Pete Zahut

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Posts by Pete Zahut

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  25

  How Would You Console A Witness Who Has Lost A Loved One?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  let’s say that you haven’t been around a kingdom hall in years and everyone knows you are not a “true believer “ anymore.

  yet a tragedy strikes and you want to give a real heartfelt expression of your feelings— what would you say?

  would you acknowledge the resurrection hope that the witnesses entertain or say something very different?.

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  Pete Zahut

  JW : "I cant believe Joe is gone, I'm so glad we at least we have the resurrection to look forward to"

  You: " For now, it's up to those of us who are left behind, to help each other through the grieving process. I'm here if you need me...how bout' I take you to dinner tomorrow night ?"

  -Or-

  JW : "I can't believe Joe is gone, I'm so glad we at least we have the resurrection to look forward to"

  You: " For now, it's up to those of us who are left behind, to help each other through the grieving process. I'm here if you need me...how bout' I take you to dinner tomorrow night ?"

  JW: You still believe in the resurrection don't you?

  You: "Well, to be honest, I'm not as sure about things like that as I once was. I'm sort of taking a wait and see attitude these days but I think that if God has something good in store for mankind, Joe will surely be a part of it. Lets focus on getting through this rough patch...what do you say we go out to dinner tomorrow night ?"
  
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  6

  Random thought: Today is the 45 anniversary of my baptism

  by NewYork44M in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was on the bus this morning and this thought came up while i was playing candy crush.

  happy baptism birthday to me.

  i was a mere child when baptized.

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  Pete Zahut

  I was a mere child when baptized. If I could only go back to talk to my 12 yo self...

  A relative of mine is a Bethelite (17 yrs) who was baptized at 12. She claims to have thoroughly understood the religion and knew exactly what she was doing when she got baptized. She said her parent's or other JW didn't coerce her into it , they let her make the choice. I asked her if her parents would have allowed her to attend a local church or study another religion or would they have been deeply upset if she'd have done so and what would the elders have done if she at 12 would have been allowed to study other religions of the world before getting baptized.

  She looked away and didn't answer. Later she made several complaint-like comments about all the layoffs and weird changes going on at Bethel. She, (in a worried manner), made it clear that others there felt the same way. We strongly suspect that it won't be too long that she (like you) will be taking a second look at the decisions she made when she was 12 years old.
  
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  9

  The Bloody Boogeyman

  by Saename in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  have you ever heard a witness argue that blood transfusions are often unhealthy anyway?

  it's something that they mention nearly every time to make you think... "oh, after all, it's not like jehovah's witnesses are fanatics because they deny certain medical treatments purely for the sake of the bible.

  they do have medical reasons as well!".

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  Pete Zahut

  Have you ever heard a Witness argue that blood transfusions are often unhealthy anyway? I have... very often.

  There are certain risks involved simply by being admitted to a hospital for treatment in the first place but that wouldn't prevent one from doing so when the alternative to doing so is dying.

  There are certain risks involved with taking blood fractions as well but JW's are allowed to do so and yet claim to be "abstaining from blood".
  
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  28

  Why I lost my religion

  by Sour Grapes in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was a jw for over 50 years and recently just stopped cold turkey going to the meetings.

  years of sitting at the meetings with the boredom, the gloom and doom, repetition of doctrine, the gloom and doom, the fake love, the gloom and doom, the end being so close, do more - do more, just got to be too much for me to stomach.

  i stopped praying to god and no longer thank god for the food before i eat.

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  Pete Zahut

  Years of sitting at the meetings with the boredom, the gloom and doom, repetition of doctrine, the gloom and doom, the fake love, the gloom and doom, the end being so close, do more - do more, just got to be too much for me to stomach.

  Same here....I was an anxious depressed wreck and it got to the point that only could attend the Sunday meeting. Even at that, I couldn't get through the Watchtower study without ducking out to my car after the public talk, to have a sip of the beer or wine I stashed there, just to stop the waves of anxiety and flip flops going on in my stomach.

  A week or two after ending my meeting attendance, the years of anxiety I had been suffering, magically disappeared. Not dwelling on all the ills of the world and listening to continual dooms day predictions, was all the cure I needed. This gave me the motivation to find out what else I could jettison from my psyche to improve my life.

  Your story and thought process pretty much mirrors my own but you've managed to articulate it much better.

  Thanks !
  
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  23

  Leah Remini (Scientology expose' series) "May turn attention to Jehovah's Witnesses next"

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4935392/leah-remini-turn-attention-jehovah-s-witnesses.html.

  remini said that she was warned of the jehovah’s witnesses that 'these f----rs are super powerful,' but is not one to cower in fear.. 'are you ready for my response?

  'i don’t give a s--- about powerful.

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  Pete Zahut

  My wife and I just started watching Leah's Scientology documentary and the whole time, I'm thinking to myself "I wish this little Spitfire would find out about JW's". I would love to see her approach a literature cart or go toe to toe with Stephen Lett.
  

  She's a tough cookie with a heart of gold. She'd be pissed if she heard about the "child molestation" cases, all the deaths of children and adults, from lack of blood and the break up of families caused by JW policy.
  

  If we could all write to her from our various parts of the world, and give her a nutshell version of our story, she might realize the magnitude of what is going on with JW's. She, having grown up in closed society run by a high control group, would immediately recognize and understand what we're going through.

  Does anyone know how to contact her?
  
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  22

  “There’s nothing out there in the world for you...”

  by Jules Saturn in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  how would you guys react if or when you were told this phrase by a jw while having a conversation?

  another phrase is “this world...” or “this system, like gum will chew you up and when it’s done with you, spit you right back out.”.

  one i’ve been personally told was from a convert that had told me “whenever i speak to young ones that want to know if the grass is greener on the other side, i tell them i was a part of it.

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  Pete Zahut

  They spin it both ways.
  

  They warn you not to leave because the world is so awful and will chew you up and spit you out. (failure)

  When things don't go well, they'll say it's because Satan is extra diligent about bringing JW's to ruin.

  Or
  

  They'll warn you not to leave because the material riches and physical pleasures that one can easily access and get distracted by out there in the world, (success) will all soon come to an end.

  When those who leave and have success, they say Satan loves to distract former servants of Jehovah, by making sure they are successful.
  
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  36

  Kleenex Head Covering

  by jwundubbed in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  growing up a woman in the cult was pretty bleak.

  most of the adult women i knew were either depressed sad women or an embarrassment to me.

  i was typical kid in that regard.

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  Pete Zahut

  My Dad wasn't a JW and one time he walked in the front door in the middle of our family bible study. My Mom took off one of her slippers and balanced it on her head and sent my sister into the kitchen to grab a clean dish towel.

  Mom thought she was supposed to win Dad over with her "fine" conduct. There was his wife and 4 kids all staring at him as if he were some intruder. My Dad, with a WTF look on his face, rolled his eyes and walked off. Talk about making someone feel like and outsider, in his own home. That's exactly what the JW religion did to my Dad. He was outnumbered, and basically had his family hijacked from him.
  
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  32

  Oddest front covers on Watchtower or Awake

  by usualusername1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in my comedy i want to show the audience a large version of some weird front covers from the watchtower or awake.. do you have any suggestions?.

  cheers.

  paul.

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  Pete Zahut

  
  
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  32

  Oddest front covers on Watchtower or Awake

  by usualusername1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in my comedy i want to show the audience a large version of some weird front covers from the watchtower or awake.. do you have any suggestions?.

  cheers.

  paul.

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  Pete Zahut

  
  
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  20

  Normal things you missed out on as a kid (besides holidays)

  by Are you serious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  since me and my siblings had to go to service every saturday, and i mean every saturday, i missed out on something so normal as watching good ole saturday morning cartoons from the 70's and 80's.

  i remember wishing i could stay home just one saturday so i could watch cartoons.

  but noooo we had to go save lives!

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  Pete Zahut

  and of course that was sacred bookstudy night, right?

  Which was oh so important and life saving that it doesn't even exist today.