Pete Zahut

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Posts by Pete Zahut

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  34

  ABCNews Nightline: Segment on JW absuse cases here......

  by WingCommander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here is the segment on the conti abuse case in california and jehovah's witness's response as reported on by the abcnews nightline broadcast which was shown early this morning.

  it really displays some absolutely shocking behavior from not only her abuser and his (supportive) wife, but also the jw attorneys and elders via video.

  i am just blown away by the audacity displayed by these monsters.. we can now understand why governing body member stephen lett slipped in his comments a couple of weeks ago about "untrue reports of child abuse" in one of his talks which can viewed on the cult's website.

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  Pete Zahut

  I agree, pedophiles can be found in any organization but this is an Ex JW forum hence our interest in this particular religion's pedophiles. The Watchtower Organization has destroyed many an individual and many a family for lesser offenses, all in the name of pure worship and under the guise of being the one spirit directed true religion. They harshly punish those who break their own organizational rules but they themselves break Cesar's law as they see fit then turn around and use every means available within Cesar's law to avoid reproach or having to pay for their own wrongdoing. They are used to having the upper hand, calling all the shots and pressuring "sheeplike ones" into cooperating with them. Their authority means nothing in the real world and their ways are finally being exposed. This may not be enough to cause a mass JW exodus but more girls and boys may come forward and the organization will definetly suffer an erosion of its power over the flock.
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  46

  Groanfest. Share your daftest jokes .

  by jhine in

  1. social
  2. humour

  lots of serious stuff being discussed on site .

  i thought!it would be nice to make each other groan/ smile for a change .please share your corniest ,punniest , or daftest joke .. i will start with this shocker , borrowed from tim vine .. vandalism in a multi story carpark ....... ...................................,............................ wrong on sooo many levels !.

  come on now share yours.

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  Pete Zahut

  Q. What's the difference between an introverted Engineer and an extroverted Engineer?

  A. An introverted Engineer looks down at his shoes when he talks to you. An extroverted Engineer looks at your shoes when he talks to you.

  A newly married Chinese couple went on their honeymoon. The groom had always been kept busy working in his family's restaraunt and was embarrassed by his lack of experience with women. On their wedding night, wanting to impress his new bride, he told her he would do anything she liked and all she had to do was ask. The bride was inexperienced as well but said to her husband.

  " I have heard my married girlfriends whispering about the number 69 and I too want to try this number 69."

  The young husband looked puzzled and said " Really??? You want Garlic Chicken with Snow Peas?"
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  13

  Leaving Christendom for the Kingdumb Hall

  by gone for good in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  most of us old timers left behind a stable, respected, religious heritage in our disillusioned haste to join a stupid cult.. as i recall, there was no rite of dissociation required - no reason offered to your church, no resignation required - it was a non-event from the dubs viewpoint.

  what was your experience?

  were you expected to do or say anything as you abandoned your spiritual heritage to become a drone in the watchtower hive?.

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  Pete Zahut

  The JW insistence of new converts making a formal break with their former religion is more about rubbing it in the churches face than it is about anything else.
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  5

  Socially awkward

  by tamagotchi in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  growing up a jw has made me some what socially awkward.

  i would often push people away due to my weird traits.

  this was made worse by surrounding myself with certain people within the congregation who didn't have my best interest at heart, who now i know where trying to bring me down, this has invoked in me trust issues with people i meet.

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  Pete Zahut

  Tamagotchi...you're playing my song. I enjoy people for the most part and they seem to enjoy me but I have to try so hard to be "normal" and hide the little quirks I realize I need to overcome. I realize that my JW upbringing has stunted me in terms of making friends from scratch and knowing how to handle myself in certain situations. I've had to learn not to be so judgemental, not to assume things about people, label people or expect myself or others to be so perfect. I also have to remember that I'm not responsible for saving anyone, having answers to all the big picture universal questions or proving things to people or defending my beliefs and understandings. Looking back, all of that came from being a JW. Having the idea drummed into your head since childhood that the whole world is broken and that mankind as a whole is flawed and unredeemable, is bound to do a number on ones psyche. Always having to evaluate everything and everyone through a strict and often unattainable set of standards and cramming myself into a mold that someone else carved out for me...not to mention the shame and guilt I had to carry around for not quite "getting" what everyone else seemed to believe in so wholeheartedly about the so-called "truth". The "unity" they strove for, homogenized and stunted me to the point that I often don't know how I really feel or what I really think. Sometimes I surprise myself with the odd little reactions I have to things, that seem to come out of nowhere but then I realize that I'm trying to use a JW induced thought processes that often don't work in the real world.
  

  The thing that has helped me is reading books on the topic of conversation and making friends, observing what those who seem to attract others, do and having a few pre thought out answers, phrases, stories, jokes or topics that I can fall back on when I'm not sure what to do or say. Overcoming "learned" behavior that has taken place over one's lifetime, can't be done overnight but it can get better.

  The good news is that you realize there may be a need for improvement and that puts you way ahead of the game. I suspect, like me, you are probably not as noticeably bad off in this regard, as you may feel you are.
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  29

  I Haven't Missed a Meeting in Years!

  by Oubliette in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i recently ran into a jw i knew from a few years back.you know how it goes, a few pleasantries that always seem much more awkward than they really should (not for me, mind you--for him).and then the question, "so what congregation are you attending?

  are you able to make the meetings?

  "i'm thinking: do you always start conversations this way?so anyways, knowing full well the jw-mindset, i decided to have a bit of fun.furrowing my brow, i said, "that's an odd question!

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  Pete Zahut

  There was an annoying sister in our congregation who would invariably approach people when they had missed a meeting or two and say "We've missed seeing you lately ". She pulled this on me only twice. The first time I let it go, the second time I said "I know...I've missed you too...but I figured you must have had a good reason to be missing so many meetings...nice to see you here today though" I quickly turned and started talking to someone else.
  
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  25

  Memorial Question?

  by naazira in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  over the years, i've come to notice that some of the friends will not touch the plate with the bread or the cup of wine ,when the emblems are being passed around.

  i remember a row of 3 people told the brother to skip over them.

  every year i have noticed this behavior.

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  Pete Zahut

  I was always afraid that I would be the guy that dropped it

  Except for the little kids who can't wait to get their hands on the emblems, I think dropping them is a more common fear than some might realize. I remember there was a shakey little elderly brother who was sitting alone at the end of one of the aisles up front. When he was handed the glass of wine he got up and walked across the mostly empty row to hand it to someone sitting 4 or 5 chairs away from him. His hands were shaking and the wine was sloshing out of the glass. Because he was nearly deaf he handed the dripping glass over to the next person and said in an overly loud voice "Here ya go....if there's anything left of it har-har !" Everyone snickered nervously.
  
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  41

  What is the basis for authority for the governing body?

  by Half banana in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a word to jehovahs witnesses: what is the basis for the authority the seven members of the governing body can claim in controlling the lives of eight million followers?

  the organisation they represent has never got one useful piece of information correct in one hundred and thirty five years... so why should they be believed?.

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  Pete Zahut

  What is the basis for authority for the governing body?

  
  

  ...and has anyone seen a scripture in the Bible it says there would be a literal Faithful and Discrete Slave or where it mentions a Slave "Class" ?
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  24

  New Marriage Arrangement Rumor?

  by Thoughtless in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so, i haven't lurked here in a long while however, i have been checking up more frequently and i saw that there is a rumor going around about getting barred from marriage if the brother not appointed by the time he is 23. is that true?

  if it is, i am so screwed haha.

  proud fader present within college.

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  Pete Zahut

  One of the Governing Body members mentioned in a talk something to the effect that it would be unwise for young sisters to be interested in a brother if he's 23 years old and hasn't been made a Ministerial Servant yet. There's no mandate about it but it's frowned upon....which makes the pickings even slimmer for the young Sisters and puts more pressure on the young Brothers to live up to someone else's expectations but it could serve to push some over the edge and give up altogether.
  
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  21

  Constructive hobbies

  by zeb in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hm have a hobby?

  im not asking what.. hm have taken up a constructive hobby since leaving?.

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  Pete Zahut

  I wasn't allowed to get a college education so now that I'm out of the truth, I'm taking a meat cutting course by mail. It's going pretty well so far but the Postman is having some difficulty stuffing the larger cuts of beef through the mail slot in my front door.
  
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  128

  YOU MIGHT BE A J.W.

  by brandnew in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if getting ready means putting on a suit........ you might be a j.w.. if going out to the field has nothing to do with grass, baseball diamonds, or football ......... you might be a j.w.. please continue my friends.......i know ya got some.....; ).

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  Pete Zahut

  If you've raised your hand in a public meeting and made a comment that included the phrase " Circumcision of the heart"....You might be a JW.

  If you've never eaten a meal in a restaurant that didn't involve shoving a half a dozen tables together to accommodate your group and spending 45 minutes afterward figuring out how to divide up the check among 17 people....you might be a JW.

  If you've called yourself a Bible Student most of your adult life but have only read the Bible one selected verse at at time and only when directed to do so...you might be a JW.