Posts by MrMonroe

1

Update on Aussie nws article 5 years ago

by rover in

MrMonroe

Have another go, Rover. I'm interested in hearing what article it was.

36

Shy JW at the door ... the pain of it

by MrMonroe in

someone tweeted today: "a jehovah's witness who is shy to people at the door.

those few words paint such a sad picture.

how many jws with little self-esteem and self-confidence, particularly born-ins who have never known anything different, are sent out into neighbourhoods to knock on the doors of strangers and speak to them, knowing the householder resents them being there?

MrMonroe

Thanks for all your comments.

I think many shy JWs, and those of us who simply didn't want to be out there imposing ourselves on people on their Saturday mornings because we'd been told to, responded with the quietest doorknocks we could manage. My figuring was, if they couldn't hear us, well, hell, there was no point in staying there, it was best to just move on. The more doors you could cover without having someone open it, the better the day it was.

The organisation may brag about how it takes the "good news" to every household, but I'm betting a huge percentage of publishers (and probably many pioneers) are far more concerned with filling in time rather than actually contacting people. Shy JWs, and young kids, would certainly be in no hurry to find someone at every door.

36

Shy JW at the door ... the pain of it

by MrMonroe in

someone tweeted today: "a jehovah's witness who is shy to people at the door.

those few words paint such a sad picture.

how many jws with little self-esteem and self-confidence, particularly born-ins who have never known anything different, are sent out into neighbourhoods to knock on the doors of strangers and speak to them, knowing the householder resents them being there?

MrMonroe

Someone tweeted today: "A Jehovah's Witness who is shy to people at the door. Do I have to say it? #ironic."

Those few words paint such a sad picture. How many JWs with little self-esteem and self-confidence, particularly born-ins who have never known anything different, are sent out into neighbourhoods to knock on the doors of strangers and speak to them, knowing the householder resents them being there? They just know they're going to be hated.

It's an unnatural practice, no one in their heart likes doing it, and it just piles stress and misery on people who keep being told they "the happiest people on earth". They also believe that unless they keep giving and giving and giving their free time, Jehovah may not save them at Armageddon.

Working in my own neighbourhood, I always dreaded the thought that the door would be opened by someone I knew, and it got the point where I began secretly compiling a list of addresses of the workmates on my side of town so, as best as I could, I could avoid ever calling on them.

For schoolkids, the pain and embarrassment of field service, particularly when they were dressed in their Sunday best and encountered one of their schoolmates at a door, would be just excruciating.

What a demeaning, controlling cult it is.

46

2/15 WT " Preserve the Positive Spirit of Congregations" - Translation :Submit

by flipper in

jw
friends

once again, this was a real " jewel " of a study article by the wt society full of contradictions , controlling expressions , and manipulative wording in order to take away jehovah's witnesses free will and freedom of mind .. initially the wt society makes it appear that they are " concerned " about witnesses actually keeping the " peace " between themselves.

notice this quote from pg.

20, paragraph 7, " true friends keep personal matters confidential.

MrMonroe

"We are wise to limit our association with people who are negative or who are promoting an independent attitude. "

Which may well explain why JWs started giving me a wide berth in my final months in the Borg. One thing they are taught to fear, taught to be wary of, is anyone thinking for themselves, applying reasoning, and deciding that they needn't follow "the brothers" like brain-dead zombies.

It's the true mark of a cult that one is prohibited from making any critical comments about the leaders and ostracised if one does.

77

I have allegedly been charged with apostasy

by Igot2bme in

jw
friends

i recieved a letter today and it reads:.

sister jennifer b****,.

we request your presence for a judical hearing.

MrMonroe

The letter from the elders is an astonishing example of a denial of natural justice. Advising a sister that she has been accused of apostasy is one thing, but how would it be possible for a person to arrive at a trial (sorry, judicial committee) prepared to make an adequate defence?

Precisely what was the act of apostasy? Where was the act committed and when?

Who has made this accusation? What is the basis of their accusation? Can the accused sister challenge or question the accuser? Will certain Bible scriptures be cited as evidence of a breach of proper Christian conduct? If so, which ones?

In a criminal trial, all this information is provided to a defendant in advance so they can prepare their defence.

In the case of a JC, a sister is expected to arrive at a hearing knowing none of those things. She will be informed of the charges, then, with no prior preparation and denied the opportunity to seek advice or support, be required to answer a series of back-to-back questions by three men who have had weeks to prepare for the meeting and anticipate her responses. Any chance to seek an adjournment to consider her position would be taken as defiance and obstruction.

She will not be allowed to record proceedings should she later wish to appeal a guilty verdict. If found guilty, members of the congregation will have no access to either the allegations or the reasons for the committee's decision. They will simply learn through gossip than a judicial hearing was held and that the result was a decision to disfellowship. There will therefore be no provision for other members of the congregation (including family or other elders) to consider for themselves whether the decision was correct.

These are the tactics of a tyrannical tinpot dictatorship that conducts its judicial activities in a climate of fear, surprise and secrecy, so unsure of the rightness of its actions that it ensures they can never be examined.

Anyone who walks into a judicial committee in those circumstances should know that a decision has already been made.

60

"Be Successful in Coping with Change" - Notes from a special talk given after Watchtower Study at Brooklyn Bethel December 5, 2011

by wannabefree in

jw
friends

these are notes passed on to me, i thought i would share.. .

be successful in coping with change.

special talk given after watchtower study at brooklyn bethel december 5, 2011. monday night - monday night we had a special lecture to attend after study of the watchtower entitled "be successful in coping with change".

MrMonroe

Small point: Robert J. Martin, the WTS office manager, was jailed with Rutherford, not Russell. Don't know if it was the mistake of whoever took the notes or gave the speech, but I think it's sad that JWs so little about the history of their religion they can confuse the two. Even when I was a JW I knew CT Russell was the founder of the WTS, but it was very easy to confuse him with Rutherford. Only after I left the religion did I really do proper research on the religion and gain a clear view of who it was who'd established all the doctrines and rules, and what sort of men they were.

92

Febuary 21 2012 We could make a difference,if we want to. A World Wide Campaign sending letters to Govt. officials,newspapers, to Victoria Australia

by smiddy in

this is a sugestion i have to all members of this board ,members from all over the world, to let the victorian government in australia know that the world is concerned about protecting the children of victoria ,and theirby setting a precedent for the rest of the world, who are interested in the outcome of the criminal charges against the religion of jehovah`s witnesses in refusing to abide by the legislation to get "working with children checks"when required to do so.correct me if i`m wrong but i think if all of us sent letters to the newspapers here in australia ,the different members of parliment here,we would demonstate that the victorian judicial system here is under scrutiny to do the right thing in the eyes of the world.. we all complain that the wtb&ts/jehovahs witnesses is a cult religion that sucks,destroying family relationships,here is a chance to do something about it.

whether you agree with steven unthank or not,here is an opportunity to stick up for the children of jehovah`s witnesses and every other child that a witness calls on in their door to door ministry.. what do you think ?.

smiddy.

MrMonroe

Victorian news media are aware of the case and I'm sure they'll report on anything newsworthy that eventuates. At the moment the case is still in the formative stages.

100

Whistleblower Watchtowers Dump

by Marvin Shilmer in

jw
friends

whistleblower watchtowers dump.

today i added a new article to my blog sharing the whistleblowers letter to new yorks department of environmental conservation (dec) disclosing watchtowers pollution sites and incidents related to it.

my article is titled whistleblower watchtowers dump and is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/12/whistleblower-watchtowers-dump.html.

MrMonroe

Thanks for the information, Marvin. It's powerful stuff and, and as Gayle said, these things often emerge in small pieces before the full picture is revealed. It is entirely appropriate that, if the whistleblower doesn't yet want his name revealed, that's his prerogative ... although in the small world of Bethelites, his identity will be obvious to any number of people.

This website is a forum, and Marvin's blog is a blog ... both places are useful to release information; neither site claims to meet any academic standards requiring peer review. What's there is there, and I don't see the point of berating Marvin for withholding information that may be revealed in a court case, or in the media, at some point in the future.

44

The latest change in Watchtower vocabulary to catch out the unwary

by slimboyfat in

i got a copy of the recent kingdom ministry the other day and it reminded me of something in the book the orwellian world of jehovha's witnesses by heather and garry botting.

it's on the front page of the december issue of the km, they have a heading called "not 'alternative' witnessing" where they explain that the term is no longer considered appropriate and "public" witnessing should be used instead.. in the orwellian world of jehovah's witnesses the bottings discuss the importance of the particular language jws use to set themselves apart from other people.

they redefine common words to give them a particular slant, such as "brother", "sister", "literature" and so on.

MrMonroe

With their obsession over their absence of "leaders" (evidenced by the deletion of terms such as presiding overseer) and how they're all just followers of Christ, it's surprising that the term "Governing Body" has remained in use so long.

There have been innumerable debates on the talk pages at Wikipedia over the use of the term "leaders" referring to those at the apex of the religion; zealous Dubs have insisted on changing it to "those who take the lead", to which the obvious response is that if they're taking the lead in a religion, they are religious leaders.

And ditto the "Governing" Body: as governors, they are rulers and leaders, no question. But at some stage will their sense of modesty force them to adopt some equally disingenuous phrase to show the faithful they are just followers of God and Christ? To which the faithful will all respond, "Yes! That term was obviously wrong! Jehovah is certainly blessing this organisation!"

38

March 15, 2012 WT: These times are more critical than when we last called them critical, honest!!

by MrMonroe in

just sad.

"the christian ministry has always been urgent, but now it is more critical than ever.

" (page 18).. what follows is more of the same disgusting tripe: the same scare tactics (nuclear weapons, terrorists, climate change, hurricanes, wars) that made me join in 1985 when the world was on the brink of nuclear armageddon.

MrMonroe

What exciting times?

I think the closure of Bethels is an exciting development. For years the society was gobbling up real estate to make plans for the tremendous epansion ahead. Now they realise the witnessing work is almost over (the end is SO close!!!) so they won't be needing the drones dusting lampshades and polishing handrails any more.

And Jeffro, thanks for the enlightenment on the kings of the north and south. That makes a certain amount of cool, logical sense .... just as much as the explanation that "the other sheep" are just the Gentiles.

Why make things so difficult and complicate when they can be explained so easily?