am glad they addressed this at the RC. It's a subtle admission that child abuse is a problem. The talk I heard made it seem that the problem is school bus drivers and other worldly people. The parents were told to warn their children about predators and to make sure they dress modestly.
They will need to be forthright about the fact that the kids should not be sent to service, meetings, or family studies with people outside the family or even with family members that might have a tendency toward phedophilia. They also need to admit that the subject of pedophilia within the congregation is not just apostate driven lies.
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JW renaming things: "It's Not this, it's ....."
by Muddy Waters inthis was brought up in another thread, but i thought it should have its own thread.
feel free to add your own observations and experience.
the jws are so duplicit, and they rename things to somehow justify their own irrationalities.
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Dreamerdude
It's not covering up mistakes. It's not admitting mistakes. It's not even making stuff up or lying. It's all wonderful new light.
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I'm writing a letter to my country's branch
by Ray Frankz inhi everyone.. well, i have some good news.
after having a terrible moment arguing with my mom about the 1914 teaching and all it evolves (she get really upset and i felt great regret for starting the argument) she came to me next day and started talking with a much more open mind, and she talked about a lot of concerns too.. she and my father naivily expressed the wish to write to bethel to ask about 607bc.
i told in all the possible ways it wouldn't work.
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Dreamerdude
I tried writing a letter, sincerely thinking the branch was there to help. They encouraged me to wait on Jehovah and kindly informed me that they had sent a copy of my letter and their loving (not) response to my body of elders. The backlash from the local elders was nearly enough to wake me up.
If your parents still believe that wt has a monopoly on truth, you might want to ask them to send the letter in their names, and let them face the unloving reality of the cult. They might see things your way and leave with you.
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Jehovah's Witnesses Crimes Against Fellow Jehovah's Witness Victims
by Hecce ini ran a search and it seems that this was not posted before, there are 5 pages of criminal cases involving jws.. in the following criminal cases, the watchtower society - jehovah's witnesses religion served as the spiritual element of the perpetrator's and/or other actor's formative environment, or otherwise served as a major influencer of the perpetrator's and/or other actor's behavior.
the following cases are often tragic, and speak for themselves.. http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com/familicide4.html.
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Dreamerdude
Hecce, thanks for sharing the link. The raw data here does help to burst the narcissistic bubble of moral superiority that we were encouraged to develop.
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I'm writing a letter to my country's branch
by Ray Frankz inhi everyone.. well, i have some good news.
after having a terrible moment arguing with my mom about the 1914 teaching and all it evolves (she get really upset and i felt great regret for starting the argument) she came to me next day and started talking with a much more open mind, and she talked about a lot of concerns too.. she and my father naivily expressed the wish to write to bethel to ask about 607bc.
i told in all the possible ways it wouldn't work.
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Dreamerdude
Watchtower attempted damage control with a detailed article trying to defend 607BC. I think it was published around November 2011.
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For Christians: What do you think about an Armagedon and the Afterlife
by John Davis ini don't mean for anyone to get into argument over this, i just want to hear what people believe.i hope that no one will mock or argue with someone else about their beliefs, i know that i won't in this topic.. i still believe in a christian god, not what jws believe, but believe that there has to be something after this life.
i am not sure about how armageddon would go, would it be like how evangelicals believe with a rapture or timing or anything, though i still believe in a form of armageddon.
i do think that all good people will go to heaven but i don't believe in a hell.
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Dreamerdude
I believe in God, but I believe him to be a loving God, as described by Jesus in the gospels, where he affectionately called God Abba. The Watchtower makes Jehovah seem to be a very angry, mean spirited and narrow minded god. I want to look back and on my life as a life well lived and I choose to believe that God will bless me beyond anything I can imagine. I don't demand the things shown in Watchtower's fantastic paintings of Paradise and leave it in God's hands.
I like the words of 1 Corinthians 2:9 But just as it is written: “Eye has not seen and ear has not heard, nor have there been conceived in the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him.”
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JW's are indeed extremists...
by HereIgo inthe current russia ban on jw's accusing them of extremism got me thinking.
at first, i disagreed, only because i am used to our constitutional rights here in the u.s. and feel that individuals should be able to practice whatever religion they prefer, even if i disagree with the teachings.
however, i started thinking of the ways that jw's are in fact extremists and perhaps should be banned.
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Dreamerdude
There are many twisted things in the org, but the four areas you listed offer the best proof. In my opinion the Russian government's case was strongest when they called the two exjw witnesses, the woman who was shunned for escaping an abusive relationship, and the man who suffered from missing out on a good education.