Posts by ThatSucks

129

MANDATORY Reporting of Child Abuse

by silentlambs in

it appears there are a few misconceptions when it comes to the reporting of child abuse.

the federal law child abuse prevention and treatment act (capta)(jan. 1996 version), 42 u.s.c.

failure to report can result in civil liability.

ThatSucks

Right on morrisamb!

It would be nice to see people's egos go beyond trying to come out on top on a silly debate and actually address real issues.

7

The biggest barefaced lie I ever heard!!

by sleepy in

what an absolute barefaced lie!!.

i just looked up a watchtower about "this generation".. i remember studying this, and falling for it!did you?.

w95 11/1 20 a time to keep awake.

ThatSucks

Hey expatbrit, good call. I've never thought of it like that.

51

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses lie to recruits?

by jerome in

first let me say this.. i have constantly been hearing of the legendary honesty/intergity of the jehovah's witness for some time now.

i have also been informed that they are the happiest people on the entire earth.. my problem is this:.

when a jehovah's witness comes to your door and you actually decide to give them a few moments of your time they never give the whole story as to what you would be getting involved with when you join the watchtower.. case in point.

ThatSucks

dantheman:

But, how many people initially show interest in the Witnesses, only to hear another side of it from someone else, and promptly discontinue their study?

I don't know how many, but I know that I am one who did just that. I got tired of hearing about demonic easter-eggs and Christmas trees from people who wear jewelry to represent marriage originating back to ancient fertility rights. It was just too stupid to deal with.

46

Proof of the "historical" Jesus...

by simwitness in

been wondering about this lately.... what proof (outside the bible, of course) do we have for the "historical jesus"?.

in my earlier days (post jw to "born again christian") i remember reading that the one thing that differentiates christianity vs. "all the others" was that we had secular historical proof that there was a man that was called jesus, who died on a cross and was resurrected.

now i am wondering just what that proof is/was?

ThatSucks

Kenneson said:

By your own admission, you state that a cult does not begin without a founder. Yet that is what skeptics ask us to believe about Christianity. Don't they deny a "historical" Jesus? The rightness or wrongness of your followers behavior wouldn't negate the fact that you began the cult.

But what if Xander started a cult 2000+ years ago and went around clammoring on about a Cultic Climune who was sent by God to do his bidding and save mankind, etc. Then, Xander would have started the fabrication of the Climune.

Look! I beheld a grand site. A man, the purist of pure, standing by the pond in Annington. Upon asking this man his name, he said, "I am Climune. I am the holy one. I fulfil God's promise to deliver your people once again. Tell your people the good news so they will know that they are not forsaken." Then as quickly as he came, he vanished.

Xander could have walked around claiming to have witnessed the above, screaming for people to have faith in what he says to be the truth. As he gained more followers, so began the Climune movement, all basing their lives on the FAITH in what Xander had said.

In this case their would be no historical "Climune", only Xander, who started the movement.

26

I need help really bad!!!

by joelbear in

jw
friends

i am having a complete mental breakdown.. my nerve endings on the right side of my body are burning all the time.

i can't face the stress and the pain.. i can't sleep, i can't rest.

i can't think.. i don't know what to do.. please help me.. joel

ThatSucks

Hello Joel.

I understand you are dealing with panic attacks.

What helped me through them was to remember that *I* was in control. I would not permit myself to be overcome by anxiety. Any stressful situation I would play through my head and make belief I was doing something silly like whacking my boss over the head or throwing cold water on the repairman for not being able to fix that leaky faucet. heh.

You just have to be careful because later on after you are used to using the above as a defense mechanism, you may sometimes embarass yourself by inexplicable grinning in public.

33

non-jw's please check in here

by dungbeetle in

jw
friends

i don't know if anyone has said this before, but i wanted to say a big thank you to all of you non-jw's who have put up with us and stayed with us and helped us out so much.. i know offhand: jerome, detective, and hawkaw.

i know there are many many more of you, but please step up here and take a very well-deserved bow and get a very well-deserved hand from me and from others..

salute!!!!!

ThatSucks

I am posting here not because I wish to "take a very well-deserved bow and get a very well-deserved hand from me and from others" but because the subject reads "non-jw's please check in here".

Sucky checking in.

24

silentlambs is not disfellowshipped

by silentlambs in

jw
friends

i had an interesting day today.

early this afternoon i was sent an email by a sister who was chastising me for claiming to not be disfellowshipped.

she wrote she had just spoken to the oregon service desk and was assured that i was df on no uncertain terms.

ThatSucks

Yadirf, who are you disfellowshipping? Rank witnesses don't even consider you a JW. Wow, that comedy in action again!

37

Hello, I am new here...

by Spiderman in

jw
friends

i am from barcelona, spain and i recently bought a computer and got on the internet.

i was searching for jehovah's witnesses as i am one of them.

i found this site.

ThatSucks

Hello Spiderman, thank you for your responses.

You said:

I think the problem with this question is that you are assuming that I am a follower of men. I am not, I follow the one and only true God Almighty Jehovah and his son Jesus.

You might want to re-think what you've said. Now, if you were born in another part of this world where nobody knew about what you would call "the scriptures", you wouldn't have the foggiest idea of who Jehovah or Jesus were. Why is this? Because it took other MEN (JWs), whether that be inside or outside your immediate family to teach you of these things. Also, since you follow the mandates set forth by the writing dept. of the WT and AWAKE magazines, by default you are indeed a follower of men. (Not because you do what they say, but because you do what they say God thinks you should do).

I make a sincere effort in everyday life to follow in the footsteps of our savior.

Think again. you make a sincere effort in everyday life to follow in the footsteps of who you are told is your savior by other men. You were not born with knowledge of JG or JC.

When I am confronted with decisions I do not ask myself, "what would the GB do in this situation?", but I ask myself "what would JesusChrist do in this situation?". This is what guides me in life.

Fair enough. Now, who teaches you what the bible says about how Jesus handled specific situations? Do you not read these in study articles out of the WT? Yes you do. Therefore, again you are following men.

I have seen many bad men and women inside the organization, but since I am not a follower men, it does not cause me to be stumbled.

Thanks for that. So many witnesses come on here and claim that their religion is infallible and perfect, yet the contents are the same of any other religion (fallible men). I disagree with your notion on not following men once again, because unfortunately, a man can cause you considerable pain by causing others to consider you a dead man simply by making an announcement in front of your kingdom hall. The stories of many on this forum are testimony to the corruption that comes from those who claim exclusivity with God.

I always wait and allow Jehovah to guide me as my loving father.

That's wonderful. I just wish that you would realize that you are waiting on that guidance THROUGH men that you would call the faithful and discreet slave, since you consider their organization to be the only channel to mankind. And, because of this indirect guidance by imperfect humans, you are by definition led astray by the musings of those men. (Remember that you are putting your faith in what they say God says).

Now to answer your question directly, I hope to accomplish what I said at first, just to give my opinion from inside Jehovah's organization.

Thank you for that.

37

Hello, I am new here...

by Spiderman in

jw
friends

i am from barcelona, spain and i recently bought a computer and got on the internet.

i was searching for jehovah's witnesses as i am one of them.

i found this site.

ThatSucks

Hello again Spiderman.

you said:

TS, thanks for your comments and I will keep your thoughts in mind as I post in this forum.

I am glad you will keep my comments in mind. While I am appreciative of your attention, I would still like to know your thoughts on the question I asked you when you said:

I have read many sad stories in the archives of many of you. Unfortunately many were stumbled by man and that is sad in itself.

I will repeat my question to you once again for your convienence:

Having said that, what do you hope to accomplish here by telling 'both sides of the story', since you too are being led by men (because I know that God doesn't write the WT and AWAKE)?

Thank you in advance for your time and effort. Also, in response to another poster you said:

Well, let's put it this way. According to the Bible, Satan was once an angel and part of Jehovah's invisible organization in heaven. Yet, he did stumble Adam and Eve. Although Jehovah can control everything and everyone, he chooses not to. In today's organization here on earth, men inside the religion cause others to stumble. Jesus gave warning about this happening in the last days.

Please explain where in the bible it is stated "Satan was once an angel and part of Jehovah's invisible organization in heaven." I cannot find reference to it.

Also, could not the Catholic Pope say that "men inside the religion cause others to stumble" and that the Catholic church is pure when confronted with problems in the Catholic religion?

I just find it odd that you can blame entire religions in one breath for what you say are simply the mistakes of men in another.

Why is a priest who molests a child a product of their religion while a JW elder who molests a child is a fallible man who made a mistake? Are they not BOTH fallible men who made mistakes? Or, are they not BOTH the result of their religious teachings?

Could you not be unduley biassed when you make statements as you did above in your response?

Thank you for your time.

37

Hello, I am new here...

by Spiderman in

jw
friends

i am from barcelona, spain and i recently bought a computer and got on the internet.

i was searching for jehovah's witnesses as i am one of them.

i found this site.

ThatSucks

Hello "Spiderman".

Pleased to meet you.

I am from Barcelona, Spain and I recently bought a computer and got on the internet. I was searching for Jehovah's Witnesses as I am one of them. I found this site. I understand that a great majority here are ex-brothers and sisters, but I also see that some are still Witnesses, only they are inactive or thinking about leaving the religion.

Don't forget us "interested ones" who have never been witnesses.

I would like to clarify that I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses. I am not here to torment anyone or to bother anyone. I think that discussions are better when both sides of the story are presented.

I wish I could believe you, but if you are truly an active witness, then you will only truly be interested in showing the 'good' site of witnesses and minimizing/ignoring the bad aspects of their belief system. Unfortunately, this usually means ignoring all of the REAL PROBLEMS that many people on this board struggle with every day. That in turn will cause you to torment/bother some members of this board (inadvertantly or not).

That is what I offer, my side of the story per say. Of course I do not represent all 6 million of my brothers and sisters, but I would like to add my opinions to the discussions here presented.

Thank you for admitting as much. Please remember that before uttering the phrase "the witnesses do" or "the witnesses do not" on any given topic on this forum. It is really refreshing to see one who is humble when others proclaim god-given wisdom over others on topics they don't even understand.

I have read many sad stories in the archives of many of you. Unfortunately many were stumbled by man and that is sad in itself.

Having said that, what do you hope to accomplish here by telling 'both sides of the story', since you too are being led by men (because I know that God doesn't write the WT and AWAKE)?

I see that many of you are going through a healing process and trying to find comfort and support within this small community and I wish that I could help.

Excellent sintiment.

Jehovah cares for all specially for his lost sheep.

Uh oh! Here we go. You should have said "I believe Jehovah cares for all [e]specially for his lost sheep." and you would have been better off. Stating belief as fact that others disagree with is NO WAY to help others heal. It makes you look self-righteous and judgemental, despite your intentions, and others will view you as someone considering himself a better person than others.

A friendly hello to all. I hope everyone enjoys my signature, I got it from a beautiful movie. Guess which one it is...

Sorry, can't venture a guess, but hello right back. I would welcome you to the board, but it is not my board. I'm just glad you could chat with these great folks.