Posts by Pete Zahut

19

What was the biggest hypocrisy you have seen while a witness?

by HereIgo in

i have far too many to name, however, i have noticed obscene music, cussing, lying and secretive gambling to name a few.

thoughts?.

Pete Zahut

I loved how different Elders over the years would give talks that highlighted the closeness of "The End" and the "Urgency of the Message" then go off on a 2 week cruise to some sunny destination.

Then there were others who'd give answers or talks about how we should "keep our eye simple" and everyone knew they were up to their ears in debt and were driving a leased German SUV.

I'm all for people taking nice vacations or enjoying nice things but never could figure out how they didn't see the contradiction between what they were saying and how they were living.

One of these same Elders had a daughter who slept with every boyfriend she ever had and was only privately reproved each time. Finally she turned up pregnant so there was no way they could just let go again. The weekend before the announcement was to be made at the Kingdom Hall, they threw together a really fancy wedding for her just so all the JW relatives and friends could attend and her JW Uncle could give the talk. They totally missed the point and made a mockery of the whole reason someone is DF'd.

13

WT 1/2017: "Why is the Bible sometimes misunderstood?"

by Schnufti in

the bible is designed to be understood by those who are humble and willing to learn.

jesus said to his father: “i publicly praise you, father, lord of heaven and earth, because you have carefully hidden these things from wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to young children.” (luke 10:21) the bible is written in such a way that only those with the right attitude would understand its message.

people with a proud attitude—a common trait of “wise and intellectual ones”—tend to misunderstand the bible.

Pete Zahut

What would you say to JWs as an answer to the claims in that article?

By this (their own) logic, every time the Governing Body makes an adjustment or there is "New Light", It means that they themselves were guilty of having a proud and haughty attitude at some point and the truth wasn't revealed to them for decades.

Despite this, their haughty attitude compelled them to print millions of copies of their misinterpretations and insist that their trusting followers use their own time and funds to blanket the globe with their literature. This literature more often than not, condemned anyone who didn't believe them, to a fiery death at Armageddon.

Later when adjustments were made, they still were too haughty to admit they were wrong and apologize to those who had been mislead by their false interpretations, so to this day, they still aren't able to truly understand the Bible.

How skillfully God has designed the Bible!

Q. If they truly believe this is so, why have they found it so necessary to explain the Bible via their literature for these past 100 years?

A. Because it's big business.

77

Inappropriate Behavior

by rebelfighter in

jw
friends

now i know i am getting older or of the older generation.

i have had a very strange day with a lot of strange dealings with people with strange behavior today but this one incident was just over the top.

so i came out of a store in a busy shopping center.

Pete Zahut

Inappropriate ? Yeah probably but as far as inappropriate behavior goes, if that's the most inappropriate thing you ever see, your doing pretty well.

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.

Pete Zahut

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