Posts by EdenOne

16

Would this be any use to the Royal Commission?

by freddo in

i believe this shows how the org.

doesn't want to be held accountable to secular legal authorities.. in the 1991 green elders handbook (used between 1991 and 2010) there is a blank page (page 143) and at one elders school we were instructed to write six expressions that "should not be used on s77 + s79 forms (df and da forms)".. 1) anything alluding to or naming one of the society's legal advisers.. 2) any mention of the legal desk.. 3) any comments referring to direction from the society.. 4) any comments mentioning anyone other than the committee itself as a possible influence in the decision reached.. 5) any comment that might suggest someone with a critical eye that the committee did not reach its decision on its own but instead somehow yielded to the influence of an outside party.. 6) any comments indicating the elders mishandled the case or committed any error in the investigation or the judicial committee process.. i have in my possession two elders handbooks with these exact words written in each in different handwriting.

.

EdenOne

I also used to ask myself - why don't they just print this on the "Shepherd" book? Wouldn't it be simpler? Now I know why. It's all about liability.

Eden

37

Can You Really Become Inactive Instead of DA'ing and Keep Your Family

by truth-or-consequences in

oz branch coordinator terrence o'brien opined a number of times at about 1:00:00 until about 1:15:00 of his testimony, that a dub does not need to da, they can become "inactive.".

i sent our beloved angus stewart my personal experience, as well as observations about official borg teachings.

(he replied in short order.).

EdenOne

I concur with WitnessMyFury and OTWO ... you CAN fade, but expect to be shunned anyway. Perhaps part of your family still "in" will keep on speaking terms with you, one or another may exceptionally keep some association with you, but for the most part, those loving brothers and friends will discreetly shun you. The difference between you and a DF or DA is that normally they won't overtly avoid contact with you if you happen to meet casually. They will be polite, even say they miss you at the meetings, but the conversation will be kept short because, as an inactive Witness, you're no longer considered a "good association".

Unless you physically move out of your territory, you won't ever really leave the radar of your congregation elders, and if you're caught doing anything forbidden to a JW, you'll be swiftly denounced and DF'd (even without you being present at your JC) and the elders will wash their hands off responsibility over you.

As WingCommander said, there's no way a cult will let anyone leave honorably.

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

Marvster, you make a good point. In general, love and compassion among JWs seems to be, not a genuinely spontaneous feeling, but an obligation, meeting a commandment. Once they fulfill their obligation to display love as they are constantly indoctrinated on how it must be shown - reaching out for strangers in an attempt to recruit them and report that effort on a slip of paper at the end of the month - they feel self-satisfied and little motivation is left to spontaneously care for their own brethren.

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

zeb, unfortunately I had just started a new antibiotic on a friday evening for an ear infection when I started having fever and itching, so I thought at first I was having an allergic reaction to that penicillin-based antibiotic. I couldn't get back to the doctor until monday and by then i was too late to take Zovirax or any other antiviral medication. Those are only effective on the first 24 hours.

cultBgone, it's absolutely alright and thank you for the encouragement. I hope you're mending as well.

LisaRose, isn't it pathetic that as JW's we move mountains to make recruits and when we do, all we can teach them is a compassionless version of christianity, devoided of genuine humanity and concern for those who are closer to us? Reminds me of what Jesus told to the pharisees: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as fit for hell as you are!" - Matthew 23:15

ToesUp, dubstepped- It doesn't matter if you're fully in or partially out, this unloving treatment from those whom you are told to regard as closer than your own family and blood, will always hurt. This is what is getting to me at this stage of my fading ... that the "friends" we once held in such high regard will dump you in a snap if you're not walking the company line. And the fact that they feel they're entirely justified because...yeah, we are the ones who "abandoned jehoober" and thus we've brought it upon ourselves.

Steve2 - Funny you mentioned it, i had the same idea: make known to the congregation elders that i had been hospitalized and was being pressured by the doctors to take blood. Would be fun to clock how fast they'd come out of the woodwork - if nothing else, just to see if they would find incriminating material to finally disfellowship me.

Everyone else, thank you for the get well wishes. I'm a rag today, but I'm happy that I helped my son to get his his way to university. He was accepted today. Hurrah!

Eden

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.

EdenOne

I meant it.

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.

EdenOne

Thank you for this post, Viviane.

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

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