Posts by Pete Zahut

29

Disfellowshipped for being complicit in someone else's sin - really?!

by Isambard Crater in

a close friend of mine who is pimo (only staying in for family reasons) in a neighboring congregation called me in tears tonight saying her dad (elder) is telling her he is seriously considering reporting her to her local elders and she could get disfellowshipped.. the reason?

because she is complicit in a gross sin, according to him, by going with her best friend (not a j.w.

) when the friend had an abortion.

Pete Zahut

By that logic, a JW could be complicit by knowingly bringing a friend or neighbor to the hospital for a surgery that involved a Blood Transfusion.

24

Do WT Publications Make Us Feel Unworthy, Unlovable and Helpless?

by jp1692 in

it is my contention that the wtbts, (as do all high-control, authoritarian cults), deliberately cultivates dysfunctional beliefs among its members.

in particular, the most destructive of these beliefs are those that undermine one's feelings of self-worth.

for a research project i am doing, i am looking for direct quotes from wt publications that seem to be specifically designed to manipulate the readers into feeling: unworthy, unlovable, inadequate and/or helpless.

Pete Zahut

I'm guessing a search of JW literature under the terms "thinking persons" or "thinking persons will agree", will bring up all sorts of quotes wherein it is insinuated that unless the reader agrees with whatever point is being made, he or she is not "thinking person" and is therefore unworthy.

Also: "Honest hearted ones realize", "Lovers of truth know" "reasonable persons will agree" etc etc.

9

An Elder/retired service member cashing their military pension??

by HereIgo in

there is an elder currently still serving in my old congregation that is retired air force and from what i have heard, still gladly and discreetly cashes his monthly pension.

granted, he did "earn" it, but i always felt it was rather odd to supposedly be anti-government but yet still benefit from government money.

would the society consider this a conscience matter?

Pete Zahut

Then another poster referred to the "disadvantage" faced by JW males who face prison lags for military-service refusals and compared their lot with JWs with a former military background who draw pensions. Again, what has one got to do with the other?

That would be me....

No judgement on my part toward either one.
If you re-read my comment, you'll see that I was simply pointing out the irony between one person who supposedly did the "godly thing" and ended up in prison and one who went to war and they both end up in the same place only the one who did the supposedly "godly" thing, is still working because he was never able to get a decent job with benefits. This happened in the congregation I grew up in, time and time again and it didn't go unnoticed.

9

An Elder/retired service member cashing their military pension??

by HereIgo in

there is an elder currently still serving in my old congregation that is retired air force and from what i have heard, still gladly and discreetly cashes his monthly pension.

granted, he did "earn" it, but i always felt it was rather odd to supposedly be anti-government but yet still benefit from government money.

would the society consider this a conscience matter?

Pete Zahut

Granted, he did "earn" it, but I always felt it was rather odd to supposedly be anti-government but yet still benefit from government money

Rather than anti-government I'd say JW's view themselves as anti war/killing.

I don't have a problem with someone getting the military pension they earned but It does seem ironic that some young JW's went to prison when they were young and their prison record made the rest of their employment life difficult, and the likelihood of having a pension of their own, possible. Years later, one of the elders in their congregation who did go to war and may have possibly killed someone, is now able retire (and possibly pioneer) on the pension he got for doings so.

It seems to me if the elder in question had a sensitive conscience, he might reason that according to his new beliefs, what he did in the past was displeasing to God (according to JW's) and to benefit from pension that was earned in that activity, might be considered a compromise of ones faith by some.

I think the Society leaves it up to ones conscience and I'm sure they'd gladly take the pension money for themselves if the elder in question couldn't bring himself to spend it.

17

Isn't there a better way

by FedUpJW in

just got done clicking streets signs, store fronts, vehicles, mountains, and roads capcha squares.

and yes, i clicked what was requested.

each time i login i get one or two more capcha challenges added to the number.. isn't there a better way to login?.

Pete Zahut

Yes...its not a big deal but I've noticed the same thing and wondered if anyone else has.

I'm not sure what all the security is about but I figured there must be more need for it than I realize.

25

Whats in it for them?

by Moster in

i have been out for nearly 40 years now - baptized at 14 (although not to the org), but faded away.

but i am wondering about this:.

aside from the obvious power they wield, what's is in it for the gb?

Pete Zahut

I believe they are victims of their own cult. Like many of us here, they were taken in by it early on and have come up through the ranks and have ended up where they are now. As difficult as it is for an ordinary JW to walk away from it all when he or she figures out what's going on, imagine how it would be for them. They are merely weak human men who've invested their whole lives on the organization and banked everything on it all being true. They'd be nobodies with nothing if they walked away and It would be quite easy for someone in that position to rationalize away all of their doubts and justify their actions rather than to shock and disappoint everyone they know and end up being a homeless friendless nobody.

33

Wanting Less Involvement (long newbie story)

by DepthsResounding in

i was raised a jw and am currently pioneer in a foreign language congregation.

i have been unhappy on and off with my involvement in this religion and am ready to step back again.

growing up i was always active but extremely reserved and a low hour publisher.

Pete Zahut

Welcome DR...thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings.

I don't have a lot of time at the moment but in a nutshell I'll say this.

Like the rest of us, you have altered every major area of your life because of your affiliation with the JW's. From this point on, do things the way YOU want to do them and not because you are trying to correct other decisions that were altered by the JW's. It's called damage control.

You don't want to end up with a life full of hodge-podge results because of neither being one thing or the other. Figure out what you really want and set a plan in place to get there. You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders and have articulated your story briefly and succinctly. I have a the feeling you're only a few well placed steps toward being where you want to be.

98

Greenlees & Chitty -- Some Sources

by AlanF in

posted on an email message board:.

posted recently to the h2o message board:.

Pete Zahut

I used to sit at the governing body table for all my meals, when I was at bethel in 1976-1977. I couldn't believe that no one noticed that Greenlees and Chitty were gay. I was only 18 at the time and as a naive JW kid, I didn't really have a grasp on the full scope of what that whole business was all about but I knew something was afoot with these two.

I chastised myself for thinking such a thing but it turns out I was on the right track. Greenlees, was a total flaming gay guy and as I would conclude years later, was like a Scottish Quentin Crisp and Chitty was so old feeble and frail, one could hardly see him as being anything to worry about. He was a walking skeleton with dentures at the time and one couldn't imagine him as ever having any kind of impure thoughts or tendencies.

There was a small swimming pool at Brooklyn Bethel and the one and only time I tried to use it I saw another Bethelite walk out of the Locker room into the pool area,totally naked. He appeared to be so tired that he didn't realize what he was doing because he suddenly stopped, turned around and headed back into the Locker room. I figured he had intended to go into the sauna or take a shower but had somehow in his exhaustion, made a wrong turn. GB member Dan Sydlik and I were the only ones in the pool at the time. When brother Sydlik saw the naked guy, he immediately got out of the pool and headed into the Locker room. Naive me figured the naked guy was going to get chewed out for walking into the pool area where sisters might have been present. Now after reading this post, I'm wondering if there was more going on.

Looking back, I remember being creeped out by seeing the naked old lumpy Dan Sydlik looking at me in the lockeroom as I changed. I remember putting it down to the fact that he was a GB member and the booming voice of Jehovah in the dramas and I was a lowly Bethelite seeing him in a very human and vulnerable state.

I'm thinking about my young trusting and naive self and I am wondering where was Jehovah and his supposed spiritual direction when all this crap was going on at his headquarters? Oh Yeah...it was all a hoax!

49

JW Wife not listening

by rathernotsay in

jw
friends

hey guys, looking for some advice with what to do with my jw wife that is simply ignoring my wishes/demands.

first a little back story, we have been married for 6 years and have 3 children together.

she is a jw, and i am not (nor do i have any religious beliefs).

Pete Zahut

1st Peter 3 :1 In the same way, you wives, be in subjection to your husbands,+ so that if any are not obedient to the word, they may be won without a word through the conduct of their wives,+ 2 because of having been eyewitnesses of your chaste conduct+ together with deep respect.

I'm not big on the whole JW "headship" thing but as a Jehovah's Witness she is going from door to door claiming to believe that the bible is the word of god and is claiming to follow his laws and is recommending her way of life to others.

How can she make that claim if she is disregarding what the bible says and what her religion is continually admonishing women to do? What would the householder say if they knew that the woman standing at their doorstep had 3 small children and had a husband who for good reason, specifically asked her not to spend so much time in this activity until the children were older? What would they think of a woman who thinks she has her life together enough so as to be able to preach to others, yet continually disrespects her husbands wishes as he tries to lead his family down the road of life?

I would sit her down and read the scripture above to her from her own Bible and ask her the questions I've posed above and tell her once more what your wishes are.

I have a feeling she may need a reason to get out of the house and to be around other people and Pioneering is a way to do that and get accolades from her JW peers at the same time. You don't want to make her feel trapped and enslaved by her marriage to you and her duties to the children but someone has to take care of them when they are this small. I can't see how she could pioneer and be driving around in a car all day with small children, nor do I think it would be good to leave them in the care of someone else and have them do her job, just so she can get out of the house.

Find out if being bored or stuck at home is at the root of this problem. Maybe you could arrange things so that one day a week she is freed up do whatever she wants, whether it's going in the door to door work or going out to lunch with a friend.

Let her know that this isn't a power play on your part or about you wanting your way or wanting to boss her around. It's more about the two of you wanting to come to an agreement about how to manage your family and about her following through with what you've both agreed on.

38

How can angels be sexually attracted to women?

by Island Man in

the nephilim account in genesis is utterly ridiculous when you consider that angels are sex-less beings and would therefore lack sex-drive and romantic attraction.

think of how difficult it is for humans with a sex drive to be sexually attracted to animals.

now take away that sex drive and it becomes literally impossible.

Pete Zahut

How can Angels be sexually attracted to Women?

Hey Island Man....there you go thinking again.

If it's possible for Satan to turn himself into a talking snake, then anything is possible.

( you'd think he'd have turned himself into a cute little kitten if he wanted to trick Eve but that wouldn't have been as dramatic for the story since we'd have more trouble disliking Satan if he was a fluffy kitten rather than a slithery snake.)