so let me get this straight (page 4)

Cellist

Welcome to the board! Yes, we're a pretty diverse group. Which makes for some interesting reading.

Cellist

4digitcode

wow....thanks guys i do feel so welcome.

i lived in new york city so i know bethel pretty well and the shite that goes on in there as well.

i hope this is the start of a nice and loooooooooong relationship.

bye for now. 4dc

Seeker4

Welcome, 4DC.

Former long time elder, Pioneer, assembly overseer and Pioneer School instructor here.

Now I'm just a simple atheist, rationalist and free thinker making my living as a writer.

Love this site. It can be pretty rough and tumble on here at times when we evolutionist, anti-conspiracy thinkers bang heads on the great playing fields of the free and open debate of ideas with creationists and conspiracy nuts.

But once the battle is over, we dust each other off and go down to the corner pub for a beer or two, where we buy those poor losers a round! (Ha - joking there!)

The open debate of ideas based on evidence, logic and merit. What a (non-JW) concept!! Welcome!

S4

sweet pea

Welcome 4dc. We have a 'brotherhood' here that is stronger than the witness 'brotherhood'. We have all been through tough times and understand where we're all coming from and do not judge. You can be an atheist, born again, agnostic, catholic, protestant, active/inactive witness, active/inactive apostate, whatever and you are welcome and accepted unconditionally. People really do care here and are prepared to truly help one another. People contribute whether they've said the same things a million times before because they understand their words make a difference to people at whatever stage they're at. Quite a unique place all-in-all.

Look forward to hearing more from you.

cultswatter

JWD gets the scoop and the dubs get the poop

ProdigalSon

Welcome 4digitcode I'm a newbie here too, and I probably classified myself as a nut already. Aren't all JW's kinda strange? I was baptized at 12, left at 19, tried to go back at 35 (no Prodigal Sons allowed) and found the truth about the troof last year. Kinda saved me from what I thought was a consignment to the ashpits of Gehenna. My mother is still an active JW, but when I became enlightened, I was pretty much able to undo 37 years of brainwashing inside of 30 minutes. The Tower really stands atop a house of cards. I still can't believe I went through more than half my life believing that Jehovah was really writing that filthy vomit in the books and magazines. It's good to stay in, though, if you can stomach it. They'll need someone around who knows what the hell is going on when they realize they're not going to watch the Great Trib from the sidelines of spiritual paradise while the rest of the world becomes an ashtray!

Flowerpetal

Welcome 4!

In brief, I was raised as a JW, got baptized at 11--stopped attending in 2003 after my mom died. In retrospect, I guess I was on my way out long before that. I was really getting tired of the WTS bashing "Christendom" especially after I had met (on another forum) many people who are professed Christians and are not JWs. I can't argue that they love God and are devoted to serving Him the way they understand Him to be, although I still don't agree that there is a trinity. But as humans, we try to put God in human terms, and so there are all sorts of ways of defining Him. This was about the time I decided to read Crisis of Conscience. A few years later, read In Search of Christian Freedom. Both great books by Ray Franz.

Then about 2 yrs. ago, looking for some kind of different career, I encountered some people who have non-christian beliefs, but still are religious OR spiritual and I see the same sincerity in them as I saw in some professed Christians. So I stopped believing the society's propaganda about anybody who isn't a JW doesn't have the true religion and not performing "true worship" and speak the "pure language",and just accept and respect people for their beliefs, even if they are agnostic or atheist. My best friend is an agnostic.

Look forward to reading more of your posts.

Sarah Smiles

Hello! Happy to read your hear!

I am reinstated ! Hahoooo, it took about 10 or 15 years no more like hmm well a little longer! #*@%!

The day I got reinstated the elders asked me if I knew the J.W. website and I said YES it was JehovahWitness.com. well it was a mistake! The next time, I saw the elders they handed me a paper that had WT quotes one said that these site were just like pornography just don't view it. I thought that was strange! so I wanted to know what was the big deal! It was stupid to compare a forum with a pornography site. In fact right after my elders meeting! one of the elders had a special talk, he said he had been tempted with flashes of pornography on his computer screen but never clicked on to them because it would burn threw to his brain if he did. He also looked at everyones bust during the meetings. He had it soo bad that a pioneer told him to take a picture! and they say the people on these sites have problems! Can you imagine not able to talk to people in years and that is what I get!

It took me awhile but here I am! Ok I typed too much!

WELCOME!

sparrow

welcome! I was DF'd for a few years, was not keen on going back because of some things I personally knew what happened in the cong but STILL felt bad about speaking to a supposedly ex-elder "apostate". A couple of things stuck in my mind so I decided to look for myself. Found my way here and now I wish I did 20 years ago...

I can't believe the feeling the word "apostate" used to have in me and now I want to BE one now I have knowledge...

so let me get this straight

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