Pete Zahut

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Posts by Pete Zahut

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  10

  "Watchtowers growth strains budgets"

  by zebulon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i live in orange county new york.

  i posted once before a few weeks ago.

  i am losing my family because of this org.

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  Pete Zahut

  Here are the links to two articles on the subject.

  
  http://www.recordonline.com/article/20150314/NEWS/150319601/0/SEARCH

  http://www.recordonline.com/article/20150314/NEWS/150319601/0/SEARCH
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  8

  Sometimes the most obvious connections are the most difficult to make

  by neverendingjourney in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  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.

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  Pete Zahut

  My parents were immigrants as well (Europe)...very trusting. Us kids,( putting our bible knowledge to good use), used to refer to Matt 23:27 when we'd say:

  "Mom and Dad would probably buy a white washed grave if someone came to the door selling one"
  

  When they first arrived in this country, they had 2 kids and no friends of family here. Mom (24) was lonely and talked to the nice ladies at the door that kept coming back.....the rest is history.
  
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  35

  A Burger and a Hook-up

  by John Aquila in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so i went to get a burger just now, and a couple of elders from my former congregation caught me off guard.

  they started giving me the we feel so sorry for you, you must be so lonely bit.

  i kept telling them im doing great and im not lonely but its like they couldnt hear me talking.

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  Pete Zahut

  Wasn't there a talk of something recently where one of the GB said that there was something wrong with a brother who wasn't a Ministerial Servant by the time he was 23 and that a sister would be foolish to get involved with him?

  One can only imagine what they'd say if they heard about these elders trying to set these sisters up with someone who hasn't been to a meeting in over a year.

  This is just another example of how even those who are "taking the lead among you", are completely missing the point of the principals of their own religion and are not to be trusted.
  
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  55

  Should I Make My Wife Watch the May Broadcast?

  by TTATTelder in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for some background, i am still in.

  still an elder.

  very much awake.

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  Pete Zahut

  ‘All the gold and silver of the mountains are mine,’ fails to provide necessary funds, we will understand it to be time to suspend the publication.”

  To me, Russell's comment is saying that the amount of funds they take in, is directly proportionate to the amount of approval they have from Jehovah. If the necessary funding fails to be provided, they will take that as a sign that Jehovah isn't backing them. If Jehovah isn't backing them, rather than solicit for money, they'd suspend or reexamine their current activities . If that is the case with the publishing of a magazine, it would be all the more so the case with the rest of their activities that also need funding to continue.

  That was the premise this religion was originally founded on and it makes sense that if this is the true religion and it is being backed by Jehovah, then it would have everything it needs, all of the time. Didn't Jesus say he could even make the very stones cry out if need be, to get the preaching work done?
  
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  55

  Should I Make My Wife Watch the May Broadcast?

  by TTATTelder in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for some background, i am still in.

  still an elder.

  very much awake.

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  Pete Zahut

  
  

  As early as the second issue of the Watch Tower, in August 1879, Brother Russell stated: “‘Zion’s Watch Tower’ has, we believe, JEHOVAH for its backer, and while this is the case it will never beg nor petition men for support. When He who says: ‘All the gold and silver of the mountains are mine,’ fails to provide necessary funds, we will understand it to be time to suspend the publication.” Consistent with that, there is no begging for money in the literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses. - *** jv chap. 21 p. 340 How Is It All Financed? ***

  I suppose a JW could say:

  " Technically, Russell's statement above was specifically made about the magazine Zion's Watch Tower and never soliciting for the funds needed to print it.

  It also was about never begging for money, in the literature, which so far hasn't happened" (to my knowledge.

  Russell's statement was not referring to the petitioning of funds needed to support the other aspects of the kingdom work."
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  55

  Should I Make My Wife Watch the May Broadcast?

  by TTATTelder in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for some background, i am still in.

  still an elder.

  very much awake.

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  Pete Zahut

  Just tell her that you heard that in the May broadcast of JW T.V they are asking us all to up the amount of money we are giving. Before we do, I suppose it would be a good idea to see what this is all about.

  (click....on goes the TV)

  Let (Lett) and the broadcast speak for itself . Keep the remote control at the ready and pause it at key points that are puzzling you such as:

  When Lett say in so many words, "we never ask for money", you could hit the pause button and say:

  "huh??? Didn't he just say they have all these big projects and they need more funds??"

  When he talks about the $1 million (plus) needed to build each translation office you cold say:

  "It seems like it would be wiser to rent a existing office space or do the translating remotely from Bethel. How hard could it be to take a book or magazine that has already been written in English and translate it to another language and send them from New York ? I wonder why they need a whole new complex to do it ? It would be nice if they would give us a breakdown of all the costs so we could make an informed decision. "

  If you ask the questions rhetorically, she won't feel compelled to answer or become defensive, rather she may dare to entertain her own questions as they arise during the broadcast.
  
  
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  26

  big accident at Warwick construction site

  by oppostate in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the wt society is fond of using the tilt-up method of construction where a network of rebar is made on the ground, concrete poured on it and allowed to cure, then the whole thing is tilted up and voila' you've got yourself a massive big-ass wall ready made.

  these walls for several stories-high buildings are indeed massive and weighty so you need a heavy-duty crane to raise into position.. i just heard from an eye-witness ldc volunteer that while there a few weeks ago they had an enormous accident.

  the crane tilted and crashed, the only one hurt was its operator.

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  Pete Zahut

  Part 2 of the above story.
  

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAZ_sTCTT5k#t=112
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  10

  I Felt Proud Telling People That Michael Jackson Was Raised a JW

  by Tempest in a Teacup in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just remembered this thing this morning:.

  sharing the same faith with the king of pop made me feel important for belonging to this religion, even if he was never baptised.

  we were not in america or anywhere close by.

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  Pete Zahut

  In the employee break room there was a discussion about M.J. when he was accused of molesting that boy. He was being scorned for being a molester and mocked because of his plastic surgery and appearance. My former Boss (big time Catholic) brought up in a mocking way that Michael Jackson was a Jehovah's Witness and asked me about it as if I had some sort of responsibility to answer for all things JW. My Boss had demonstrated in the past his low opinion of JW's doctrine and the annoying door to door business. He's normally a great gut but he never missed a chance to embarrass me and put me on the spot about anything JW related.

  On this occasion I said " So Paul....didn't Madonna do a photo shoot of herself nude on the cross and writhing around naked in a Catholic church . Seems like she's about as much of a Catholic as M.J. is a Jehovah's Witness."

  That shut him up for good on the subject. Never said a thing again in my presence about JW's.
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  13

  The org, it's money problems ans other stuff!

  by username in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  hi there, although i have been a lurker here for a while now i've not yet posted a new topic, so here goes nothing lol.. i have been thinking a lot lately on all the changes and the branch visits, specifically the uk branch visit where apparently it has bean mentioned the great tribulation is about to start.. since i've not heard the full talk and only heard certain items from it i got to thinking that maybe this is the org's way of saying the watchtower is about to go down due to all the cover ups and the long list of discrepancies.. maybe i am way off the mark here, what does everone else think?.

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  Pete Zahut

  Nothing like the threat of a cataclysmic event looming on the horizon to spur on the troops and get those lagging donations, rolling in again. There's no easier way to feel saved than by giving an extra bit of cash and there's no problem that can't be made better, by throwing more money at it.
  
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  19

  Crap Shoot

  by John Aquila in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  what would have happen if i was not home when jehovahs witnesses knocked on my door?.

  there was a group of us living in a small trailer in the mid 60s when and old pioneer brother knocked on our door and placed all kinds of books and magazines with us.

  all of us took it seriously and studied and started attending the kingdom hall.

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  Pete Zahut

  I think we come to forks in the road throughout our lives and whichever direction we happen to choose, we deal with what we encounter and those encounters become our life story.

  I think those who become JW's on their own (not born in) are already a bit lost or are searching or are heading for a fall and having any kind of strong direction in their lives is an improvement. JW's are out there actively recruiting people and the odds of them finding and attracting lost ones is very high. How many people do you know who were doing really well in life already, joined the JW's as adults? In my experience, it was more often than not, those who were at a vulnerable stage in their lives who became JW's.

  Healthy organizations like to see personal progress and growth among their members even if it takes them beyond the group. JW's want to squelch the individual,cripple their critical thinking abilities and teach them to fear that which is outside the group. I think many who encounter JW's and stay with it for a good period of time and then leave, on some level are still convinced that they are bad people or possibly cursed in some way for having done so. That belief becomes a self fulfilling prophesy for them and they head straight for what they believe they deserve.