Posts by flipper

58

baptised nearly 51 years

by Phoebe in

jw
friends

been reading this site for awhile now.

i have had a long and often tragic life as a jw.

my story is so long because i'm pretty old :) i feel sad i've been locked in fear and guilt for my entire life.

Welcome to the board Phoebe you are among friends who have gone through similar things you have experienced. I was born into the JW religion - I exited at age 44 over 13 years ago. It takes courage to do so but is well worth the effort as freedom of mind is priceless. You will experience shunning from some of your JW family and friends - so be prepared for that. However I have some of my younger nieces and nephews who have escaped the JW cult so I'm close to them. Keep reading and educating yourself on HOW we were mind controlled and you will come to a fuller understanding of how the WT Society deceived and hoodwinked all of us. If you get a chance I highly recommend reading Steve Hassan's books on mind control. Combatting Cult Mind Control & Releasing the Bonds- Empowering People to Think for Themselves are two really great books he wrote. His website is : www.freedomofmind.com.

Those books helped me immensely as well as reading " Crisis of Conscience " . I just want you to know that we are here for you and your husband as a support and if you ever need a hearing ear please feel free to PM me or my wife, O.K. ? Hang in there, take care, Peace out, Mr. Flipper

27

"Don't listen to apostates!!"

by Schnufti in

next time a jw says that to me, i will ask him to read the following from "what does the bible really teach":.

watchtower itself uses this illustration.

so why is it that they throw apostates out of the congregation?.

flipper

Problem is - most JW's believe that what the governing body says IS as IMPORTANT as what the Bible says. That essentially the governing body IS " Jehovah " all wrapped up into these 8 men ( or however many there are now ) . So " rebelling " against WT leaders is considered rebelling against " God " . Which prevents most JW's from rebelling in the first place

5

How Jim Jones Kept His Followers Obedient

by Bangalore in

how jim jones kept his followers obedient.. .

flipper

Good thread. Intimidation and isolation and violence. Same methods that Jehovah's Witnesses & Scientology uses to keep their followers " obedient " . Unfortunately it works. Thanks for posting this - interesting article

8

JWfacts: Excellent 15 minute video and script presentation - "Growing up a Jehovah's Witness"

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/growing-up-a-jehovahs-witness.php.

"growing up a jehovah's witness" .

following the title, is the statement, .

flipper

Barbara- Wow. Thanks for posting this you tube . Paul Grundy did a fabulous job on this. Thanks Paul as well. It so accurately describes what each of us - including myself - went through being raised from birth into this criminal organization. The stress of being controlled, the stress of not being able to pursue high school sports - my JW dad as an elder wouldn't let me go play for the freshman high school baseball team due to being around so-called " bad associations " and it would allegedly interfere with " meetings " on Tuesdays.

And like the man in the you tube I was told I'd never get married or have children in this " system of things " and now look- in 2017 I have adult children and on my way to 60 years old in a few years. The tactics the WT Society uses to keep pounding JW's over the head through fear and guilt manipulation is criminal, absolutely criminal. Total lives have been wasted by JW's who might have made a good career or living if they had been allowed to go to college or a university. And that's not even mentioning the bloodguilt on WT leaders heads for the abhorrent on blood transfusion policies that have murdered thousands of JW's including minor children.

As Paul Grundy stated - the sooner governments force controlling religions to start honoring the United Nations creed for treatment of humans on this planet in a positive way - the better. Religions like Jehovah's Witnesses, Scientology, and other belief systems get away with FAR too much in the world we live in. They need to be held accountable just like we as normal citizens are held accountable

49

How do you categorise the Society - Cult or High control religion

by UnshackleTheChains in

i have often seen many categorise the organisation in different ways.

some say cult, some say high control religion.

cult or high control religion?.

flipper

WT Society is both- a cult AND a high control religion. There is no acceptable way for a person to exit or leave the JW religion without suffering negative treatment or repercussions. You cannot leave and stay free of accusations

46

Some apostates are coming across as crazed psychopaths

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

i'm not sure whether or not my view on this is correct so please leave your input.

in recent months i've been viewing youtube videos.

again, it might just be my view but there has been an increased amount of random people grabbing a camera and doing vlogs.

flipper

JUST FINE - I totally agree with this - " sometimes people don't take the time to care for themselves first " . VERY true. Thanks for that insight

46

Some apostates are coming across as crazed psychopaths

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

i'm not sure whether or not my view on this is correct so please leave your input.

in recent months i've been viewing youtube videos.

again, it might just be my view but there has been an increased amount of random people grabbing a camera and doing vlogs.

flipper

Good thread. I just believe there are certain ways to communicate with people so that yes- you can voice your opinion - but do it in a way where it still leaves the other persons dignity intact by trying to show respect . There is NO reason to get loud and boisterous and cause a huge scene which tends to diminish you and your message you are trying to get across in the first place.

When I talk with JW's - wherever- at a coffee shop, JW cart, my goal is to get them to think about what they are being taught , and to get them to realize that whether it's child abuse , shunning, whatever- these are things that are damaging in nature that destroy and hurt families, human relationships - and I usually ( not always ) but usually , draw comparisons to these very same things going on in other churches who are also allowing child abuse or shunning to occur in their churches. This way- the JW doesn't feel like THEIR church is being singled out as " evil " or " corrupt " and by way of comparison after the conversation and the JW goes back to his or her home- THEN in the privacy of their own home at that time with their dignity intact having been respected by me if they so choose- they can research on the Internet anything I've mentioned to see if it's accurate.

I think the EX-Jw's that go crazy don't realize that cramming information down someone's throat without giving them a chance to DECIDE on their own - is a detrimental thing to do and not effective. At least not effective if you're honestly trying to reach these JW's. Otherwise it's like the old expression- the EX-JW acting this way is just cutting his or her nose off to spite their own face. Useless. And actually a waste of time

19

Rank & File Reaction to Leah Remini Series

by freemindfade in

wife and i have watched the whole series and just finished episode 7 last night.

personally, i am seeing a great deal more subtle and day to day similarities to watchtower than the obvious ones i already knew existed, ie shunning.

very eye opening and heartbreaking, even more so than going clear in my mind.

flipper

Good thread my friend. My wife and I have watched every episode as well- I think it's excellent too and agree with you that it's even more effective than " Going Clear " was in that it gets even deeper into how Scientology rips apart families by disclosing this through personal interviews with Scientology victims- some who were not even high up in the church or well known- but like the recent episode the young man who was smeared was a worker for the church whom the church ruined his life by refusing him psychiatric help- then he got thrown into prison. Nice folks ? Not.

The emotion laden first hand stories by these people who were abused at ALL levels of the church- seeing their tears , hearing their pain, and then crying along with them as I watch it- brings back all kinds of inner pain for me as well realizing my older JW family in the JW cult has treated me similarly through the years by essentially cutting me off. Yet in a strange way - it's been a healing for me as well because it makes me more determined to draw closer to my nieces and nephews who have exited the JW cult and helps me realize more clearly who on this god forsaken planet really loves me. Been questioning that a lot in my own mind since my own mom's death.

That being said - in answer to your opening thread- I believe that JW's who are sitting on the fence who have doubts - the JW's that are kind of in it, but kind of not in it - Leah Remini and Mike Rinders expose' of Scientology will do a lot of good for these kind of folks. These kind of JW's are already opening their minds and some I've talked to refuse to shun their relatives who aren't JW's. The show will help THAT kind of person who is having doubts already.

But JW's like my older devout JW family- I seriously doubt it - they are so deeply steeped in the JW cult that they can't see straight . I might just try to bring it up to one of them out of sheer morbid curiosity to see what they'll say- and I'll get back to you on this thread. Thanks for posting this, great thread. Take care bud, Peace out, Mr. Flipper

13

Last installment of the Scientology series tonight on A & E

by nonjwspouse in

10 pm est on arts and entertainment channel.

where leah began with the idea of just a few shows, i think she is now taking this on for "as long as it takes".

she is in that mode of being outraged that what she believed in so long is such a lie she wants to shout it from the rooftops, and get people to notice.

flipper

My wife and I watched this episode on xfinity on demand tonight. Really a great episode. The abuse the Scientologists dole out to members who leave and on their families is horrific and disgusting. I really admire Leah Remini and Mike Rinder for exposing this criminal organization as they are doing a great service to the public . I hope there will be many more shows

40

Not one visit, 8 years in a nursing home, and not one visit!

by Raymudas Martini in

jw
friends

my dad{rip}, was a faithful jw since the year i was born, i'm 60, he died 2 years ago.

his last 12 years were spent in an assisted living/nursing home right in the small town where he spent the last 8 years of being an elder/pioneer.

when he went into the home, one brother would visit him regularly, but after 4 years, that friend moved away, and visitation from the locals ceased, for 8 years!!!!!!!

flipper

LEVELTHEPLAYINGFIELD- Yeah, exactly it was a really weird discussion when we had this " family discussion " about where my mom would live. I actually laughed out loud at my JW sister when she said " the medical staff is worldly and they'll steal from mom and dad if they assist mom at their home " . I said, " Come on ! Get real. These are professionally paid medical personnel representing their company. Do you think they are going to jeopardize their jobs or their companies reputation by " stealing " from our parents ? " I continued, " That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard. " My JW older relatives had no trust whatsoever of non-JW people helping my mom in her own home. Most outlandish thing I've ever heard. I was so frustrated - I could have shit a brick right there on the spot