Posts by Pete Zahut

23

How did you feel on Christmas as a JW child?

by cookiemaster in

this is obviously a question for born-ins like me.

so, how did christmas feel to you as a child?

to me it was awful.

Pete Zahut

We live a short drive from the Mountains so lot of our Congregation and those in nearby Congregations went skiing on Christmas day. It was a beautiful drive up there and as we'd approach the ski areas it would often be snowing heavily. The whole lodge would be filled with JW's we knew or recognized from the assemblies. We had the place to ourselves until later in the day when all the Pagans showed up with their new Christmas skis and outfits. We did the same on New Years day and It was really fun and we looked forward to it.

The hard part for me was having to hide the fact that I loved Christmas songs, the Christmas TV specials and I thought the lights on the trees and the decorations and the treats were amazing. One year my little sister innocently asked my Mom if we could stop being JW's for one year and celebrate Christmas and then come back after it was over. I could tell my Mom was suppressing a smile as she laid out all the JW guilt producing reasons why doing so would make Satan happy.

During my elementary school years, it was not fun to have to go to the library or sit out in the hall when the class had it's Christmas party and exchanged gifts or to return to school after the holiday and not be able to talk about all the presents I got like the other kids. I could tell my teachers pitied me and felt badly about having to do this to me. That got easier as I got older. Sometimes my Mom would let us stay home on the day of the party and and she'd buy us some new clothes during the Christmas break when things were on sale. It was easier to show up at school with a new coat and some new clothes and let the kids assume they were Christmas gifts. There was guilt on my part for allowing them to think this was true instead of announcing that they weren't Christmas gifts because my family doesn't celebrate that pagan holiday and stick up for Jehovah like a good JW boy should have done. Cognitive dissonance made it possible for me to do this even though I deep down knew I was risking being destroyed at Armageddon and was not being like the 3 Hebrew boys Shadrach Meshach and Abednego .

All in all however, I can't complain about the JW/Christmas aspect of my childhood. I viewed our not celebrating Christmas much the same as our not celebrating Hanukkah....I never had either of them so I didn't miss them....just could have done with out all the guilt for thinking it was nice.

34

I have doubts... can you help me??- A new idea

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

i have been perplexed as to how to brung my wife out of jws and to exit the religion... but i had an idea last night.

i know that elders will legitimantly meet with brothers who have doubts and encourage them... not df them .. this is a sheperding call etc.. thus since my wife knows i have doubt s i could say: i want to have two brother over to discuss this ... she will agree.... of course i will hit these guys with biblical textual issues, an biology to where they are stunned and still ask... "so brothers... can you solve this conflict...?".

in this case they will not think of me as an apostate but may question their own beliefs... .

Pete Zahut

You have to be very clear about your motives and what you're hoping to accomplish by doing this because with JW's, no matter what you do, there's a good chance you'll be viewed the same as the guy who announces to a room full of children on Dec 24th that there's no such thing as Santa Claus.

People often want to be lied to and want to believe the little stories that get them through the night and they will go to great lengths to be able to continue believing them and to punish anyone who brings this to their attention.

13

Haha! New employee has one neighbor who's a "jerk." No surprise here

by stillin in

jw
friends

the neighbor blows his leaves over onto my employee's yard, then denies it.

the neighbor's wife calls the police about anything and everything.. of course they're witnesses.

.

Pete Zahut

The neighbor blows his leaves over onto my employee's yard, then denies it.

JW's are accustomed to putting leaflets on peoples doors without asking so......

32

No Soliciting signage and JW Policy

by Oubliette in

does anyone have a copy of the boe letter directing publishers to not go into apartment complexes and/or condominium complexes with no soliciting signs?

i ask because yesterday and buttheaded jw (that obviously had no idea who i am or my past) was knocking on doors in our condo complex.

he would have had to drive past a sign which clearly states "no solicitation or material distribution.".

Pete Zahut

I never ignored "No Soliciting" signs when I saw them, even though we were pretty much told from the platform and in the literature,to do so. That being said, I guess I would have had trouble being angry with this individual seeing as how I was in the same position and mindset myself not so many years ago.

32

Peer presure to use Ipad

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

earlier this season i advised my retired father to ignore the use of a tablet during his kingdom hall congregational visits.

his response was hopefull, but between the lines i could hear he had no choice.. yesterday he showed me his new 600 euro 64 gb ipad air 2. he had no clue what he has to do with it, he told me one of the elders will install the jw.org apps.. so, i feel he had to deal with presure to buy this ipad and i think he is not the only one.. do you recognize this?.

gorby.

Pete Zahut

It's all about conformity disguised as unity and all the Kool Kids have iPads and they know that to survive, modern JW's must keep up with Jehovah's celestial Segway. It's all about image and not appearing to be spiritually weak.

12

The thing I have a hard time understanding with all the redundant bethelites

by joe134cd in

this has probably been touched on before but i thought i would mention it again.

the problem i have with all the redundant bethelites.

they were virtually getting free labour.

Pete Zahut

People who are aged 18 to 30 can mostly work harder than people aged 40 plus

18 to 30 year olds tend to be more naive and idealistic and are easier to sucker into doing things for older people who appear to be trustworthy and know what they're doing.

12

The thing I have a hard time understanding with all the redundant bethelites

by joe134cd in

this has probably been touched on before but i thought i would mention it again.

the problem i have with all the redundant bethelites.

they were virtually getting free labour.

Pete Zahut

As a former Bethelite, I never understood why they had as much support staff as they did. They made the whole process of printing literature so complicated. Most of the Bethelites had little or nothing to do with the actual printing of literature. They had Tailors, upholsterers, Barbers, etc. They even had their own Dairy and made cheese and soap etc. It seemed like they could sub contract the printing out to with a lot less bother and all those people serving "full time", could have been working in the actual Ministry. Even if they hired a few dozen JW's and paid them a wage to operate the presses etc and paid them. The workers could have their own places and buy their own groceries just like anyone else who has a job. It was an old buisness model from the C. T. Russell days that didn't make sense in the modern world, just like the old assemblies where full on meals were served and hundreds of volunteers worked preparing them instead of listening to the program. The whole idea was to get the message out before the end came but they were defeating their own purpose by being so elaborate. It reminded me of the farmer who has 10 kids so they can help with the farm but because he has 10 kids he needs a farm to feed them all.

I also never understood why they kept printing new books and magazines month after month, that covered the same topics over and over. ( Is the Bible the Word of God) (The Bible, Gods Word or Mans?) (Did Man Get Here By Evolution or Creation) (Life, How Did it Get Here?) etc. Later I realized that JW's themselves were their best customers. They'd donate their money AND they'd buy every book and magazine that came out even though they had already essentially paid for them. Heck of a deal...until the internet came along.

19

Disassociation letter

by BeautifulMind in

jw
friends

good evening.

i have a question about where to send my disassociation letter.

do i give a copy to the overseer of the cong i was in and the branch?

Pete Zahut

I agree with everyone who said that you should announce you disassociation yourself to the people you care about and not bother with letting the elders know in writing or otherwise. Tell a few key friends why you're leaving and tell them that you wanted to let them know personally and that you're not going to the Elders. The news will spread in no time and you'll get to have had the last word instead of having your name be read aloud and having everyone speculate on what happened or simply write you off as immoral or weak. It will take the wind out of their sails before they've even gotten them unfurled .

Just my 2 cents.

-Pete

17

The Donald knows the JW's are the truth

by life is to short in

i swear you just cannot make this stuff up.

i just heard from an older sister in the hall that donald's trump son-in-law bought part of the brooklyn heights compound, i think she said the 25 building but what ever.

she than went on to say and to quote her "the donald knows it's the truth.

Pete Zahut

Donald's Trump son-in-law bought part of the Brooklyn Heights compound, I think she said the 25 building but what ever.

I can see it now...not to be outdone by his Father in Law, he converts the factories into a dazzling Atlantic City style Casino and riverfront resort. The Paradise resort featuring Kingdom Keno and an All-You-Can- Eat Last Supper Buffet.

45

Does Jehovah Intervene - JW Teaching

by thedepressedsoul in

i have been a jw my whole life and i have never been able to get a clear answer on this question.

jw's do not believe that jehovah will intervene if someone is sick, dying or stopping a car crash.

they feel that jehovah is letting "this world" play out before he solves all of these problems.

Pete Zahut

There have always been mixed messages sent from both the platform and in the literature and also in the bible.

When there is an increase in bible studies and baptisms, they say it proves Jehovah is speeding up the ingathering work because the end is so near. When there is a decrease or lull in the numbers, they say the end is near because the bible says in the last days, the love of the greater number will cool off.

They demand obedience because they claim they are Jehovah’s spirit directed organization yet when time bears out that their guidance via their prophesies and doctrines are full of holes, they claim to be imperfect men and they discontinue printing books that are full of their erroneous teachings. Books that millions of JW’s spread across the globe and studied as if their lives depended on it.

They admonished us to be specific when we pray and to pray incessantly and then they’ll claim that Jehovah only gives you strength to endure trials and doesn’t change outcomes. If that’s the case, why the need for specific details, why not just ask for strength and leave it at that?

When an unemployed brother turns down a job offer because he’d have to work on meeting nights and another more suitable job eventually comes along, they say it’s because Jehovah made it happen even though odds are another job would have come along eventually anyway. It happens all the time to unemployed non-Witnesses and Jehovah supposedly isn’t even helping them. How do any of them survive or ever have anything good happen to them?

The Bible say’s “Woe to the pregnant woman in the last days….pray that your flight will not be in the winter” This makes it sound as if one prays about a matter, even the arrival of a huge long awaited event such as Armageddon is negotiable. It makes it sound as if Jehovah might be willing to adjust the time of year that it takes place. The thing is, Jehovah should already know that Armageddon in winter would bring additional hardship to people without them having to pray about it.

Anyway, the point is, anyone who thinks too much or expects to make sense of it all is in for much frustration and a huge let down and will eventually think him or herself right out of The Truth..