Posts by fjtoth

15

Singer finds her voice after leaving JW's

by Gopher in

good story about rene marie.

she speaks frankly about a good effect she found by joining the jw's, and how and why she left never to look back.

http://www.pacpub.com/site/myzwire.cfm?newsid=15292956&brd=1091&pag=461&dept_id=343157&rfi=6

Singer finds her voice after leaving JW's

by Gopher in

good story about rene marie.

she speaks frankly about a good effect she found by joining the jw's, and how and why she left never to look back.

http://www.pacpub.com/site/myzwire.cfm?newsid=15292956&brd=1091&pag=461&dept_id=343157&rfi=6

fjtoth

Here's the latest on Jazz singer Rene Marie:

Click here: Rocky Mountain News, January 8, 2008

Rene Marie breaks out

Jazz songbird's fans know the sound of one heart singing

By Bill Gallo, Special to the Rocky

67

WT SOCIETY IS WRONG ON BLOOD

by Vinny in

still not sure the jw's are wrong on blood?.

still not sure the jw's are wrong on blood?

The JW teaching on blood transfusions was the one that caused me the most agony. I felt the Society simply had to be the true religion since no others seemed to be in agreement with the Bible's plainly stated command to "abstain from blood." Additionally, it was a fact that some people had died or had become seriously ill due to tainted or mismatched blood. I was convinced that the Society's position was expressive of God's view. That was one of the main reasons I felt conscientiously that it was my duty before God to downplay all the stumbling blocks in the organization that I had observed or experienced for decades. I viewed such things as tests God was allowing that I might demonstrate my loyalty and faithfulness to him!

A few months ago I had some fine email exchanges with a man who recently got up the courage to leave JWs. He went on and on for several days about all the badness he had observed in the organization for many years. But he was still hung up on the blood transfusion issue. He spent a lot of time trying to convince me that blood transfusions do more harm than good. It didn't matter to him that around the world millions of lives are preserved every year due to transfusions. The comparative handful who have died after receiving blood were clear enough evidence to him that the Society's view is the correct one. He is still searching for a religion with the same view. I think many JWs hang on to the Society as if Jesus had said, "By this all will know that you are my true disciples if you would rather die than accept a blood transfusion."

Freedom came in my own case when my eyes were opened by what Jesus said at Matthew 12:11, 12 and Luke 14:5, 6. I wish I had thought during those email exchanges to make some of the other arguments you provide in your well-thought-out presentation up above!

Frank

297

BETHELITES - Whatever Became of?

by Black Man in

jw
friends

i often times wonder what happened to certain bethelites that i ran around with during my 1990s tenure there.

while there are still a few left there, the greater majority of them aren't there for various reasons (marriage, disillusionment, left the borg, etc).

a couple of cats i wonder about - there was one brother who i believe was from kansas, who got his fingers cut off in a printing press.

fjtoth

Hi NB, Yes, I remember Houston. He and I worked together. I think I was in Shipping, though, at the time you were at Bethel. Frank

297

BETHELITES - Whatever Became of?

by Black Man in

jw
friends

i often times wonder what happened to certain bethelites that i ran around with during my 1990s tenure there.

while there are still a few left there, the greater majority of them aren't there for various reasons (marriage, disillusionment, left the borg, etc).

a couple of cats i wonder about - there was one brother who i believe was from kansas, who got his fingers cut off in a printing press.

fjtoth

I report with sadness the passing of Mike Smilnak. I'm sure he had no use for me after I left the organization, but I remember him with respect for his example of devotion and hard work at Brooklyn Bethel. Mike worked in the Composing and Linotype Department. Some fellow workers were Russell Armacost, Walter Bennett, Fred Bright, Cal Chyke, Tom Combs, George Johnson, Charlie Fekel, Doug Gielenfeldt, Gene Glazebrook, George Hannan, Karl Kramer, Warren Manns, Bill McInnis, Harry Peloyan, Keith Perkins, Bill Peterson, and Natheer Salih.

Frank

From The News-Herald of Willoughby, Ohio:

January 6, 2008 Obituary

Michael Smilnak

Memorial services for Michael Smilnak, 81, of Mentor-on-the-Lake, will be 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008, at the Grand River Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 340 River St., Grand River, OH 44045.

Mr. Smilnak died Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008, at LakeWest Hospital in Willoughby.

He was born July 18, 1926, in Cresson, Pa.

Mr. Smilnak was an elder for the Grand River congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses and a full-time servant of Jehovah for 50 years. He served at the Brooklyn, N.Y. headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses for 27 years.

Survivors are his sisters, Helen Durrell of Parma, Dorothy Drochton of Chester Township and Betty Swenk of Lancaster, Calif.; and other family members.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Michael and Helen.

Arrangements are entrusted to Brunner Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Mentor.

.

69

The Suicide of Jason R: a rational battlecry

by inkling in

ok, here is a short introduction:.

worf has posted an email sent to him by someone who claims: to have testified.

in court in a case involving the illegal digging up of the body of a young bethelite .

fjtoth

I knew Dan Sydlik. He had a beautiful wife and was happily married. Additionally, he was one of the more decent members of the GB. It would take an awful lot to convince me that he was gay.

91

RE: blood issue and media.

by avishai in

jw
friends

please send letters to stephen bates requesting an article on this issue.

many of you may not see immediately how important this matter is.

beyond the other legal ramifications, i.e, the wts lying about secular info., intentional deception, etc., the blood issue is a huge one.

fjtoth

Jehovah's Witnesses Have Blood On Their Hands

Jesus and his apostles would object to the Jehovah's Witnesses ban on blood transfusions which has led to the slow deaths of thousands of their members.

The following texts list the sins that Christians should guard against:

Matthew 15:19, 20
1 Corinthians 6:9, 10
Galatians 5:19-25
Ephesians 5:3-7
Colossians 3:5-9
1Timothy 1:8-11
Revelation 21:8

The following 42 sins are listed:

Abusive Speech
Adultery
Anger
Badness
Blasphemy
Contentions
Covetousness
Cowardice
Disgusting Filth
Divisions
Drunkenness
Enmities
Envies
Extortion
False Swearing
False Testimony
Fits of Anger
Foolish Talking
Fornication
Greediness
Homosexuality
Hurtful Desire
Idolatry
Jealousy
Kidnapping
Lack of Faith
Loose Conduct
Lying
Murder
Obscene Jesting
Obscene Talk
Revelries
Reviling
Sects
Sexual Appetite
Shameful Conduct
Spiritism
Strife
Thievery
Unbecoming Speech and Conduct
Uncleanness
Wrath

Though the list is extensive, the eating of blood is not mentioned even once in the several above-mentioned sources. There is not one verse or one list in the entire Christian Greek Scriptures that says Christians in general must not eat blood. Early in their history, Jehovah's Witnesses taught that Acts 15 simply contains admonition for GENTILE CHRISTIANS who were being urged to have regard for the sensitivities of their Jewish brothers and sisters.

So, it is completely without authorization from the Bible that Jehovah's Witnesses condemn their members who accept a blood transfusion. Since thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses have died slow deaths due to this man-made teaching, who should be blamed for their deaths?

Each one of Jehovah's Witnesses should prayerfully consider the following:

-- It is a fact that the Bible does not condemn blood transfusions. Acts 15 contains instructions for Gentile Christians on conduct in the presence of their Jewish brethren. That was the original and official view of the Watchtower Society before the no-blood ban went into effect during the 1940s and 50s.

-- It is a fact that blood consumption is not in any New Testament list of sins.

-- It is a fact that the originator of the "no-blood" doctrine was a man who dabbled in spiritism. Clayton J. Woodworth, just a few short years before he became editor of the magazine now called "Awake!," admitted that "my mind became unbalanced, and I came directly under the influence of evil spirits, so much so that for three days I was as completely under demonical control as was Mrs. Eddy when she wrote 'Science and Health.' . . . I know now that all these Scriptures were suggested to my mind by the evil spirits."

-- It is a fact that Jesus showed how wrong it is to let someone die because of having a pharisaical concern for obedience to a religious law. (Matthew 12:11, 12; Luke 14:5, 6)

-- It is a fact that THOUSANDS of Jehovah's Witnesses have already died because their leaders choose to reject Jesus and to follow a spiritist.

-- It is a fact that Jehovah's Witnesses would rather see a helpless tiny baby die than receive a life-saving blood transfusion -- a baby that cannot speak for itself or defend itself.

-- It is a fact that Jehovah's Witnesses throw their sick and weak members out of their organization as "evildoers" if they accept a blood transfusion. (To avoid lawsuits, they claim the accused was not expelled but that he chose of his own volition to leave the organization.)

-- It is a fact that rank and file Jehovah's Witnesses are quick to label anybody who disagrees with their stance as "uninformed," "prejudiced" and "hateful."

-- It is a fact that some in the rank and file accuse doctors and hospitals of being "greedy lovers of big money" or that they practice "bad medicine" simply because the vast majority of them don't agree with Jehovah's Witnesses.

-- It is a fact that Jehovah's Witnesses are so self-absorbed that they often think they are being "persecuted" when a member dies and the media relates the news just as it happened, explaining that the death was due to refusing a blood transfusion.

-- It is a fact that bloodless surgery is useless in immediate emergencies, as when a patient is rapidly losing blood from a car accident.

-- It is a fact that bloodless surgery offers no hope to persons suffering from certain types of leukemia and other health problems. Neither is it of any value in most parts of the world where such surgery is unavailable.

-- It is a fact that bloodless surgery has its failures just as there are failures in transfusing blood.

-- It is a fact that most reputable articles that point to dangers in transfusions are dealing with specific types of transfusion and not with the type generally administered.

-- It is a fact that blood transfusions save lives -- MILLIONS of lives every year -- and bloodless surgery saves LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF ONE PERCENT of that number.

Still, millions of Jehovah's Witnesses choose to go along with the no-blood doctrine, blindly ignoring the fact that there is a truly heartless and unscriptural aspect to the story of their religion!

64

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM LAWRENCE HUGHES

by SHUNNED FATHER in

jw
friends

as you may have heard, the court of appeal has overturned three previous court decisions in my favour.

the lawsuit has been given the green light and is basically has remained intact almost exactly the way it started.

what are the odds of that happening?

fjtoth

bttt

38

Judge: 14-year-old Jehovah's Witness can refuse blood transfusion

by Gilberto in

a 14 year old can refuse a blood transfusion.

this is against the wishes of his parents.. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wa_jehovahs_witness_transfusion.html.

judge: 14-year-old jehovah's witness can refuse blood transfusionthe associated press.

fjtoth

Jehovah's Witnesses claim Jesus is their model, but Jesus would most certainly allow blood transfusions to save human lives. The Sabbath law was just as binding upon the Jews as the law concerning blood. Showing that such laws could and should be disobeyed if a human life is at stake, Jesus said: "Who will be the man among you that has one sheep and, if this falls into a pit on the sabbath, will not get hold of it and lift it out? All considered, of how much more worth is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do a fine thing on the sabbath." (Matthew 12:11, 12) "And he said to them: 'Who of you, if his son or bull falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?' And they were not able to answer back on these things." (Luke 14:5, 6) The leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses will likewise be speechless on Judgment Day when Jesus confronts them about their evil ban on blood transfusions even when human lives are in danger.

58

TRAGEDY ; YOUNG JW MOTHER DIES AFTER GIVING BIRTH

by stay young and beautiful in

jw
friends

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/7078455.stm .

a young mother has died after giving birth to twins, following claims that she had refused a blood transfusion because of her faith.

jehovah's witness, emma gough, 22, from telford, shropshire, gave birth on 25 october.

fjtoth

Jesus would certainly allow blood transfusions to save human lives. The Sabbath law was just as binding upon the Jews as the law against eating animal blood. Showing that such laws could be disobeyed if a human life is at stake, Jesus said: "Who will be the man among you that has one sheep and, if this falls into a pit on the sabbath, will not get hold of it and lift it out? All considered, of how much more worth is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do a fine thing on the sabbath." (Matthew 12:11, 12) "And he said to them: 'Who of you, if his son or bull falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?' And they were not able to answer back on these things." (Luke 14:5, 6) JWs will likewise be speechless on Judgment Day when Jesus confronts them about their evil ban on blood transfusions even when human lives are in danger.
.