Posts by EdenOne

82

Quality Thinking - Warning: Long Post Ahead

by Viviane in

recently, several threads have had some debate about logic, evidence, critical thinking and skepticism.

i wanted to write a post discussing those things, hopefully to clarify what those things are, why they are important and how to use those tools.

first, logic, at its core, is simply a method for how to reason validly, how to draw conclusions based on a premise.

So, I became very ill ... what did my loving brothers do?

by EdenOne in

recently i have fallen ill with a serious case of chickenpox (shingles).

three weeks down, high fevers, and the blisters attacked mostly my scalp and face, but then also my whole upper body.

i looked horrid, truly like a mutant monster out of a nuclear disaster.

Yeah, it sucked big time. And it deals a blow on your self-esteem when your face is left heavily marked too. I took a selfie during the early days of it, and when I show it to anyone, no one can even recognize me at first. But yes, it's another lesson on how JW's aren't even close to what they claim to be. As if any more lessons were needed. The upside of this is that, when you go through it and experience it yourself, it strengthens your determination to stay out of it all, because it's not just hearsay. They don't know what compassion really is because all they know about being compassionate to others is to bring them the "good news of the kingdom"...

noneoftheboys - that's an astonishing lack of care, even though you were an active witness. wow!

Thank you for the get well wishes. I still find it hard to do much anything, as I get very tired easily, but I'm on the mend.

Eden

32

So, I became very ill ... what did my loving brothers do?

by EdenOne in

recently i have fallen ill with a serious case of chickenpox (shingles).

three weeks down, high fevers, and the blisters attacked mostly my scalp and face, but then also my whole upper body.

i looked horrid, truly like a mutant monster out of a nuclear disaster.

EdenOne

Recently I have fallen ill with a serious case of chickenpox (shingles). Three weeks down, high fevers, and the blisters attacked mostly my scalp and face, but then also my whole upper body. I looked horrid, truly like a mutant monster out of a nuclear disaster. Then, some other complications followed. While I'm recovering and back to work, I suspect my face won't be left without a significant amount of scars. So much for winning that beauty pageant...

As you know, after my JC I have become inactive, and I don't go to meetings anymore. Last one I attended was this years' memorial. Through my wife I keep getting messages to the effect that the brothers miss me a great deal, etc. But now, through my wife and Facebook, it was known in my congregation that I was ill. So, what did my loving brothers do?

NOTHING!

Apart from two sisters (one in another country) wishing a "get better" on Facebook, there wasn't a single phone call, email or text message. A couple of brothers / sisters, during phone calls with my wife would sometimes inquiry about my well-being, and asked my wife to relay their get well messages, that was it. They could have called if they wanted to, as they also have my number, but they never did. My CO holier-than-thou brother-in-law not once called or inquired about my well-being. My wife's sister only started asking about me when my wife questioned in her face after a long phone call to discuss other family matters "well, aren't you going to ask anything about my husband or wish for his recovery?", and she was caught by the comment because she wasn't even going to touch the subject.

No Elder from my former congregation or from my wife's new neighboring congregation bothered to ask anything or even offered to do a "shepherding call", or even bothered to call or text message or email or Facebook. They absolutely shun me as they would if I had been disfellowshipped. Which proves that they outright LIE when they write on their official website, under the FAQ - "Do Jehovah's Witnesses Shun Former Members?": "Those who were baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses but no longer preach to others, perhaps even drifting away from association with fellow believers, are not shunned. In fact, we reach out to them and try to rekindle their spiritual interest."

B.S. I say. I had "wordly" clients who, when they heard I was ill, picked up the phone, called me from overseas to know how I was and gave words of encouragement. One even took the initiative to send meds for me from overseas. These are truly compassionate people - not the plasticky, "feel-good-about-myself" fake friends, fake brethren from the congregation. Hurtful was to listen to my wife defend them, saying that I shouldn't expect any other treatment because I was the one who decided to leave the congregation. WTF, one cannot win against this mentality, can it?

I remember the irony of the words of Jesus in the parable of the lambs and goats: (Matthew 25) : "Then He will also say to those on the left, Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn't take Me in; I was naked and you didn't clothe Me, sick and in prison and you didn't take care of Me.' "Then they too will answer, Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?' "Then He will answer them, I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.'

Funny how it never crosses her self-righteous minds that this fits them so well.

Eden

61

Jwfacts tv appearance

by sparrowdown in

jw
friends

shout out to jwfacts.. just saw the drum.

excellent job !

!.

EdenOne

Great job, Paul! One can see that there would be so much more to say but the time is always being squeezed in TV, but the amount of information that you could provide in such a short amount of time was amazing. Thumbs up for the public awareness that you generated.

Eden

35

Article: Reveal News Organization: JWs Cover-Up of Child Sex Abuse and Oust a Victim

by AndersonsInfo in

https://www.revealnews.org/article/jehovahs-witnesses-cover-up-child-sex-abuse-and-oust-a-victim/.

jehovahs witnesses cover up child sex abuse and oust a victim.

topics: criminal justice / religion .

EdenOne

Amazing article.

Two points I have found particularly sickening:

a) How sick is that the same elder that abused her, was the one who conducted the JC to disfellowship her for "immorality".

b) While Elders strongly discourage any reports of sexual child abuse within the congregation to the authorities, the Watchtower legal department was prompt to instruct the Elders to report to the authorities a rumor that a DF mother of a Witness child might have made a comment that might have been interpreted as an invitation to sexual misconduct with a minor. How hypocrite!

Eden

17

In View of R.C.hearing of J.W.& child Sexual Abuse in Aust. and it`s Worldwide Coverage.can we expect ....?

by smiddy in

are we likely to see a definite drop in new bible studies , interest in the religion ,a drop in meeting attendance ,especially in lands where this is widely reported ?

or even an exodus from many in the congregations who may view this as the last straw ?.

their have only been 3 days of this inquiry so far and the incompetence of the elders to articulate their position is painful to observe , they are ignorant to the extreme .showing a total disinterest in the whole proceedings.. when questioned , they have not bothered to understand the purpose of the commission , nor read any of the previous days proceedings ,nor have they bothered to read the victims statement ,and have shown a total disregard for the whole procedure .. surely any thinking person with half a brain would back away from any involvement with this religion .. i am overjoyed that this inquiry is getting worldwide media attention ,i hope you are too .. i commented on an article in ghana africa that ran with this story , so the sexual abuse of children within the jehovah`s witness organization is getting worldwide coverage .. what do you think ?.

EdenOne

The only objective reason why Elders discourage / don't encourage abuse victims to report to the authorities the crime they were victims of, is solely to protect the reputation of the Organization, to keep selling the fantasy that there's a 'spiritual paradise' that the Jehovah's Witnesses enjoy as God's chosen people, where everything is clean and pure, because God's holy spirit ensures that no wrongdoing is allowed to endure.

This fiction is more important to the leadership - the Governing Body and their worshippers - than the well-being and protection of the flock, especially the most vulnerable amongst them, the children. They may issue statements to the effect that they 'abhor sexual abuse of children', but their actions say that they love their idolized Organization's reputation above everything else. The increasingly embarassing display of incompetence, arrogance, disdain and utter ignorance from those appointed Elders before public scrutiny, is the biggest shot in the foot for the Jehovah's Witnesses. For an organization obcessed with 'not dragging Jehovah's name in the mud', there is no PR capable of erasing the stench these men, who call themselves "faithful and discreet slave", stirred in the public eye. By chosing to arrogantly call themselves after the (supposed) name of the Almighty God, they now parade that name in the mud pool of infamy and shame.

"They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified for any good work." - Titus 1:16 ; fits them well.

They will, sooner or later, make positive changes to their policies. They will call it spirit-directed 'refinements'. They will say they are keeping pace with the celestial charriot. When, in fact, they have challenged the so-called 'Satan's World', got caught up, and lost the armwrestle.

Witnessing will become more and more difficult; the regular rank-and-file publishers, pioneers will face increased hostillity in the territory as public awareness grows about this bronze-age-minded cult. Numbers in new converts will drop. Contributions will drop. The radical Witnesses will become more radicalized, fueled by the complex of persecution, and the doubters and 'spirtually weak' will leave in droves.

The epilogue of this, might well be a sad one: A "new light" that the Armageddon is nigh, and some sort of dramatic climax worldwide, break it or make it, by which the blind, radicalized faithful will rather die than admit they were wrong.

Eden

25

Dragging Jehovah's name trough the mud!

by truthseekeriam in

jw
friends

listening to the first survivor testify to the australian royal commission really brought back some feelings i had put aside.. the feelings of guilt you feel for doing the right thing is extremely hard even when you know it's illogical it doesn't stop the abuse you do to yourself with these toxic thoughts of "dragging jehovah's name through the mud" i guess it doesn't help that you have the elders freaking out saying "reproach, reproach...this is bad!!

it took quite awhile for me to come to terms with how completely ridicules it is to think jehovah would want this hidden.

the truth is the religion wants it hidden and they are perfectly fine with destroying lives along the way!!

EdenOne

I

From the actual transcript of the first day:

Mr O'Brien will testify that the Governing Body is not
47 involved in the administration and implementation of child
1. sexual abuse policies and procedures in branch offices of
  2 the Jehovah's Witness Church.

How can they go before an official authority and make such a preposterous, false claim ?? Sorry for the horrid editing, I'm doing it from an ipad.

Eden

25

Dragging Jehovah's name trough the mud!

by truthseekeriam in

jw
friends

listening to the first survivor testify to the australian royal commission really brought back some feelings i had put aside.. the feelings of guilt you feel for doing the right thing is extremely hard even when you know it's illogical it doesn't stop the abuse you do to yourself with these toxic thoughts of "dragging jehovah's name through the mud" i guess it doesn't help that you have the elders freaking out saying "reproach, reproach...this is bad!!

it took quite awhile for me to come to terms with how completely ridicules it is to think jehovah would want this hidden.

the truth is the religion wants it hidden and they are perfectly fine with destroying lives along the way!!

EdenOne

It's not redundant when by 'name' is implied "reputation".

Eden

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.

EdenOne

Totally unjustifiable.

Eden

28

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?.

EdenOne

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