Frequently Asked Questions

Who's behind this site?

There are a number of sites on the internet where Jehovah’s Witnesses can go to gripe about the Organization.  This is not one of them.  Our purpose is to study the Bible in freedom and share Christian fellowship.  Many of those reading and/or regularly contributing to the site via comments are Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Others have left the Organization or have little contact with it.  Still others have never been Jehovah’s Witnesses but are attracted to the Christian community that has grown up around the site over the past few years.

Preserving your anonymity

Many who genuinely love truth and enjoy unfettered Bible research have expressed appreciation for the freedom of expression that this forum provides.    However, the climate in the community of Jehovah’s Witnesses these days is such that any independent research that falls outside of organizational guidelines is strongly discouraged.  The spectre of disfellowshipping hangs over any such venture, creating a climate of real fear not unlike that of Christians worshipping under ban.  In effect, we must carry on our research underground.

Browsing Our Site Safely

You can of course read the posts and comments on this site safely as passive reads are not tracked. However, if others have access to your computer, they can see what sites you have visited by scanning your browser history.  You should therefore clear your browser history regularly.  If you do not know how to do this, the solution is easy no matter what device you use.  Simply open the search engine of your choice (I prefer google.com) and type “how do I clear the history on my [name of your device]” .  That will give you all the information you will need.

Following the Site Safely

If you click the “Follow” button you’ll be notified by email every time a new post is published.  There is no danger as long as your email is private.  However, a word of warning.  If you read email on your phone or tablet, there is always the possibility that someone will see it.  I was at the hall the other day in the men’s bathroom doing what men do in the bathroom when a brother came in and saw my iPad which I had just laid on the counter.  Without so much as a ‘by your leave’ he scooped it up and turned it on.  Fortunately, I have mine password protected, so he couldn’t gain access.  Otherwise, if the last thing I’d been reading was my email, he would have seen it as  his first screen.  If you don’t know how to password protect your device, just go back to google and type something like “How do I password protect my iPad [or whatever device it is]”.

Commenting Anonymously

If you wish to comment or ask questions, how can you preserve your anonymity?  It is actually quite easy.  I recommend you create an anonymous email address using a provider like Gmail.  Go to gmail.com and then click the Create an Account button.  When prompted for First and Last name, use a made up name.  Likewise for your username/email address.  Make sure to use a strong password.  Do not give your real birthday. (Never give your real birthday on the internet as this helps identity thieves.)  Do not fill out the mobile phone and current email address fields. Complete the other obligatory fields and you’re done.

Obviously, you will not want to upload a photo if you are trying to protect your anonymity.

Now when you click the Follow button on the Beroean Pickets site, use your anonymous email address to complete the form.

For even greater anonymity—if you are either paranoid or just very cautious—you can use an IP address masker.  Your IP address is attached to every email you send.  This is the address that your internet service provider gives you and will tell the recipient your general location, should he take the effort to look it up.  I just looked up mine and it shows as Delaware, USA.   However, I don’t live there.  (Or do I?)  You see, I use an IP masking utility.  You don’t need to go to this extent if you never use your new email address, but if you do, you can download a product like Tor Browser from this location: https://www.torproject.org/download/download

This will work with your browser so that when you access the internet, any site you go to will be given a proxy email address. It may appear that you’re in Europe or Asia to any who choose to try to track you down.

The instructions are pretty straight forward and are provided by the Tor web site.

For some additional security guidelines Click Here

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments.  However, as with any responsible web site, there are acceptable rules of conduct that are maintained for the well-being of the user community.

Our main concern is to preserve an environment of trust, supportive companionship and encouragement, where Jehovah’s Witnesses who are awakening to the reality of the Organization can come to feel both understood and secure.

Because the Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses, like the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day, will persecute by expulsion anyone who differs with their personal interpretation of the Scriptures, it is advisable that all commenters use an alias. (John 9:22)

Since we will be approving all comments in the interest of ensuring an up-building environment, we will require all commenters to provide a valid email address which we will treat with the strictest confidentiality.  That way if there is any reason to block a comment, we will be able to inform the commenter to enable him/her to make the appropriate adjustments.

When making a comment in which you wish to expound some particular Bible teaching, please note that we require all to provide proof from Scripture. Stating a belief that is nothing more than a person opinion is allowed, but please state that it is your own opinion and nothing more. We do not want to fall into the trap of the Organization and requires others to accept our speculation as fact.

Note: To comment, you must be logged in.  If you do not have a WordPress Log In username, you can obtain one by using the Meta link in the sidebar.

 

 

Adding formatting to your comments

T

How to Implement Formatting in your Comments

When creating a comment, you can implement formatting using angle bracket syntax: “</>”  Some examples are shown below.

BoldFace

This code:  <strong>Boldface</strong>

Will produce this result: Boldface

Italics

This code: <em>Italics</em>

Will produce this result: Italics

A Clickable Hyperlink

Check out <a href=”http://www.discussthetruth.com/” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>Discuss the Truth</a>.

Will look like this:

Check out Discuss the Truth.

here are a number of sites on the internet where Jehovah’s Witnesses can go to gripe about the Organization.  This is not one of them.  Our purpose is to study the Bible in freedom and share Christian fellowship.  Many of those reading and/or regularly contributing to the site via comments are Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Others have left the Organization or have little contact with it.  Still others have never been Jehovah’s Witnesses but are attracted to the Christian community that has grown up around the site over the past few years.

Translation

Authors

Topics

Articles by Month

Categories