Posts by Pete Zahut

59

Why don't you do anything?

by WireRider in

i'm not jw, so i see this all standing up and very clear from an outsider perspective (i am still seeking my path).

i joined the blog a few weeks ago.

i dated a divorced jw (jw from birth) for a couple of years recently.

Pete Zahut

All I see is a publishing company run amok.

Exactly...a publishing company run amok. A harmless little religious group who printed their observations in a little magazine. Readers began writing in with their questions then slowly but surely, these folks started addressing issues, making interpretations and predictions that were way out of their league. The next thing you know, they start seeing themselves as Bible Theologians and then eventually as the "chosen ones" with the authority to intervene in peoples personal relationships with God. As with anything, if you stay with it long enough, someone will buy into it. (if you build it...they will come). It took on a life of it's own and voila'...here we are.

312

Mass disassociation pact...

by freemindfade in

any takers?

we can pick a date and pull the plug?

lol .

Pete Zahut

Diogenesister 19 minutes ago

I am in !

Petezahut like the "sans" term, never heard it before - of course sans means without in french a negative word so a good acronym.

Yeah...I was trying to think of an acronym that would fit for people who are "in" for now yet want to have a voice even if it is anonymously.

I am deeply sorry about your family member & I feel the blood issue should take precedence when listing grievences

We were in the hospital room at the moment of death and it was horrible and undeserved and completely unnecessary. It happened in a state-of-the-art hospital with capable doctors and equipment at the ready. It happened as a result of those anonymous men in the Ivory Watch- tower and they had no idea of the suffering they caused and I'll be happy to clue them in.

312

Mass disassociation pact...

by freemindfade in

any takers?

we can pick a date and pull the plug?

lol .

Pete Zahut

I'm all for sending anonymous or open DA or *SANS letters as a group to a specific address on a specific date. Among other issues, my letter would highlight in detail the horrific and unnecessary death that occurred in my family due to the "no blood" policy, just before they made it OK to accept blood fractions.

But just so I'm clear....what is the main goal...what are we hoping will happen?

* SANS = Still Attending / No longer $upporting (A JW who appears to be on board because he or she has to be but who will no longer be monetarily or in any other way supporting the organization)

25

where shall we go

by Sabin in

yesterday i read something that hurt my heart.

at a talk given by a brother lyman swingle ( i apologize if i am stepping out of line by using this) he said "that if you leave the jw ( i find it difficult to refer to it as the truth now days) you may as well go jump off a bridge".

this i think is disgraceful talk to say to any body let alone an audience in which children are present.

Pete Zahut

John 6:68, Lord, whom shall we go away to?

This question was directed to Jesus himself. In many ways, the Watchtower Society has superimposed itself into Jesus role as mediator between God and mankind and they use this scripture to make it seem as if there is no way in our modern world for a person to maintain a relationship with God or Jesus ,without them being involved.

If a persons belief in God and Jesus is still intact once exiting from JW's , they can turn to them the same as they did before.

Lyman Swingle said it outloud and very unkindly, however the Governing Body today is much more P.C. (in public) and has claimed recently that it would be presumptuous of them to think that they are the only humans being directed by God. They even say (publicly) that they are not the only ones who will survive into "the new system" yet they make it very difficult, if not impossible for anyone to go about achieving this outcome, from another approach, without losing the network of friends and family they've spent a lifetime building.

85

My letter to Bethel about the flood

by Cornbread in

i've decided to go full public with a new username on this forum.

it's been almost a decade since i've been out and i don't care at this point who knows.

that being said, here's a letter that i'm mailing to bethel.

Pete Zahut

Good letter but why address it "Dear Brothers"? How about just Sirs or to whom it may concern ?

I'd leave the "Dear" and or "Brothers" words out of it because it sounds like you still hold them in some sort of high regard as religious leaders or Bible Theologians who's credentials and track record make them worthy of your respect.

13

2015 Annual meeting program

by rege brazzy in

it will include.

indeed ,the reading and explantaion of the releases and adjustements in september 21, 2015 letter.. -reports from selected countries in the field (the world).

-some highlights from past service year(2015).

Pete Zahut

The show must go on.

35

Watchtower Society: something terribly going on - scenarios

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

if an (aggressive) real estate fund is stopping it's operations directly,.

and if an publishing house is minimize the portfolio,.

and if a member of it's board of directors is telling the costs are higher then the profits,.

Pete Zahut

Maybe, they shouldn't have had volunteers without financial degrees, doing the books.

37

S*** JW Parents Say

by Dissonant15 in

my mom especially had some go-to phrases that to this day echo in my head and piss me off.

things like, .

"don't get mad at me for enforcing the rules, because jehovah made them, so if you don't like it, you're disrespecting him.

Pete Zahut

When I think back on it My Mom used to say some pretty "out there " stuff and I'm surprised I didn't end up with some kind of complex.

For instance she'd say "Little boys who lie should expect tragedy to visit them on a regular basis.

She told us kids it was ok for JW's to talk to Lesbians because they take good care of their cats and they have a real "can-do", attitude.

If we were rude she'd say, "Children who aren't polite give the Pro-Choice folks a better reason to exist."

My Dad was just as bad, he used to tell me I was a "test tube" baby but he wasn't a Witness so I never believed anything he said anyway.

Of course I'm kidding about all of the above I actually had a comparatively normal childhood (aside from the Elder sanctioned beatings in the parking lot of the Hall) but I do remember when we didn't pay attention during our family study or kick up a fuss about having to go to meetings, Mom would weep and say that she was afraid we wouldn't make it into the new system and she didn't want to be there either if we weren't there. All 4 of us kids would feel horrible and guilty for having made her cry and we'd do whatever she wanted.

Talk about manipulation and emotional abuse.

19

SING NO SAD SONGS FOR EX-BETHELITES

by steve2 in

what happens to ex-bethelites is really of no concern to the gb.

and equally no concern to us as ex-jws or those who question jw organization.. layoffs have happened at headquarters and elsewhere for many, many years - although the scale this time is larger than previously, being an all time high: 1,600. .

for the record, we should spare any sympathy/empathy for those who are about to sent packing this time.

Pete Zahut

Surely the massive n umber one lesson from the latest layoffs from still-ins is this: You can no longer claim to be taken by surprise when you are laid off Bethel and have to go out in the "real" world and make a living. Poor baby! Not.

If they are true followers, they will believe that it's Jehovah's will that the GB has laid them off and they will rest assured that he will take care of them.

We have two couples in our family that are in Bethel. They have been there since they were in their late 20's and are now in their late 40's. They have spent the last 20 years being the darlings of their local and home congregations. They somehow travel to all sorts of tropical tourist destinations on their meager Bethel earnings and have a worldwide network of connections. If they should be laid off, I'm sure they will be handed jobs and places to stay, from the members congregations where they have contacts.

They will view this as Jehovah's holy spirit in action but in reality, the same thing happens for anyone who has built up a network of connections, whether it be in ones work career or in ones religious or family circle, when you're in trouble, the more people you know, the more likely someone will be able to offer you assistance.

17

Imitating Jesus with a goatee vs Elders

by brandnew in

jw
friends

ok.....ya gotta hear this ......pops, who is 80 + , slightly nacisistic, slight case of alzheimers, and a stubborn good ol man.. decided to grow a pretty nice lookin goatee this week..... elders swooped on him so quick, it was crazy....... pops looked like he was diggin the whole show of testosterone being flung in his face , but he stood his ground and smiled.... when the dust settled, and pops had his say..... he replied......"im imitating jesus, and jehovah "....!!!!.

omg...the smile on my face, and the one on my dads was priceless......along with the frowns on theirs... thats all....just wanted to share that..

Pete Zahut

I love it when old folks take advantage of their advanced years to get away with saying what we'd all love to say and to call-out B.S when they encounter it.