Posts by EdenOne

65

Introducing...ME

by Heartsafire in

jw
friends

long time lurker here.

i'm a fifth gen born-in baptized jw.

to say i've been struggling with doubts is an understatement.

EdenOne

Welcome, Heartsafire! I hope you can find the much needed support here.

Eden

120

The right to shun - wrong?

by Simon in

many people are understandably upset and angry at the notion that jws have the right to shun people.

it seems such an obvious "no brainer" cruel and inhuman thing to do - it must be wrong ... surely?.

of course we look at things from the perspective of those hurt and harmed by shunning.

In Europe there's an interesting development in the non-discrimination legislation. While at the moment it only applies in the context of employment, it's in the works being extended to other areas. It's the concept of 'instruction to discriminate'. If an institution of any kind instructs its members / affiliates / students to discriminate based on, among other things, religion and belief, that in itself will be considered a crime. It is an easy thing to demonstrate that shunning an ex-JW is a differentiated treatment than that given to a 'wordly' person who was never a JW, and, therefore, discrimination. The crime is considered to be perpetrated indirectly, that is, by the institution that is teaching or instructing to discriminate.

Eden

138

My Mother Died Two Weeks Ago

by Perry in

jw
friends

none of my jehovah's witness relatives called to tell me or my family.

just found out this morning.

EdenOne

I'm sorry for your loss, Perry; my condolences. Not telling you about your mom passing away is just wrong. This horrible religion makes people do horrible things.

Eden

27

Hey Simon

by ShirleyW in

jw
friends

i'm noticing that when i open quite a few of the posts here i notice that the end of the sentences on some lines are breaking improperly.

like for the word paragraph, it's broken up with the "aph" on the next line for an example.

it's happening a lot i'm seeing it just about in every post i open, is it just my view and my computer?.

EdenOne

Today I observed that problem on Mrs Eden's computer using Microsoft's Edge. Although not today, but I often run into that problem using Safari on my IPad.

Eden

95

Template to dump Special Pioneers

by avaddohn94 in

"downsizing" has reached special pioneers.. this is the template mexico is using to get rid of many of its special pioneers.

see how cold and unloving is the language they use.

a translation attempt is as follows:.

EdenOne

Reminds me of

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager - Luke 16:1-9

He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man [The Watchtower] who had a manager, [The special pionner / Bethelite / Circuit Overseer ] and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. [receiving a monthly allowance when he could be regular pioneer and part-time job, thus wasting precious resources from the Master's Org ].

And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ [Your special assignement has just been cancelled]

And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me?[ My monthly allowance and my green handshakes are gone! Damn!] I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. [ I quitted school early and waivered superior education, I got no useful work skills ]

I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ [ The Special pioneer / Bethelite / CO decides to call in a few favors from family and 'materialistic brothers' who sucked up to him for congregational privileges and manages to get a meager job]

The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. [ We knew you could pull this off, It was obviously Jehovah's hand ] For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. [ of course, they get an education and they work hard to make an actual living]

And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. [ awww dang! says the sheeple future ex-special pioneer, if only I knew what Jesus REALLY meant here! ]

Eden

95

Template to dump Special Pioneers

by avaddohn94 in

"downsizing" has reached special pioneers.. this is the template mexico is using to get rid of many of its special pioneers.

see how cold and unloving is the language they use.

a translation attempt is as follows:.

EdenOne

I don't think they're finantially broke. They are ethically broke, though - big time. This seems to be part of a previously thought out plan that simply got rushed recently, maybe due to Warwick / Walkill being grossly over budget, and they may be sniffing lawsuits in the air and reading the writing on the wall regarding shortage of donations. Remember that study article on the November 2013 issue of Watchtower regarding the attack of the "Assyrian"?

"When “the Assyrian” attacks, the elders must be absolutely convinced that Jehovah will deliver us. At that time, the life-saving direction that we receive from Jehovah’s organization may not appear practical from a human standpoint. All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not." - Seven Shepherds, Eight Dukes, paragraph 17

Well, here it is. These are the type of instructions that don't seem to fit with the Organization's typical mantras: "The growth is evidence of Jehovah's blessing" or "We need more Kingdom Halls to welcome new members" or "We will never beg for money" or "A carreer in Bethel or Special Pioneering is the best, most gratifying and more secure carreer you can ever choose". Many Witnesses will soon be dumbfunded, but soon too they will rationalize that the GB must have some special insight from Jehovah that Armageddon is nigh, so these changes are evidence of an accelerating celestial car.

Their decisions make absolute sense when seen from a corporate for-profit business perspective. ( The difference here is that they're not professional managers, so they sometimes make stupid, costly business decisions ). What they're doing is putting the usual religious, spiritual spin on it, to foster the end-times hype that keeps people on their toes and ready to jump when they're told to jump.

You just can't win with cult mentallity. Sure, some will wake up, but that's just collateral damage for the GB. The ones who will stay will be more hardcore than ever.

Eden

74

A call from family - Armageddon this month!

by kaik in

i very seldom receive a call from my jw siblings, i mean seldom.

i can count them on my hand in past 10 years.

while we talk about mom a lot and i am in touch with her, i was very surprised when i received this call.

EdenOne

I tell you, sounds like a mini-hysteria wave, 1975 type all over again. And remember, the GB never said anything, it was all the rank and file expectations running amok.

Eden

48

Bethel Layoff Notices arrive under Bethellite doors

by Quarterback in

jw
friends

just heard from a reliable source that some at the canadian branch have received their lay-off notices under their doors at bethel.

don't know what the letter looks like.

probably something like, " the tribe has spoken, bring us your torches"

EdenOne

Luke 3:9 comes to mind: " The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire". Those pesky, expensive, ageing Bethelites are like fruitless trees to the GB. That's why they're getting the axe - as Jesus himself foretold.

(It's really not hard to come up with a GB-like explanation)

Eden

312