Posts by Pete Zahut

31

Lazy field service

by Addison0998 in

did anyone else have really lazy people in their congregation when it came to the field circus.

people where i live are shamelessly lazy, they drive door to door even when the houses are 3 feet apart!

yes even in town houses they drive door to door.

Pete Zahut

Please dont paint them all with the same stroke.

I know better than to jump to a conclusion about and entire cross section of people based on the actions of a few of them, but as I said, this incident did make me "wonder" about the level of common sense the average JW possessed these days.

I was thinking that perhaps after the many changes that have taken place in the teachings and practices of JW's since I left 9 years ago, those who remained and who could overlook the inconsistencies in the teachings and ignore the bad press, were also daft enough to drive a fully loaded minivan down a public sidewalk rather than park it and walk from house to house.

I know one thing for sure. These particular individuals and the ones I've talked to at my door and at the literature carts in various places in the world, are not of the same caliber as the JW's of old that I knew growing up in the 1975 era. It doesn't seem to matter to them when they see obvious holes in their teachings or don't know anything about the history or current behind the scenes goings on of the religion who's beliefs they say they are willing to die for.

31

Lazy field service

by Addison0998 in

did anyone else have really lazy people in their congregation when it came to the field circus.

people where i live are shamelessly lazy, they drive door to door even when the houses are 3 feet apart!

yes even in town houses they drive door to door.

Pete Zahut

Until I retired a few weeks ago I worked as a City Right of Way Inspector. I was on my way to a project site when I saw a car group (mini van) full of JW out in service one day and they were literally driving down the City sidewalk and stopping at each house one by one.

I stopped them and asked them what they were doing and why they would possibly think it was OK for them to be driving a vehicle on a public sidewalk. They said the street was far too busy for them to stop at each house. I told them they were not only blocking the sidewalk and endangering the public but their tires were crushing the plants and possibly the irrigation system located in the planting strip along the side of the sidewalk. When I asked them why they didn't simply park at the end of the block and walk down the sidewalk, they gave me the blankest looks and said nothing.

Rather than siting them I asked them to get off the sidewalk as soon as their companions were done at the current house and had returned to the vehicle. Instead of leaving the sidewalk at the next driveway apron, they drove over the planting bed and dropped off the curb right into traffic.

I'm not sure if this was just an isolated incident but it made me wonder what level of common sense the average JW has these days.

32

Why I don,t believe in reincarnation.

by jam in

jw
friends

it,s simple, i can not remember crap from my previous life.. the wife told me today if you come back in the next life, please.

take some science classes.. if i could remember a small percentage of my life today, just a little.

bit, man would it make a difference.. in school i would be 100% nerd, geek, book worm.

Pete Zahut

This post reminds me of how back when I was a kid I had a JW friend who as an ice breaker would go up to cute girls at the assembly during intermission and ask them if they believed in the Hereafter.

As expected they'd always say "No".

To which he'd reply "Then what are you here after ?? ".

They'd laugh and or roll their eyes but it usually worked.

27

Need help. Daughter wants to leave org but does not know how.

by Indian Larry in

jw
friends

long question, but very important.. i can use some help.

my daughter wants out of the organization and i need some advise.. here is my background in a nutshell.

i am fully faded for 10+ years.

Pete Zahut

I think I'd try to help your daughter to see that although it may feel like it at times, her JW situation isn't an emergency and that there's no need for her take it all so seriously. JW's tend to think that the world is watching their every move and that everything they do is of global significance. Each JW is made to feel that they are personally representing the organization and even God himself. Even poor little Sophia in the JW cartoon video was made to feel that she had the ability to make the creator of the universe sad if she bought herself a little ice cream cone instead of giving the money to the Kingdom Hall.

Your daughter and most of us here, have been carrying this mental load our entire life and it's all so completely unnecessary. Nothing they've ever said has happened and there's no hard data to prove any of the things they believe in.

She is undoubtedly very anxious so I think I'd let her know that as far as you're concerned she's off the hook. She's free to choose to quit going altogether, attend once in awhile or to keep attending regularly so that she can see her friends and she can pay as much or as little attention to what's being discussed at the meetings as she chooses.

I'd line up a few names and phone numbers of Counselors for her to talk to and let her know that she free to decide whether or not to go see one of them if she thinks she needs to. In the meantime, I think you can help her understand that there's nothing wrong with her and that what she is experiencing is completely normal under the circumstances. Help her understand that she has complete control over her thoughts, feelings and emotions and can decide how seriously she wants to take all of this.

39

When you were an active JW, did you ever have dealings with a pyramid scheme?

by Tameria2001 in

i'm not sure why this memory popped up, and i was wondering if any others, when they were still active jw had dealings with a pyramid scheme involving other witnesses in the organization?

at the time it was 1993, and my husband and i were still newlyweds.

once in a while, we would attend a neighboring congregation because that was where he grew up, and some of his family was still attending there at the time.

Pete Zahut

Over the years I must have encountered all of the different angles JW's got involved with to get rich quick in the guise of wanting to make enough money to pioneer or ride out this wicked system of things.

The use of anecdotal stories rather than data was the norm but the biggest red flag for me was when being part of the selling of the product was more important than the product itself. The next giveaway was when they used expressions such as "we're really excited about this product", "Double blind studies have shown", "third party independent testing proves..."

I remember there was there was one product called Nikken and they sold magnetic headbands for migraine headaches and expensive mattress toppers for insomnia.

There was also one called "Super Blue Green Algae". This was literally pond scum that was supposed to not only make your rich but cure all of your ills and make you smarter to boot.

Oh well...scammers gotta' eat too I suppose.

6

Wisdom Needed

by Solzhenitsyn in

2 things.

from your experience would you say that capitulation (going along with) and/or enforcement of all the ridiculous rules and sub-minutia (stupid crap: beards, wash the car for sat svc, no tight pants, paint the kh with a 2" brush vs. a 4" brush cause the boe says so) rules are primarily made possible or facilitated by the friendships that are maintained within the borg?

also, would you say you saw yourself as part of the power structure or subject to it?.

Pete Zahut

That which we learn or come to believe with deep emotion, is very difficult to change or unlearn.

The JW religion and others reach you at an emotional level with what is thought to be kindness and love but the kindness and love is actually fear and shame based. They sing belief based songs intentionally designed to stir the heartstrings and further entrench you.

Strong emotions will almost always override hard evidence even when it's right in our faces .They convince you that they are chosen by God(which is unprovable). Once you buy into that concept they lovingly and subtly lead you to believe that if you don't give yourself over to their beliefs, you'll be not only an utter disappointment to everyone you know and care about but you'll eventually be put to death by God.

No normal person wants to die or be badly thought of or be considered a disappointment by their families, friends or those around them. Humans are hard wired to survive, to preserve their own lives and to be part of a group or society. The JW religion and others dwell on topics that keep those fears at the forefront and they cash in on the basic human instinct of survival. One is constantly reminded of their own mortality and of the fact that abandonment by the group is a real possibility if one doesn't comply.

The best way I know to rid yourself of the JW residue causing you so much consternation is thoroughly prove to yourself through research that their history is full of damning evidence, their teachings are not at all accurate and their claim of being the one and only true religion are not only unfounded but unprovable.

20

Russia Confiscates $30.4 Million Property From Jehovah's Witnesses

by Room 215 in

https://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/russia-confiscates-30-4-million-property-jehovahs-witnesses.

it would appear that with this most recent confiscation the total taken from the jws by moscow amounts to more that $75 million.

(ouch!

Pete Zahut

This is theft, unlawful seizure inextricably linked to multiple raids, arrests, tortures etc. I don't understand how anybody having principles other than "I hate Watchtower" can glorify it.

I feel the same way but one has to remember that much of what is happening to them because they refuse to comply by the law of the land. It's my understanding that the JW's weren't the only religion singled out but other groups like the LDS/Mormons complied with the government and continue to operate much as the always did while JW's are having their properties confiscated and enjoying playing the martyr card.

In the past, the Governing Body caused unnecessary hardship beatings and even the death of their followers by taking what they called "A Stand" for Jehovah over the purchasing political cards and refusing alternative options to national draft requirements while they themselves lived safely in the lap of luxury back in New York. They told a one sided skewed version of the story to their followers to make themselves look like courageous martyrs.

15

Dubtown episode - melch’s week from hell

by Dubtown in

new dubtown episode.

poor melch cant take part in anything in high school.

https://youtu.be/egcegptsn00.

Pete Zahut

Well done and humorous as always. Such detail....where do you get all the Lego pieces that fit the specifics of your story? Interesting info on the blood fractions. Hadn't thought of that particular angle.

41

Do You Take Any Special Vitamins or Meds That You Would Recommend?

by minimus in

jw
friends

as we get older , we tend to feel the aches and pains or some tiredness like never before.. i have some friends who are in excellent condition and i’ve asked what their secret was.. some swear by cbd oil as a cure all for aches and localized pain.

greek yogurt is a natural food that can attack gut fat as does taking probiotics.

have you found anything that makes you more energized?

Pete Zahut

As far as vitamins, I take a multivitamin and a vitamin called "Weider Prime Testosterone Support for Men". I can't tell if the Multivitamin does anything but I know the latter does for sure. It's a bit spendy even at Costco but it's worth it.

I know this won't sound like anything most people would like but I eat steel cut oats every morning with raisins, walnuts and a little flax seed sprinkled in and non fat milk poured over it. I don't add any sugar because the raisins make it sweet.

The thing is, I want to watch my cholesterol but I also need protein in the morning so for the past 7 months or so I've been adding egg whites (pasteurized, from a carton) to the oatmeal once I've added the milk raisins and nuts etc.

In the past, the thought of eating raw egg whites would have made me queasy but they are virtually undetectable in any way and a bowl full of this oatmeal mixture keeps me going all morning even after going to the gym and I don't get the unexplainable mid morning fatigue I used to get.

I also add the egg whites to Kombucha and drink that once or twice a day if I feel like it.

The other odd thing I do is eat a handful of raw baby spinach and a few chunks of cooked chicken throughout the day and it keeps me from getting hungry. It's quick easy and inexpensive and it keeps me from snacking on things I'd regret. I'm 5'11, weigh 178 and have a 32" waist so I think what I've been doing, works.

32

The phrase "one of Jehovah's Witnesses"

by Ding in

jws don't say, "i am a jehovah's witness.".

instead, they say, "i am one of jehovah's witnesses.".

what does the second way of saying it convey that the first does not?.

Pete Zahut

Other religions can say I’m a Catholic, I’m at Presbyterian, I’m a Mormon because they are part of a religious denomination that has a name derived from its origin. To follow that pattern JWs would have to call themselves Jehovites or Russellites or something similar. It would make no sense for a Catholic to say “ I’m one of Catholics”.

The apostrophe after Jehovah in Jehovah’s Witnesses indicates belonging to Jehovah and who they are witnessing for and witnessing for him was their primary function back when the name was first introduced.