Pete Zahut

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Posts by Pete Zahut

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  43

  Watchtower today

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  today a main point in the wt was a guess game.. the study elder asked: .

  what's wrong on the picture?.

  before i share the local conclusions here, i would like to hear the comments made in your congregation 😎.

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  Pete Zahut

  

  
  
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  27

  JW Letter Writing Conspiracy

  by freemindfade in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just had a wild conspiracy theory.

  get your tin hats everyone.

  what if this mass letter writing is all a bethel conspiracy to increase declining service hours?

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  Pete Zahut

  This cartoon mocking the Russians is making the JW social media rounds. "May your day be better than that of a Russian Postal Carrier"

  Some of the smug self righteous comments I've seen are:

  "Those Russians aren't gonna' know what hit them"

  "I wish I could see their faces when all of our letters arrive"
  
  

  Little do they realize that the world's too small of a place anymore to be mocking the Russian Government without the possibility of it making things worse for the JW's in that country.

  
  
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  29

  I Smell Fear...

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  msoneone of fb sent me this.

  looks like they know they're being exposed as the frauds they are.

  this plus the theme of the next convention "don't give up" just reeks of desperation.. stash: /intesoft-inc.appspot.com/post/b21fe47ca2644a0ea2f6e28fe6401145.html

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  Pete Zahut

  "Surely there is ample evidence to show that you can trust the channel that Jehovah has used for nearly a hundred years now."

  Anyone who knows their history knows that a over a hundred years ago they were saying the end was just around the corner and they as Gods direct channel, provided various bible based reasonings as to why specific dates were significant. Scaring people away from outside sources is one sure fire way of keeping them in the dark about how untrustworthy they really are. This tactic has worked so far but little by little as people see these mistakes taking place within their own lifetime, there are now resources that are easily available for them to investigate. I believe they're hearing reports from all over the world about people leaving because of what they've found out about the organization and they're scared.
  
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  17

  So according to the bible, "believing" is enough to have everlasting life.

  by NikL in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i am certain this has been brought up many times before.

  according to john 6.... 44 no man can come to me unless the father, who sent me, draws him,+ and i will resurrect him on the last day.+ 45 it is written in the prophets: ‘they will all be taught by jehovah.+ everyone who has listened to the father and has learned comes to me.

  46 not that any man has seen the father,+ except the one who is from god; this one has seen the father.+ 47 most truly i say to you, whoever believes has everlasting life.+.

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  Pete Zahut

  The Bible also says that "Faith without works is dead" so this is one of those cases were the Bible "clearly doesn't contradict itself."

  The Bible does say "faith without works is dead" but to most people, the works that faith in Jesus sacrafice produces are evident by how one conducts their life and in the way they treat others.

  For JW's of course, one cannot have a relationship with Jesus or God with out the Governing Body intervening. They decide what works JW's must perform in order to demonstrate to men how faithful they are. The Governing Body decides how many meetings and assemblies will be held, what literature must be"placed" and what Bible texts you will think about each month. Those who follow the program are rewarded with accolades from ones peers, special "privileges" and position within the congregation and the virtuous feeling of being more deserving of everlasting life than anyone else on the planet.
  
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  37

  GB asks every JW to give Putin their home address

  by MrHappy in

  1. social
  2. current

  jw's around the globe have been encouraged to write letters to putin and the russian government.

  they are expected to give their personal details on the envelope.

  i appreciate that this might be normal when writing to your own government if they are tolerant, but is this not a bit strange that the gb want to give putin the address of every jw in the world?

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  Pete Zahut

  JW's being instructed to write letters to Putin is to say that Jehovah can't handle this matter on his own.

  On top of that, they are advertising this campaign on their website so I'm sure the Russian Government will be alerted to this and will not see these letters as a spontaneous and embarrassing public outcry. Instead they could see this as further proof that they are dealing with a calculating and subversive organization.
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  3

  just asked to send letters to Russia

  by notalone in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  okay, so i don't know what this says about me but, a close friend has just sent me a link to write letters to officials in russia.

  пожалуйста, пожалуйста, запретите свидетелей иеговы.

  please,please ban jehovah's witnesses s. .

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  Pete Zahut

  There's a letter writing campaign underway for JW's around the world to write to the Russian Government demanding fair treatment of JW's. in Russia. This is much like what took place back in the days when JW's were being persecuted in Malawi for not buying a political party card.

  It makes me wonder why Jehovah, the God of the universe wouldn't be able to handle the matter without having to have a letter writing campaign done on his behalf. Is that the all he's got?? Don't they trust in his ability to take care of this kind of thing? Didn't they say that persecution would be part of the fulfillment of the signs of the times? Why are they trying to stop it if it's part of the prophesy?
  

  Then they broadcast the infromation on their website which means the Russian government will probably hear about the campaign, be forewarned and will disregard or be unimpressed by their efforts, realizing the whole thing was planned out by the organization they already dislike, rather than a spontaneous and embarrassing outcry from individuals around the world.
  

  
  
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  23

  Amazing Video, modern-day miracle: "Chairs for Thousands"

  by neat blue dog in

  1. social
  2. humour

  god provides.

  https://tv.jw.org/#en/video/vodourorganization/pub-jwb_201703_4_video.

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  Pete Zahut

  This screen shot was taken from the video and it reminds me of so many volunteer events I did as a JW. Rather than back the truck up close to whatever needed to be moved, or using a dolly or hand truck, some Einstein always thought it would be a good idea to form a human chain and hand the items along piece by piece just to keep everyone busy. (and why are they wearing hard hats to move chairs?? it's not a construction site !!! )
  

  Jehovah needed to provide chairs (and hard hats) because his organized people were probably trying to cut corners, at the expense of the brothers and sisters by :

  • Not "counting the cost" beforehand (as the bible says to do)
    
  • Renting a venue that wasn't properly equipped to accommodate their needs.
  • Not renting the chairs they needed from a local rental outfit who would have moved them in and set them up.

  I wonder what the Brothers and Sisters who lost their entire Kingdom Hall in a Typhoon a few years ago in the Philippines, think when they hear that Jehovah provide chairs for an assembly but didn't spare their Hall (his own house) from ruin?

  
  
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  37

  "Isn't it disgusting?", a sister said to me in service today

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "sorry, what's disgusting?

  ", i replied.

  "that thing we've just called on", the sister said in response.

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  Pete Zahut

  I was on a mountain hike with my visiting uber JW Brother and Sister in Law and two ordinary looking men passed us on the trail going in the opposite direction. As soon as they passed, my Bro in law said " They've gotta' be gay". Then my sister in law said with disgust "We were driving behind a bunch of Fags when we were out in service the other day! "

  I couldn't believe it. I've known them for decades and I knew they live in a small town and are a bit redneck but I had no idea they were so hateful toward gay people in particular.

  I said. " So Bob....how is it, that you can tell within a few seconds whether another guy is gay or not...how did you become such an expert on the topic of gay men ? That shut his mouth pretty quick. She went to say that the people she saw out in service, had a rainbow flag on their car and went on to point out how disgusting they are to Jehovah.

  I pointed out " The Bible categorizes all sorts of things such as drunkenness, idolatry, adultry etc. into one disapproved category and they all supposedly receive the same judgement yet it seems like you guys feel being gay is somehow worse to God than the rest are. If a young man and woman walked past us, you wouldn't jump to conclusions and exclaim " Fornicators ....I bet they're not married and are sleeping together ! "

  The saw my point but I know they're as closed minded as ever on the topic....they just hide it better now.
  
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  52

  Australian Congregations announce Child Safeguarding Policy is available upon request

  by wifibandit in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  this week all congregations in australia have been instructed to make the following announcement:.

  if a member of the congregation would like a copy of the child safeguarding policy of jehovah’s witnesses in australia, please see the coordinator of the body of elders or the secretary.. .

  childsafeguardingpolicy-eau.pdf.

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  Pete Zahut

  Question is what do you really expect them to do?

  Due to the serious and complex nature of the offense, rather than simply taking for granted that the abuser is repentant, I would say that the he or she should at least be required to attend accredited counseling sessions for a period of time. If he or she isn't willing to do that, then they aren't truly repentant.

  As a lifelong JW. I wasn't aware that there were any policies and or where I could see them if there were any. ln my opinion, the new policy ( and other policies) should be left posted in the Hall and copies should be available to anyone who wants them without having to ask anyone. Members should be encouragement to review the policy(s) from time to time lest new parents or newly converted members be unaware of the past problem.
  
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  17

  Emotionally very ill but can't face consequences of leaving

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm a new member so wanted to say 'hi'.

  i live in the u.k, was born in, fell away as an unbaptised publisher, got baptised in my 30s for reasons i'm retrospectively unsure of, and lost my faith about five years ago around the time of the original a.r.c.

  now, being unable to leave is making me physically, emotionally and mentally ill.. i'm not strong enough to da and live with the family consequences, and despite having several good friends outside the faith, none of them could support me in an active way as such.

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  Pete Zahut

  I'm glad you're trying to come up with a strategy because I know first hand how damaging "faking it" is to ones well being.

  Some of the fear and anxiety you are likely experiencing about what's ahead, could very well be caused by the meetings themselves. As I've said in other posts, toward the end of my lifelong stint as a JW, in order to cope with the anxiety that attending the meetings produced, I had to hide a small container of beer in my car and go out to the parking lot to have a few mouthfuls during the break, just to cope with the stomach flip flops and waves of panic that would come over me. I'm not a drinker at all and if you knew me, you'd never think I'd ever have to resort to something like that. The horrible anxiety and mental distress that I was plagued with for almost a decade, disappeared about a week or so after I finally decided to pull the plug on the JW's.

  You're in a cult or cult like religion so you'll have to be creative and get comfortable with being a bit coy and vague about your personal thoughts and feelings on that subject. Remember, you don't owe anyone an explanation and you don't have to make excuses. This isn't a job or a duty....you are going to the meetings and in "service" voluntarily to "supposedly" help you maintain a relationship with God...not to please other people . They often believe they are acting out of concern for you, when in truth, they are more concerned about their own discomfort when someone steps out of the role they've been pigeonholed into.
  

  If you can manage it, I'd recommend missing as many meetings as possible and when you do attend, have a book or something inspirational to read, downloaded on your ipad or mobile device. Sit near a wall or somewhere others won't easily be able to look over your shoulder.

  To make things interesting, I used to raise my hand and make comments that were designed to reveal an alternative thought while appearing to be pertinent to what was being studied.

  Example during the Watchtower Study: ( Even though Scientist today scoff at the idea of a global flood and the impossibility of being able to store on a floating vessel, a years supply of food and water for large animals such as elephants and Hippos. And even though they've used modern scientific methods to calculate that there isn't enough water on the planet, whether in it's atmosphere or subterranean reservoirs, to flood the entire globe to the heights of the mountain tops. We as JW's have been taught to trust that if the faithful and discrete slave says the account of Noah was literal, rather than an allegory meant to convey a lesson, then that's how it is until if and when new light is shed on the matter.)
  

  As far as door knocking, you could "claim" to have done a bit of "incidental witnessing". Most of us here on this site are totally "out" or are "inactive" so if it would make you feel better, you could make a post here every week telling us something you heard at the last meeting, or just quote a scripture or two, that way, theoretically, you could count your time, on us.

  You could also check out your own "territory card" and if anyone asks, just tell them you pop into the territory on own when you can squeeze in a few moments. Then just drive through there once in a while on your way to somewhere else.
  

  If you are suffering mentally or otherwise because of all of this, you could go the "depression" route. JW's seem to accept that diagnosis more readily than anything else since a lot of them have been taking Childrens Chewable Prozac early childhood. You could join all the other "depressed souls" and call to listen to the meetings over the phone, but don't actually listen.

  Anyway, try to take the "emergency" out of this and be creative and flexible as you navigate your way.