Posts by Pete Zahut

21

Shunning: Extreme apathy!

by StephaneLaliberte in

i thought i'd share this one with the group.

many years ago, my mom was disfellowshipped.

then, my sister passed away in a car accident, she was fairly young, as she was in her early 20s.

Pete Zahut

I can tell you from experience, this is not an isolated incident . It happens often and no one speaks about it. DF'd people are invisible and until the internet came along, they had no voice.

Those days are gone.

20

yesterday’s watchtower talked about how by becoming a jw it enabled “worldly” people to ‘strip off the old personality’ and make really significantly good changes in their life.. paragraph named 4 individuals (anonymous names of course and probably embellished tales)) sakura, ribeiro, stephen, and hans.

their lives changed for the good because they found god or because they became jw’s---right?.

so on the way home from this wt meeting, my wife commented to me how wonderful our brotherhood is and how it helps people who would otherwise be ‘lost’ n this world.

Pete Zahut

Most people do better when they are following some sort of plan and or have structure in their lives

Many a prison convict had a "come to Jesus" moment while incarcerated and turned their life around without JW's.

Many a lost young man, found his way when he joined the military.

Many a Drug or Alcohol addict turned their life around after joining AA or some other 12 step program.

When talking up their particular program, most organizations avoid talking about those who come to them and have a bad experience or when things didn't work out for one reason or another.

49

Dietary Quirks Among JWs

by millie210 in

i recently had to accompany an older family member out of state to a family reunion.

it was a big reunion and not much was overtly made of the fact that i am "misguided" and not attending meetings (lost soul that i am) which was nice.

the thing i noticed that i was most struck by was all the dietary quirks in evidence during our 3 days together.

Pete Zahut

What happened? These are not elderly people either. Most are in their 40s and 50s. They are all pioneers, elders, one is a missionary and one just got the boot at Bethel after 25 years.

What happened?? ? I'll tell you what happened. These folks had their hearts set living forever and on never growing old. Outwardly and publicly they are saying that they'll never grow old and die before the "end of this system of things" but inwardly on some level, they are utterly disappointed and realize that it's going to happen.

Not that it isn't smart to eat healthy but I think JW's in particular are desperate to make their magical hope of living forever, reconcile with the reality they see all around, that they are indeed growing old and die. They've been putting off having come to terms with their own mortality (arrested development) and have been using religion to anesthetize themselves from this fact. Many non JW's are careful about their health as well but it's because they KNOW that they are not going to live forever and they want to extend their lives as long as possible.

23

Is it better to have a false hope than have no hope?

by sinboi in

just got the news.

a very close classmate of mine met an accident and died last nite.... just 4 months after i da'd from the borg.. if i am still in, i wouldn't be so sad.

he has the hope of resurrection.. but now that i am out, i realise that resurrection in paradise is all bullshit.. so what's next?

Pete Zahut

So what's next? Where is he now? Will I be able to meet him again?

Lots of people claim to know what happens after this life is over but who can really say for sure one way or the other? What real and tangible proof is there?

What I realized is that the notion of living forever and expecting to do so, was implanted in my mind since my childhood as a JW. Who knows if this idea of "living forever" isn't just humans being greedy?

At this point, I'm taking a wait and see attitude. If there is another life, I don't see any reason why I won't be a part of it. I have no awareness of the time before I was born and I figure if there isn't an afterlife, then I'm no different than anyone else and I won't know the difference once I'm gone. Knowing this, makes today all the more special and it impresses on me how "lucky" I was to have been the one who beat the million to one odds and was born at all. Life is a freebie and we're all lucky to be here at all.

43

How Many Witnesses Would Really Take Blood?

by minimus in

jw
friends

up until the very end, my mother refused blood.

it didn't matter if it was a blurred line or not, the bible says "no blood"!

i wonder if she was in the minority, in her thinking.

Pete Zahut

My Son's GF recently graduated as an RN and immediately was hired at a large local hospital. In her training they said there was going to be a segment about how to handle JW's and knowing her boyfriend and family were XJW's she was extra curious because up until recently, she never heard of JW's.

Long story short, they told the students about JW's and how the Liaison Committee worked etc. The part that stood out to her is that they told the students that once the JW's leave the patients room they must always follow up with the patient privately because more often than not, the patient will consent to blood once the other JW's are gone. They recanted stories about JW's (especially young ones) who while being wheeled into the operating room, begged them not to let them die....they wanted blood if needed and begged them not to tell anyone.

The patients were reassured that their wishes would be followed and because of HIPPA laws, they required to keep the matter private. My Son's GF was astounded that this went on and that no one really knew about it and then she fully understood the grief, remorse and frustration we had gone through over the (no blood transfusion) death of my father, her boyfriends grandfather who was only studying at the time of his surgery.

22

Damon Wayans was apparently at 2017 Annual Meeting

by Richard_I in

jw
friends

from this post on reddit.com/r/exjw, damon wayans was at the 2017 annual meeting.

the wayans were raised as jw's but i don't think any of them stated.. strange to see him here.

this is the same man who defended bill cosby from all the sex abuse allegations..

Pete Zahut

Captain Schmideo2 2 hours ago

"I went to the Annual Meeting this weekend.....Hated It!........"

63

October 1, 2017 TO ALL BOE IN NIGERIA Re: Local Needs For the Week of October 16-22

by wifibandit in

october 1, 2017 to all bodies of elders in nigeria re: local needs for the week of october 16-22.

Pete Zahut

"My work firewall prevents me from going to that site. Can anyone post highlights?"

19

AGM - Are they now teaching predestination?

by Doubting Bro in

jw
friends

another agm thought.

in tight pants tony's part, he mentioned several times that jehovah draws those he chooses and only those rightly disposed would come in.

and individuals that liked the literature but made no progress towards becoming jw were a "waste of time".. was he setting the stage for them introducing the thought of predestination?

Pete Zahut

Tight Pants Tony's part, he mentioned several times that Jehovah draws those he chooses and only those rightly disposed would come in.

How does TP Tony presume to know what Jehovah does or doesn't think or do? If Jehovah is specifically choosing to draw certain ones "in" how does that explain those who come "in" for years and then later leave? Did he make a mistake? If Jehovah is doing the "choosing" why does it take thousands of hours of knocking on doors, to find the rare person who is interested? Why are most of the current JW's getting baptized made up of the children of JW parents? Are they brainwashed or does Jehovah make sure JW's get pregnant with babies who will be "rightly disposed"?

22

Damon Wayans was apparently at 2017 Annual Meeting

by Richard_I in

jw
friends

from this post on reddit.com/r/exjw, damon wayans was at the 2017 annual meeting.

the wayans were raised as jw's but i don't think any of them stated.. strange to see him here.

this is the same man who defended bill cosby from all the sex abuse allegations..

Pete Zahut

A JW viewing a Photo of Marlon Wayans a local Church: The religions of Christendom condone and often make idols of these people even though the are mixed up in the politics of the world and their comedy is full of suggestive and inappropriate humor.

A JW viewing a photo of Marlon Wayans at the Kingdom Hall : Even celebrities are among those who know we have the truth are loyally serving Jehovah by spreading his message to other celebrities who wouldn't normally be reached by ordinary Publishers.

7

Door-to-door Going Forward

by berrygerry in

i found that the sale (placement) of books and magazines was always a challenge, but it was still attainable.

when the magazines switched from semi-monthly to monthly, magazine calls were automatically cut in half.

return visits that were made "just to say hi" were hugely awkward.. i never participated in the "please watch a video on my tablet" work, but i would imagine that the fail rate compared to magazine placement is massive.. reducing magazine frequency yet again would make me worked up inside.

Pete Zahut

I found that the sale (placement) of books and magazines was always a challenge, but it was still attainable.

Remember when every so often they actually required us to go to the door and ask people if they wanted a "yearly subscription" of the Watchtower and Awake. It was bad enough that those of us in the religion had to read them and hash over them at the meetings but I couldn't imagine why anyone outside the religion would want to read them let alone have a yearly subscription, especially considering all of the JW only topics.

Looking back it shows me how fanatical, delusional and narcissistic the leaders of the religion were. I think today's group is embarrassed by their past.