Posts by LarryCope

6

Through legalism, has the WTBT$ and their followers lost their moral compass?

by LarryCope in

in december, i lunched with someone who was at one time quite close and is still a jw.

the topic of the arc ( australian royal commission ) and pedophilia came up.

the two things that was immediately voiced by this person was the two witness rule and that it was homosexuals molesting witness boys parroting the plastic faced stephen lett.this person is not online and has not seen the arc videos or know anything about the silent lambs movement.

LarryCope

In December, I lunched with someone who was at one time quite close and is still a JW. The topic of the ARC ( Australian Royal Commission ) and pedophilia came up. The two things that was immediately voiced by this person was the two witness rule and that it was homosexuals molesting Witness boys parroting the plastic faced Stephen Lett.

This person is not online and has not seen the ARC videos or know anything about the Silent Lambs movement. So, I first pointed out that the cases ( 1066 ) were a majority of elders, ms, trusted men and step fathers molesting young girls. It is not that men didn't molest boys, but that the largest percentage was as described. Further, men who molest boys fall into an entirely different category from gay men.

What surprised me was the insistence on the two witness rule, though. This person has no children of their own, but has nieces and nephews and, now, great nieces and nephews. If one of those had been molested, I could see this individual becoming downright furious which is understandable. To see this old friend of mine sit calmly and repeat the kool aid laden dogma astonished me! Maybe I never saw it years and years ago, but how unloving, uncaring and what a lack of moral compass! Through it's legalism, has the WTBT$ and it's automatons lost their moral compass?

22

New to site...let me intro myself

by LarryCope in

first, i've been out of the organization for 20 years this very year!

i was baptized in 1979 and attended one of the lancaster ohio congregations.

realizing i was gay, i left and after being in the columbus gay community for 6 months, decided bar hopping and cruising was not my cup o' tea.i decided to return in late '90 and was reinstated in '91.

LarryCope

Also, it looks like only 3.8% of Americans identify as LGBT. (Although it's a self reported statistic so it may be a little higher in actuality.)

That's about accurate. I think there was something like 110 publishers at our KH and besides myself 4 other likely so that is in line with Gallup

22

New to site...let me intro myself

by LarryCope in

first, i've been out of the organization for 20 years this very year!

i was baptized in 1979 and attended one of the lancaster ohio congregations.

realizing i was gay, i left and after being in the columbus gay community for 6 months, decided bar hopping and cruising was not my cup o' tea.i decided to return in late '90 and was reinstated in '91.

LarryCope

OnTheWayOut 8 hours ago

So being gay had little to do with your leaving the final time.

Absolutely! Don't get me wrong, it was a terrible burden. I remember going in FS with an brother who was an absolute doll and having to focus on my presentations. WHEW!!

But it was the inaccuracies and false info that did it. After all, I was giving up a whole lot and to find out that it was erroneous did my temperament no good.

22

New to site...let me intro myself

by LarryCope in

first, i've been out of the organization for 20 years this very year!

i was baptized in 1979 and attended one of the lancaster ohio congregations.

realizing i was gay, i left and after being in the columbus gay community for 6 months, decided bar hopping and cruising was not my cup o' tea.i decided to return in late '90 and was reinstated in '91.

LarryCope

When you say 'you estimate', was that because of the 10 percent 'rule' or because you personally knew of 8 to 10 that were gay?
I mention it because I was in a cong of around 120 and can't think of anyone that was/may have been gay, with the possible exception of two sisters that may have been, although I'm only basing that on the fact they never married.

I cannot speak for the person in NZ, but I can tell you that other than myself there were likely 4 youths in the mid 90s that were "involved". I had a wonderful relationship with my mother and I'd point out the two younger brothers who sat together touching knees, letting them rub or would sit letting their arms touch and at times were so physically close a piece of paper could not be put between them. I told her if they weren't "involved" I'd eat my hat.
Later, I visited a sister who moved and asked pointed about her relationship with another younger sister. She smiled a sly smile and said "We were special friends" ( Ahem )
If that was happening in the mid 90s. it's going on now.

28

I would like to rant about how I get really upset when I get some weak invitation back to the cult.

by schnell in

jw
friends

my mother wanted me to know that the co gave a talk that kinda-sorta reprimanded an elder in her hall.

he is not the reason i left at all, and this does not address anything to do with me or our family.. my mother-in-law sent me texts which i ignored and now she has sent a picture to my wife on facebook just for me, and it's a prodigal son meme that says, "you see the signs, come back it's not too late".. yeah, it's not too late to accept a global flood in 2370 bce, or that man was created in 4026 bce from a golem spell, or that an us-and-them cult mentality is at all healthy or loving, or that religion is going to be banned by the un, or that i should expect anyone else at the door to accept these stupid ideas in the information age.. what am i supposed to say?

i usually just ignore them, but before i do that, i see that shit and i storm into this weird internalized rage where i start writing a response and deleting it.

LarryCope

While I have no family in the WTBT$, I was recently upped at a park by one zealous lady. I listened to her for a bit then asked bout the Kenite Hypothesis as well as Finklestein's view of the establishment of the nation of Israel. This left her in a quandry, so I elucidated both and asked how long she'd been a JW and she said for almost 15 years ( I, myself, have been out for 20 ). I told her I was disassociated, suggested she study thoroughly using comparative Bibles such as the NRSV and NIV and that she should historically research the date 607 B.C.E.
She took off like a scalded cat and even exited the park ( evil grin )

55

Why so few XJWs online?

by StephaneLaliberte in

not too long ago, i posted a topic where i pointed out that there are about 1 million xjws alive right now.

that number only represented the disfellowshipped ones... didn't account for those who had become publishers and left or anyone else who got hurt by that group by proxy.

so, why are there so few of them online?

LarryCope

"Why so few XJWs online?"

I left in '97 and online communities were in their infancy. I belonged for a short time a gay ex-JW group, but so many members were negative about how much time they'd been robbed of. I'd lost enough time ( 1979-1986 1991-1997 ) and I needed to heal myself. I, in fact, went on with life and it never occurred to me that others would take to You Tube or be online in communities such as this one.

Periodically, I would check in on JW.org when it came up and looked at some of the productions. This was only due to the fact that I reconnected with a good friend who is till a JW. It's, literally, been recent that I began a more proactive online presence. I chalk this up to finally going to church after 20 years leaving the organization. It sickened me on Christianity and I turned my back on all of it.

22

New to site...let me intro myself

by LarryCope in

first, i've been out of the organization for 20 years this very year!

i was baptized in 1979 and attended one of the lancaster ohio congregations.

realizing i was gay, i left and after being in the columbus gay community for 6 months, decided bar hopping and cruising was not my cup o' tea.i decided to return in late '90 and was reinstated in '91.

LarryCope

Thank you! The Bethelite has a real wit.

22

New to site...let me intro myself

by LarryCope in

first, i've been out of the organization for 20 years this very year!

i was baptized in 1979 and attended one of the lancaster ohio congregations.

realizing i was gay, i left and after being in the columbus gay community for 6 months, decided bar hopping and cruising was not my cup o' tea.i decided to return in late '90 and was reinstated in '91.

LarryCope

First, I've been out of the organization for 20 years this very year! I was baptized in 1979 and attended one of the Lancaster Ohio congregations. Realizing I was gay, I left and after being in the Columbus gay community for 6 months, decided bar hopping and cruising was not my cup o' tea.
I decided to return in late '90 and was reinstated in '91. I was appointed as a Ministerial Servant and had the added privilege of giving Public Talks. Being gay was a non-issue as I was celibate. However, there is a saying that "you can't go home again".

I began questioning things. My service dropped and I was deleted eventually as a servant. I purchased a WEB-TV unit and began studying for meetings using the Biblegateway.com site plus the Kingdom Interlinear plus the Emphatic Diaglott plus the NWT. What I found out is that the New World Translation not only did not match other translations in texts but also the changed texts were used to springboard into doctrine. This practice is still being done today. Compare Micah 6:8 from the "Silver Sword" with earlier NWT texts and with other translations.

Eventually, in summation, I wrote a letter of resignation, sent it to the elder body and left. My judicial hearing was held over the phone and the elders at first didn't want to accept the letter claiming I had not signed the first. So, I resent it with my signature ala John Hancock.

I was aware when the "new light" of overlapping generations was introduced and even how the GB was now " The Faithful Slave". I merely chuckled. But, in the past couple years I've been in contact with a good friend and he has shared more in depth the changes. I can hardly believe it's the same organization! But, I'm a whole lot wiser now.