Posts by Pete Zahut

just when you think you've seen it all comes another interesting use of a kingdom hall.a young man serenades his girlfriend with a song (possibly a watchtower song) from the stage through a microphone and backed by recorded music.

then he steps off the stage and gets down on one knee and proposes as he pulls out a ring from his coat pocket.

the large projector screen flashes up behind them with a picture of a sapphire and diamond ring.cameras capture the joyous moment as she accepts and they lock together in a loving hug.

Pete Zahut

Very nice....who could find fault really ? It does seem a bit ironic when we all know that in the past, this sort of thing wasn't allowed because it wasn't following the societies typical arrangement. Jehovah's house was a place of pure worship and not for use for our personal affairs and kingdom songs were said to be prayers to Jehovah rather than for use as way to woo your girl friend into saying yes to a marriage proposal so that you can later post it on the scary awful internet.

I'm sure if a young brother asked any of our local elders if they could use the hall to propose to his girlfriend, there would be a review of the couples "standing" in the congregation, are they regular in field service? Are they setting a fine example? Of course there would be a mandatory cross check of several decades worth of watchtower magazines to see what precedents had already been set and a call or two would have to be made to HQ back in New York.

Anyway, since the groom to be, invited a bunch of onlookers to witness his proposal and he filmed if for Youtube, I'm glad she said yes ! It would have been embarrassing if she'd have turned him down flat. Who knows...maybe she did later when they were alone.

14

Feb 2018 jwbroadcasting train wreck!

by stuckinarut2 in

oh wow!.

the feb2018 broadcast is an absolute masterclass in cult manipulation, and a prime example of the high control nature of the society!.

if you haven't watched it, be prepared for some really disturbing stuff, especially as they address children, and guilt them into jw activity.

Pete Zahut

If you ask me, these videos are going to be the death of the Watchtower Organization if they're not careful.

Between the mixed messages and the piling on of duties and obligation, the average JW is likely to eventually give up altogether. They've even decided that you must first talk to your best friend Jehovah each day, before you talk to your human friends. Way to make praying an burden and an obligation, Watchtower !

One moment they're saying to reduce ones recreational activities and the next they're showing a family walking along a sandy beach, spending time that could be spent saving others from the impending doom that is supposedly just around the corner. In the past they've likened this "System of Things" to a sinking ship. I'm sure that anyone on a sinking ship, would not take time to take a stroll along the deck and enjoy the view of the ocean.

They used the illustration of the pebbles and the stones but as usual their illustrations was full of flawed logic. If I was one of those kids, I'd have asked why they purposely chose to use such large stones and why they used such a ridiculous amount of small pebbles. If the stones weren't so large, cumbersome and unwieldy and they're wasn't such a ridiculous amount of small pebbles, there would have been plenty room in the container for everything.

As for the Doctor, he must not have been a JW when he got his education and was married. Or when he started his family. If he was a JW at that time, he wasn't paying heed to the counsel not to seek a higher education or a career or having children or even getting married in this dying system . It's alright for him to advise his children and everyone else not to do as he did, since everything worked out well for him. It's easy to talk big when your pockets are full. He seemed to forget that had he not become a Doctor, he'd just be another shlub JW with a menial job trying to make ends meet. He and his wife wouldn't be living in a nice house paid for by the donations of his "brothers". For that matter, he wouldn't even have been invited to serve at Bethel in the first place. If things didn't work out well for him at Bethel, he could always go back to being a Doctor. What about his kids if they someday need to leave the full time service? Good luck trying to start a career in mid-life without an education or any real experience.

In the past, the Society said that our Children are a gift from Jehovah. In this video, they said they are only on loan to us from Jehovah and they need to be returned to him. The way the Doctor's wife stated this, seemed as if she was in some kind of weird trance or was repeating back some kind of brainwashed mantra. It reminded me of what Abraham's mindset must have been just as he was about to slaughter Isaac.

I know the average JW will on some level see how unrealistic these videos are but they'll dismiss them and go on about their lives just as they've done before. This is why they are so strict about shunning anyone who doesn't play the game. They know that the logic in which they base their faith upon is skewed and can't be held up in the light of day. Therefore they must limit themselves to association with only those who won't remind them of this reality.

7

Has Isaiah's signature seal been found?

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

.

Pete Zahut

I don't know but even if it has, it doesn't prove that Isaiah is who he claimed to be or that JW's are the one and only true religion and that you need to let your child die from lack of blood.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-find-of-biblical-proportions-proof-of-prophet-isaiah-believed-unearthed/

34

Today's text caused a fight between myself and my "Still In" wife.

by NikL in

jw
friends

she insisted on reading it to me and i just couldn't keep my freaking mouth shut.. see if you can tell why.... sunday, february 18.

they would go where the spirit inclined them to go.—ezek.

jesus has appointed the ‘faithful slave’ to be the only channel for dispensing spiritual food.

Pete Zahut

Que this video up to 20:31 and let your wife listen to Geoffery Jackson say that it would be presumptuous of the governing body to claim to be God's only spokesmen on earth. This is in direct contradiction to everything they've said in the past and seems to contradict what your wife read to you. Some would even say he was out and out lying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erWV8YnTFto

52

Boyfriend force me to study the bible or no marriage

by MuslimWoman in

my boyfriend, who is a disfellowshipped jehova's witness, asks me to study the bible for 3 months or he won't marry me (i'm a muslim woman).

he loves me and really wants to marry me but he is doing a passive blackmailing: if i don't study for 3 months, 1 time per week, in my home country, and without him, there will be no marriage... as a muslim, i believe the bible is god's word so i look at the bible from time to time and would be happy to study with him.

but the fact that he is kind of saying "study the bible or bye bye no marriage" is really hurtful.

Pete Zahut

2 Corinthians 6:14
14, Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 15, What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?…

Your boyfriend wants you to study with Jehovah's Witnesses because he eventually wants you to become one as well. He has been raised to believe that if he is not a Jehovah's Witness and or that if he marries someone like you (an unbeliever) who isn't a Jehovah's Witness, God is going to kill him at Armageddon. He has been taught to believe that this will happen very soon.

If you study with the Jehovah's Witnesses and don't renounce your religion and become one of them by getting baptized in water, he will very likely end your relationship.

If I were you, I'd come to grips with the fact that as long as your boyfriend is mentally and emotionally still in the influence of the Jehovah's Witness religion, you will be viewed by him and his family as someone who is coming between he and God and you are endangering his eternal life. To Jehovah's Witnesses and to him, you are a "worldly woman". They truly believe that you and your religion are part of Satan's earthly organization and God is going to soon destroy you if you don't change. They believe that it's their solemn duty to save you from Satan's grip and if you refuse to change, they must stay away from you.

It is unlikely that this will ever change his view on this because he has thoroughly taught not to look into other religions or consider outside information for fear that Satan will draw him away from what they believe is the true God Jehovah.

If you don't believe me, just ask him outright : Do you expect me to get baptized after I study with Jehovah's Witnesses and if I get Baptized, will I be expected to go from door to door recruiting others?

53

Is Satan Real ?

by jdash in

i've been pondering on this question for awhile now, and i'm starting to think this malevolent spirit creature isn't real.

.

do you guys believe satan is real?

Pete Zahut

It's scary to realize that here in the year 2018, a good share of the voting public still believes in the Devil. Many of them also believe that each of us have a guardian angel who rides around on our shoulder, helping us find our missing shoes and lost car keys.

17

Celebrations?

by Freedom rocks in

does anyone celebrate valentines day since leaving the borg?

and which other celebrations if any do you now take part in?.

Pete Zahut

JW's ruined God and religion for me so I don't see any point in taking part of anything that is in any way religious but I do put up lights on the house in winter because it's kind of cheery.

It would have been nice to celebrate holidays as a kid but now, I don't participate in anything that has anything to do with religion. If I'm invited to some sort of holiday party,I'll go but it's not because the holiday means anything to me.

I have always acknowledged my kids birthdays even when I was a JW....never could buy into all that nonsense about John the Baptist etc.

The rest of the holidays such as Valentines day and Mother's day etc seem like a nice thought but they also seem so obligatory and cliche'. I don't like anyone telling me when it's time to give someone else a gift and that I'm a bad guy if don't buy them one, especially if that person is trying to sell something. (luckily my wife agrees)

We celebrate our wedding anniversary without fail.

25

...and so it begins

by Phoebe in

jw
friends

i've had an email from a sister who tells me that out in field service this morning a long standing route call has told them she won't be taking any more magazines and doesn't want them calling on her again because she has heard about the jws child abuse scandals and cover ups.

she was quite angry with them and said your elders say there is nothing wrong but there is and it will all come out.. this is the first time anyone i know of has been challenged on the doorstep and they were absolutely shocked and also angry.

angry that the organization is not preparing them for dealing with this and for not being honest with the brothers about what is going on ie: lawsuits etc.. just thought i'd share that with you..

Pete Zahut

Phoebe 4 hours ago

A little update to this tonight is that the sister has emailed me again to say they are very upset and would like further information from me about child abuse scandals.For example they were looking for Stephen Lett saying 'it's all apostate lies' on the broadcast but couldn't find it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYxG2F3Wd8c