i had a sudden realization the other day, one that took me many years to make but that should have been fairly obvious in hindsight.
let me explain.. my parents are immigrants.
they moved to the u.s. when i was a toddler.
DOC: I'm still looking for an excuse that makes me feel better about ME being so gullible and naive for almost all of my life.
You don't need an excuse. If you don't know the methods of mental manipulation and mind-control then you don't know them.
It's as simple as that.
Thank yourself that there is something about you that eventually saw through it and was strong enough to say, "No!"
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for some background, i am still in.
still an elder.
very much awake.
TTATTElder: well if there are problems then jehovah will reveal them in time... There are many examples of problems in Jehovah's organization in the past
Maybe Jehovah IS revealing them in our time, right now!
In the past, many times the kings, Pharisees and others were corrupt and did NOT have Jehovah's approval. You wouldn't want to have been on the wrong side of that then and we most certainly don't want to be on the wrong side of it now.
have you seen this?.
http://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/teenagers/whiteboard-animations/social-network-smart/#?insight.
I see it as spinning it this way: the WT leadership has apparently learned that when they so "No" to the internet and social media, they are being ignored. So they are now trying to make it look like they are simply advising you to "be smart" about it.
in may's "we will never solicit for money, but now we're going to solicit you for the next hour" broadcast, we kept hearing about all the "facts" that the gb would like for us to know.. hmm...what facts did they leave out?.
-- $millions have been spent in out-of-court settlements of child abuse cases.
-- $untold amounts are being spent on legal defense of wt policies related to child abuse.
The Searcher: Every congregation has to read out its monthly financial report as well as submitting an Annual Statement.
So why doesn't the organization do the same thing? Shouldn't they be setting the example?
Why do they make US do what THEY will NOT do?
What are they hiding? What don't they want us to know?
does anyone know where i can find numbers of how many child abuse cases have been brought against jws or settled out of court?.
i know that 1 is too many and statistics don't reflect the horror suffered, but i would like some numbers to use when explaining to others the reasons for my decreased activity and to have support for my reasons for 'stumbling', facts which might make others think too.. im from uk so it helps that the charities commission is investigating there and also there's a paedophiles exposed website which names 32 jws convicted in uk since 2012, horrifying!
http://ukpaedos-exposed.com.
God knows, but he's not saying.
The WTBTS keep meticulous records just like he Nazis did about their concentration camps. Curious coincidence. But they too aren't saying, which does not mean that they are "godlike" just because of their silence
Barbara Anderson might have a clue, and that's probably the best we'll get: an educated guess from someone that used to be on the inside.
i just wanted to introduce myself and say a big hello to all of my mentally diseased friends.. i say friends because i have been lurking for some time so it feels like home (us lurkers are a bit scared and cautious so it takes a while).
i won't bore you with too many details, but i am a born in, currently serving as the cobe of a congregation.
my wife and i have pioneered for the last 10 years and were shaken awake by that ridiculous 15th july 2013 wt about the generation and 1914.. my wife who is much smarter than me has questioned for years.
IWB: my wife and [I] share the truth about God's unconditional love ...
That's not something that you'll find much of among Jehovah's Witnesses.
They TALK about love being an identifying mark of their Christianity (John 13:35), but in reality, and by their BEHAVIOR and PRACTICES, their conditional acceptance of people is actually evidence that JWs are NOT in fact Christians.
Let's review: It's a cult!
for some background, i am still in.
still an elder.
very much awake.
Pete, "Technically, Russell's statement above was specifically made about the magazine Zion's Watch Tower"
And I'm sure some have lawyered up and answer along those lines.
If anyone tried to tell me some stupid shit like that, I'd just shake my head and roll my eyes in obvious disdain, "Are you serious? 'cause if you are, then you should get out your checkbook."
i just wanted to introduce myself and say a big hello to all of my mentally diseased friends.. i say friends because i have been lurking for some time so it feels like home (us lurkers are a bit scared and cautious so it takes a while).
i won't bore you with too many details, but i am a born in, currently serving as the cobe of a congregation.
my wife and i have pioneered for the last 10 years and were shaken awake by that ridiculous 15th july 2013 wt about the generation and 1914.. my wife who is much smarter than me has questioned for years.
Welcome!
You and your wife have some serious decisions ahead of you and some hard work to do, but you will feel so much better once you're finally able to live an authentic, real life.
IWB: The July WT shook us, and because we have 40 yrs of indoctrination from childhood, it was a long time before we were fully awake.
A rule of thumb is that it takes a month to "deprogram" for every year you were in a cult. By that measure you have roughly 4 years of hard work to get yourselves straight. Obviously your mileage may vary, but most of us have found it to be a process--much like grieving, there are definite stages you both will go through. It sounds like you're well on your way.
Please keep us posted as to your progress and any challenges you face.
Oubliette
have you noticed the article entitled "watch your associations in these last days" in the new august 2015 study watchtower?.
unless i'm reading it wrong, or somehow misinterpreting it, it is saying that we should be kind to intentional breakers of god's laws inside and outside the congregation, including fornicators, but that we must not be close associates with them.. are they already preparing for a shift in their disfellowshipping practices?.
here are the relevant paragraphs:.
They want to be able to rationalize to themselves that they are "kind" (nice/good/likeable) people even though they SHUN those that don't toe the JW line.
oh man, i know i'm gonna catch flack for this.. everyone sees masonic conspiracies everywhere.. i am not a conspiracy theorist.
i don't honestly believe the governing body are freemasons.. yet, probably due to cruising this site and seeing all the masonic conspiracy threads, i saw this when looking for a shot of lett's pinky ring to show how he wore one in october, but then took it off in may to ask for money.. .
original is on the left, and on the right, i played with the brightness/contrast to get it to show up a little better.. what does the pattern on his ring look like to you?.
