by MegaDude 22 Replies latest jw friends
For an 'on the edge' JW' I would recommend Crisis of Conscience, Ray Franz. It is a gently written, factual, first-person account of life on the Governing Body.
For those that want to wade thru some serious detail, 'Gentile Times Revisited' was fascinating. You can read it quite quickly though if you skim the detail and stay with the gist.
Neither of these books will present any anti-witness mud slinging. I was impressed by both writers' abilities to present the information so calmly.
This is far shorter than a book but covers a whole lot of the issues and teachings:
ALTHOUGH THERE ARE NICE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES (JWs), members of the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society (WTS) over them, including currently alleged pedophile Ted Jarasz, and local WTS elders cover up child molestation, let JW pedophiles go door-to-door as proved at
http://www.silentlambs.org
or phone toll-free 1 877-WT-ABUSE, also had a secret 10 year liason with the UN, misteach about things like holidays etc.
To begin here's a UK WTS elder handcuffed for prison because a pedophile:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_2123000/2123546.stm
In fact Pat Garza has openly alleged she was raped by WTS Governing Body member Ted Jarasz (nicknamed "the Boss" at Bethel) in Los Angeles when he was a JW District Overseer. Leaks state 23,000+ JW pedophiles are on file at WTS Bethel headquarters in Brooklyn, New York (USA), most unrevealed to police despite Romans 13:1. He did not deny it but stayed silent. Sources also allege WTS Governing Body member Leo Greenlees in the 1980s was a pedophile:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=5466&site=3
In October 2002 five WTS Gov Body members were offically alleged as pedophiles and summoned for a judicial hearing by silentlambs.org. Ministerial Servant/Elder pedophiles so far convicted by regular courts include Gregory Blackstone at Hollis, New Hampshire; Larry Baker at Augusta, Maine; Tim Gardner at Richmond, Missouri; Manual Beliz at Othello, WA; others in the UK, France, Norway, Australia etc
WTS Awake and Watchtower magazines and elders say God opposes the UN but, until exposed, in 1991-2001 WTS was secretly a formal UN associate (Non-Governmental Organization) not just to use the UN's library as proved if you read the Nov 22, 1998 Awake magazine and use Search at the top at jehovahs-witness.org with "UN" or "U.N." Besides, the U.N. does not even require a group to become an official associate group in order to get a card to use its library! After this was publicized on the internet the official U.N. ties were cut but not all unofficial ties:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=34436&site=3
Christ said families would be split by those doing right and those doing wrong but WTS has formal Judicial Committees destroying families via numerous formal renderings of disfellowshipment (severe shunning). 1 Cor 6:1 only says judge "trivial" things as in business, James 2:4-13 calls judging harmful, and Paul says the "majority" (2 Cor 2:6) followed his advice to shun a wrongdoer, meaning a Minority chose not to and yet he nowhere condemns them.
Acts 15:20 says abstain from blood but 1 Sam 14:32-5 says Saul's army ate unBLED meat to not starve and no verses show God not forgiving them. Christ says God also forgave David's eating temple holy bread and that God wants Mercy Not Sacrifice. (Mt 12) The May 22, 1994 Awake tells of 26 JW kids who died without transfusions, and by common sense in massive bleeding as in car wrecks blood expanders won't save lives
http://www.ajwrb.org.
About 3 JWs die daily earthwide from the unscriptural policy! (Blood On The Altar by David Reed) Yet most normal identical twins transfuse whole blood to each other through a shared placenta and childrens' whole blood is sometimes found in mothers years after birth.
WTS says Christ was likely born about Oct 2, so why ignore counting back 9 months for normal conception or genetic-level birth means he was born in late December? Why insist Christmas is from the pagan Saturnalia when John 10:22-3 says Christ also celebrated the Festival of Dedication or Lights, i.e. Hannukah, which first began Dec 25 but has varied since because lunar-based? Job 1:3, 3:1-3 show Job's kids celebrated birthdays if you read all 3 verses to see day of birth is meant. At Luke 2 angels themselves celebrated Christ's birth. Santa is from Saint Nicholas, an actual red-robed Christian gift-giving elder of the Middle Ages, not a wizard or pagan god. The word Easter may as easily be from the Anglo-Saxon word eastern (Christianity came from East of England) as from the goddess Eastre, the eggs as likely from the Jewish passover egg as from paganry, common sense saying early Christians more likely using eggs and rabbits to symbolize the hope for new life by resurrection than as vesiges of pagan fertility or sex rites!
Halloween came from All Hallows (Holy Ones/Saints) Evening when parents had children dress as saints to encourage them to be good, the normally harmless pranks coming from Ireland where maybe or maybe not taken from pagans even as wedding rings, names of days, months, some Christian names in the Bible like Apollos and Jason also came from pagans. Why does the WTS call compromises holidays that attacked and replaced paganisms especially since Colossians 2:16 says let none judge you about a holiday or Sabbaths? WTS calls a cross a repugnant murder weapon but Paul said boast in it as a symbol of resurrection over death. (Ga 6:14, 1Cor 1:17-18) They say it was a stake but human remains and inscriptions show archaeologists the stauros was a cross not stake, Dr F Zugibe's research shows suffocation would be in minutes if on a stake but in hours if on outstretched cross per Lu 23:44 and Mat 27:45-6, and the word stauros can mean not just stake but cross.
There are countless views on the trinity concept, with almost only the United Pentecostals and a few related groups praying straight to and teaching Jesus is God Almighty (Jehovah) Himself-- the modalism view. Yet WTS says the Trinity is believing Father, Son, Spirit are one "identical" person and falsely say most all Protestant and Catholic churches teach that. The fact is that most all Protestant and Catholic groups accept the trinity idea as being three totally different entities or persons, always from when time started forming one "Godship" just as Romans 1:20 says. (Read It) One illustration is that the Son and Spirit share inherited age, power, knowledge from God remindful of how an acorn may be only one day old but also by its genes share the oak tree's age, capacity and information! Three different entities but one in age, power and knowledge who have always formed one God Almighty or Godship.
Members are told report on each other although the Bible condemns busy-bodying. Nor are regular JWs allowed to read Judicial Committee "sin files" on themselves, many not knowing they exist often with misinformation and kept at Brooklyn's Bethel headquarters even if destroyed locally after seven years. Page 232 in the Insight book shows a picture of the Pay Attention To Yourselves And All The Flock book that elders have but do not allow non-elders to read. Page 302 in the Daniel book and pages 88 and 651 in the Proclaimers book show photos of the Knights Templar swords and the cross-with-crown-and-wreath used by Masons who sometimes use "Theocratic Warfare" tactics to change members' personalities on early WTS literature. Not surprisingly with the pedophile and other scandals, many good JWs have also complained of visual and electronic spying and harassment, including physically! Some old WT books also have the winged sun god Ra on front covers - never a Christian symbol.
Many Jehovah's Witnesses staying JWs are cutting time and money given the WTS which is declared "apostate" for causing divisions besides having endangered children, having the secret U.N. liason etc. By Oct 2002 950+ exJWs had registered for in-person meetings, (
http://exjw.meetup.com/
), many enjoyed a newsletter from the "Free Christians" fellowship of exJWs and friends which offers unity from love or friendship that surpasses forced sameness of beliefs as well as helps those interested to organize independent Bible Study groups (Col 3:14,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jahchristian/
). Others have joined moderate Baptists, nondenominationalists etc.
This "Liberator" was written out of concern for JW family members and friends as well as the public's - yours too! Please help out silentlambs.org (1 877-WT-ABUSE) in fighting for the children by making and distributing more copies today!
Napolean Hill's book, "Think and Grow Rich" was a great read. Personally, I spent hundreds of hours reading everythink from liberal Christian text to the Holy books of other religions. Staying within Christian literature is okay, but I found reading the Koran (Quran) and Gheta et al, reinforced my belief that there is a God and that balancing the ideas of dualism of the west with monism of the east is a healthy and fruitful endeavor.
carmel
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill -- The mindset and psychology of people who have been enormously successful. I found this helpful since I didn't aspire to be anything but a janitor and a magazine salesman when I got out of high school.
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now this point is deep excellent comments
I've read most of the books mentioned above and they were extremely helpful. Last month I picked up "The Four Agreements" and was blown away by it's simple yet powerful message. It's message has the "ring of truth", as some parts of the bible did to me, but without all the judgement and guilt attached, a much more empowering and realistic way of living. I highly recommend it.
Hey Dude, good recommendations!
But I'm wondering, are you trying to copy my book list?????
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=39495&site=3
Hugs,
j2bf
Hmmm, copy your list, Joy? Heh, heh. I started reading those books when you were still knocking on doors and waking people up early on Saturday mornings. I see you left "Man's Search For Good Merlot" off your list.
LOL, ok dude, I'll concede. I was a drone knocking on doors until April 2001
I haven't had the privilege of reading "Man's Search for Good Merlot" yet. Now, how many corks do I have to collect before I can send and get that book for free?
The bible
I read the NWT 8 times before I left the jws, A Paduan.
But I do recommend reading Galations and Romans from the old Living Bible to really get the sense of freedom.
