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Category: VirusHead

JW Materials Feedback and Discussion

JW Materials Feedback and Discussion

The Positive


I am an ex JW and I very much like your balanced advice to ex JW web page. I too am a bit of a Theoryhead. At present I am reading Habermas’ “Theory of Communicative Action.” Robert Kegan is great too (self proclaimed “postmodern constructive developmentalist”). Thanx for the web site. I just felt compelled to say HI! to a fellow EX-JW Brainiac. – Tom M


I have recently left the JW organization and as I began to search and study like a black hole taking in information, I found your site. Wow, wonderful! Very helpful ideas, but mostly I appreciate the non-hateful atmosphere! I have felt like I have been in a tight coil on the inside of the beginning of the coil. Now I am stepping slowly out and bigger. I have read things about the bible I did not know! I have read others thoughts like Baruch Spinoza, great things to think on. I feel like my brain is on fire! I am 47 but feel like an infant in many ways, it’s great. Thanks Again for the site! – Ronda


Hi. Enjoyed your site and your good advice. – AJ


The Negative


(1st contact) A lot of your content of Jehovah’s Witnesses is not close to their actual belief structure or organizational policies. Simple fact checking even from a third party source would keep things factual. I am a former witness and noticed your lack of clarity on several subjects. But I do not wish to continue talking, just a comment. (2nd contact) I am a former. Outside of the jokes there are many points that do not line up with even basic research into the organization. Take your outlook and perspective and just go to a reliable source and compare. – “Kristian” (no response on a request for examples)


The Well-Intentioned (?)


Cramped and narrow is the road leading to life and few are the ones finding it. Why did you fall off the path? Please don’t become blinded like the unbelievers. – “Jane Doe”


(1st contact) Are you a believer in Jesus as the way for salvation? I’m just curious. Since you left JW, I would think that you came to understand the full truth of the Gospel. Jesus states that He is the “truth” and to know him is to know God. (2nd contact) I agree Heidi! It’s not about a creed.
The truth is that it’s about a relationship. With the one true God, who is Jesus Christ. All truth is available if you ask for it. Just ask God to show you the truth about Jesus His Son, and God will reveal the truth. 100% guaranteed. (3rd contact) Thanks for responding. I still think it’s cool that you express so much creativity on your web site, and you expose the errors within the J.W. belief system.
– John


Bits of Ongoing Conversations


I have been doing a lot of research and I can really see that the JW’s are REALLY brainwashed! My parents are a prime example! They do nothing for my kids and the everytime they talk to my now 16yr old they tell her that if she doesn’t go to the KH that her life is in danger and it’s to the point where she hates talking to them. But at the same time she wishes they were normal grandparents. It is a very lonely situation. I have to struggle to work to take care of my kids and my parents do not help us at all but if we went to the meetings I know they would help us. But I shouldn’t have to do that! I am reading alot about ex JW’s having alot of mental and emotional problems due to growing up that way. I can honestly see why! I am still very angry! YOU need to write a book about this subject because I really am seeing a growing trend of these individuals not knowing how to cope or live in the real world!


It took me about a decade to completely break free, and there was a lot of guilt and remorse and fear that was included in that process. I was disfellowshipped once and have disassociated myself twice and don”t quite understand how they call themselves Christians or say they are loving. My parents look down there noses and judge me constantly, making snide remarks and jabs whenever possible. Most people don’t understand, unless they were in a cult themselves how difficult it is to step away from, and that it is developing a COMPLETELY new life. You can just walk away from most churches, but not them. I’d also like to tell you about a friend of mine who left Jehovah’s Witnesses and became a Non-Denominational Pastor. She’s been working on me to go to church, but I can’t bring myself to do it. – Leslie


Thanks so much for such excellent ex jw tips. I just left several months ago after over 20 yrs. I’ve had some very low days,some feeling extreme fear & anxiety,ect, but all in all I’m patting myself on the back for having the courage to leave. I’m hoping i’m one of the fortunate ones that wasn’t brought up in their org. & i was not married to one. I’m still at a loss of questioning “why did jesus say “God’s word is truth” (or is it their interpretation of it).Also,are we not living in the last day of this systems & isn’t it logical God will step in to get rid of ones ruining his earth? I know for sure, tho they are abusive,authoritarian but isn’t the bible still the word of our creator? Plus, I also wanted to ask, has anyone in canada ever sued the WB&Tract society for their deception & won damages? Plus what is truly behind all their subliminal sentences & illustrations that I examined in their mags & other publications. That was the “last straw” for me. Thanks, kj.


I realise that from his upbringing and his family that he will never be baptised and will probably just be in a limbo for the rest of his life with his religion and really all I can do is support him and show him that no matter what he will always have a place to be whoever he wants with me. He doesn’t need to pretend. Thank you so much for getting back to me. You’ve certainly helped and it’s nice to hear from you. I think I will pray for him. – A


I have a question about Bible interpretation concerning the New World Translation, and how the NWT came about to translate John 1:1.. I already understand much about this interpretation where it came from Westcott’s and Hort’s The New Testament in Original Greek. Now I understand that a group of scholars would usually be presented with many manuscripts and decide, with all in mind, which would reflect the intention of the author. Now if we examine John 1:1 in a Greek grammatical sense one would come to the conclusion that “and the word was a god” would not obey the rules of grammar. Because I, already, as I said before have some kind if understanding on this subject, I have come to the conclusion that when scholars chose to use the words “and the word was God” although taught in the doctrine of the Trinity do not come as though they interpret the manuscripts as conforming to holy doctrine but come to the conclusion that this would be the true meaning and intent of the original authors. Why did the NWT committee choose to include their interpretation in their text? When the NWT bible committee claims to use the Greek, Aramaic scriptures for translation who is to say that other scholars have not used the same manuscripts for translation? I guess my question is why does the NWT use this interpretation when it chooses its scripture? You can provide me with your opinion on the subject and maybe some analysis? Thank you. – Vincent


At Romans 16:1 Paul says “I recommend to you our sister Phoebe a minister (servant or deaconess depending on translation) of Cenchreae’s congregation,” and he asks that she be assisted because she defended many including himself (16:2) Prisca, (or Priscilla) with her husband Aquilla risked their lives for Paul, kept a congregation in their home (Ro 16:3), took in Apollos and instructed (=taught) him even more correctly about God (Ac 18:26). Paul said let older respectable women be “TEACHERS” of goodness although he added that haughty or noisy women must not teach or disrupt meetings (1Co 14:33-4), something obviously true also for haughty or noisy men.

Many women ministered to Christ and the 12 apostles, were among the 120 getting Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Ac 1:14) and prophesied (Ac 2:17-8). Notable New Testament women include Lydia, Dorcas, and Martha. Old Testament ones include Esther, Ruth, Naomi, Martha, Sarah, Hulda. Judges says Deborah was a Judge or leader against foes even as was Samson. The Bible says males and females are one in Christ (Ga 3:28, Ac 10:34).

Each Christian group decides if a respectable Christian woman is in fact ministering for them and others (Ro 4:15, 14:1-5, 1 Cor 10:23). Being a minister is not properly a position of power and control over others, but an untitled condition of humble, helpful service, an acknowledgment of what one is by deeds and attitude. In 111 A.D. not long after John’s death, Pliny the Younger noted he had had two women tortured for being deaconesses (congregational servants) which also helps show the continual service rendered by women throughout Bible history and up to today. – JM


For your use from someone who spent 45yrs as a JW – Kind regards, Mike

The NSCFC launches Support & Advice for Existing or Ex Jehovah’s Witnesses

The UK charity…National Society for Children and Family Contact (NSCFC) now extends its Free and Confidential service in support of the long-term effects and sufferings of existing and ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses.
An increasingly concerning cause of Family Breakdown of an insidious nature is the result of the affiliation of at least one Family Member to this powerfully controlling religious Organisation.

1/ Any religious organisation that separates Family Members using Mind Control via fear of ostracism and everlasting death must be challenged in the best interest of The Children, Family Life and Society as a whole.

2/ Dictating an individual’s Human Right to contact with family members, especially The Children, clearly threatens the bonds, unity and natural love within the family Unit.

3/ The resulting Damage is so great that many adults, teenagers and children continue to feel the emotional and psychological effects long after successfully pulling away from such an Organisation.
For this reason we have brought onboard ex members all of whom have vast experience in how best to face, overcome and survive subtle mind control albeit mental, emotional or physical, which can and does include child abuse and other unlawful acts, the like of which is covered up by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (WTBTS) Headquarter secrecy dictates, to the exclusion of the police and local authorities and well documented as such worldwide. Suffice to say, we want to expose any form of child abuse be it sexual or otherwise. We wish to provide assistance to victims who have been molested as children and silenced from speaking out or seeking proper assistance as directed by any religious authority. So please, if you were, are and know of any such victim or perpetrator, then why not help yourself and or save others also, for indeed just as it is written “the truth will set you free”. Please Contact Us Online or Phone 0870 794 0075

National Society for Children and Family Contact (NSCFC) is a registered charity which believes that continuing contact with a child’s parents or extended family after separation or divorce is vital for the child’s balanced development and it works tirelessly to foster those all-important family contacts. As such we offer free support and advice to all those in need. Helpline at National rate on 0870 794 0075 or at www.nscfc.com

Mike Ellis
Chairman: National Society for Children and Family Contact
Tel: UK 0870 794 0075
www.nscfc.com

Poem: The Vine

Poem: The Vine

The Vine — A VirusHead Poem

All this talk of trees, on and on for the phallic market
Strategies of an oily snake for leafage sales (once his hanging
Globulars were taken). Sublime awareness must be more
Than a petty lesson from a parent uncomfortable
With the shape of fruition, death more complex
Than effect catalyzed by theft of figgish ‘apple’, or …
Lest we ruin another ancient secret, the swords still whirl.
But there was a gift, a scion, benevolent mutation,
An ancient cousin, less fond of the veil game,
Connections ‘r us – in moderation, not that there’s anything
Wrong with that. Playfully, the vine invites us:

‘Yes. Take, eat, suckle, nibble, drink’ – a homeopathic dose –
The measured amount that nourishes just enough,
(Just barely enough) on the wastes of flesh, for the new
Sinuous snake of wordflesh to spread, and
Not to burn. Note the nice black snakeskin cover.
What is good? What is evil? Forget fruits, we have
The BOOK. Stroke it. Hold it in your hand. Yes, it’s a fetish.
No fast-talker, this, but a breed of medusa. Don’t look!
Or not so closely that you get lost, but turn a mirror back
On the endless reflexivity. There is a back door.

A glimpse we have, and still unguarded,
A taste of the kiss of veritas. Glory seed, it waits
In cold confining, firmly packed and heavy,
Odorous manure of word, tradition, interpretation,
Community’s spores – embedded soldiers –
Shovel it, and spread thick muddy mundacity, while busy
Microbial servants work endlessly, and so, so fruitlessly,
To keep things clean. But they can’t stop it.
Reaching out, tendrils wisp and unfurl – beauty!
Out of the pungent darkness, a tiny finger
Crawls out of its tunnel and is born into the light. Free but rooted,
Held but yearning, the spirit of the vine.
Was there ever a more pleasing green?

Though it would, the vine cannot touch the sky.
It must – at its limit – extend horizontally, like
The famous crossbeam on the hill. Infected by the spirit,
You are, but the blood of it might not be what you expected.
Watch out for stomping peasants.
Rambling through the billion intersections
Of light and darkness and twilight and moonrise,
Absorbing rain and glare and breezy accidents
Of hills state and province, all with vineyard care
into a shimmering feedback loop, it forms
An eternal recurrence, the golden mean in fractal path,
Perfect, perfect imperfection. Like the face of
The lover, experience marking the quality
Of the vintage, the bouquet… the aftertaste.

The very sunlight is touched, and lovers
Everywhere feel it, as they lie intertwined
With and around and within each other
Under the bluer sky. You might not like
The hoofed Dancer, but those pipes were jazz.
Rhythm and melodic joy brought them up to
Dance and love and feel the world worlding,
Silly, erotic, full of life – even violent –
Just as (un)truthful, maybe (un)lying.
But some still choose to whisper “die”
Painting nature’s music the devil, the adversary,
Only to find themselves pulled by karma’s trowel,
Just dour weeds, withering now so close
Touching close, to the vibrancy
Of what they refused to know
While they lived by the scythe.

Your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Lady Fortune the Absurd of Greater Internetshire presents – Your very own eccentric British aristocratic title:

For my real name:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Entirely Miss Reverend Lady Heidi the Abrupt of Withering Glance
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

For my internet name:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Empress Virushead the Gnomic of Lardle St Earache
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

For a couple of my aliases:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Her Grace Lady Melody the Decent of Divine Intervention
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title
My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Reverend Countess Faelily the Blossoming of Mousehole by Sea
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title
Donate for Watchtower Blood Lawsuit

Donate for Watchtower Blood Lawsuit

I’ve made a donation myself and I hope that you can send any amount via PayPal or postal service. It’s a reasonable fund-raising goal and I think it is very important to support this case. One man against the whole legal apparatus of the Watchtower Society is facing a hard road but there is a chance here for some amount of accountability. Here is the letter from Barbara Anderson:

Dear Friends,

For those unfamiliar with Lawrence Hughes, he’s a 55-year-old Canadian (Calgary, Alberta) architectural technician whose 16-year-old daughter Bethany was diagnosed in February 2002 with acute myeloid leukemia. The conventional treatment is chemotherapy with blood transfusions, treatment resisted by the Hughes family because they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. It was late afternoon, Feb. 13, 2002, when Lawrence Hughes and his wife were told by the local Hospital Liaison Committee (HLC) of Jehovah’s Witnesses that the Watch Tower Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses Corporate head) had already dispatched lawyers who were on their way to Calgary to represent the family.

In the hospital, Witnesses were standing guard in shifts in Bethany’s hospital room, to make sure no one forced Bethany to take blood, choking the corridor and pressing religious tracts on everybody. Hughes says Watch Tower representatives promised Bethany her resistance would be celebrated in the church publication Awake! That magazine, in the mid-1990s, fed a thirst for martyrdom with a cover showing the smiling photos of 26 “Youths Who Put God first,” by dying after refusing treatment.

After obtaining medical opinions, the Director of Child Welfare appealed to the Provincial Court to gain control of Bethany’s medical treatment. Control was granted on February 18, 2002 and medical treatment commenced over the objections of Bethany. By this time Lawrence Hughes was supportive of the blood transfusion treatment, but his wife was opposed.

The order was appealed but dismissed because the Court concluded that the treatment was in Bethany’s best interests. The Court determined Bethany to be a mature minor and entitled to be consulted, but decided that she was not in a position to make independent decisions about her treatment.

Shane Brady and David Gnam are Watch Tower attorneys and also Jehovah’s Witnesses. They represented Bethany and her mother in the appeal. Hughes endeavored to have them removed as counsel for Bethany on allegations of conflict of interest but was defeated. Brady and Gnam appealed to the Court of Appeal to stop the transfusions, but their appeal was dismissed. Also, leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was refused.

By July 2, 2002, Bethany received some 80 transfusions, but the treatment was not effective and the doctors decided no more transfusions for Bethany. By her insistence, she was discharged from Alberta Children’s Hospital on July 13, 2002 and immediately sought an alternate form of treatment, namely, arsenic trioxide and Vitamin C, at Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton under the care of Drs. Turner and Belch. Bethany died September 5, 2002.

When Lawrence Hughes rejected Jehovah’s Witnesses teachings on blood transfusions and agreed to allow Bethany to undergo transfusions during her chemotherapy treatments, this, in effect, destroyed his marriage and he was shunned by Jehovah’s Witnesses. He and his wife divorced, October 2003.

After the court approved Hughes as an administrator of his daughter’s estate, he began litigation in 2004 on behalf of his daughter’s estate and in his own right against: Shane Brady, David Gnam, Merrill Morrell, Thomm Bokor, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada, Dr. A. Robert Turner, Dr. Andrew Belch, Cross Cancer Institute, and Alberta Cancer Board in a $1-million wrongful death suit. He alleged, amongst other things, inappropriate treatment of his daughter by the doctors at Cross Cancer institute; a conspiracy to prevent her from getting the proper treatment, and undue influence of his daughter causing her to withhold her consent to appropriate medical treatment.

In February 2006, the Watch Tower Society and its lawyers brought an action to strike out the statement of claim. Subsequently, the court struck out all of Hughes claims. He appealed the decision. On September 1, 2007, the Appeal Court agreed with the lower court except on two major claims—that Hughes has the right to sue the Watch Tower and its attorneys for deceit and misrepresentation; (Hughes contends that it was the attorneys who convinced Bethany, a minor, to go with the arsenic treatment. They misrepresented the benefits of withholding blood transfusions by pointing out to her that chemotherapy/blood transfusion protocol for her leukemia was experimental, which the high court stated was not.) Previously, in the lower court, Hughes had been removed as administrator of Bethany’s estate, but the Appeal Court ruled that Hughes should be restored as administrator. The decisions meant that Hughes could proceed with his legal action on behalf of his daughter’s estate over allegations the church’s influence hastened her death. Part of his argument will be that his daughter’s death certificate states her death was due to arsenic poisoning.

A while back, producers at the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) Television Network planned to do a documentary on Lawrence Hughes’s case, but changed their minds when his lawsuit was thrown out. However, when he appealed the lower court decision, and the Court of Appeal overturned the previous decision in Hughes favor, re-instating him as the Administer Ad Litem of his daughter’s estate (being Administrator Ad Litem now gives him certain powers that places him in a good position legally), CBC producers once again contacted him to say they were interested in doing the one hour documentary.

As his daughter’s representative in behalf of her estate, Hughes asked Bethany’s lawyers to give him a list of the documents they possess in her file which relate to the “wrongful death” lawsuit that he has filed against them and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Inc. of Canada, who they also represent. However, the attorneys are claiming Client/Counsel Privilege and refuse to provide an Affidavit of Records or give him pertinent documents. The hearing was April 16th and now he’s waiting for the decision. However, the court did rule Defendants can’t introduce videos taken of Bethany into the next court hearing, May 29th, where their application for Summary Judgment is to be argued.

If Lawrence Hughes loses Summary Judgment, the lawsuit will be dead. This means that CBC may decide not to do a documentary. It is very important that Hughes receive donations to hire an attorney. Hughes, representing himself, was in court as many as five times in the past few months. The attorney who was assisting him is running for political office and no longer has time for Hughes lawsuit. There is a law firm that has expressed interest in representing him but requires a retainer of $5,000. Simply put, Lawrence Hughes is broke and worn out. He has spent nearly $50,000, some of that money being donated. Because the Watchtower lost the decision at the Appeal Court level, under Canadian law the loser has to pay all the other side’s cost of litigation. Within a few months, with an attorney’s assistance, Hughes will be able to collect his past expenses from Watchtower and should be able to carry on with future expenses of the lawsuit without further donations—that is—if he wins Summary Judgment.

Simply put, right now Hughes is not able to pay any attorney a $5,000 retainer, and without the money, an attorney will not take the case. Not having an attorney to represent him means he will most likely lose the court hearing at the end of May. This could end CBC’s interest in doing a one hour documentary for TV.

Lawrence Hughes has pointed out that Bethany’s attorneys are employed by the Toronto law firm, W. Glen How and Associates. In reality, though, this law firm is a front for the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the corporate entity used by Jehovah’s Witnesses, and headquartered in Georgetown, Ontario. The facts are that Watchtower’s Legal Department is made up of these same attorneys who work with W. Glen How and Associates, and, Attorney, W. Glen How, is an important Jehovah’s Witness in Canada.

For decades, W. Glen How and Associates have been deceiving courts and the public by deliberately misrepresenting themselves as an independent law firm which, they say, occasionally represents Jehovah’s Witnesses. This “independent law firm” assertion is found in their Notice of Motion and, as such, the attorneys with W. Glen How and Associates contend they did not have a conflict of interest when representing Hughes’s daughter and her mother. Although the attorneys are Jehovah’s Witnesses and work with a law firm that was and continues to be a front for the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, they claim they gave Lawrence Hughes’s 16-year old Witness daughter and her Witness mother, proper, unbiased legal advice. Hughes discounts this assertion and believes it is important that people write the media in Calgary, Alberta, the Law Society of Alberta and the Law Society of Upper Canada to expose this deception of W. Glen How and Associates.

The following is a list of lawyers that have been involved in this case on behalf of Bethany, her mother, and the Watchtower Society over the past six years. Lawrence expects he will be up against most or all of these lawyers at the May 29th and 30th court hearing:

David Gnam, Watchtower Society (a.k.a.:W. Glen How and Assoc.), Georgetown, Ont.
Shane Brady, Watchtower Society (a.k.a.:W. Glen How and Assoc.), Georgetown, Ont.
John Burns, Watchtower Society (a.k.a.:W. Glen How and Assoc.), Georgetown, Ont.
Daniel Pole, Watchtower Society (a.k.a.:W. Glen How and Assoc.), Georgetown, Ont.
David Day, Lewis Day, St. John’s, Newfoundland
Terry Davis, Parlee McLaws, Calgary, Alberta
Jeremy Hockin, Parlee McLaws, Edmonton, Alberta
Eugene Meehen, Lang Michener, Ottawa, Ontario
Philip Huband, Calgary, Alberta
Allan Ludkiewicz, Ludkiewicz, Bortoluzzi, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Also, two of the largest law firms will be representing the doctors and hospital:

David Steele, Bennet Jones, Calgary, Alberta
Brent Windwick, Field, Calgary, Alberta.

On May 29th and 30th, as usual, Lawrence Hughes expects he will be standing alone on one side of the court room representing himself. On the other side of the court room will be a crowd of lawyers, mostly senior partners in these large firms; the Jehovah’s Witness Lawyers; HLC members, and members of Jehovah Witnesses. As you can see, he is vastly out-numbered. He asks that you pray that he succeeds in this endeavor.

Few people in Hughes’s financial situation can expect to win a lawsuit in Canada against an extremely wealthy religious organization such as the Watchtower Society. However, Hughes has always believed that winning is possible with help from a group of persons. As long as this lawsuit continues, it will mean more ongoing worldwide news coverage exposing the Watchtower Society, which might put enough pressure on them to put an end to their ban on the use of blood transfusions for Jehovah’s
Witness patients in need of such. This would then stop many pointless and unnecessary deaths. And if Hughes wins this lawsuit, it could be instrumental in other people suing the Watchtower for causing loved ones to refuse a life-saving blood transfusion and then die. Thus, this could be another way this religious organization will be forced to change its “blood ban” or go bankrupt from litigation.

Money donated to this cause in the past has helped Lawrence Hughes accomplish so many positive things. He had a land-mark win; and the massive Canadian media coverage about the lawsuit and subsequent victory has been invaluable to show Canadians how harmful this organization’s policies are. Let’s keep up the momentum.

If just 500 people contribute $10.00, Hughes will have the $5,000 necessary for the attorney retainer. Please put $10.00 in an envelope and send it to him. And tell your friends. Just think what we can accomplish together to help this man win his lawsuit! If he does not win, none of us will have lost much money, but we will have the satisfaction that we tried to help.

For those who would like to contribute more, Hughes has set up and registered a
trust fund in the Province of Alberta named, WATCHTOWER LAWSUIT. He also has opened a bank account by that same name and arranged for a chartered registered accountant to do a financial statement each year. Anyone who donates and asks will receive a copy of that statement. As soon as a law firm comes on board, an attorney will take care of the fund. When this lawsuit is won, donations will be returned.

And for the convenience of contributors, a Paypal account has been opened and a donation can be made at the following email address: watchtowerlawsuit@yahoo.com.

Your check or $10 cash money can be mailed to:

WATCHTOWER LAWSUIT
Lawrence Hughes
Box 20161
Calgary Place RPO
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
T2P4J2

Thank you,

Barbara Anderson and other friends of Lawrence Hughes

(thanks to Brenda Lee)