Anyone else had a handwritten letter from the JW recently?
- Thread starter Feek
- Start date
The blood thing is personal choice anyone can make that choice not just JW's.
My mum was a pioneer in the field of bloodless surgery, she had the lower 6 vertebrae of her spine fused in the first bloodless operation of its type in Europe. The operation in it's self was a success and the recovery time was halved because it was bloodless. She has since had 9 other operations that were all bloodless (she is falling apart due to arthritis). Hemacil and other non blood volume expanders and oxygenators are available and have been since the early 70's. Blood is dirty no matter how clean the blood banks make it it's still a dirty and cheap way to operate on people.
Absolutely religion as a whole is a racket, you want to look at money take a peek at the Vatican!
The JW's do not have to give 10% of anything, there is no requirement to do so. A suggested contribution is the same as the tithe that is paid by lots of Catholic, C of E and Muslim people the world over. The tithe suggested by the bible is 10%.
Caporegime
Me and My gf both got one from JW in Sweden.
They must have saved our names cos she was stupid enough to talk to them for ten minutes 3 years ago...
They must have saved our names cos she was stupid enough to talk to them for ten minutes 3 years ago...
I already said I have JWs in my family.
Unsurprisingly I've discussed many things with them and listened to their arguments.
I'm not a JW and they have much higher standards than I do, believe me. To be honest I have nothing but respect for them. They have a level of self-control I could only dream of.
@Johno please? ^^
Maybe ditch your preconceptions and do a quick Google about bloodless.
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Soldato
Lol had one of these a few days ago. Can't remember if it was from the JW's though.
My family have been JWs for over 70 years (grandparents, parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces … you get the idea). I was one of those children that got shuffled from door to door to try and convert people. My childhood was miserable although my parents and family are lovely.
The same for my wife who I met at a circuit convention
I was a born in and was for 25 years until we managed to fade. We had to fade as we made the mistake of getting baptised as JWs. If we hadn’t been baptised, we could have just left the organisation with little or no hard feelings.
Because we were baptised, we then fell under a certain set of shunning rules that would be applied to us if we left or did something that they disagreed with. The shunning rules are so well enforced that all my and my wife’s family that are JW would no longer have any contact with us until we came back into good standing with the organisation. They would literally not talk to us or our children unless it was something like a family funeral and even then it would be pleasantries that you would expect of someone you might have met once and not a family member.
Imagine that, your family not wanting any contact with you at all unless you became a JW again.
The fade is a loophole which allows you to slowly drift away and becomes a don’t ask don’t tell situation. However, if the organisation was to become aware that I’d started going to a different religion, celebrated birthdays or Christmas or just generally badmouthed the organisation, a judicial committee would be formed and we would be formally expelled (disfellowshipped) from the organisation with all the shunning mentioned above then kicking in.
To clear up some of the questions mentioned and not mentioned in the thread.
JW believe that Armageddon will arrive within a generation of 1914 and the 8 or so billion people that are not JW will be killed at this point. There will then follow a thousand years of peace in paradise on earth until the devil is released again for his last try at corrupting people. The generation policy has had to be adapted several times as somewhat inconveniently the generation that saw 1914 has died off.
Members baptised or not are encouraged to preach whenever they can. They feel it is vital to save people from Armageddon. The people mentioned in this thread that are quiet JW ie, I don’t know my work mate was a JW, I would suggest that those people may have doubts or are uncomfortable with identifying as a JW. Recording of any time spent preaching is kept and collated at the end of the month by the congregation so yes, they are counting their time when they are writing their letters.
Higher education is discouraged. Careers are discouraged. Any research that questions JW doctrine is extremely discourage and can have you labelled as an apostate.
Due to the 2-witness rule, it allows paedophiles and sexual assault to go unpunished. (see Australia Royal Commission but this applies worldwide). Elders will encourage victims to go to the police directly but if they will not, they will not do so themselves despite their knowledge of the allegation.
I appreciate FoxEye may have a different view on this and I respect that but my 55 years of being involved with this organisation leads me to know its is a cult and a dangerous one that tears families apart and wastes / destroys the lives of good people.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading my wall of text!
The same for my wife who I met at a circuit convention
I was a born in and was for 25 years until we managed to fade. We had to fade as we made the mistake of getting baptised as JWs. If we hadn’t been baptised, we could have just left the organisation with little or no hard feelings.
Because we were baptised, we then fell under a certain set of shunning rules that would be applied to us if we left or did something that they disagreed with. The shunning rules are so well enforced that all my and my wife’s family that are JW would no longer have any contact with us until we came back into good standing with the organisation. They would literally not talk to us or our children unless it was something like a family funeral and even then it would be pleasantries that you would expect of someone you might have met once and not a family member.
Imagine that, your family not wanting any contact with you at all unless you became a JW again.
The fade is a loophole which allows you to slowly drift away and becomes a don’t ask don’t tell situation. However, if the organisation was to become aware that I’d started going to a different religion, celebrated birthdays or Christmas or just generally badmouthed the organisation, a judicial committee would be formed and we would be formally expelled (disfellowshipped) from the organisation with all the shunning mentioned above then kicking in.
To clear up some of the questions mentioned and not mentioned in the thread.
JW believe that Armageddon will arrive within a generation of 1914 and the 8 or so billion people that are not JW will be killed at this point. There will then follow a thousand years of peace in paradise on earth until the devil is released again for his last try at corrupting people. The generation policy has had to be adapted several times as somewhat inconveniently the generation that saw 1914 has died off.
Members baptised or not are encouraged to preach whenever they can. They feel it is vital to save people from Armageddon. The people mentioned in this thread that are quiet JW ie, I don’t know my work mate was a JW, I would suggest that those people may have doubts or are uncomfortable with identifying as a JW. Recording of any time spent preaching is kept and collated at the end of the month by the congregation so yes, they are counting their time when they are writing their letters.
Higher education is discouraged. Careers are discouraged. Any research that questions JW doctrine is extremely discourage and can have you labelled as an apostate.
Due to the 2-witness rule, it allows paedophiles and sexual assault to go unpunished. (see Australia Royal Commission but this applies worldwide). Elders will encourage victims to go to the police directly but if they will not, they will not do so themselves despite their knowledge of the allegation.
I appreciate FoxEye may have a different view on this and I respect that but my 55 years of being involved with this organisation leads me to know its is a cult and a dangerous one that tears families apart and wastes / destroys the lives of good people.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading my wall of text!
Soldato
I work with a few, they seem keen on public sector jobs.
My 2p - If it's not a cult, then it's borderline. Purely for the control it wields over otherwise intelligent people.
EDIT : Beaten to it more eloquently by tribz. Good read that!
I completely know where you are coming from, I had no contact with my parents and brothers for over 10 years as I disassociated myself from the (then local) congregation.
A lot about the JW's has changed in the last few years rules have been relaxed as they have seen a massive drop off in new intake. So much so that my parents are actually doubting what they are being told... My dad is 75 and a life long JW currently and Elder and was once a circuit (district) overseer (think area manager).
My yonger brother has "fallen away" and no longer attends or is interested in the organisation. My.older brother by contrast was Disfellowshiped 35 years ago, but in the last 10 years has gone back (his wife and in-laws are devout JW's).
It's 100% a cult, blinkering people so they cannot see what's really going on around them.
Soldato
It must be at least 10 years since I had JWs knock on the door. Occasionally see a couple on the high street, can spot them a mile off
Soldato
- Joined
- 19 May 2005
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We got one in early February
I'd imagine a family withdrawing support for their children would be a major inconvenience unless that child was exceptionally self sufficient and willing to accept losing the family by leaving the religion.
Quite modern and acceptable replacement for belief in hell or corporal punishment to suppress your religion's members who want to be different or simply leave.
Thanks, I think I should be ok to leave it up but I appreciate the gesture
Indeed, a lot has changed to try and water it down and make it not so much of a burden for new intakes. I suspect some of the lifers that have seen these changes and also the constant 'new light' doctrine to try fit the timelines may have had their doubts.
The problem is as you know that no outside of the organisation friendships are encouraged so there is no support group for them if they leave. Their whole social structure is built around the members of the congregation who will no longer have any contact with them whatsoever if they decide to leave. That includes immediate and close family and it’s a massive pressure to apply to someone.
Source should anyone want to know more about disfellowshipping / disassociation.
Soldato
I didn't see that, I could just tell from the tone of your posts.
Read Tribz post above? Maybe you should take it in ya know, open your mind a bit because all religion is an absolute disgrace regardless of what form it comes in, it infects the mind like a disease and is responsible for child abuse, misery and death on a daily basis.
The convo you and I were having was solely about bloodless surgery. I think the point is, you shouldn't disregard bloodless surgery because it's something JWs do.
Take everything on its own merit. Could bloodless surgery actually be useful/beneficial? Regardless of any religious association? Turns out, yes, it can.
Btw people can have whatever view of the JWs they like, that's their prerogative. My having family members who are JWs just gives me a bit of an insight into their beliefs and their organisation, and what I see doesn't strike me as anything to be fearful of or strongly opposed to. It works for them and they really don't seem to be hurting anyone.
The only thing I will do here is to correct inaccuracies where I see them.