Posts by Pete Zahut

36

An Anti-Witnessing Campaign, Please Join Me!

by What Now? in

in the past few weeks, the shunning issue has become a very personal one for me, and i have begun to realize that it is not just enough for me and my family to fade out.

after some recent events, i am motivated to start some anti-watchtower activism of my own.. i, like many others, have hoped that there would be a scandal of epic proportions within the organization, something that would wake others up and trigger a mass exodus.. while i am still hopeful that this may happen, it seems that the organization is too good at damage control, and heightening the paranoia surrounding apostates.. but what if the ex-witness community tried a different approach?.

what if, to borrow a hockey term, a sort of shut out situation was created?.

Pete Zahut

Assuming that there are people who already know who JW's are and already don't want them bothering them, I wouldn't go into the JW beliefs aspect too much on the flyer. It may make the householder want to ask questions the next time a JW calls rather than put them off.

I think it might be good to give them a brief explanation of the "Do Not Call" option along with a pre-printed do not call form letter that could be easily sent off to HQ or the local Hall. Or if one wants to be truly devious, one could send a Do Not Call request in for every house in the neighborhood and bypass the householder altogether. If we all did this, what do you think would happen? You'd have to make sure the letters were all different looking. Heck....you could just open the phone book and start writing down names and addresses.

Of course you know that in a year or two there'll be and assembly experience about how a study was started as a direct result of someone having received one of these letters and being interested enough to ask for a study.

44

Is there a slowdown in congregation get togethers?

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

i was just reading thelisteners post from an earlier thread, and it got me thinking just how little time dubs have to associate togther.. it seems to be more and more the fact, that the only time dubs see each other to "associate" - if you can even call it that - is at meetings and conventions.. even at conventions though, the dubs are told not to go outside for lunch, regardless of whether it is a nice day of not.

(note, this may not be true at all conventions).

where is a jehovah's witness supposed to get this period of refreshment so he can do more?

Pete Zahut

The social aspect is the only part of it that made it bearable and is what is keeing it alive. Take that away and they'd stop going altogether.

27

The zeal has gone out of the preaching work , their is no more urgency to the work.

by smiddy in

this is an observation i have made .

yesterday a group of jw`s entered the street where i live , i`m at the end of a street and they stood around and obviously joked and mucked around for about 10 minutes as a group opposite my house .their were 3 teenage girls ,1 teenage boy , and 3 older men .

this was about 10:30 am on a saturday.

Pete Zahut

Looking back, we as publishers felt an urgency but if there was ever truly an urgency, the Watchtower Society would have used the television and or the radio and made publicaly distributed videos and could have gotten the word out within a matter of weeks. They had the capability to do that. Everyone knew that and felt the futility of their efforts to get the supposed warning message out there at a snails pace. Hence all the depression and anxiety in the organization. The door to door work is more for the Witnesses themselves than it is for the householder. Give them a unpleasant task to bond over and rally around that feeds their need to feel like virtuous martyrs. Keep them scared and busy, keep supplying them with and endless supply of inexpensively made books and magazines month after month. 7 million JW's with bookbags and closets full of unused back issues, and the occasional househlder who took them now and then adds up to a lot of money and more will be on the way next month. Remember the subscription campaigns? Why on earth would a non Witness want a years subscription to the Watchtower which is often full of termanology or topics only a JW could relate to. Nowadays I'd say the real money is made from the contributions, the estates of elderly JW's who have passed, assemblies and the selling of old Kingdom Halls that were built with free labor and have gone up in value and are paid for and replacing them with new ones that have money owing on them. On some level I think the individual JW knows this and it shows in their demenor but as is the case in a lot of organized religion, so long as you make them feel safe and feel as if they have all the big picture answers in life, they'll be only too willing to buy into it.

27

Nigerian restaurant sell human meat burger.

by jam in

jw
friends

i have nothing to say on this matter..

Pete Zahut

This is doubtfulnews but it does make me wonder what type of wine they serve with it. Maybe it depends on what race or gender the meat came from.

Anyway, I don't have a problem with it so long as it is cooked to the proper temperature and properly kept and handled and from an approved source. (sarcasm)

7

Comfort for the Brokenhearted facebook page

by Pete Zahut in

i think the jw comfort for the brokenhearted facebook page needs a few more well placed comments from the other side.

i see that a lot of jw's i know have friended this site.. the poem below is one of their offerings.. .

https://www.facebook.com/pages/comfort-for-the-brokenhearted/344767848880643.

Pete Zahut

I think the JW Comfort for the Brokenhearted facebook page needs a few more well placed comments from the other side. I see that a lot of JW's I know have friended this site.

The poem below is one of their offerings.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Comfort-for-the-Brokenhearted/344767848880643

H.E.R.E.

A times I will greet a brother or a sister at the Kingdom Hall and I will ask them how they are.
They look at me with tired eyes and say, I'm H.E.R.E.
This poem is for all of us who are glad that you are H.E.R.E.
The kids were cranky, your husband was late.
The dinner you had ready on time just had to wait.
But you're H.E.R.E.

A long week in service with 'I'm not Interested' and most not at home.
You just like to have some time all alone.
But you're H.E.R.E.

The job was exhausting, you come home feeling beat.
You keep thinking you have that deadline to meet.
But you're H.E.R.E.

Your eyesight is failing, you can't hear all the talk.
Your legs feel feeble, it's a challenge to walk.
But you're H.E.R.E.

You've faced challenges, you've faced trial.
You pushed yourself that last mile.
But you're H.E.R.E.

So we're happy you made it, we know it took courage.
You didn't let the world get you discouraged.
Because when you're H.E.R.E. at the meetings you're really

H-elping E-veryone R-emain E-ncouraged

24

CIRCUIT ASSEMBLIES KEEP SHRINKING IN SIZE - WAY TO GO!!

by steve2 in

the recent boe letter announcing changes to the duration of circuit assemblies was warmly received by congregations the worldover.

it was as if the brothers and sisters were already in the new world for, upon hearing this news, there were no tears at all.

instead, it is a humble acknowledgement from the gb of the mind-numbing, yawn-inducing 2-day circuit assemblies.. .

Pete Zahut

What ever happened to all the emphasis that used to be placed on Hebrews 10:25 ? Was it omitted from the new Bible?

"Do not forsake the gathering of yourselves together as some have the custom, but do it all the more so as you behold the day drawing near"

17

Patterson New York JW Tourist Destination

by Pete Zahut in

jw
friends

i saw a photo on facebook of a jw couple i know, apparently you can now get your photo taken with the stars of the jw animated children's videos, at patterson.

i've tried to share it here but it isn't showing up.. basically, you stand in different cartoon scenes of the door to door activity, holding a bookbag and the hand of one of the children's characters from the viedo.

the houses are pastel colored, the cartoon brothers are wearing brightly colored shirts and ties , no jackets.

Pete Zahut

I saw a photo on Facebook of a JW couple I know, apparently you can now get your photo taken with the stars of the JW Animated children's videos, at Patterson. I've tried to share it here but it isn't showing up.

Basically, you stand in different cartoon scenes of the door to door activity, holding a bookbag and the hand of one of the children's characters from the viedo. The houses are pastel colored, the cartoon Brothers are wearing brightly colored shirts and ties , no jackets. The kids are skipping and it all looks so fun. Very Disneyland tourist destination like. I wonder if they charge for the pictures.

It seems like with the lessening of meetings, assemblies and service hours and the availability of this kid friendly stuff, they are trying to step away from the scary serious religious craziness we had to deal with as kids. At least the kids won't ahve nightmares like we did after reading the Paradise book and hearing about the tribulation non stop.

15

Tainted Love: Your JW wedding

by Julia Orwell in

mine was actually great because my non-jw parents decided to pay for the reception, limo, cake, dress, honeymoon, and more.

i can thank my non-jw parents for what a totally fun day it was.. but, half or more of the guests were jws, jws who don't speak to me anymore.

some have even slandered and abused me.

Pete Zahut

The only thing I don't like when I look at our wedding photos is the "yearly text" written acorss the front of the platform, in every shot taken at the Hall.

8

Governing Body and Security

by NeverKnew in

i was told that unlike christendom's pastors of mega-churches, members of the governing body don't require a security team and that you can just walk right up to them and talk to them.. is this true?.

.

Pete Zahut

There's no need for "unlettered and ordinary men" to have bodyguards.

23

Is there a pedophile epidemic ?

by Snoozy in

after reading another thread on pedophiles i was wondering if there is a pedophile epidemic or is it just that we now have more access to the information?

it seems like everywhere you read there are more and more cases being reported.

are we becoming a nation with no morals at all?

Pete Zahut

It's easy to make a blanket assumtion that the world is going to hell in a handbasket and Pedophilia is on the rise. Like earthquakes, Pedophilia has been happening since the beginning of time. Only now we have better means of tracking these things. Pedophilia been going on in the JW's organization forever. I know of a case that happened to a JW relative in the 50's but was kept quiet because nobody talked about those things back then. The lid has been blown off of most of the old Taboos and any topic is fair game today. The internet has given courage to those who in the past, thought the crime committed against them was an isolated incident and kept it to themselves. There was always an epidemic but no one talked about it.