Posts by Pete Zahut

15

E-Harmony Dilemma

by Iamallcool in

well, i messaged someone on e-harmony and she messaged me back.

i did like her at first and she likes me too.

we exchanged more than 10 messages till i find out yesterday that her best friend is a tarot card reader.

I think folks who are into reading Tarot cards and tea leaves and the like are still sometimes considered a bit "out there" and even a bit "flaky" by "worldly" standards. It's hard to say for sure without knowing the context of your conversation but I think I'd see red flags too if someone who I hadn't met face to face, brought up the subject of Tarot cards in an online or IM conversation.

I wouldn't see this as a "dilemma"....you're only talking to someone new who has a different life's experience and background than you're accustomed to but if it's the Tarot card thing that's throwing you off, perhaps you could ask her a few questions* that might give you an idea if it was just a passing comment or if she's really into that kind of thing and make a determination from there.

*So your friend reads Tarot cards....how does that work anyway ? Did she do a reading for you? What was that like? Do you think there's anything to it ? etc

17

Puerto Rico Special Convention 2016 Video

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

never a jw.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6289070416199680/dressed-up-five-days-ahead-special-assembly-puerto-rico.

an hour ago i went to bid good bye my two brothers in law and their wives (all elders/elderettes).

Pete Zahut

It's nice that they finally bringing a bit of fun, music and color into the religion but who were they welcoming and why all the fanfare at this particular convention?

This is a far cry from the bland somber and dull affairs that the overly religious old white men in Brooklyn had going on back when I was "in". We were always told to be serious minded and to show dignity in our worship and above all else, never draw undue attention to ourselves. They would have used scriptures to show that instead of spending the time and money on putting together matching costumes and rehearsing dance steps, it would be better to spend it in the ministry since the end is so close and lives are at stake. Then again, people from other countries were all ways sort of regarded a cute and ethnic and were able to get away with having a bit more flair that we were allowed to have.

Did you notice in the one dance routine, the women who were wearing the white dresses were lifting the front of them up as they faced the men. Harmless I'm sure but this would have been far too suggestive and immodest back in the day.

It's great for the current JW's that things are changing and their human spirit and liveliness hasn't been vanquished altogether but what about all the bible base reasonings they once used on us to make us feel shame for wanting to express ourselves...did the Bible change in the last 8 years since I was a JW or did they spoil my youth for no reason ?

28

2016-09-21 BOE Re: Global Assistance Arrangement for the 2017 Service Year

by wifibandit in

september 21, 2016 to all congregations re: global assistance arrangement for the 2017 service year.

ps to bodies of elders:.

this postscript should not be read to the congregation, and this letter should not be placed on the noticeboard.

Pete Zahut

It cares for incidents at Kingdom Halls, Assembly Halls,
and branch facilities or wherever there is damage that is the result of natural disaster, fire, moisture,
or vandalism. The arrangement is based on the principle found at 2 Corinthians 8:14, where we find
the apostle Paul’s encouragement that “an equalizing” take place with regard to financial support.
Therefore, funds are annually set aside from contributions to the worldwide work to ensure that no
loss to a congregation or any other theocratic entity would cause an undue burden on any of our
brothers.

Aren't Kingdom Halls and Assembly Halls already insured and the cost of the insurance part of the monthly expenses for each congregationand part of the "deficit" reported during the call for contributions at Circuit Assemblies? Why the need for the additional fund? Sounds to me like they are looking for a new source of revenue.

9

Relationship Between the JWs and Brooklyn Coming to an End

by betterdaze in

the 107-year relationship between the jehovah’s witnesses and brooklyn is coming to an endby terence cullen sept. 21, 2016, 9:45 a.m.for jehovah’s witnesses, brooklyn heights was until recently the equivalent of vatican city for catholics.

brooklyn—“the borough of churches”—arguably has no congregation with a more noticeable presence than the witnesses.

the watch tower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, the governing body of the jehovah’s witnesses, built its headquarters at 25-30 columbia heights, and it is there to greet any visitor driving over the brooklyn bridge.

Pete Zahut

Most of the attraction for JW's to visit Bethel was because after you were done with the tour, you had all of New York at your disposal. Now, a visit to Bethel will entail staying in a one horse town located miles from nowhere. I suspect the amount of JW's streaming to see Bethel will slow down drastically.

The comment about "having our heads held high" smacks of martyrdom and makes it sound as if they thought they were the local Pariahs there in Brooklyn. In actuality, they were the ones who excluded themselves and rejected the community with the scathing articles published in their literature.

10

When you were fully in, would you lie about how loving your congregation was?

by TTWSYF in

not long ago my elder brother got very sick.

he was hospitalized for a few weeks and his jw wife and children were at his side often.

also, his non jw family was also bedside with him, siblings and parents.. his recollection involves asking us "don't you remember all the jws that came visiting me when i was sick?".

Pete Zahut

I didn't lie about it but because of my JW programmed mind, I was definitely looking at the normal kindnesses shown among the Congregation members, as proof that there was real Love and Truth there. After one breaks free of their hold, one is able to see how JW's tend to compare themselves to the worst examples in the world as proof that they are the chosen ones. They paint everyone in the outside world with the same broad judgmental brush. After a time, it's easy to start seeing the world from that perspective and turn a blind eye to all those folks out there who are decent, good and are pleasing to God (if he actually exists).

47

Hidden message in JW bunker video?

by Dunedain in

so, i was speaking with a relative recently, who is "in" the borg, but is completely aware of the terrible hypocrisy from the gb down.

he is not in the box, and its great to be able to have a realistic, and logical discussion about the current state of the org.. we started discussing, specifically, about that bunker video that was released in december.

how it is being played at all the conventions.

Pete Zahut

"It reminds me of the story, the boy who cried wolf. Same thing WT has been doing for years, just this time they put it in video form."

I agree but I think if this line of thought was used on a JW, they'd remind you that in the story," the wolf " (Armageddon) eventually did show up.

One could counter that by saying "yes, the wolf did show up but thanks to the previous false warnings, otherwise responsible people stopped taking the boy (the G.B) seriously and were caught off guard. In a sense, the boy (G.B.) was responsible for the deadly outcome of this particular predicament .

33

RIP dad, who introduced me to this fairytail of everlastin life and paradise :(

by Frezia in

jw
friends

less than 5 hours ago my great dad fell asleep the last time :( still in a bit of a shock and sad that i will not see him again...i promised myself that once he is here no more, i will somehow make my move out of this organisation who kept us all captive believing in a fantasy of an everlasting life :( i am in a tricky situation, since raised as jw, still in, married to an active jw, and pretty sure that all in my social and family circle will turn their backs on me if i finally say goodbye to a fairytail ;(.

Pete Zahut

Sorry to hear about your Dad's passing. A bit of our own light goes out when we loose our Fathers.

One foot in front of the other....step by step until the passage of time and changing circumstances bring you to a place where you can decide what is to be done (if anything) about your JW situation. Allow yourself to grieve and come to grips with your loss before worrying about what to do next....there is no hurry.

-Pete

24

Oh the irony! The elder, a car accident, and me....

by stuckinarut2 in

oh this is just worth sharing!.

so , as many know, it has been two years since i have attended any meetings, conventions, etc....nothing...cold turkey.. the hassles and problems the elders threw our way were monumental....so many details i could share, but suffice it to say, we stood firm and kept our dignity and poise and reminded them of "appropriate boundaries ".

one elder in particular has since spared no effort in ensuring that malicious gossip and slander has been spread so that witnesses have avoided us like the plague!.

Pete Zahut

"But it did make me wonder whether he feels bad for maligning my name or spreading gossip for two years?"

By your decency and without saying a word, you made him experience what it says at Proverbs 25:21,22.

21. If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For you will heap burning coals on his head and the Lord will reward you.

If these folks have even a shred of decency, they'll be thinking about their past actions toward you and hopefully others he's treated in a similar way

9

Formatting issues

by bikerchic in

how do i turn off the formatting when i use the quote button?.

when i want to start a new paragraph and can't get out of the quote section?.

that made it worse, help!

Pete Zahut

The easiest way is to first type out or past everything you want to say then go back and highlight what you want to be quoted and then hit the quote button.

33

Two Brothers Living Together - Never Dated Girls...

by pale.emperor in

in my old congregation there are two brothers (non related) who are in the early 30s.

they've never dated girls.

they're "best friends".

Pete Zahut

What does that sound like to you? - in the words of Seinfeld "not that there's anything wrong with that" -

Nobody's sayin' these guys are gay (not that there's anything wrong with that) but odds are, if Lot (from the bible) opened his front door and threw his daughters out to them, the girls would be completely safe.

Seriously though, it's got to be more common than you'd think. If it's true, just think how messed up it must be for these guys (and others) to have to live that way and the struggle to reconcile the reality of who they are, within the confines of a rigid and condemning group of people.