Pete Zahut

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Posts by Pete Zahut

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  40

  Unhappy being asked to give a Disfellowshipped Sister a ride to and from Meetings

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm pimo, very much against disfellowshipping, and going to a meeting leaves me feeling confused and angry at the best of times.

  except an elder asked me on thursday night if i can start giving a ride to a disfellowshipped woman because she lives near me and nobody else from the hall lives in my village.

  it seems the elder and his family who have been giving this woman a ride for the past six months can no longer stomach the time it takes them to go out of their way.. i thought all normal publishers weren't to have any contact with disfellowshipped people?

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  Pete Zahut

  Tell the elder that since he's bending the rules, you'll give her rides to meeting so long as he adds a clause to her disfellowshippment which enables her to sit where she wants and to speak to whomever she pleases.
  
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  40

  This probably sounds uppity. I'm saying it anyhow

  by stillin in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anybody else noticed a pattern that is here among us outcasts?

  there seems to be, on average, a higher level of intelligence here than there is at the kingdom hall.

  actually, intelligent conversation seems to be looked down upon among the witnesses.. also, the simple language skills found here seem to be above average compared to those among the witnesses.

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  Pete Zahut

  There seems to be, on average, a higher level of intelligence here than there is at the Kingdom Hall.

  In my case anyway, I wouldn't go so far as to say higher intelligence but I would say we do have a lower tolerance for Bull @$%# and obviously we have greater courage and a higher level of integrity when it comes to being honest about what and who we are willing to give our support to.

  A very dedicated, smart and savvy older sister I knew, who became a JW after she graduated from college, was told by one of our elders after voicing some of her concerns, that if she wasn't careful she was going to "smart herself right out of the truth". She left shortly thereafter and never returned.
  
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  25

  Not going to say a word

  by berrygerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-0p-5x2g4w.

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  Pete Zahut

  So happy to see that this madness is getting more and more publicity!
  The GB / Society is going to rue the day they ever produced videos.

  Now the whole earth can see how bat-shit crazy they are!

  In terms of these videos, I think that sooner or later the law of diminishing returns will kick in (if it hasn't begun already) and they'll begin to have the reverse effect that they were intended to have. Between the over exposure of the once mysterious Governing Body and their incessant need to create issues where no issue exists, people are eventually going to tune them out altogether.
  
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  96

  Oh Boy! Beards are "stumbling blocks" again ... from Stephen Lett

  by freddo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so this week's midweek meeting video about stumbling others has lett spouting and gurning rubbish again.. if you can't take the whole 9 minutes go from 5:50 to get the context and 6:45 for the "beard" mention.. https://youtu.be/ezv1ici5cwo.

  oh, well - at least they shoot themselves in the foot with this doublespeak.

  single.

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  Pete Zahut

  Between Stephen Lett and Donald Trump it seems that we are surrounded by crazy old men that have somehow made their way into positions of influence and power.

  As far as stumbling people goes, one could argue that many people are stumbled away from accepting “the truth” simply because JW’s keep knocking on their doors and waking them up on Saturday mornings. Does that mean that Saturday morning field service should be curtailed?
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  111

  Is he interested?

  by Sunnybear in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  i met a wonderful man on match.com several months ago.

  on our first date, there was amazing chemistry and we ended up having sex.

  it was not planned, it just happened.

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  Pete Zahut

  Ask him what would happen if his mother or any other Jehovah‘s witness found out that you two have been sleeping together .

  Ask him how you are supposed to trust someone who is able to break the laws of the God he claims to worship?

  Ask him why he is able to recommend that you become part of a religion that he claims to regard highly while regularly disregarding its basic moral tennants .
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  32

  CO working at Walmart

  by the girl next door in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  it just took me by surprise.

  i remember him from a decade or so ago.

  he came up with gems like, “weddings are for women, they are not necessary.” also, “if you want to be truly happy, marry an ugly woman.”.

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  Pete Zahut

  At one of the last meetings I was at, there was a talk given by a former C.O who was now, along with his wife, living expense free in the apartment attached to our Kingdom Hall. Their expenses were paid for by the congregation because they had left the C.O work and had become Special Pioneers.
  

  This guy (late 50' early 60's) was tall and husky, wore expensive suits, jewelry, drove a new Volkswagen Passat and looked very much the part of a Corporate Exec. or Governing Body member. He was a pretty good speaker, quite dynamic and all the old ladies were giddy with delight whenever he gave one of his patented talks which were given with much authority and were laced with condemnation of the world and everything about it including it's universities and their worldly wisdom.

  A day or two later, I was at Costco and there he was, standing behind a cart handing out cheese samples on toothpicks to passers by. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it struck me as ironic to see this man who a few days previously held a congregation full of people spellbound with his seeming credibility as he spoke in condemning tones about the authorities of the wold, there at Costco handing out cheese samples clad in the same plastic apron and white hairnet as the little old ladies on either side of him.

  I saw him sort of flinch and look downward when he caught sight of me but to spare his feelings, I pretended not to see him rather than go over and say hello. I didn't know whether to feel sorry for him because of his seeming embarrassment, or to be impressed at his humility. Then I remembered how harshly he spoke of the "learned" people of the world as if he had some actual authority. I thought of all the young people who he might have influenced with such words, to give up opportunities in their lives.
  
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  111

  Is he interested?

  by Sunnybear in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  i met a wonderful man on match.com several months ago.

  on our first date, there was amazing chemistry and we ended up having sex.

  it was not planned, it just happened.

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  Pete Zahut

  Welcome to the forum.
  

  I didn't have time to read all the responses to your opening post but in a nutshell, here's my thoughts.

  If he is on Match.Com, having premarital sex and then following up with all of this by giving you JW literature, he is one messed up dude. He is going against everything he believes while trying to introduce you to the very same beliefs he is going against, himself.

  He told you flat out that he doesn't want to move forward with your relationship. What more do you need?

  You told him you want to end the relationship but he continued to contact you and you allowed it . What's going on there? You are trying to figure out what's going on with him but it seems to me the solution lies in figuring out why you are allowing this to happen.

  The handwriting has been on the wall all along.
  
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  15

  Facing my own mortality!

  by eyeuse2badub in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i’m 71 years old now.

  seven decades plus.

  but, i put that in perspective owing to the fact that my older brother died in 1992 at the age of only 51. it was a very sobering time for me even though i was only 45 at the time.

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  Pete Zahut

  It's a difficult thing to come to grips with ones own mortality all at once rather than doing it gradually over ones lifetime. Most young people typically have a built in sense of invincibility and immortality as it is but for those of us who grew up as JW's, this was doubly so because according to our indoctrination, it was an absolute given that we'd never grow old and die.

  For a good number of my adult years starting at around 40, I was the in grip of seemingly random and unexplainable panic and anxiety attacks. I had a great wife and kids, a good job, nice home and no debt but something was very wrong. This problem went on for years despite medications, therapy and counseling and it didn't stop happening until about a week or two after I stopped going to meetings.

  Looking back I realize that my subconscious knew that my hope of never growing old and living forever, was a false one. Attending meetings and the constant inculcation of those hopes using reason and logic that no longer made sense to me, caused a terrible internal conflict. Outwardly I was acting as if my hopes were still real to me but inwardly I knew it was a hoax. My ongoing problem with panic and anxiety didn't cease until I admitted this to myself.

  Now and then, in the wee hours of the morning those old anxious feeling creep in but I've learned to nip them in the bud by reminding myself of and repeating to myself, the following.
  

  • The idea or notion of living forever was one that was planted in my mind by others.
    
  • Wanting to live forever might be a matter of short sighted human greed (more isn't necessarily better)
  • Everyone who has ever lived has eventually died, it would be narcissistic of me to think that my life is so special, that it should go on for all eternity.
    
  • Living for all eternity might be an absolute nightmare after the first 1000 years (or maybe even sooner)
  • Everyone who is alive, no matter how young they are, is getting older.
  • Everyone who is alive , no matter how young they are, can also be "not alive".
  • I had my turn to be young and now it's someone elses turn.
  • I am grateful to have made it this far.
    
  • I will show the younger ones coming up behind me how old age is done.
  • I will be as positive and as pleasant and as uncomplaining as I can possibly be.
    
  • I will face old age and death with the same courage, style and dignity that I've shown in my life thus far.
    
  • If there is a God and if he indeed has good things in store for mankind, there's no reason that I too won't be a part of it.
    
  • I will not waste time and energy worrying about something that I have no control over rather I will focus on doing things today that will make my future as good as possible.

  
  Anyway, doing this seems to do the trick for me. It keeps me focused on what I "want" , rather than what I "don't want". I usually end up falling asleep before I've even finished repeating the above Mantra.
  
  
  
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  26

  A spy's life is a lonely one

  by LevelThePlayingField in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so i have been awake since about this time in 2013, so about 5 years.

  and the craziest thing about it is that now, no one, and i mean no one know's i am an apostate.

  meaning, that i don't believe the jw minds set/beliefs at all, and no one knows it.

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  Pete Zahut

  Why not have a little fun for yourself....

  Put JWfacts.com stickers (the hard to remove kind) on the inside of the stall doors in the men's room at the assembly hall or Kingdom Hall?

  Create a fake email account and email apostate information to everyone you know. Be sure to include yourself so you can join in on the shock and horror, with everyone else.

  Replace the ministry school schedule on the Kingdom Hall bulletin board with one you've typed up yourself.
  
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  13

  Do jw's have any concept of numbers re: population?

  by carla in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was just thinking about how jw's like to brag about having 8 million members world wide and thought i might look up just what those numbers really mean in the big scheme of things.

  back in the day when me & my jw were still discussing anything jw he thought that 8 million people couldn't be wrong.

  i tried to tell him what a minuscule amount that really is to no avail.

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  Pete Zahut

  Back in the day when me & my jw were still discussing anything jw he thought that 8 million people couldn't be wrong.

  Except if they are Mormons, Catholics, Hindus, Muslims.........