Terry, Well said. The steps for recovering from Spiritual Abuse are similar to those from other types of abuses. People that are in abusive relationships are always counseled not to jump into another relationship until they take the time to come to grips with their own issues that lead them into that first bad relationship. A feeling of desperation and loneliness may drive a person into another abusive relationship before they give themselves time to heal. They cycle will repeat itself until it is addressed and dealt with.
4thgen
JoinedPosts by 4thgen
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14
Post Traumatic Apostate Syndrome or (The Little Box of Madness)
by Terry inwhat tools does a duped person have?
intellectual damage is done once you are indoctrinated.. your emotional ties to your "spiritual family" form a bias to free thinking.. .
why should you make your life better by first making it worse?.
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Discernment and the Bearing Witness in Abuse Cases
by 4thgen inin accepting the name of being one of jehovahs witnesses, they agree to witness or bear testimony to the existence of jehovah and the truthfulness of the bible.
even though no one in this modern age has literally seen the act of creation or the god in the heavens, it is through the mental powers of discernment that faith is built.
after the so-called 'evidence' is presented, it leads to a conviction of faith, which eventually turns into dedication and baptism.
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4thgen
In accepting the name of being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, they agree to ‘witness’ or bear testimony to the existence of Jehovah and the truthfulness of the Bible. Even though no one in this modern age has literally seen the act of creation or the God in the heavens, it is through the mental powers of “discernment” that faith is built. After the so-called 'evidence' is presented, it leads to a conviction of faith, which eventually turns into dedication and baptism. The scripture, “We walk by faith and not by sight” comes to mind.
Yet, these people of extraordinary faith turn a blind eye at the physical evidence of abuse. They will accept without question that a man over 2000 years ago turned water into wine*, yet, dismiss a person crying for help, while presenting evidence of physical battering and hospital/police reports. Yes, suddenly their ‘eyes of faith’ cloud over.
The Insight Book Volume II Page 234, under Material and circumstantial evidence states:
“…If a married woman was accused by her husband of falsely claiming to be a virgin at the time of marriage, the girl’s father could bring the mantle from the marriage bed as evidence of her virginity to present before the judges in order to clear her of the charge. (De 22:13-21) Even under patriarchal law, material evidence was acceptable in some cases. (Ge 38:24-26) Circumstances were given consideration as evidence…”
So, in the wacky world of the Governing Body, it appears that circumstantial evidence is acceptable to render judgment in a dispute over virginity, but modern forensic evidence or hospital reports are not enough to prove sexual or physical abuse.
In reviewing the past issues of the Watchtower magazine, there are over 1100 references to the wisdom of using “discernment”. May I suggest that a footnote should be added to these references that state: “Warning: Cognitive dissonance in judicial abuse cases of Jehovah’s Witnesses”?
*The comparison given is not to dispute the miracles of Jesus, but to point out the fallacy of such incongruent reasoning.
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Do you think that the WT has gotten stranger as time goes by or is it that with distance comes perspective?
by 4thgen inthe preaching the jw.org thing is so strange.
the two generations "new light" is crazy.
but then again i look back at some of the things i believed and taught wonder 'what was i thinking'?
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4thgen
Thank you for all the posts. There were some histories mentioned I wasnt aware of. Yes the org has always been strange....Just seems stranger the further you get away.Its likened to an abusive relationship..you may not recognise it when your in it but others can see the signs. Sometimes its with distance and time you can look back and see the whole picture. Then exclaim 'OMG WHAT WAS I THINKING???????'
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The Vatican will be questioned by UN Committee-Rights of Child-Jan. 16-Geneva
by AndersonsInfo insurvivorsnetwork of thoseabused bypriests this thursday, for the first time ever, the vatican will be questioned about its record on child sexual violence by an international body.
the un committee on the rights of the child in geneva is holding the meeting in two sessions on jan 16, each three hours long.
snap and our attorneys from ccr will be there.
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4thgen
Go get um!
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Do you think that the WT has gotten stranger as time goes by or is it that with distance comes perspective?
by 4thgen inthe preaching the jw.org thing is so strange.
the two generations "new light" is crazy.
but then again i look back at some of the things i believed and taught wonder 'what was i thinking'?
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bassackwards
by stuckinamovement inam i the only one that finds it funny that the organization's campaign this month is to offer a printed magazine that is simply an ad for a website?
what's more is they have printed close to 50 mil copies which will be delivered by an army of volunteers who drive minivans and knock on the doors of empty houses repeatedly until they find someone at home...... can you imagine facebook going door to door to spread the word about how awesome their site is?.
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The Vatican will be questioned by UN Committee-Rights of Child-Jan. 16-Geneva
by AndersonsInfo insurvivorsnetwork of thoseabused bypriests this thursday, for the first time ever, the vatican will be questioned about its record on child sexual violence by an international body.
the un committee on the rights of the child in geneva is holding the meeting in two sessions on jan 16, each three hours long.
snap and our attorneys from ccr will be there.
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4thgen
Wow! Thanks, Barb!
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Chicago Archdiocese to release sex abuse documents
by L3G inthis is interesting and no doubt the wts legal department is watching the case carefully.. http://www.kasa.com/news/national/church-releasing-sex-abuse-files-on-chicago-clergy_42591990.
can you imagine the following line from here in a wt press release, or even in the wt mag?.
cardinal francis george, who has led the archdiocese since 1997, did not attend the news conference.
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4thgen
I never thought I would see the day that the Catholic's showed more integrity than the Watchtower. It makes me cringe to think of all the times I bashed the Catholics in light of the 'truth'.
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How Many Remember the Mass Skating Rink Parties of the Late 70's ?
by Perry inthey were a hoot weren't they?.
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4thgen
Sunday nights. Schaumburg, Illinois. Great times! Lou Malnati's afterwards.
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Latest article about domestic violence and abuse
by confusedandalone inabout 10 minutes ago a neighbor asked me about a friend who is a witness and said at one of their church meetings it said that they can only seperate under extreme abuse not just abuse.. i have not been to a meeting in a long time and i do not know aboput this or if it is true.
does anyone know what article this was in so i can print it and give it to them.
they are highlyy upset by this and i want to stoke the fire.
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4thgen
It is a shame that the world has a stronger stance against abuse than the Watchtower. Certainly, if they were following Christ's example of love, NO abuse would be tolerated, let alone covered up. Steve2: Absolutely! What is so ironic, is that the women who endure the abuse and stay in submission, wear it as a badge of honor of their love of God and their righteousness. Jgnat: Been there. I feel your pain. Peace is worth the price. Flipper: Yes, if the elders would do their job following scriptures instead of the 'company' policy, lives could be different.