It's not surprising that they'd view their every move as historic. They are a very narcissistic self absorbed group of people who think that all of what has happened so far in history, points to them. With a warped form of humility, they believe the fate of the world is in their hands and is dependent upon what they do and they enjoy thinking of themselves as life savers and God's chosen ones. They believe God is watching and directing their every move. Although they stress the quality of humility in others, the Governing body is used to being looked upon as celebrities and have an exaggerated sense of
self-importance, believing that others cannot live or survive without their magnificent contributions. They are quick to avoid any responsibility when things go wrong and diffuse their mistakes by creating a new drama and diverting attention away or by blaming others. They regularly relay guilt and or fear inducing news and information because it makes them feel powerful when they see the guilty or fearful response others. This has been going on since the beginning and is nothing new because it works.
Pete Zahut
JoinedPosts by Pete Zahut
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Sometimes I think Jehovah's Witnesses overuse the word "historic"
by slimboyfat inat the beginning of the may broadcast stephen lett said this was a historic broadcast.
he explained that every member of the governing body had hosted a show and they were starting over again.
that was all the explanation he gave.
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Pete Zahut
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Feeling rejected
by Esmeralda001 injust a little disclaimer: english isn't my first language (i'm from france) thus the poor writing skills.here is the situation: i'm not a jw.
however, i'm in the process of becoming one.
in fact, i'm studying with the jw's, and i'll proceed to become an unbaptized publisher as soon as i finish the first book.to make a long story short i was introduced to the truth when i was 18een.
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Pete Zahut
Esmeralda,
First of all your English was just fine and your post was easy to read and understand.
Before you even mentioned your appearance I was thinking to myself that this "Sister" you mentioned, is probably a bit intimidated by you because you are well put together and have an education. You are the new girl in town and she may see you as somewhat of a threat to herself and her daughters. I'm also wondering if her Son may have thought more of your casual friendship than you may realize and he may have said something about his interest in you, to his Mother. Even though you have no intentions towards him, she may be worried about her Son becoming "unevenly yolked" with someone who hasn't established herself as a full fledged JW yet.
People are people and JW's are no different than anyone else, they just think they are. You'll meet women like this no matter where you go. It's just a bit more hurtful when it happens in a place where you've let your guard down and may have let yourself become more trusting because you've been led to believe that they are more trustworthy. Sometimes JW's are resentful of the attention new ones get when they first come in to the congregation. I think they feel a little bit like the prodigal son who stayed behind at home and did what he was supposed to while his brother went off and did what he wanted. To them, you have been living it up out in the big bad world and have gotten to do things they weren't allowed to, such as getting a college education. Now you show up in "their world" on "their turf" and you are getting attention for doing what they've been doing all along.
I don't want to discourage you from studying with JW's if you think there's something you can gain from doing so but I would recommend that you verify everything they teach you, from outside sources and not be taken in by the seemingly trustworthy way they have. Many of those you will meet are unaware that they themselves don't have the full picture when it comes to the origins of their religion and it's doctrines yet they really believe it and are only too happy to pass it along to you and expect you to buy into it 100% as well. They will also be suspicious of you if you question it or don't go along with it entirely. They only tolerate questions up to a certain point. After that, their radar goes up and they will be watchful of you.
Much of the behavior of JW's is shaped by unwritten/unspoken rules or ethics that they have developed themselves and are not necessarily Bible based. As with any tight knit group, you'll have to navigate your way through that until you either learn to conform to their ways or get simply get used to being looked at with sideways glaces. It can be done so long as you are aware of what is going on and can manage to avoid losing yourself in the process. Remember, you are there to validate them and their chosen path. Every new one that comes in and accepts the faith is a reassurance to them that they are on the right track themselves. Questions you may pose are a reminder of the doubts they may have suppressed for so long they've forgotten about them.
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Sorrry if a repeat
by careful inthoughts?.
http://taze.co/2015/01/31/jw-org-idolatry/.
the quotation from the 1974 km is good..
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Pete Zahut
I don't like the JWorg logo on the K. Hall's but I don't really see how it's any different than the Watchtower logo that has been used all these years. A lot of people refer to JW's and or the organization as "the Watchtower.", " Are you with the Watchtower?" " Are you those people from the Watchtower ?" etc. We didn't idolize the Watchtower or the Watchtower logo.
They aren't worshiping JWOrg so it's not idolatry. They are simply using it to drive people to the website where they (supposedly) can learn about Jehovah, the one they do (supposedly) worship.
My beef is that they could have used the Television medium all these decades to spread the "urgent" message, instead of having us spending our time and money trudging around from door to door, but they said it wasn't appropriate because it was too similar what churches did and we were commanded to go from door to door. Now suddenly it's ok to do as the churches are doing by making the same kind of broadcasts as they do from similar looking websites as they have.
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Pete Zahut
Hopefully Jeff's memory foam mattress will come down with Alzheimer's.
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My RC hearing brought forward. Will be in two weeks
by umbertoecho inthrough this forum of wonderful freaks, i have met someone who is coming with me to my hearing.
initially i was slated for next year, but will be attending in two weeks time.
all is in place from travel vouchers, support, where to go ............very efficient and well done.
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Pete Zahut
I would like them to be required by law to make a public announcement that acknowledges to their members and to the general public that there is a problem within the organization and offer an apology to those who have been affected by it and an outline of what they plan to do about it. -
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What would happen if you started calling jw's "sheep" rather than brother or sister?
by purrpurr infollowing on from the excellent thread started by open mind.... rather than calling the cult members brother smith etc what about calling them "sheep smith".
sheep jones?.
sheep morris the third?.
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Pete Zahut
What would happen if you started calling jw's "sheep" rather than brother or sister?
The possibilities are endless....Instead of saying, "Brother and Sister Smith have 3 children and are expecting a third in May", you'd say, "Ram and Ewe Smith have 3 Lambs at present but Ewe Smith will be Lambing for the 4th time in May."
Anyone giving a rambling talk or an overly long answer during the Watchtower study would be "bleating on" and when the GB asks for more donations, they'd be fleecing the flock again.
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Pete Zahut
You're welcome Phaedra...yeah...I figured you may have had second thoughts about putting too many details in your original post and edited it out. (been there...done that)
Anyway here's a few links to things that might be useful or give you some ideas of your own.
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Pete Zahut
My first advice is, don't panic and don't be too grim about all of this. Easy to say, I know but don't waste any mental energy on the what if's....focus on and only think about the outcome you want and don't allow your negative thoughts scare you to death and become a self fulfilling prophesy.
People are leaving jobs all the time...retiring, getting married, having babies, moving away etc. Do a google search for the "hidden job market". This is referring to the scores of jobs that are available at any given time but aren't yet advertised. Everyone and their dog is looking at and competing for openings that are already posted. I've had a lot of success finding jobs by looking at companies who do the type of work I'm qualified for or are in a field I would like to get in to and contacting them directly by phone or in person even though they don't have anything advertised and beating everyone everyone to the "hidden jobs" I discovered, before they were even posted.
The Job I've been in for the last 8 years is the best I've ever had. People stand in line for this job and typically they need an Engineering Degree to qualify but I encounterd it through my own sleuthing abilities, got in there first and convinced them that my experience would qualify me. Because I was Johnny on the spot, they decided to give me a shot rather than have to slog through the normal advertising and interviewing burden. I did them a favor in a way and a few weeks after I started, the District Mgr. called me in and said he was hearing good things about me and was really glad they found me.
Anyway, I can't be too specific with my advice as I don't know where you are living but I did notice that you said you are doing weekly checks of job postings. Likely this is because you are still working but if you can manage it, it would be good to do some sort of search each day. I have always approached job hunting as a daily job in itself. In the evening I write down 3 or 4 places to call or go to as well as a few things to look into. In the morning I'd get up and get going as if I were going to work. I'd have all the information I needed lined up so there was no energy wasted on indecision or disorganization.
At this point, if you have any contacts through your present job or know of similar jobs in other companies, you could contact them even if they don't have an opening right now, ask them for an informal interview by phone or in person and ask them what they typically like to see when they hire and ask them if they are aware of any openings in other companies they may be in contact with.
Again, I can't stress enough how important it is not to entertain any negative thoughts or listen to "tight job market" talk. People say stuff like that even when they don't have any facts to base it on and the news loves to scare the public because bad news sells. Avoid watching the news, search for work each day but do something fun (free) each day to reward yourself for your daily accomplishments, no matter how small you think they are. Look for a Job finding group in your area for support and for sharing ideas. Churches have these groups sometimes (gasp). Get some sort of brisk exercise each day and don't shut yourself away.
More often than not, things like this work out for the better, for most people, most of the time. You just have to slug your way through the "not knowing" part of it and get used to taking a "wait and see" attitude for now.
Hope that helps you....post some more details if you are able. Maybe someone will have some specific ideas for you.
-Pete
(edit...it looks like you removed a lot of the information you originally posted...hope my comments are still appropriate)
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An elder bought my son a suit
by Clambake ini guess being two months old and coming to the kh in his onesee was kind of offensive .
how rude of me.
i am thinking about returning to him.
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Pete Zahut
Don't give the idiot the satisfaction of knowing he got to you. If your child goes to the meeting make sure he is in his comfiest sleeper or onesie. Give the suit to whoever else has the next baby in the congregation, he will then know you didn't appreciate the gift without your saying anything. Sometimes the slow burn is best.
I like Lisa rose's idea the best so far but I also might return the suit to the store and get several more Onesies for the baby to wear to the meeting and if he asks about the suit, have your wife tell him to call you about that.
It seems odd that a man would be giving the baby a gift to your wife rather than letting his own wife give it to her. This is what makes me think he's making a statement as an elder, about getting the little boy started out on the proper path and is making it seem as if he thinks of himself as your wife and your son's spiritual head.
You know the situation best but I must admit that part of me thinks that if it were me, I'd call the elder and ask him why he chose a suit as a baby gift. I'd let him off the hook and thank him if he said he saw the suit and thought it was cute and your boy was the only baby he could think of who he could get it for.
If he said he thought the suit would get the boy started out right as young minister or something to that effect, I'd know that this was another case of an elder assuming his authority goes beyond the platform of the Kingdom Hall. I'd remind him that as the boy's father, I will be taking care of the his guidance and will be deciding what is appropriate for him to wear. Depending on how the conversation went, I'd thank him for the suit and for thinking of your the baby but I also might tell him I would be asking my wife to return the suit to him at the next meeting.
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Scripture fatigue
by New day ini wondered why i felt so fatigued over many years from hearing the same things again and again at the meetings.
even the scriptures become too familiar.
a few days ago i quickly read through all the gospels and realised i knew all the verses in detail.
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Pete Zahut
Maybe better to try to just live by moral precepts without being bludgeoned by them all the time?
I grew tired of agonizing over what people think and have to say about what god does or doesn't want. JW's sucked all the joy out of learning or discovering things for myself and are responsible for turning me away from God and the bible and from religion altogether. I'm goin' it on my own from now on....so far...so good.