truman

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Posts by truman

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  8

  "Dirty Watchtower Secrets" webpages

  by sf in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  < http://hardtruth.topcities.com/dirtywatchtowersecrets.htm.

  .

  < http://hardtruth.topcities.com/dirty_watchtower_secrets_pt2.htm

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  truman

  I love a good conspiracy theory. Too bad this web site doesn't have one.
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  7

  latest WT thoughts for the day

  by truman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the august 1 wt arrived in my mailbox today.

  i eagerly ripped off the wrapper in anticipation of fresh spiritual gems.

  i was not disappointed.

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  truman

  Hi Pat,
  I know what you mean about fearing to get sucked back in to that rabbit hole. The first few weeks, I was so upset by the buzzwords and still not fully tuned out from the mind control. I can read it now with impunity. (mostly) In fact, analyzing it like this has been an aid to learning to recognize and neutralize its power over me. And it feels so good to be able to express these things which I have keep clamped down inside me for so long, hoping I won't notice them there in the corner of my mind.

  AGuest,
  "Gag me with a WT." lol
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  7

  latest WT thoughts for the day

  by truman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the august 1 wt arrived in my mailbox today.

  i eagerly ripped off the wrapper in anticipation of fresh spiritual gems.

  i was not disappointed.

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  truman

  The August 1 WT arrived in my mailbox today. I eagerly ripped off the wrapper in anticipation of fresh spiritual gems. I was not disappointed. Good thing I was not eating at the time. I offer these excerpts for your consideration. (Along with some of my thoughts as I read)

  Cover article: Your Right to Believe

  "You probably cherish your right to believe whatever you wish to believe. So does almost everyone else. By exercising this right earth's 6 billion inhabitants have produced an amazing diversity of beliefs. Like variations in color, shape, texture, taste, smell, and sound that we find in creation, differing beliefs often add interest, excitement, and enjoyment to life. Such variey can, indeed, be the spice of life." (Sounds good so far doesn't it?)

  Then a very inflamatory story from early 20th century about one-world government conspiracies by Jews and Freemasons, is offered as evidence that some beliefs are dangerous.

  "Of course, it does not take deliberate lies to develop mistaken beliefs. At times we just misread things. (WE TOLD YOU it was a matter for your own conscience) How many people have met untimely deaths doing something they believed was right? (How many of them were JWs?) Then again, often we believe a thing simply because we want to believe it. One professor says that even scientists (those scoundrels)'often fall in love with their own constructions'. Their beliefs becloud their critical judgement. (At least they have some critical judgement) Then they may spend a lifetime in vain trying to shore up mistaken beliefs. (I wouldn't know anybody like that---would you?)
  Similar things have happened with religious beliefs.......... Is it not the course of wisdom then, to make sure that what you believe actually is true and not simply what you want to believe?"

  Follow-up article: Why Do You Believe What You Believe?

  "To believe has been defined as 'to accept as true, genuine, or real.' The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Righta enshrines every person's right 'freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.' This right includes the freedom 'to change his religion or belief' if he wants to do so ." (Again, so magnanimous, so enlightened!)

  Following that is an entire 3 pages of examples of people who believed wrong things to their detriment or humiliation. A comment on the influence of the media's belief shaping power is as follows:
  "However there are powerful forces that can and frequently do manipulate the media. What is often presented is biased information that can insidously affect your thinking."
  (Who should know better? Or maybe they are trying to vaccinate readers for the media shock waves likely to be produced by the revelation of the silentlambs story on tv)

  The article closes with these thoughts:

  "The Bible encourages us to check our beliefs against what it teaches. Millions of readers of this magazine can testify that doing so has added purpose and stability to their lives (and if they don't,---they are OUTTA HERE). ....Carefully examine the scriptures daily before you decide what to believe. Jehovah's Witnesses will be happy to help you do this. Of course it is YOUR decision as to what you want to believe. (how generous!) However, it is the course of wisdom to make sure your beliefs are shaped, not by human wisdom and desires, but, rather by God's (my emphasis) REVEALED (in the WT) Word of truth.

  1st Study article: Can you Distinguish Between Right and Wrong?
  Paragraph 18 particularly caught my eye.

  "Bear in mind that it is 'through use' that we can have our perceptive powers trained to distinguish both right and wrong. (And through mind control we can lose that ability)
  In other words, every time we are faced with a decision, we should learn to use our mental powers to discern what Bible principles are involved and how they can be applied. Develop the habit of doing research in Bible publications ( notice the subtle switch form the Bible to the WT lit) provided through 'the faithful and discreet slave'. We can of course, seek the help of mature Christians......"

  2nd study article: Make Your Advancement Manifest
  Paragraphs 8 and 9 were especially pernicious.

  8. (regarding oneness of the faith from previous paragraph) " First, since 'oneness' is to be observed, a mature Christian must be in unity and full harmony with fellow believers as far as faith and knowledge is concerned. He does not advocate or insist on personal opinions or harbor private ideas when it comes to Bible understanding. (What happened to all that talk of freedom of thought and conscience?)
  Rather, he has complete confidence in the truth as it is revealed by Jehovah God through His son Jesus Christ, and (here comes that switcheroo again) 'the faithful and discreet slave'. ........"

  9. "Second, the expression of faith refers, not to the conviction that each individual Christian possesses, but to the totality (I wonder if that was a typo, and they meant to say 'totalitarianism" ) of our belief..... In fact, how can a Christian be in oneness with fellow believers if he only believes or accepts a part of 'the faith'? ........"

  I am trying to remember how I would have viewed these words a few months ago, before I learned the truth about the "truth" I know I would have recognized and staggered under the guilt that is meant to be induced by reading these things. Now, this strident attempt to force everyone into lockstep, seems like it has behind it a bit of fear.
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  29

  My Mother's Letter

  by silentlambs in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i recently got this letter from my mother, i thought i would share it to help see how this saga continues.

  my parents are both regular pioneering as we speak.

  have seen their grandchildren for about an hour in the last six months.

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  truman

  Silentlambs,

  I would like to add my deepest comiserations with you to those already voiced here. The pain these situations cause is beyond description. I have only this week been through a similar heartbreak with my son. I was informed that I would be turned over to the authorities (elders)by him for disloyalty to the org.,( I had unwisely confided in him about my doubts) if I did not go first to them. The episode has caused a tearing asunder of our formerly close relationship. It is unfathomable, yet a sadly predictable product of WT mind control. What God is it who demands that son reject mother, or mother reject son, simply because one stands up for what they believe?

  I was told as you have been, that I had been decieved by apostates with evil motivations spouting half truths and lies. Your mother accused you of being driven by a desire to be somebody. At this years district conv. a whole afternoon is spent pounding in the notion that the only motivations for dissent or disagreement with the WTS are greed, ambition, and desire for prominence. If she has not seen this yet, she no doubt will, and it will even further entrench her contention. Available to soothe the consciences of those in her and my son's position, was a strong martyr theme in the conv. drama concerning those whose family members have become at odds with the org.

  Since learning the truth about the "truth" has been a very recent event for me, I have only till 4 months ago been on the other side of this heartbreak myself. When my 21 year old son made the decision to walk away from the org., I was devastated, and in real mental and physical pain. Our situation was not as high profile as yours, but just as your mother has tried, I used every tool at my disposal to attempt to make him see his mistake and return. Guilt was of course, the foremost. And of course, my motivation was not to condemn my son, but to save him. Now I know that although I was deeply sincere in what I said to ham, it was misguided and destructive.

  I wish you the best as you go through this, but I know comfort is hard to find.
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  18

  dem dang Awakes!

  by Copernicus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i happened to be in my doctors office yesterday and was browsing the magazine rack looking for something to kill time, and what did i perchance find?

  yes, you guessed it.

  a pristine issue of awake!

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  truman

  I remember that Awake you saw, Copernicus, and thinking the same thing you did when I read the article. Yes, all the problems plagueing children will be permanently solved when they are wiped out at Armaggedon. What an amazing and effective solution!

  Right now I am at the library to use their internet access, as my phone line has gone down and can't be repaired till Monday. I was having internet withdrawal! I am going to look for the book you mentioned before I leave.
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  16

  Escaped with my life!

  by truman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to give an update to all those who kindly offered suggestions on how to deal with my jw son's ultimatum' "go tell the elders, or i will".. these last few days have been an intense crash course in life for me.

  having experienced my firstborn son, whom i gave birth to, wiped his behind, dried his tears, and helped to grow to adulthood with loving support, threaten to turn me over to the "authorities" (elders) for wrong thinking and wrong speech, has been a deeply disturbing experience.

  learning the truth about the "truth" was shocking, but this is just a crying tragedy.. after he found a short email from a board friend, which inadvertantly got into our regular email box instead of my private one, i was given a week to go to the elders.

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  truman

  Had Enough,
  I am truly sorry to hear of the treatment you had to endure. It is difficult to understand how someone could keep a child from an ailing desperate father in such a way, and still sleep at night, much less imagine they are rendering a service to God. No wonder we all come here and discuss these things again and again. It takes a long time to learn to live with things like what you described.
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  16

  Escaped with my life!

  by truman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to give an update to all those who kindly offered suggestions on how to deal with my jw son's ultimatum' "go tell the elders, or i will".. these last few days have been an intense crash course in life for me.

  having experienced my firstborn son, whom i gave birth to, wiped his behind, dried his tears, and helped to grow to adulthood with loving support, threaten to turn me over to the "authorities" (elders) for wrong thinking and wrong speech, has been a deeply disturbing experience.

  learning the truth about the "truth" was shocking, but this is just a crying tragedy.. after he found a short email from a board friend, which inadvertantly got into our regular email box instead of my private one, i was given a week to go to the elders.

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  truman

  God_Knows, and JeffT,
  Thanks for the kind words!

  Amazing,
  I will email you for that info. Thanks for the offer.

  joelbear,
  I am glad you enjoyed "The Truman Show" as much as I did. Very sorry to learn you had to start from ground zero to build your life. I hope you are well into building a happy one!

  Francoise,
  Be assured, my defenses are on full alert now. I agree, only God knows our hearts, but I will try to give the benefit of the doubt on his motivation, even though all doubt was removed concerning actions stemming from it. And yes, broken trust is extremely hard to rebuild. Right now, I cannot see any way we can ever regain the warm, close relationship we had before. It is a bottomless sorrow for me. But what can I do but pick up , go on, and wait till maybe someday he sees things without WT filters on his eyes, mind, and heart.

  Truman (tru-wo-man)
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  12

  A funny thing happened at the book store

  by OrangeBlossom in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i recently ordered another copy of "in search of christian freedom" as i got rid of my first one (long story) and since it had been a couple of years since i read it, i decided to get another one.. since i live in a fairly small town, i decided to give a fake name, in case someone worked at the book store that might be a jw.

  it was saturday morning (a time when all good little jw's should be in field service) so i felt it safe to go pick up my book.

  i walk into the store and headed for the counter but was stopped in my tracks by an elder and his family.

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  truman

  I am also paranoid about this whole thing, and given my recent experience and what happened to you, there is good reason to be. But even the paranoid can sometimes be right about their fears. So maybe it is not so much paranoia, as just plain necessary caution.

  If I was still into that superstitious stuff, I might begin to wonder!
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  16

  Escaped with my life!

  by truman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to give an update to all those who kindly offered suggestions on how to deal with my jw son's ultimatum' "go tell the elders, or i will".. these last few days have been an intense crash course in life for me.

  having experienced my firstborn son, whom i gave birth to, wiped his behind, dried his tears, and helped to grow to adulthood with loving support, threaten to turn me over to the "authorities" (elders) for wrong thinking and wrong speech, has been a deeply disturbing experience.

  learning the truth about the "truth" was shocking, but this is just a crying tragedy.. after he found a short email from a board friend, which inadvertantly got into our regular email box instead of my private one, i was given a week to go to the elders.

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  truman

  Orange Blossom-

  He is a MS, and goes to the same cong. as me. As to whether he will ever change his mind, who can say. A few months ago, I would have said I would never change my mind on the org. The way he is now, I think he is impervious. But even though he can be hard-headed when his defenses are up, basically he is a reasonable person. I believe it will take some disillusioning experiences within the org. to work on him. If he becomes an elder, no doubt, he will see much he is unaware of now. He is only 24, so has a lot to learn about life. I can only stand and watch, as I have already burned my bridges when it comes to discussing this subject with him.

  Yes, I did take the "truman" name from the movie. The title character's struggle to escape from the idealized world in which he is unknowingly imprisoned touched me deeply. Throughout the movie, elements of mind control techniques are used to keep him under the control of the master manipulators in whose clutches he is caught, and they use him to further their commercial and business interests. His behavior is monitored and subtly molded, fears are deeply planted in his mind towards methods of escape, and his access to outside information is tightly controlled. All is justified as an effort to protect him and love him.

  As unmistakeable evidence of "all is not as it appears" becomes too much to ignore, he begins his struggle for freedom. He realizes his cozy life and relationships are hollow. He must pursue his goal secretely, for at every turn he is thwarted. But he doesn't give up, and eventually he overcomes his fears and prevails.

  As he literally bumps up against the wall of reality, he speaks for the 1st time to the god-like figure who runs the whole enterprise, and asks 3 questions.
  Who are you?
  Who am I?
  Was nothing real?
  YOU were real.......... is the answer to the 3rd question.

  That is my new way of trying to look at things. I am real, and always was.

  OR....it could be just a movie.

  Thanks for you kind support!
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  16

  Escaped with my life!

  by truman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to give an update to all those who kindly offered suggestions on how to deal with my jw son's ultimatum' "go tell the elders, or i will".. these last few days have been an intense crash course in life for me.

  having experienced my firstborn son, whom i gave birth to, wiped his behind, dried his tears, and helped to grow to adulthood with loving support, threaten to turn me over to the "authorities" (elders) for wrong thinking and wrong speech, has been a deeply disturbing experience.

  learning the truth about the "truth" was shocking, but this is just a crying tragedy.. after he found a short email from a board friend, which inadvertantly got into our regular email box instead of my private one, i was given a week to go to the elders.

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  truman

  I know, Seeker, I know..........
  I understand where it comes from, and my own responsibility in its construction, but it still makes me so sad for both of us, and all who have had to go through this.

  Thanks

  Truman (tru-wo-man)