Posts by Separation of Powers

692

Ethics 101....First, you can't compare abortion to the holocaust. The comparison simply doesn't fit. It diminishes the lives of millions of innocents in comparison to the one, and diminishes the one in comparison to the millions. The life of an innocent is invaluable, particularly if there is no one to stand up for the innocent. The deplorable nature of the holocaust in its immensity and scope should never, I repeat...NEVER be compared to anything else! It is an aberration, an abomination that should be indelebly written on the consciousness of all mankind forevermore. There is nothing that will ever compare to it.

"Abortion is wrong!" That hardline position lacks reasonableness, just as the statement, "all murder is wrong." The value of life is inherent. The reason for taking a life must be inherently more valuable than the life taken. Some could argue, "who is to justify what is more valuable?" Well, fortunately, I don't need to answer that. As this discussion has progressed, it is apparent that some values may be shared, but they are still singular in nature, peculiarly our own.

Society dictates the value of life, you are either swayed by society or you choose your own path. Ask yourself a question, when you hear about a child dying in some third world country due to malnutrition or malaria, do you react the same as when you here about a puppy that was killed for sport? Have your principles been affected by society?

Just s thought,

SOP

27

Rebranding, restyling and rewriting - the transformation of Jehovah's Witnesses

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

dear friends,.

a few weeks i am thinking about what's going on with the religion we are focust on, jehovah's witnesses.. what i see is:.

- a rebranding of the religion's organization: just like rutherford rebranded the bible students into jehovah's witnesses,.

Separation of Powers

Gorbatchov

I agree completely. I must say, however, that many companies that decide to rebrand have experienced tremendous blowback and have paid dearly. Case in point, CocaCola and their desire to "update" the taste of Coke. It was a disaster plain and simple. I believe many of the changes the ORG is making and the many more to come as a result will be too much for a lot of people. We will soon see.

SOP

23

The effects of shunning on The View

by Rebecca 619 in

sheri sheppard spoke about this as a ex jw how it affects a person to be dfd,you feel like you loose your identity, its very difficult, i see my son struggling, i wish this practice can be done away with,so hurtful for everyone..

Separation of Powers

Hopefully his new friends will soon take the place of his supposed "best" friend.

26

Is it ok for a jw to join a toastmasters club?

by hoser in

jw
friends

Separation of Powers

I thought it was a group of old bakers!

28

MY 10 YEAR OLD COMES HOME FROM SPECIAL ASSEMBLY DAY AND SAYS...

by PaintedToeNail in

jw
friends

"there was a kid who turned down a college scholarship so he could pioneer.

how stupid!

i would do anything to have a scholarship.

Separation of Powers

"Out of the mouths of babes!"

85

I'm Returing To Become A Jehovah's Witness Again

by Space Madness in

jw
friends

a little background, i faded in 2007 and have been out ever since.

i started studying at 18 and have no jw realitives.

i'm returing because my life is heading in the wrong direction.

Separation of Powers

I encourage you to take whatever path you wish. If you felt comfortable as a JW and you miss it, then by all means return. With regard to the negatvity in your life, simply a point of view, if things were that good in the JW's when you were in, why would you have left?

It may well be that you need to address some deeper issues, we all have them. Those demons that move us in the self-destructive patterns that we learned in our formative years. My suggestion would be...before entering, excuse me, "reentering" a high control group, determine precisely why you feel the need to be controlled.

Just a thought,

SOP

73

Maintaining Faith In God As An Ex-JW

by pronomono in

as i fade further from the jws, i'm finding it increasingly hard to maintain faith in god.

i've been exploring many alternatives from atheism, agnostic, apathetic, pagan, and satanism (not devil worship, but the promotion of self-indulgence) to name a few.

i'm thoroughly intrigued to learn how those of you who remained christian managed to maintain your faith in god and christ, especially after enduring all the lies that we've been told about them.

Separation of Powers

I have had a very, no, VERY difficult time with faith once I saw the org for what it was. Being raised and indoctrinated to the highest degree, my world view was built on the foundation that the org was the "only true religion" and the FDS was the "only true channel." And this, of course, was built on the premise that EVERYONE else and EVERYTHING else was a sham, plain and simple. It is all quite nefarious actually, quite cultish. If one builds their faith on this premise of "us against them" and "true against false" and that foundation crumbles with the realization that it is not what it is purported to be, then faith in anything after that transcendental moment is almost impossible. At least for me. Good luck to all of you who haven't become as jaded....

Just a thought,

SOP

97

First post

by thedog1 in

jw
friends

this is a very strange thing for me to do.

i have been an active witness for over 25 years.

i currently serve as an elder and i conduct the watchtower study.

Separation of Powers

I can understand your apprehension. Posting on here for the first time is difficult for those still in. As an elder, your assessment of what might happen lest you be found out is correct. Please tread lightly when it comes to your concerns regarding the ORG. Many, even those you think might agree with you, are so captive that they may throw you under the bus,

I, for one, served for quite some time. I got to the point, like you, that I could no longer teach something I did not fully believe. In time, unfortunately, the disbelief became intolerance and now I literally become sick by the salesmanship of the ORG. I see through the veil and veneer.

As for your feelings, the reality I have seen in my case is...once you do not accept it, it all begins to unravel. Little things that you mentally covered over begin to peak through your subconscious and poke at you, sometimes incessantly. I feel for you and your situation. What you may begin to experience, if you are anything like many of the ex-elders on this forum, may well be a systematic breakdown of your belief system. Be patient. Be careful. Be resolved.

Kind Regards,

SOP

51

Advise needed please

by EdenOne in

dear forumites, i need your advise please.. i would like to write a letter to the world headquarters of the jehovah's witnesses regarding a subject that i've published an article recently.

i would like to draw the attention of the gb to said article, which i will send in print form (therefore, no attention would be drawn to the website where it was published).. naturally, because i am a jehovah's witness in good standing in the congregation and what i'll be discussing in my letter will be a dissenting view from the official doctrine/practice, i want to protect my identity and i don't want to be harassed by elders or subjected to any sort of judicial investigation.

nevertheless, i would be very interested in reading their response (if any) to my letter.. how can i do that?

Separation of Powers

I agree with everyone else's comment.

The procedure for a letter to Bethel is quite simple. Goes to a mail clearing house. Sorted through to which department. If it does not specifically state which department, then someone opens it up, starts to skim through it, identifies where it should go and forwards it. If it is committee related, it will go to the service desk, someone will open it and decide how it should be handled. Typically, it will be pushed aside if it is simply a letter trying to address some mistake of the organization. Typically, it will NEVER get to the GB even if you addressed it to them personally. The service desk, if the letter is perceived "apostate" or "contrary" will flag it for follow up NOT to the individual, but to his/her elder body to determine if the person should be dealt with and how.

So, I applaud your desire to make your position known, but the hierarchy is well defended from the laymen.

just a thought,

SOP

35

So what if they were wrong?

by DS211 in

this is a reply ireceived from a poster on another forum.

"actually the vast majority of interpretations of prophecy are absolutely spot on.. .

people harp on over this and that that was wrong 50 years ago, but today jehovah's witnesses have all the bible's prophecies pretty much figured out in their entirety.. .

Separation of Powers

"So what if they were wrong?" Listen, if I am investing my life savings with a financial planner, I try to make sure that he is competent (or she). If he is "wrong" than all my life's savings is in jeopardy of being lost. With the org, if they are wrong than my life is in jeopardy of being wasted. Being wrong is unacceptable and should be for God's one true channel.

SOP