Posts by TR

46

New "doom and gloom" brochure

by TR in

jw
friends

the brochure "the new millenium- what does the future hold for you?

" was just deliverd to my house this morning.

my wife answered the door and took it from an elder jw that i saw walking away as my wife shut the door.

I don't ever remember a "hand out tract, no discussion" campaign before. Another "easing up" on the flock maneuver?(like there ever was such a thing) I bet it makes field service a little more bearable.
Yeah, the tract is a rehash of ancient WT dribble. They still cling to 1914, without the "generation" part.

Waiting,

I wonder if your mother in law paid twice for the tracts. It reminds me of when I was the "accounts servant". I was the one up there on the podium at the ministry school meeting giving the monthly report. For a while we were in the red, and the p.o. tried to get me to fudge the report to make it balance. Them were the days.

Tom

46

New "doom and gloom" brochure

by TR in

jw
friends

the brochure "the new millenium- what does the future hold for you?

" was just deliverd to my house this morning.

my wife answered the door and took it from an elder jw that i saw walking away as my wife shut the door.

TR

The brochure "The New Millenium- What Does The Future Hold For You?" was just deliverd to my house this morning. My wife answered the door and took it from an elder JW that I saw walking away as my wife shut the door. I recognized him but don't remember his name. He just handed it to her wothout any discussion. I wonder if this is a new thing. Handing out tracts with no discussion. Or, maybe he was aware of my "apostacy", and didn't want to talk. Have any of you guys got this brochure?

More of the same, in my opinion. Pollution, Sickness, Poverty, and War are some of the paragraph headings. Then it goes on to describe paradise earth via "Bible Stories book" pictures and the same tried and true scriptures. Interestingly, they mention: "There the focus is on physical events that have taken place since 1914, such as global war, pestilences, and widespread food shortages." "Soon the last days will end." But nothing more is said about 1914.

"Knowledge That Leads to Life!" is the heading for the paragraph on the back of the brochure. Of course John 17:3, 1 Tim. 3:16 are cited.
Scare tactics are still the tricks of the trade, I guess.

Tom

Edited by - TR on 4 November 2000 20:13:6

92

Reflections

by Frenchy in

jw
friends

im starting a new thread because its time i left the bergman discussion.

i would like to address some comments made by ahhah, however, comments which have given me reason to look deep into myself.. even then, i wonder how objective a person could ever be after having had part of their life taken from them by a cult association.

on the other hand, who else (other than an ex-jw) would ever care enough to work as tirelessly as he seems to have in attempting to document the potential harm of this religion (biased as it may be).

TR

Good Topic, Frenchy.

Can't add much thus far, just some thoughts. IMO, demanding religions like the WTS define what a cult is. The leaders of the WTS, for whatever reason, have decided they have the truth. Since they think they are God's chosen, they somehow believe that they have the power to demand strict allegiance to their cause. I'm still not sure if the GB REALLY thinks they are chosen or not. Maybe it's just a career to some, and a traditional way of life to others. Nevertheless, they have a corporation to maintain worth billions. Support of the r&f is paramount to this org.

Being deceived and having the proof of such is the main reason for my anger toward the WTS. I didn't even leave because of what they teach. I left because I was stressed to the limit. It was only after my period of research that I started to get angry. Much expectation was heaped on my shoulders by the WTS and the local cong. Having an "unbelieving" mate and three small kids made it difficult to maintain a balance in my life as a JW. Should I give more attention to the "kingdom interests", or to my family? Too much attention to the cong. brought suffering to my wife and kids. Too much attention to the wife and kids brought chastisement from the cong. I simply couldn't hack it any more. I didn't want to give up my duties and just sit at the hall, knowing how others would think of me. So I walked away.

Fortunately for me, most of my family were never JW's. I had an instant support system, and no one was angry at me. They accepted me after I left the cong., and didn't judge me. I truly feel for other JW's who didn't have a built in support system. That's another reason that angers me about the WTS. Vulnerable people that were tossed out without any support. How can a religion expect a person to accept the punishment when the person doesn't believe in the reasons he/she was expelled for? If a person is having doubts, maybe they can ease out, and start creating a life outside the WTS to make an easier transition. Many different scenarios to consider.

Tom

54

Jerry Bergman, Ph.D. (psy) - JW insights

by AhHah in

jw
friends

this site also contains articles by ken raines, who seems to have developed the site.. url http://www.premier1.net/~raines/.

url http://www.premier1.net/~raines/story.html (ken raines).

url http://www.premier1.net/~raines/papers.html (j. bergman).

TR

Hey Xandit,

I'm going to have to read that info again. It's been a while for me too. I read it in my angrier days, so maybe I'll have a different perspective this time.

Tom

31

Hi, I'm new here also

by notsureofmyself in

jw
friends

when i first checked out this board i also thought it was a board for active witnesses.

the more i read, the more i realized that it was pretty much a x-jw board--more to my liking.

i disassociated myself in december of '98.

TR

Peter,

You're right, the sex inuendos were seized upon. But, hey, we do it because we CAN.

BTW, I won't take any liberties with your name, but I can't guarantee what Red and Waiting will do!

Tom

54

Jerry Bergman, Ph.D. (psy) - JW insights

by AhHah in

jw
friends

this site also contains articles by ken raines, who seems to have developed the site.. url http://www.premier1.net/~raines/.

url http://www.premier1.net/~raines/story.html (ken raines).

url http://www.premier1.net/~raines/papers.html (j. bergman).

TR

To all:

Lest we forget, and I don't see how we can, given our experiences, the WTS goal is to ensnare people with slick talk and to retrain them to not think objectively or independently. The "snare and a racket" quote from J.F. Rutherford have come full circle to bite the WTS in the a**.

TFS's post about the recent WT article points this out in grand fashion. How many times in the past have we read from the WT or other WT publications the need to do research and to "make the truth our own." This is all designed to fool us into believing that we're being objective when in reality we're being told the opposite. It is truly an "orwellian" organization. This is evident in the fact that most JW's who leave have a struggle doing so. Many xJW's harbor fear of deserting "God's organization" sometimes years after they leave. The WT mind control machine does it's job and leaves it's mark long after one has bailed out. None of this is new to any of you, I realize. Just had to say it.

Tom

54

Jerry Bergman, Ph.D. (psy) - JW insights

by AhHah in

jw
friends

this site also contains articles by ken raines, who seems to have developed the site.. url http://www.premier1.net/~raines/.

url http://www.premier1.net/~raines/story.html (ken raines).

url http://www.premier1.net/~raines/papers.html (j. bergman).

TR

I think that Bergman's bias toward the WTS along with his training gives us a valuable insight toward the results this cult can have on people.

Xandit said:

His bias is obvious and I've found blatant inaccuracies in some of the things he's written.

Could you please cite some of these blatant inaccuracies?

Tom

7

"Must You Believe It?" - Dec. 1st Wt ...

by tfs in

jw
friends

*****posted by "venice" from h2o*****.

would you believe it if someone told you that the december 1, 2000 issue of the watchtower gives its readers permission to reject the published conclusions of the organization if these should in any way contradict god, ignore his word, and violate common sense?

you decide.

TR

Even when someone with vastly superior knowledge presents a carefully crafted and seemingly unassailable argument, a listener need not believe a foolish conclusion simply because he cannot disprove it at the time. The student was actually following a very practical Bible principle found at 1 John 4:1—not to believe too quickly everything you hear, even when it appears to come from an authoritarian source

This quote seems evident to me to be a slam against "apostate" ideas and logic. In other words, "don't listen to the apostates!"

The teacher, of course, was merely playing a trick on his students. Sometimes, though, things are not so innocent. People can be extremely “cunning in contriving error.”—Ephesians 4:14; 2 Timothy 2:14,23,24….

This quote is another warning to stay away from "apostates".

Tom

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