I realize how many people are sent to "Limbo" of sorts by the WTS. How many JWs quit going, inactive, no meetings for "years," wasn't happy with it but are still "stuck" somewhere in between, not active JWs, feeling condemned by the organization yet still don't stretch themselves to "read" anything to investigate why the organization didn't work for them. My brother got a call from an inactive JW, who hasn't gone in years & not in the association of anyone anyway, not happy with JWdom. My brother asked him if he has read anything about JWs other than JW literature and he never thought of that!??? My daughter recently got on "MySpace" and one fellow has been disfellowshiped about 3 yrs, so not socializing anyway & says he's never going back. Sounded like he too has never gotten beyond, stuck. It's so sad, because so many people are stuck for years in between and they are just a "click" away from so much information to set themselves fully "free."
JWdom "limbo"
by Gayle 7 Replies latest jw friends
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misanthropic
I believe the count would probably be rather high. It took me years of having left and still believing to do any research for myself. I think the society does a very good job of brainwashing with the "ask no questions and just beleive what you're told" way of training, especially if your raised in like I was and know of nothing else.
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steve2
Some people just need lots more time than others to move on. God, it can be hard at the best of times to move on with anything in life: getting over a bad relationship, moving on to better employment, etc. At first, any action they take around the whole issue of leaving is too difficult to even think about.
But with time and reflection along the lines of "What do I really believe?" and "Why am I letting my life be ruled by people I no longer like?" they begine to move further and further away from the religion. That said, I know people who have left the JWs but not its orbit (i.e., they still think like a JW, albeit a sadly inactive one - which seems to be a waste of time because from the JW perspective, inactive ones go down the plug hole like the other billions alive at the time.
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Axeman
"Why am I letting my life be ruled by people I no longer like?"
What about being ruled by those you do like. Like family that shun you because they are under the WT spell I say ruled because you can't change this Like you can open the cage but they won't come out Like hostages who prefer to stay captive They might as well be dead but they are not dead and I can't let go but I know I must
People tend to think of cults as an information problem.A doctrinal problem They are missing the point Cults are a family problem,since a cult is an artificial family that seeks to supersede your own and ultimately destroy it
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SuzieQ
Fear is immobilizing emotionally and mentally. JW's are taught to fear the world and every other organization out there in the world. It is such and intense and personal voiding to be a JW; it is hard to know who you are, let along go to a different place of worship! The meetings were dull, boring, not arousing any spiritual feelings in me personally, that it is hard to imagine going to a similar place where people just want to point out scriptures to prove whatever it is they want to prove. Just can't do it!!!!! SuzieQ Calif.
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Vernon Williams
This is my observation: If anyone thinks I am wrong.....please, let me know.
There are a percentage of people that have exited that turn around and go back in.
Another percentage really "taste the apple." They go for the gusto and really, really indulge in the ice cream and chocolate of Life....heavy on the whipped cream....we will worry about weight gain and health risks, later....
The smallest percent become Christians: these are the coolest of the Christians I have met.
The majority go into a type of spiritual coma: they are spirtually frozen in time: no progress, fear of :"another angle" in looking at things, locked into this self made prison......
My two cents,
V
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blondie
It depends on why they stopped going...personal hurts and disappointments but not taking a closer look at the doctrines behind those things can trap a person in limbo. I was "inactive" once before and went back because I thought I had to be part of some religious organization and the WTS was better than any other religion I knew (and I knew quite a few). I finally left because I felt the WTS was a sham, a lie full of liars and I would rather follow a spiritual life alone than with people who destroyed you personally, directly or indirectly.
Blondie
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steve2
What about being ruled by those you do like.
Good question. At least there is some secondary gain from staying in limbo: Maintaining connection with and the approval of people you actually like. Small consolation - but to some people, maintaining others' approval is more important than almost anything else, including following one's own personal beliefs. I can relate to that because for years I stayed primarily because I did not want to upset the people in my family I loved. But there came a time, I guess, when I realised that the people I thought I loved and liked had a very conditional and judgemental view of me. In my case, I finally grew up and took responsibility for my life instead of hovering in the background trying not to upset these people.