Posts by FatFreek 2005

22

I Think I have Found a Way to Litigate

by Simon Templar in

i have been thinking about how the wtb&t society bullies all of its members into submission with the threats they use (by practice), i.e.

“if you do this we will df you and you will be shunned”.

“if you da yourself, we will make an announcement and your friends, relatives and family will abandon you”, etc.

FatFreek 2005

Nathan Natas: ALL of us made a BAD DECISION when we "decided" to be baptized as JWs. At some point you just have to accept responsibility for you MISTAKES, FORGIVE YOURSELF . . .

To those who did, in fact, get baptized -- that is true. However, not all who receive the shunning treatment have been baptized. Case in point is here on another thread that is running right now, Shunning & separation from family. There, the OP states:

I was raised in JW as a child. My dad was a jw my mom was not, they are divorced now. I was never baptized or anything but I stopped going once I had the choice at age 12. Now I am 41 and my dad will not associate with me, my wife or my 3 kids.

And his is not unusual. One of my sons, now 54, decided to not get baptized before leaving home. He continued to have a family relationship till a few years ago when they virtually cut him off, shunning included. I suspect that the org has put the hammer down -- even on unbaptized ones who had long exposure to Watchtower stuff -- not long ago.

22

I Think I have Found a Way to Litigate

by Simon Templar in

i have been thinking about how the wtb&t society bullies all of its members into submission with the threats they use (by practice), i.e.

“if you do this we will df you and you will be shunned”.

“if you da yourself, we will make an announcement and your friends, relatives and family will abandon you”, etc.

FatFreek 2005

smiddy: they are nothing more than volunteers who choose of their own violition to follow suggestions made by the organization .

Those aren't simply suggestions by the org. They are directions that if not followed are backed up with punitive action. Next to death, they are the most punishing actions I know of, separation of family.

Nobody in the organization forces anyone to comply with their directions , you do so voluntarily .

ditto.

The r&f member doesnt have to abide by that pressure , they can choose not to ,they are responsible for their own actions and nobody else.

ditto.

Island Man: They will say that members are exercising their personal religious convictions when they choose not to associate with you.

again -- ditto.
Len

6

Contradiction of recent WT statements

by stuckinarut2 in

so we all know of some (in)famous quotes that the wt has said in recent years.. the one that comes to mind is: (this is just from memory, so please feel free to add the proper links / references).

"we must be willing to obey the direction from the gb no matter how strange it seems from a human standpoint".

so, how does that "direction" / "command" to obey the gb fit in with feb 2017 statement:.

FatFreek 2005

Hi Stuckinarut2,

I seem to recall what you paraphrase but can't find it. However, perhaps the following quotes can help. Note that one of them provides evidence that they claim that the governing body is the same as the faithful and discreet slave. Talk about arrogance and presumptuousness.

*** km 6/95 p. 1 par. 4 Jehovah Imparts Power ***

By Following Theocratic Direction: "Theocracy" means "rule by God," who is love. We benefit from his rule by accepting his authority and following his instructions in large and small decisions. "The faithful and discreet slave" represents theocratic rule on this earth. (Matt. 24:45-47) Cooperation with the organization that the "slave" uses is vital if we are to obtain Jehovah’s blessing. (Compare Hebrews 13:17.) Jehovah will reward our loyalty to him and our willingness to obey his laws by supplying the power we need at the appropriate time. -- Heb. 4:16.

*** w09 10/15 p. 15 par. 14 "You Are My Friends" ***

How, then, can we be friends of Christ? One way is to obey the direction provided by the faithful and discreet slave class, which consists of Jesus’ spirit-anointed brothers still alive on earth.

*** lv chap. 4 p. 43 par. 15 Why Respect Authority? ***

Jesus, in turn, has assigned his "faithful and discreet slave" to look after the spiritual needs of God’s people on earth. (Matthew 24:45-47) The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses serves as "the faithful and discreet slave." As in the first-century Christian congregations, elders today receive instructions and counsel from the Governing Body, either directly or through its representatives, such as traveling overseers. When we as individuals respect the authority of Christian elders, we are obeying Jehovah.

3

117 Adams Street, Brooklyn -- Mean anything to you? I just received my order from ....

by FatFreek 2005 in

jw
friends

that former watchtower address caught my eye at the bottom of my received order.

etsy.com has apparently bought that large brooklyn structure and it sells sundry items.. i'd bought some dishwasher safe labels for us, my sis in law, and a sweet neighbor of ours.

the generous neighbor does lots of sharing of her dished and bowled goodies with others and those paper mailing labels she puts on the dish bottoms are defenseless in our dishwasher..

FatFreek 2005

To us it does seem bizarre. However, Etsy may not be the only company that uses that structure -- and address.

3

117 Adams Street, Brooklyn -- Mean anything to you? I just received my order from ....

by FatFreek 2005 in

jw
friends

that former watchtower address caught my eye at the bottom of my received order.

etsy.com has apparently bought that large brooklyn structure and it sells sundry items.. i'd bought some dishwasher safe labels for us, my sis in law, and a sweet neighbor of ours.

the generous neighbor does lots of sharing of her dished and bowled goodies with others and those paper mailing labels she puts on the dish bottoms are defenseless in our dishwasher..

FatFreek 2005

That former Watchtower address caught my eye at the bottom of my received order. Etsy.com has apparently bought that large Brooklyn structure and it sells sundry items.

I'd bought some dishwasher safe labels for us, my sis in law, and a sweet neighbor of ours. Haven't tried them yet so we'll see. The generous neighbor does lots of sharing of her dished and bowled goodies with others and those paper mailing labels she puts on the dish bottoms are defenseless in our dishwasher.

17

Spy camera wanted, motion activated, wireless, etc.

by FatFreek 2005 in

okay, it doesn't have to be a spy camera.. it must be something wireless that send signals to my android smart phone.

and some of those spy cameras seem to have fairly good features but they are also scary.

their descriptions are obviously translated from some other language and i would worry about decent customer support.. i'd simply like to be notified the moment a certain cabinet door (actually, two doors) is opened.

FatFreek 2005

You're the man, Fisherman. That's a wealth of information. Thanks for those tips.

7

Tyler McCumber wins PGA tour event in Peru

by FatFreek 2005 in

tyler mccumber, no, you probably don't know of him.

he may be one of jehovah's witnesses.

his dad, mark, was a member the last i knew.. .

FatFreek 2005

That's amongst the best news I've heard in a very long time, Millie210.

I followed the success of Mark along with many of the other top pros back in the 80s. That was way before I even knew of his JW involvement.

On my bucket list (I'm now 76) I just now added a potential item thanks to your post. Find out more about a three-day golf clinic put on by Mark and one of his nephews, Josh. It may cost a bundle but he puts it on at TPC Sawgrass, a world-renowned course and facilities. It'd be a chance -- maybe -- to meet him (if he's indeed out of the cult) and share war stories.

29

How can anyone who is truly spiritual-minded attend Bethel and not realize it's all a scam

by sosoconfused in

not that i was any better(lol - but as i sat back and thought about the time i spent there, and the things i saw i feel disgusted.. i could literally write a thousand stories about the discrimination, favortism and all out dishonest that took place but i doubt anyone would actually care.

the one thing however that really sticks out in my mind is when i was in a nice room with my roommate that he kind of inherited after his previous roommate left.

it actually had a bathroom and we both had space for real beds(not those dang trundle beds like we had in standish).. .

FatFreek 2005

I just updated the list of former Bethelites, their handles anyway.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UfMFMrD-qVAfHrsblwsJlUqfq4QPzqqvt_gF-UtlwVA/pub

The count is up to 93.

Len

4

Why "God's Name" Doesn't Mean "J...

by metatron in

jw
friends

witnesses get indoctrinated with scriptures that refer.

to "the name of my father".

by means of these texts,.

FatFreek 2005

Toward the end of my 19 year WT presence I listened intently to a certain elder's closing prayer. In our gossip circle he was often talked about in his use of the name Jehovah. In this particular prayer I found myself counting -- 13 times he spouted the name.

Like Room 215 I never addressed my dad by "Wesley", never even thought about it.

That's ironic, in a way, since one of my sons, still a JW, has a son whom he named after his grandfather Wesley.

Not surprising, because of WT's shunning policy, I've never had the pleasure of addressing my grandson by "Wesley".

Len Miller

7

Tyler McCumber wins PGA tour event in Peru

by FatFreek 2005 in

tyler mccumber, no, you probably don't know of him.

he may be one of jehovah's witnesses.

his dad, mark, was a member the last i knew.. .

FatFreek 2005

Hi again Room 215,

Yes, I think I remember that you one time said that 215 was your room number when you were at Bethel. Thanks for your first hand report.

I had no idea that Mark had two brothers -- and were they at Bethel as well?

Any how, that family was apparently very deeply entrenched in JW land. I wonder, though, if Mark has faded? No reason, on my part, to think that. Maybe just hopeful thinking.

It's doubtful, however, that Tyler is following his family's legacy with the Borg. Not just the beard (although the September 2016 Watchtower has reportedly relaxed that restriction) but his girl friend traveled with him to Peru to keep him company as she caddied for him. Yes, she could have slept on the couch, but I wouldn't bet the farm on that one.