Pete Zahut

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Posts by Pete Zahut

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  11

  Does this ever happen to you?

  by stillin in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  not very often, something will come up that makes me get a sense of having lost something.

  maybe a television interview with a witness who does an exceptional job of explaining the kingdom preaching or something.

  maybe accolades from the medical community for their stand on blood, how that has helped some other, supposedly superior alternative to be developed.. or maybe it's just a particularly poignant meeting.

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  Pete Zahut

  Naturally there are some good and redeeming qualities about JW's and or the organization. Obviously these were what attracted us to it or kept us in it long after it stopped working for us.

  Those positive aspects were eventually overshadowed by the not so positive ones. For my family and I, it was a death by a thousand cuts. Little by little the changing doctrine, the revelation via the internet of what is really going on behind the scenes at H.Q., the nonsensical changes made in the generation and blood teachings and the fact that nothing they've ever claimed has ever turned out to be true or accurate, all led to the realization that we were involved in a farce. The few nice friends and JW social aspects weren't enough to keep the charade going. My big regret is that we didn't exit before we lost one of our family members in death because of the blood issue. That one was/is hard to bear.
  
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  56

  JW Threatened me with Violence Today :)

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i popped into the supermarket for a few things after work today and found myself walking up an aisle alongside a couple who used to be in my tuesday group.

  i see them reasonably often and always say hello much to their obvious annoyance.

  i noticed that ian was sporting a shaggy beard.

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  Pete Zahut

  Cofty,

  Sorry, you must be misunderstanding what I've said. I have relatives in Wales and London and the same thing happens when we email, we often misunderstand each others meaning, even though we are speaking the same language.
  

  I wasn't intending to express an opinion of you or suggesting that you should care what I have to say or think nor was I intending to give legal advice. I loved your post and thought your reaction to the situation was spot on. My reply was just a obviously poorly written optional reply that came to mind, of what could have been said when that guy threatened to hit you.

  I was thinking at that moment when he threatened to hit you, you could have said to him that if he did indeed hit you, he could be charged with assault and he could end up having to pay a civil fine and pay you for any damages to your face, should there be any. Perhaps a comment like that would make him realize that threatening to hit someone who is simply talking to him in the aisle of a grocery store, could have some serious consequences and it might be prudent of him to think twice about such an over reaction.
  

  Hope that make's more sense (not that it matters)
  
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  56

  JW Threatened me with Violence Today :)

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i popped into the supermarket for a few things after work today and found myself walking up an aisle alongside a couple who used to be in my tuesday group.

  i see them reasonably often and always say hello much to their obvious annoyance.

  i noticed that ian was sporting a shaggy beard.

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  Pete Zahut

  Pete Zahut

  Ian - (Getting up in my face) "Do you want me to hit you?"

  Cofty : "Sounds like there could be assault charges coming your way and a healthy monetary settlement, coming mine."

  The above was meant to be Cofty's reply to Ian after he made the threat of assault, indicating that such an assault could result in legal charges brought against Ian and a monetary settlement in favor of Cofty.
  
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  56

  JW Threatened me with Violence Today :)

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i popped into the supermarket for a few things after work today and found myself walking up an aisle alongside a couple who used to be in my tuesday group.

  i see them reasonably often and always say hello much to their obvious annoyance.

  i noticed that ian was sporting a shaggy beard.

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  Pete Zahut

  Ian - (Getting up in my face) "Do you want me to hit you?"

  Sounds like there could be assault charges coming your way and a healthy monetary settlement, coming mine.
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  32

  How many of you left the Org since 2015?

  by Paul Bonanno in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have noticed that many lately have left the org or are in the process of leaving.

  how many of you have left since 2015?.

  this month will be my 21 years out of the org into the road of freedom.

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  Pete Zahut

  Great question Paul....looking forward to the answers !
  
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  16

  A passing thought when driving past an inactive JWs place today.

  by joe134cd in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'm going to tell you of a family i knew of when growing up as a jw.

  she was a solo mother who had 2 daughters and these 2 daughters were absolutely stunning both physically and personailty wise.

  i remember thinking at the time how commendable it was that such beautiful looking women would choose to stay in the organisation.

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  Pete Zahut

  My first thought after reading your post was that maybe the family you knew, has moved and the women you saw that day weren't the same ones you used to know. ( hope so )

  My second thought was that often, when people leave the JW's and don't have a firm conviction that they were right in doing so, will sometimes gravitate towards the things in life that aren't worth having or doing, simply because they feel they are now wicked. They subconsciously think that since they aren't JW's anymore, they are part of the wicked world they've heard oh so much about. Instead of realizing that non JW's can lead clean healthy productive lives, they go straight toward the destructive behavior that is always highlighted in JW literature and in the stern admonition at the meetings.

  Ships are safer when they are tied up in the harbor, but ships were designed to sail the seas and be useful. The vast majority of them are able to safely navigate the stormy seas unscathed. Like a ship tied up in the harbor, there is a certain amount of protection from bad habits (smoking drugs etc) that can be attributed to the JW way of life. However, like the ship that safely navigates the sea instead of staying safely tied up in a harbor, people who cut themselves free from the overbearing restraints and misguided and untrue teachings of JW's, can and often do, live a healthy positive life without being bound forever to a cult.
  
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  37

  feeling of hopelessness and fear

  by 060702015 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you have feelings of hopelessness and fear for not having a religion?.

  do you envy happy jehovah witnesses and living their lives carefree?.

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  Pete Zahut

  I felt anxious, hopeless and afraid when I was a full on JW and Bethelite doing all I could in the "ministry".

  I only realized once I left, how negatively the weekly meetings affected me. Being constantly reminded how inadequate and undeserving I was, how hopeless and broken the world and everyone in it is and how unlikely it was that I'd ever survive Armageddon, was a heavy mental burden to bear and it took it's toll on me.
  

  After leaving, I came to realize that if there is actually a God and if he does have a long term plan for mankind, there is absolutely no reason I shouldn't be a part of it. I finally feel good enough as I am and at peace with the things the way they are. I feel that lending a hand to make a difference now, instead of waiting on a magical cure-all, is a much healthier way of life.
  
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  31

  WE NEED MORE FIELD SERVICE REPORTS (Letter sent to Ecuador)

  by elkatire1980 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this letter was sent to all congregations in ecuador (south america).. the translation into english of the letter:.

  to body ofelders.

  subject: publisher who did not report field service time in the second semester of service year.. dear brothers:.

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  Pete Zahut

  The hours in field service are a barometer of how much income they can count on in terms of literature orders and publishers who will continue to be in the picture in terms of donations.
  
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  20

  need input: My wife is at it again...this time about the faithful and discreet slave

  by goingthruthemotions in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so you all know that i go with my wife to the meeting to protect the kids from the drival and pacify her.

  tonight we are sitting there and she points to mathew and says something about the faithful and discreet slave and she said eplain this.

  so breaking away from what i was reading in the meeting..." in search of christian freedom by franz"...i said.

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  Pete Zahut

  You are frustrated because you are thinking that FACTS matter to your wife.

  Her belief system isn't driven by facts.... it's driven by the emotion that is produced when she hears somewhat plausible explanations of life's big picture issues . Although none of them are provable, they allow her to have a warm fuzzy feeling about her future and to wrap up all the unknowns in life into a nice little package, provided by the JW's and outlined in the products(literature) they sell.

  A person has to be emotionally ready to face the hard facts of life and many use religion to shield them from having to face them...ever. Help her become strong as a person so that she doesn't need to hide behind a magical belief system to feel safe.
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  18

  Oh my God, I now have proof that Adam was made from dust.

  by James Mixon in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  bro.

  e. soriano set matters straight for me.. you people alleged that the creation of adam is an "anti-scientific nonsense; and god did not.

  create adam from a handful of dust, like the bible says, (ok maybe a bucket full).

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  Pete Zahut