Posts by EdenOne

8

Cossacks attack, throw stones at Jehovahs Witnesses in RC while local police watched

by oppostate in

07/23/2015russiacossacks attack, throw stones at jehovah's witnessesby nina achmatova.

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/cossacks-attack,-throw-stones-at-jehovahs-witnesses-34845.html.

jehovah's witnesses were meeting in congress on 10-12 july in krymsk, krasnodar region.

Ray Franz and You.

by John Aquila in

if ray franz would have kept his mouth shut and not disfellowshipped, and remained part of the governing body how many of us ex-jw would still be trapped in the cult?.

would we have come this far?.

It was the respectful tone on which Ray Franz wrote about the Watchtower Society and his former GB colleagues in "Crisis of Conscience" that lend credibility to his message and kept me calm while I was reading all that damning information. When I read the first page it felt like I was walking barefoot on a path of broken glass. I felt so scared. Every minute I felt I was on the brink of mentally shutting down and never look at it again, but that quiet, respectful tone had the ring of truth about it. I remember sitting in my car, reading it on my iPad and finally saying to myself : "No, God and the Holy Spirit can't be behind this organization. This is just like any other human business venture. It's all the work of men. Bastards! You're nothing but lying bastards!"

When you realize that, then the chains fall and you are fee to investigate further, because that's the moment when you feel that whatever they say or write has NO AUTHORITY over you, because it's not endorsed or directed by GOD. (This, in a time where I still believed in the Christian God). Then you are free to go on and investigate freely what you want to know.

In retrospect, I think "Crisis Of Conscience" had the tremendous power to, through a simple autobiography, break the thickest mental bond that the WTS keeps a Witness captive with - that they represent God and thus to disobey them is to disobey Jehovah God and Christ and you are therefore jeopardizing your prospects of an eternal life. I owe Ray Franz a great deal - even if I didn't bother to read his second book, "In Search of Christian Freedom", because by then it was too late for me to even believe in Christianity, in whatever flavor.

Eden

50

The Report - BBC Radio 4 about Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Sexual Abuse can now be heard

by AndersonsInfo in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0612hjs.

the report about child abuse and jehovah's witnesses is now live.. jehovah's witnesses handle child abuse cases.

jehovah's witnesses and child sexual abuse, the report - bbc radio 4 .

EdenOne

Very interesting, very accurate, very balanced. Quality work by the BBC, as is their usual hallmark. Certainly this will raise public awareness in the UK and will be a reference for future legal cases and give courage to other victims to come up and speak.

If I have one very slight criticism to make is that it should have been made more obvious the connection between the Elders' course of action and the legalistic directions coming from the Governing Body - the Elders 'spiritual career' and 'status quo' are dependant upon towing the corporate line thick and thin, and they regard the words of the GB as authoritative as the Bible itself, if not more. Aside this, it's a great piece of journalism.

Damning information to the WTS from credible sources - not lone wolf loonie-like types with a payback mission on the web - is the key to raise public awareness to this problem.

btw Mephis, thank you for your link. It worked for me.

Eden

15

Wonderful video resource which has to be seen in full to be appreciated.

by TerryWalstrom in

i highly recommend you watch this video.. it is superbly researched.

you know all the things in this video already--but.

watching it will create an impression on you which.

EdenOne

Good video, well researched.

Personally I wish that it wasn't delivered as part of someone's Christian Ministry, as it would put some JW's automatically on guard against it.

Eden

63

How dishonest was the Apostle Paul?

by opusdei1972 in

may be some of you will be shocked by this question.

however, when i was studying the bible with critical eyes i detected that paul ( or saul of tarsus) misquoted the hebrew bible in order to get false support for his arguments.

of course, this tricky kind of use of the "scriptures" was not only used by him, but others, like the author of the gospel of matthew got unsupported doctrines misquoting verses.

EdenOne

Even the Bible is clear that the most prominent among the apostles that walked with Jesus weren't exactly fond of Paul ... and he wasn't too fond of them either.

Eden

113

New letter, re: Fully Utilizing Kingdom Hall Auditoriums

by suavojr in

jw
friends

let the merging begin!!!.

to all bodies of elders in the united states branch territory.

re: fully utilizing kingdom hall auditoriums.

EdenOne

Can we perhaps make the assumption that the WT, circa 2008, has lost unimaginable amounts of money that it had invested in hedge funds, and therefore they've been trying to make up for their losses since then - at the same time they deal with declining membership in the rich countries? The timeline is, at least, suggestive .... and we know they have invested in hedge funds ... we just don't know exactly how much.

That assumption makes a lot more sense to me than any assumptions that they're lacking funds due to child abuse lawsuits or shrinking contributions per se.

Eden

58

My introduction and confession

by elderINewton in

jw
friends

well another big bad elder here just wanting to say sorry.. i'm sorry that so many were treated like crap, and shown that god's love is not to be found around jehovah's witnesses.

i'm sorry that inadvertently i've likely taught many to judge and as such see that racism permeates every corner of the jw world, else why else would someone be of the world, or even inactive.

i'm sorry i sat in on a jc, and voted to df.

EdenOne

Newton, welcome to this forum. Many of us, including me, have been in your shoes, so we understand. It'll be hard to fade, because you're too visible as an Elder, but it's possible. Step down as soon as you can and let the dust settle for a month or two. Don't accept any "privileges" in the meantime. If you have a neighboring congregation, start attending meetings there now and then, and make sure your congregation elders know about it. Be vague about your reasons. Then, start skipping a meeting now and then. In time, you know you will start be perceived as 'spiritually weak', which can be hurtful, but it's the price to pay.

Your daughter will be grateful to you that you took this decision. My son certainly is to me. It made a huge difference in his life and personallity. If your wife leaves with you, what a great win! Let us know of your progress. And don't feel guilty, it's a waste of energy. Focus on what's to come and help your family.

Eden

56

Hello Everyone

by MarieK in

i hope everyone is having a good saturday.

i've visited this many times in the past month or so, joined yesterday and finally got the nerve to post!

needless to say, i'm super nervous, being new to this whole experience.

EdenOne

Dear MarieK, welcome to this forum.

You'll find many, many here who have experienced what you're going through now - the fear of posting for the first time on an "apostate" website (yes, those that the WT would have you believe are Satan's work), the anger of finding out that you have been duped by an organization whom you entrusted your life with, and the frustration for the wasted years serving this unworthy slavemaster. You'll find many here who will relate with your story and will offer you support. It won't be long until you feel more comfortable in expressing yourself, when you start finding out that the people who post here are just like yourself, who, one way or the other, woke up to the cold hard "truth about the truth" and could never look at the WTS the same way again.

This forum opens the door to many excellent resources about the WTS - the kind of information that the GB so desperately warns you against because it's so damning for them.

It's excellent to know that your husband is on your side as you both wake up to reality. That will be a great asset in the future, trust me.

Eden

30

What started me on the path to waking up about the lies the WT teaches?

by oppostate in

it was a simple question: isn't jesus my "mediator" if i put faith in him like the scriptures say?

the research to that answer, from the w79 4/1 p. 31, was mind blowing.

how dare they deny me a belief firmly stated in the scriptures?

EdenOne

Finding out the blatant revisionism of their own history was the first violent wake up call that this organization was thoroughly dishonest. From then on it was all downhill.

Eden

60

BREAKING NEWS!!!

by DATA-DOG in

breaking news from co!!

according to a reliable source, the co in my area says that jws may have been hearing the phrase, "final push" being used.

what sage advice did this shepherd, duke, and "star" of revelation have to say?

EdenOne

It's the final countdown!