Posts by Pete Zahut

17

Once you've proved the truth to yourself you don't need to keep trying to disprove it...

by cognisonance in

i was told this during my judicial committee (some five years ago) when i brought up concerns i had with the "truth.

" in addition one of the elders (who was an engineer) said once you've accepted a proof of pythagorus' theorem you don't later start doubting that theorem.

i thought that argument was a weak analogy then.

Pete Zahut

Once you've proved that the truth is the truth, why do you have to keep going to those damn meetings for the rest of your life?

40

My Father has brandished me with the "APOSTATE" word for talking about the BIBLE!

by stuckinarut2 in

so after three years of fading, my elder father has never really asked why we have chosen to stop attending.. today, after a mixed discussion, he starts talking about the "solution to all the world problems" and says "i don't know what you now believe, but i believe gods kingdom will fix everything" i let the comment go, and didn't respond.. then he goes on about the video "remember the wife of lot" because he just came from the convention last weekend.

"don't get caught up in this system...blah blah".

i couldn't help myself, and said one thing "dad, that video failed to show the next chapter of that account.

Pete Zahut

I couldn't help myself, and said one thing "Dad, that video failed to show the next chapter of that account. It didn't show anything about how Lot, a "righteous man" had sex with his two virgin daughters! How odd? Wonder why that awkward part was neglected?"

Don't be like Lot's wife...linstead, let's all be like Lot who's life was spared.

You: So Dad....what ever happened to the children that Lot fathered by his two daughters. How was it for them growing up having to explain to everyone that their grandfather was also their father. What happened to the two daughters who were unwed mothers in a time and place where such a thing was the woman's fault. Did they ever find husbands willing to face that stigma and take on their inbred children?

He responded by shutting down the conversation and saying "your apostasy has clearly gone too far. I will NOT allow you to subvert my faith! This conversation is over!"

How come you find it faith strengthening to hear the first part of the story but thinking about the rest of the story might be enough to subvert your faith?

41

My Mothers Ultimate Rejection

by What Now? in

i went into my mother's office to leave her a small note to say that we love and miss her and would love to get together.

i found this on her desk.

this is jehovah's witnesses.

Pete Zahut

A few things seem rather odd about this Will that make me think she may have wanted you to encounter it :

Why would she leave her will lying on her desk for you or anyone to see? It seems to me a kind person would realize that it would be upsetting for a family member (you) to encounter such a document, prior to their loved ones death. I think she intentionally wanted to send a hurtful message to someone, while she is still alive and could be around for the drama it might cause.
She said she was to be transported to the Crematorium and rather than simply giving instructions as to the disposal of her ashes, she said "After I've been burned ,I want my ashes....." It seems like she is playing up the grizzly part of this procedure, hoping to garner more pity for herself from the reader and play it up for the sake of drama.
The repeated use of the term " My two daughters " rather than simply writing their two names down, seems as if she is deliberately trying to let you know she doesn't view you as a daughter anymore. More pity and drama.
"My ashes are to be picked up by my husband . If he doesn't want to, my two girls can pick them up and dispose of them as they see fit". This seems as if she's saying "poor me... even when I've been creamated my own husband might not want to be bothered to dispose of my ashes. I suppose my 2 girls can do it and they can just do whatever they want with them...toss me in the trash for all I care. Again....more self pity and drama.
"Only my family related to me in the faith, Jehovah's Witnesses. No Worldly Family". Again she is trying to be hurtful to a specific individual or individuals by using terms that would intentionally exclude you/them. Why not just mention by name, the family members she wants there rather than making sure it's known that she doesn't want them than specifically because they aren't JW's ? Answer: Because she is pitying herself and wants you the reader and any other non JW relative to suffer for having caused her so much distress.

If my suspicions are correct, she truly is someone to be pitied rather than to be hurt by or angry at.

41

My Mothers Ultimate Rejection

by What Now? in

i went into my mother's office to leave her a small note to say that we love and miss her and would love to get together.

i found this on her desk.

this is jehovah's witnesses.

Pete Zahut

It seems to me that anyone reading this after she's gone, will realize how coldblooded this Will is. Not a very nice thing to leave behind as ones last message to the world. In the end, by her own words, she will demonstrate what kind of persons she was and you will be vindicated.

20

The Great Pyramid and the Flood of Noah

by TerryWalstrom in

the great pyramid and the flood of noah.

_________________________________if your world view rests firmly upon the foundation of bible accuracy matching the reality of history, sooner or later you’ll crash into the question of when the great pyramid was built.why?let’s see why…2 peter 3:5-6 complete jewish bible (cjb).

5 but, wanting so much to be right about this, they overlook the fact that it was by god’s word that long ago there were heavens, and there was land which arose out of water and existed between the waters, 6 and that by means of these things the world of that time was flooded with water and destroyed.________________________________________________.

Pete Zahut

The dinosaur was in the early versions of My Book of Bible Stories and was omitted in later editions.

Since the Watchtower Society believes that mankind has only been on the earth around 6,000 years or so, I'm surprised they didn't omit the Woolly Mammoths from the illustration as well because (except for a small group of them that lived in the arctic until 4,000 years ago) I think the rest died out somewhere between 10,000 and 11,000 years ago. Then again, they also believe the arctic didn't exist before the flood so why the need for the woolly coat.

As long as they continue to teach that the flood was a literal event, I'll know they aren't the true religion.

9

In the name of the...

by btlc in

when i was a kid, i was occasionaly attend to baptism at conventions, and i remember that brothers who immerses candidates in the water, said: "right hand to nose, left hand to right hand, and i baptise you in the name of the father, son and holy spirit, amen".

i remeber that same mantra at my baptism too, back in the eighties.

but, some years ago, i was asked to help to move some props around baptism pool, so i attend to baptism after so many years - there was no "in the name of the..." part.

Pete Zahut

there was no "in the name of the..." part. I asked a nearby elder, why is that? and he gave me look like I said something nasty, and he said: "we don't use that phrase for decades, dude...

Snarky Elder: "we haven't used that phrase for decades, dude...

You: Was that because it wasn't correct to baptize people in the name of the holy spirit?

Snarky Elder: Yeah...there was new light about that years ago...(duh)

You: So I guess that means the baptisms of all of us who were baptized in the name of the holy spirit, was never valid....good to know !

41

How much do you think the internet has hurt JW growth?

by HereIgo in

the internet is what helped bring me and so many others out of this evil organization or at least confirmed our doubts.

i have to say, i have seen quite a few youtube videos recently of ex jw's secretly recording their interactions inside of different congregations, halls, etc and see how empty the halls are!

so many people comment on how the attendance is so low, far more emptier than when i was in 6 years ago, even on a weekday meeting.

Pete Zahut

I talked to a woman in her 50's at a literature cart parked outside our office building two weeks ago.

I explained to her that I used to be a lifelong JW and former Bethelite blah blah blah

She asked me warmly if I ever thought of coming back but I told her that I had experienced a number of back to back, bad life changing JW experiences that made me realize that I needed to listen to the gut feelings about the religion that I've had since childhood.

I explained that my Father's death from not taking a Blood Transfusion and then a year or so later having the GB allow blood fractions, started me wondering what else they could be wrong about and what else they might change.

I told her that I used to produce 6,000 books a day when I was at Bethel and none of those books is in use now because the information in them was wrong.

Me: In the door to door work, most people refused to take one of those books when they were offered to them and most of those who did take them, didn't become a Jehovah's Witness. Could it be that they recognized that the information in them wasn't right ? If so, I hope Jehovah won't hold it against me for having participated in turning people away from him with false information."

I told her my JW story and I could see that she was moved by it. I told her that I've since learned so many things about the organization that I should have known before getting baptized when I was 17years old but that was in 1974 and 1975 was right around the corner. They told me that if I was of an age of understanding and wasn't baptized, I wouldn't survive Armageddon.

I told her that I had many relatives who were baptized as kids but now were cut off from their families because they chose not to be JW's when the got in thier 20's and 30's. Some of them have children who've never met their JW grandparents because they are being shunned by them.The expression on her face told me that she knew these things were true.

She said the society never printed anything in the literature saying that Armageddon would come in 1975 and asked me where I learned all this information. I told her that I used the societies own literature from the past to prove much of it but there are many many places on line that one can hear the experiences of other current and former JW's and can find out things that are happening or have happened in the organization that the average JW doesn't know about or has forgotten . (ie, 1975, child molestation lawsuits, closing of branch offices, UN, Malawi etc)

Her: Oh well....I never believe anything from the Internet....anyone can make up lies or alter the literature.

Me: What about the complimentary things you hear about JW's on the Internet....I'm guessing you believe those things though....am I right?

She didn't like this and turned and went back to her literature cart.

Me: The Society only prints the things they want you to know about or things that support their current beliefs. Instead of wondering how imperfect men could possibly always be so right about everything, like most JW's you've been taught to fear anyone who says anything less than complimentary about the organization and that they are from Satan. This is why you are able to be so dismissive about what happened to me. You've as much as said that I'm lying to you.

Me: There's good reason for them not wanting you to look them up on the Internet but it's all out there but it will take having something happen to you personally, before you stop dismissing your doubts and really look into things.

She turned away with a stony expression on her face and looked off into the distance and the woman she was with was looking down at her shoes, so I walked off. Now when I see her as I come and go from our office building on Thursdays she suddenly looks the other way.

Little by little people are daring to look into things on the Internet but most older ones are still too scared to look behind the curtain.

27

September 7, 2017 Re: Donations for Disaster Relief Work

by wifibandit in

september 7, 2017 to all congregations in the united states branch territory re: donations for disaster relief work.

Pete Zahut

What fucking good is a Bible going to do them when they have died and their children and families have their life's possessions ripped out from under them ???

But Flipper....they can simply turn to the book of Job and be encouraged by reading about all the trials Job endured and how Jehovah lovingly solved all his problems in the end. For instance he replaced all of Job's 10 children who died when the family house collapsed on them. Job's already aged wife, had the privilege of spending at least the next 10-15 years of her life, pregnant so Jehovah could fix the tragedy by giving them10 new children....what a logical solution and what blessing it was for all concerned.

P.S I understand that the new "Silver Sword" edition of the New World Translation, also serves as a flotation device.

28

JW critically injured after being electrocuted in assembly hall

by Anders Andersen in

jw
friends

a newspaper reports that in bornem, belgium, a jw volunteer was critically injured after being electrocuted:.

bornem - a man was electrocuted while performing maintenance on a high voltage installation in the assembly hall of jw in bornem friday afternoon.

the man was critically injured.. possibly the man, who is a volunteer with the jw, tried to clean the installation with a vacuum cleaner.

Pete Zahut

The Surrey Assembly Hall site of a sister turning up and working all day in high heels, the keys to the dumper trucks were a free for all, the utter stupid pointless waste of time that quickbuilds were haunt me to this day, someone holding a plank of wood, someone else marking with a pencil, someone with the saw and someone else walking off with the cut plank, the ultimate in inefficiency

Too bad about the old gent. He probably saw some Cob Webs in an electrical box or vault and stuck the metal vacuum cleaner hose into it. I'm guessing this is one experience they won't be using on the assembly stage.

It's easy to be critical but I remember one quickbuild where they were unloading a load of seats from a truck and instead of parking the truck close to the door, they parked if far away and formed a "human chain" and passed the seats a piece at a time down a line of 30 people instead of having two people unload it at the door. (of course it wouldn't have been as much of an "encouraging" sight to see if they'd have done it the smart way and it kept a whole lot of unskilled folks out of the way.)

39

JWs Among the Least Educated in the US

by jp1692 in

september 6th, 2017: a just released research survey shows once again that jehovah's witnesses are among the least educated people in the united states: .

america’s changing religious identity.

it is also interesting to note how jws rank in the categories of: income, insurance coverage and homeownership.

Pete Zahut

In my experience, most members received a college degree before joining the cult, but they are counted.

I listened to the "Society" and because of the nearness of the end, chose to go to Bethel rather than go to College.

While I was there, one of my co-workers (who became a JW after he graduated from college) was taken off the Bindery line in the sweltering factory and was assigned to the Legal Dept. He was sent to Law School and received a Law Degree, on the Societies Dime (or should I say, on the donations of other JW's who weren't allowed to go to college themselves).

Those of us who listened to the Societies advice, were passed over (even at Bethel) for not having a College Degree even though many of us were quite capable of having earned one.

Years later, he left Bethel and the JW's went on to have a career in Law.