The Reader is very Chicago-oriented but for your benefit while reading, "the el" is the elevated train system that ties in with the subway system for commuters and "CTA" is the Chicago Transit Authority that runs the commuter trains and buses.
https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/is-it-legal-for-jehovahs-witnesses-to-proselytize-inside-cta-stations/Content?oid=47477482
OnTheWayOut
JoinedPosts by OnTheWayOut
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JW's Setting Up Carts at Chicago Train Stations
by OnTheWayOut inthe reader is very chicago-oriented but for your benefit while reading, "the el" is the elevated train system that ties in with the subway system for commuters and "cta" is the chicago transit authority that runs the commuter trains and buses.
https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/is-it-legal-for-jehovahs-witnesses-to-proselytize-inside-cta-stations/content?oid=47477482.
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OnTheWayOut
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AwakeI explains differences in Scripture quotations
by Doug Mason inthis article in the awake!
of november 22, 1968 discusses reasons for differences between quotations in the new testament (“christian scriptures”) and their hebrew or septuagint sources.. http://www.jwstudies.com/awake__nov_22__1968__was_the_writer_quoting.pdf .
doug.
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OnTheWayOut
It does seem that they were laying a foundation for the finding of errors in the NWT.
The errors are not ours, but rather in the thing we copied from. But God allowed it so it's all still inspired. -
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Continuing congregation mergers
by Are you serious inin the area i live in the pacific northwest, three spanish congregations we're merged into two a couple of years ago and in the next month or so four english congregations will be cut down to three.
both situations happened because of lack of growth.
a few years ago, i would never have imagined spanish congregations disappearing or merging but it's happening.
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OnTheWayOut
Three cheers for the decline.
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My JW Elder Brother Passed Away
by minimus inhe was basically a good man, just a believer in the religion.
when we were both elders we were best of friends and then things deteriorated when i was not an elder for a while.
then after becoming an elder again, i slowly drifted away from the religion and he drifted further away from me.
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OnTheWayOut
I am sorry for your loss and the loss that your family members will be mourning.
The cult based on "What are you doing for Watchtower TODAY?" does allow for drifting apart. -
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Zappa
by JRK ini am stoked about going to see dweezil zappa in concert on thursday.
it is going to be a date night, and the person i am taking never had the chance to see his father frank in concert.
i know that she will appreciate the complexity and beauty of his music, as well as some of his off-color humor.. yes "humor does belong in music!".
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OnTheWayOut
Um....you are welcome.
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Zappa
by JRK ini am stoked about going to see dweezil zappa in concert on thursday.
it is going to be a date night, and the person i am taking never had the chance to see his father frank in concert.
i know that she will appreciate the complexity and beauty of his music, as well as some of his off-color humor.. yes "humor does belong in music!".
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OnTheWayOut
Have a great time.
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Norwegian Article in English: THE ELDER
by AndersonsInfo inyou’ll find this article very long and very interesting.
it was published as part of a series of articles in a quality newspaper in southern norway.
as seen from the article, the journalists have been working on this article for several months.
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OnTheWayOut
Despite any positive changes at Watchtower, they verify that the first step any elders take is reporting to Watchtower before all else. The internal investigation still takes priority over any criminal investigation for them. They may still interfere with the criminal investigation by delaying and by their amateur interviews that may taint later professional ones. They still allow for defining and searching for "sin" ahead of reporting crimes.
They may say they don't discourage reporting to the police, but they don't automatically do it themselves. Accompanying a child to the police and standing with them to encourage them coming forward with criminal charges does not mean they have already determined guilt. If a child came forward with a murder accusation against an adult, they would take them to the police. It should be the same difference. -
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There is No Way Out For Me
by Addison0998 ini have come to the conclusion that there is no way for me to ever leave.
although i have some friends at work, my whole social structure are witnesses.
even if i move congregations, my parents have contacts everywhere who will tell them if i’m not active.
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OnTheWayOut
You are going to get all kinds of answers here. Many will say your mind is still in cult think. Many will say you must seek your own happiness and let go or take chances with family relationships.
No matter what advice, rest assured that many of us do understand where you are. But we all have to make our own choices.
If I had children in my situation, I would not hesitate to cease being a "fader" and I would simply sacrifice my relationships with any JW's to allow my kids to have the freedoms I would want them to have. But I do not have such children, so I don't choose that path. Some pull the plug on a marriage in order to get away from the cult. Others, like myself, do not. Some choose life-long family relationships over enjoying their freedom in other ways.
You must make those choices. I can say that I was not going to miss out on the enjoyment of ending the regular mind-numbing meetings. I found a way that worked out for me, for the most part, where I can keep family relations, but I lost all JW friends. Well, I have better non-JW friends, so that part is good.
You could consider at least becoming a very "WEAK" JW and let your family "flip out" a bit over that. They could eventually get used to your inactive lifestyle. You can gauge how far to take it by their reactions and your desires.
I can say with confidence that I would rather attempt such than just be resolved to be a JW and never even pursue a life partner. And if my family could eventually cope with my inactive status, but would not attend a wedding, I would miss them at my wedding.
Consider this- Recruiting (what they call field service) is not mandatory. They say it is, but being inactive is not a DF offense. I turned in a tiny bit of "fake time" but kept it extremely low, and then stopped turning in time. Consider some choices there. If you can't bring yourself to an inactive status, how about a barely active status with minimal (faked) 1 hour reports? -
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Two big points that need to be emphasized in JDub pedophile discussions
by Sour Grapes ini love watching the jw cart crashers on youtube and how the zombie, brain dead, we are so much better than you jdubs react.
when they do talk a little about the two witness rule they will mention the need for proof and the testimony of the poor child is just not enough to take the inquiry any further.. the reason for calling the police is immediately is that dna can be gathered from the poor victim.
this evidence is the second witness used for prosecution.
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OnTheWayOut
The heart of the problem is that they don't look at anything like this as the crime that it is.
If some slightly older child came forward and reported that his/her step-father committed a murder, they would know that they have to call the police. But the crime is something short of murder and they get all bogged down in their two-witness rule, getting in touch with Bethel, and whether this is a disfellowshipping offense and who will be on the judicial committee.
Their own lawyers must recognize that a huge part of the problem is the organization constantly telling members that the world cannot be trusted and to turn to "Jehovah" with every last thing. And then they tip toe around such major issues in the local Kingdom Hall. They simply don't want to acknowledge that such problems exist INSIDE the congregation as well as OUTSIDE.
Two things.
1. If they would be straightforward and say that while members can bring their concerns to the elders, they will always have to go with such members to the police when they report an alleged crime. Standing with someone in support as they go to the police IS NOT ASSUMING THE ACCUSED IS GUILTY. It is merely aiding a member to go forward with a serious allegation, just as serious as a murder allegation.
2. I would love to suggest that their recruiting work is for adults only, but they would never go that far. They should at least say that all minors should only work with their parents in the recruiting work. NO EXCEPTIONS. If a member is under 18, they have to go on calls only with their parent or not at all. -
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JWs studying with a neighbor: what should I do?
by john.prestor inso let me introduce myself first: i've lurked here for years because i'm working on a long-term research project concerning jehovah's witnesses and i've collected data from this site (seriously, you guys are awesome, i've learned so much from this forum i never would have learned otherwise).
i've also collected data at multiple kingdom halls and read scholarly works on jehovah's witnesses and non-scholarly works as well (e.g., crisis of conscience).
so i have a pretty good sense of jehovah's witnesses even though i was not raised in this faith nor did i ever join up.
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OnTheWayOut
Great job, John. Thanks for stepping up a little out of your comfort zone.