Posts by Pete Zahut

17

What the 2019 Service Report is really hiding

by BottleGate_ in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlwfeoq2514&feature=youtu.be.

Pete Zahut

300 thousand baptized...we praise Jehovah for BLESSING our wholehearted preaching and disciple work.

What....wasn't he blessing them before when only 150 thousand were baptized ??

60

Rec'd a letter from my Dad - need some advice...

by Fadeaway3pointer in

fader here - last meeting was in autumn 2005. lurker on this site and others.

not one to get all controversial.. typical situation, pretty much a born in and left the church at age 38 and never looked back.. i'm 53 now, parents getting older - late 70s but very active, dad is still an elder.. parents, in laws, brother and brother-in-law still uber active jws.. my family (wife and 2 adult children) out since 2005.. we have stayed close to our parents - we have treaded religion lightly and have had a pretty good relationship and have kept our personal lives and beliefs/opinions separated from them.

this was intentional - as we love them and do not want anything to cause shunning since they are getting older and want to be there for them and we respect their beliefs.. got this letter today.

Pete Zahut

They are thoroughly indoctrinated and the only way they can go against their natural instincts is to not see you. Your father has gone the cowardly route by sending you a letter because he doesn't have the heart to do it in person. I'm sure he and your Mother were cringing as they dropped it into the mail. I suspect that if you respond, anything you say will fall on deaf ears and may make him feel justified in his actions. I'm guessing that if you remain silent, they will not only be eaten up with curiosity and guilt but their natural affection will eventually override whatever has triggered this sudden hard line they've taken.

As hard as it is to do, you can give them what they've asked for and if you do, I wouldn't speak of this with anyone you know who may report to your parents what you've said or what your reaction to all this is. Let it be as if you've disappeared off the face of the earth...total silence.

Or:

You could pretend that you didn't receive their letter and call them or visit them as if nothing has happened. Let them tell you to your face that they want to cut ties with you. Don't defend yourself or discuss the matter. Simply have a brief calm response prepared and make your exit.

You: Just so I understand....you don't want to hear from me unless there's a family emergency such as when one of you eventually becomes seriously ill or is hospitalized.

Them: Well yes...

You: It hurts me that it's come to this but I have no choice but to honor your wishes. (say goodbye give them a hug and leave immediately)

39

Is it possible to nullify a baptism?

by idk123 in

hope you are all well,.

i was wondering within the organisation if there are any guidelines or grounds for nullifying a baptism.

see i grew up a jehovah's witness and was baptised at age 13, i didn't get baptised for the right reasons, i felt pressured to because my friends were getting baptised at the same time.

Pete Zahut

I am now 18yo and haven't spoken to my family since I was 16,
My mother mentioned it was a possibility, considering my father was an elder I thought maybe they knew something the general congregation wasn't made aware of for obvious reasons.

So are you speaking to your parents then...if so what's the problem?

Anyway....baptism is an "outward symbol" of your dedication to Jehovah. It only has meaning for those who attribute meaning to it. Jehovah's Witnesses put a lot of emphasis on living up to ones dedication even though they are quite flexible when it comes to other dedications. We've seen taking place globally, how they sell off Kingdom Halls that were officially and ceremoniously dedicated to Jehovah and built using free JW labor. These building are often sold for a profit to other religious organizations or what they call "Babylon the Great".

Even the "wicked world" realizes that minors lack the capacity to sign a contract because it is presumed that they don't typically understand fully what they are doing. A minor who enters into contracts can either honor the agreement or void the contract Yet JW's hold each other accountable for an agreement they may have entered into as your children even though they weren't allowed to investigate other religions so as to be fully informed of all the options out there.

Having said that, there isn't a provision for nullifying ones baptism. I've heard of cases where Disfellowshippings were reversed but never baptisms. I think your only option is to either just live the best life you can and hope that your parents eventually come around or get yourself reinstated so that you can later fade. I'd be tempted to call Bethel and tell them your situation and ask them to explain to you the scriptural reasoning behind parents shunning their minor children. See if your parents are being overly strict about all of this even by Bethel's standards. If so, what you can do about it. Perhaps they'll advise you to appeal to the Circuit Overseer after all, any reasonable person can see that if you hadn't been baptized as a kid, you wouldn't have been disfellowshipped and your parent's could still talk to you....even if you'd done something worse than what got you D.F'd in the first place.

24

My BPD Sister Passed Away

by babygirl30 in

jw
friends

i have started this, then restarted it, and it still sucks to even write this out - but my younger sister passed away unexpectedly last saturday (on my birthday).

i am going through all the grieving emotions, but there is more to the story that i could never and would never talk about to anyone that didn't understand the jw rhetoric.

so...here i am.. my sister has had borderline personality disorder (bpd) for as long as i can remember.

Pete Zahut

What I DO want...is at the very least, a relationship with her, a chance to get to know her and vice versa, an opportunity to be her 'support' through this. Instead, I fear the shunning will resume and I'll go back to being shut out of her life again and forever

There's a saying...

"It's easier to put on a pair of slippers than to try and carpet the whole world".

In other words, do whatever you can within your own power and within your own circumstances rather worry about what might happen or try to control what others may do. All you can do is take things as they come, behave honorably and let time take care of the rest.

I grew up for the most part in the U.S. with all of my relatives living in Europe. As a kid, I only saw them a handful of times for a short period of time but the impact those short visits had on me was quite remarkable. A few day to a kid seems like a long time. Later in life we were able to pick up right where we left off as if no time had passed at all. There's some kind of chemistry that takes place between family members that can't be explained. I think your Niece will probably feel the same way when she's older. She will remember fondly the times you spent together and will see the subtle resemblances you have to her mother. She will be old enough to realize the situation and will see you for who you are.

24

My BPD Sister Passed Away

by babygirl30 in

jw
friends

i have started this, then restarted it, and it still sucks to even write this out - but my younger sister passed away unexpectedly last saturday (on my birthday).

i am going through all the grieving emotions, but there is more to the story that i could never and would never talk about to anyone that didn't understand the jw rhetoric.

so...here i am.. my sister has had borderline personality disorder (bpd) for as long as i can remember.

Pete Zahut

As I was reading your post a couple of things came to mind.

First, I was hoping that as difficult as it was to do, your laying it all out the way you did, brought you some peace of mind and it sounds like it did.

Secondly, as I read, I noticed that even though you are fully aware of sisters mental illness, on some level may be trying to make sense of her actions toward you and are still feeling the sting of the hurtful words and behavior. This is a pretty common and natural thing to do, especially when it's a family member. When there is a violent crime committed, the first thing people want to know of the accused is "what was he thinking...how could he do such a thing?". They are trying to use logic and rational thinking to make sense of the actions of a crazy person. You lived with your sister since childhood so her crazy behavior, as odd as it was, was part of your "normal" day to day life and could be part of the reason why it's so hard to get over. If you worked in a mental care facility and your sister was one of the patients there, you'd be able to dismiss everything she said and did and put it all down to her mental illness. Because as a child, you lived with it day in and day out, you couldn't always see it objectively the way an outsider could.

It's been a long goodbye and right now rather than mourning your sister directly, you are in a sense, mourning your childhood. You're feeling sorrow for your younger self and what you suffered at the hands of your mentally ill sister and suffering the loss of what could have been. On top of that, your sorrow is compounded by the loss of the consolation that family members can bring at these times.

I hope it helps to be reminded that all of this came about through no fault of your own. You didn't choose for your sister to be afflicted with mental illness and you didn't choose to be brought into a religion that causes otherwise rational loving parents to fear god so much that to save their own hides, they must turn their backs on their own offspring.

Memorial and Funerals are to help the living grieve and under the circumstances no one would blame you for not attending however doing so may give your family an excuse to resume their shunning. If you are able to attend and view it as a way to honor the memory of your sister and bring closure to and unfortunate situation, it may bring you a measure of peace in knowing that no matter what others do or say, you did the honorable thing.

In the meantime, you'll need to trust that time will be a friend to you in all of this and that you'll come to grips with all of the troubling feelings your are experiencing at the moment.

24

Latest Circuit Assembly Money Assault!

by eyeuse2badub in

probably not new to many of you but i'm gonna post it anyway!.

i went to a circuit assembly last week at the fremont, ca assembly hall in fremont, ca to be with my wife so she could be there to 'witness' the baptism of a person she "studied" with about 2 decades ago!.

at the main entry to the assembly hall there are 3 or 4 large double door entrances.

Pete Zahut

. They cover it during sessions so if yoy dont remember to use if at break too bad

Lest Jesus show up and overturn the money machine in his fathers place of worship.

24

Latest Circuit Assembly Money Assault!

by eyeuse2badub in

probably not new to many of you but i'm gonna post it anyway!.

i went to a circuit assembly last week at the fremont, ca assembly hall in fremont, ca to be with my wife so she could be there to 'witness' the baptism of a person she "studied" with about 2 decades ago!.

at the main entry to the assembly hall there are 3 or 4 large double door entrances.

Pete Zahut

In addition there were 2 ATM's also located in the foyer with a sister posted at each of the ATM's.

Why would they need a sister posted at an ATM?? Is she there to make them feel as if someone is seeing how much they donate or if they are pretending to donate? Maybe she's there to collect PIN numbers LOL !

I remember when the idea was that when you'd make a contribution, you wouldn't want to be conspicuous about it. I can't imagine standing in the foyer of an assembly hall and using an ATM. I imagine there are those who like being seen standing at the ATM. I wonder of you can make a withdrawal?

15

How can a building dedicated to God, be sold?

by krismalone in

i was just wondering this morning about all the kingdom halls and branches being sold to "babylon the great" and other businesses.

every single kingdom hall and bethel branch that has been sold was "dedicated to jehovah" by the watchtower corporation.

a special meeting with a guest speaker gives a talk and then offers a prayer dedicating the building to yhwh.

Pete Zahut

Just because they decided to dedicate a building to Jehovah, doesn't mean it ever was or that he accepted it or even exists for that matter. Nothing they've ever said or done is true or real so why should this be any different?

14

Has leaving made you racist

by Steel in

so i use to go this hall that was basically 100 percent white and basically anyone under the age of 40 has either faded or makes a token effort to keep the peace at home, of course outside of the usual dregs of society .

the hall went from two congs to one and i was quite happy that in ten years they would be lights out.

then in the last two years about six young filipino families have moved in and three of them are newly baptized .

Pete Zahut

I feel like a horrible person for thinking like this.

It was your mother's theory not yours. If you feel horrible about it....quit thinking that way.

Poor pre-natal care can cause all sorts of problems including learning issues. I think that rather than because of intelligence issues, the reason you're seeing so many folks from these areas is because they are often easily impressed or taken in by all things western. When you get to know them, they often don't fully "get" what the religion is really about. Because of cultural differences, they don't see it the same way as someone from the west does. When it comes to religion, they seem to gloss over the hard realities of the doctrines they believe in and are more interested in the routine and rituals that make them feel safe and gives them sense of belonging that comes with associating with a group of people. They are usually much more flexible about things than a JW from the west, JW's have a prepackaged program that makes it easy for new ones to belong, which is nice but it doesn't mean they have the ultimate truth or are the one true religion and that anyone who doesn't join them is and enemy of god and a follower of satan, as they claim.

8

I watched the movie "Two Popes" today ,Netflix.

by smiddy3 in

and i thouroughly enjoyed it ,i almost got to the stage of wanting to become a catholic.

it was a joy to watch the two main actors in dialogue and banter with each other..... and i`m an atheist ?.

pope benedict & pope francis.

Pete Zahut

And I thoroughly enjoyed it ,I almost got to the stage of wanting to become a Catholic.

Francis and Benedict had vastly different ideas on the way the church should go.

Perhaps they disagreed upon the policy of their corpses being put on display for the public for a few decades after they died. I toured Vatican City and St Peter's Basilica a few months ago and although impressive, as bad as the GB is and how blindly JW's follow them, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they dug up Charles Taze Russel and put him on display at the new HQ in New York. Would people flock to take pictures and kiss his glass tomb. It was pretty weird.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx4cfcMGkHE