Posts by Pete Zahut

41

Some prayers really annoy me

by stillin in

i realize that prayer is a really personal thing, but representing a group in prayer has become so full of cliche's that i just want to vomit sometimes.

co week almost every prayer has the phrase "special week of activity" in it.. then there's "please look after the sick and afflicted.".

not so much anymore, "please bless this food and the hands that prepared it.".

Pete Zahut

Praying before meals, especially at restaurants, was always a teeth grinder for me.

Just because Jesus prayed before passing the bread and wine around a million years ago, someone got the idea that we were supposed to pray before every meal.Toward the end of my JW career, whenever I was asked to pray at a meal or publicly in any form, I'd flatly and unabashedly refuse.

The cliche prayer phrases I hated most were:

"Jehovah , it is with bowed heads and humble hearts that we come before your heavenly throne in prayer"

"We ask for a extra portion of your holy spirit be poured upon all those who couldn't be here this evening"

"Please guide us and direct us as we make our way home from the meeting"

"We leave this meeting in your care and keeping"

34

7 day conventions?

by HereIgo in

did any of you attend the old school week long conventions?

i have heard stories and it seems like these were mostly in the 70's and 80's before my time.

i couldn't imagine.

Pete Zahut

Reading this post brought back a terrible memory for me.

Yes....I was just thinking the same thing. Just thinking about myself as a kid during those 8 day assemblies, sitting under the broiling sun day after day in a jacket and tie, for over a week, counting down the talks one by one until sometimes 9:00 at night, is just too much for me to talk about right now. It was utter misery for a little boy. I think it did me some damage in terms of developing the habit of zoning out for hours at a time just to cope.

It was utter religious fanatic, cult lunacy. The last one I attended was in 1974 when I got baptized, I'm thinking they did away with them after that. Everyone was so glad but they had to make it seem as if they were happy because Jehovah was lovingly providing a new direction for his followers and streamlining things due to the closeness of the end.

I seriously need to have a glass of beer or wine right now just to get rid of the anxiety this post has brought up.

37

What Happens If the JW Beard Policy Stumbles a Person

by Cold Steel in

some of the videos on youtube really make the beard policy look ridiculous.

i wondered what would happen if the jw beard policy caused someone to stumble?

jesus most likely wore a beard, and charles taze russell had a beard.

Pete Zahut

If "stumbling" householders was their true concern, they'd quit going from door to door altogether.

46

Complete this sentence with only one word: THE TIME REMAINING IS...

by steve2 in

the time remaining is... elastic.. .

stash: /intesoft-inc.appspot.com/post/f0315d7a1cdf4d6498064881689ea032.html

Pete Zahut

The time remaining is yours to enjoy.

27

Dealing with Elderly Parents Who Still Believe the jw Religion is the truth

by lancelink in

i left the religion back in 2008 right after my mother died,( the total lack of natural love/ affection was the final straw for me).. but my dad has become more and more focused on doing the wt bidding.. it just amazes me how he gushes on and on about the last days, his new bible studies, and meeting parts .

but yet he makes no effort to have any type of relationship with his grandkids, there are 5 of them , non are witnesses.

they are the children from several different sisters of mine, and myself.. so how do you deal with the witness stuff always being presented in conversations?.

Pete Zahut

Like most JW's it is likely that your father has steeped himself in the religion more so these days, not out of a growing concern for others, rather it is because he realizes he has reached the stage in life where he is "circling the drain" and time is running out.

Many JW's have convinced themselves that they love their neighbor but the main motivation for them is to save their own skin. If he was motivated by love, he would do all he could to reach his own grandchildren instead of focusing on knocking on the empty door of strangers. If he focused on his grandchildren however, he'd have to be more than a friendly stranger at the door who can walk away as soon as things get tough. With his grandchildren, he'd have to be himself and he'd have to stick around even when they asked tough questions that he has no answer for. It's easier for him to go through the motions and choose the other busy work that is part of being a JW. That way he can feel good about not having really done anything real.

Coming to terms with ones own mortality is something that is best done gradually over ones lifetime rather than all at once. You are kind to let him continue on with the magical thinking that gets him through his days and nights, now that he has reached this stage in life. One day when he is gone, you will look back and feel good about having done your part to make his last years reasonably peaceful.

30

"...You will be Disfellowshipped for 7 years"

by HereIgo in

shortly before i left the "troof" a co had given a talk during his visit.

at the time there was a scandal going on in the congregation where 2 couples basically swapped spouses with each other.

it was quite the scandal.

Pete Zahut

There just has to be some biblical reasoning behind the 7 year sentence otherwise the whole thing would seem rather arbitrary and made up by a mere man.

I supposed one could reason that the bible says to forgive not 7 times but up to 77 times. 77 divided by 12 (the number of months in a year) doesn't divide equally rather it comes out to 6.41 years.

Using the same creative logic and math that as was used in the new overlapping generation teaching, a sentence of 6.41 years would mean that the 6th year would "overlap" into the seventh year and the sentence would essentially be made up of "parts" of 7 years.

Evidently, the disfelloshipped individuals could seek reinstatement at the 6.41 year mark however reinstatement wouldn't be granted until 7 full biblical years had passed.

Yeah....that's it.

116

What is behind your choice of forum user name?

by stuckinarut2 in

jw
friends

just curious how we all think.. what prompted or influenced your choice of username for this forum?.

there are some really amazing names, and it would be great to hear the stories behind them.... mine was nothing fancy.

i just felt "stuck in a rut too" along with so many others.

Pete Zahut

It's a long and sad story but my username came about as a direct result of not being allowed as a JW, to get a formal education. The only employment I was qualified for in the beginning was in a fast food restaurant. Many said I would be blessed by Jehovah for listening to the Governing Body and obeying the direction to forego higher education and sure enough, because of all the insight I had gained reading the AWAKE! magazine, I was eventually able to buy the place, name it after myself and start my own successful international restaurant chain. Maybe you've heard of it?

As time went by and my restaurant chain grew and grew, many then began saying that success would pull me right out of the Truth. I was puzzled by this because after all they had claimed that my success was a direct blessing for having been obedient. It has to be one thing or the other....how can they have it both ways?

It turns out they were right....just look where I've ended up !

-Pete

15

Far and away the best video I have seen explaining cults

by jwfacts in

this 5 minute ted video perfectly explains what a cult it.

it does not mention jws, but perfectly aligns with them.

it is put in a manner that would make some understand why jws are considered a cult.

Pete Zahut

This one is about JW's specifically

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWeHB4qM1Hg&feature=youtu.be

36

What is the biggest sexual scandal to hit the top of JW tree ?

by Chook in

elders ,co ,do ,branch overseers ,gb ,missionaries has "sinful" lust got the better of them..

Pete Zahut

1. When I was at Bethel, a married man and woman ran off together leaving their Bethelite spouses behind to face the humiliation and heartbreak. One of the spouses was the Bethel hairdresser and the poor thing was the object of pity the next day as she walked into the dining hall knowing everyone knew and was looking at her with stolen sideways glances. For a young naive Bethelite, it was a real eye opener to me, that this could happen at Bethel. A few months later, all of my months pay was stolen out of my room. ( pretty sure it was our housekeeper who did it). "The truth" never the same for me after that.

2. In our congregation, there were two young couples who were the best of friends. One of the husbands secretly installed a tiny hidden camera in the bathroom of the other couple and he recorded the other brother's wife in the shower etc.

Both of these young couples were from prominent JW families. He got caught and boy did it hit the fan when he did. There was a huge rift in the congregation over how it was handled and the mild punishment that was handed down because of who he was. Several families moved, there was a divorce, another family left the"truth" and a lot of people are no longer speaking to each other.

32

Letter to my JW elder brother

by Roger Kirkpatrick in

i sent the following letter to my older brother, a jw elder in grand prairie, texas, who actively shuns me since i left the religion for conscientious reasons two years ago.. may 11, 2017. dear ronnie,.

in the opening scenes of the movie gone with the wind, a field worker hollers out, “”quttin’ time!” big sam protests, saying, “i’s da fo’man on tara.

i sez when it’s quittin’ time.

Pete Zahut

Embracing one's true self is the one of the most exhilarating sensations in the world. As for any future relationship with my brother, I am not interested. He's a pompous ass and always was.

@RK

Yeah...I get that but I also know that when people first become a JW they can be a bit over the top about it and drive people away and the same thing can sometimes be true (at first) about for those who leave. They can be a bit hard nosed and can end up burning bridges unnecessarily.

I was on board with your letter and everything you said in it, except for the inclusion of your brothers name and his location. Not a cool thing to do... and as far as pompous asses are concerned, I'm guessing it runs in the family and it's quite possible that your brother has other non JW related reasons to distance himself from you.