by dm6 44 Replies latest forum suggestions
Dm6,
You might feel silly for posting this thread, but it's not a rare question for an exJW to ask. This is a good thread to look back on if you ever start thinking that way again. It is also a good resource for someone who may be asking themselves the same question, so maybe you've helped someone without knowing it!
Hang in there!
The question I ask is why are you considering going back, what do you expect to happen if you do?
If you expect joining the Watchtower (or any other religion) to be the elixir that solves life's problems, I think you'll be disappointed later on. After the initial enchantment with the new experience wears off, it needs to continue working on a day to day, long term basis.
On the other hand, opting for a religious affiliation because it fits you is like marriage to a spouse who is complementary to you, and you to them. It strengthens and enhances the persons you already are, just as you do for them. It's about each party actively benefitting the other, not mere hope that being with them will do something for you.
So, before you make that committment, examine the situation carefully:
Honest reflection on these questions will lead you to the choice that's best for you. Please choose wisely.
Like the majority of posters on this thread, my choice is not the Watchtower organization.
Darren,
I feel they do teach some truth. But they, the Watchtower Society, will always use the truth as a hook to reel you in. Then they'll try to convince you, otherwise called "studying the Bible", to do what they teach and what do they exactly teach in most Study edition Watchtowers? To follow men. To follow the Governing Body and their lackeys, that is the District and Circuit overseers and the elders in every local congregation.
Would you allow God to tell you what to do? If it was written in the Bible that you had to do this or that?
Well, you may not want any person telling you what to do, but the studies are actually not Bible studies, they are Watchtower publication studies designed to influence your decisions based on scriptures they quote or reference out of the New World Translation with it's biased translation. They'll try to convince you that to do different from what they teach is to go against the Bible and against God.
So if you really have a love for God or the Bible, then read the Bible. Try to get a version that has a lot of notes like the Quest Bible, or the Holman study version, or use http://biblos.com and read it for yourself, don't just take what they say at face value, they are sincere people, many of them, but they are victims of mind control who have been trained to try anything to reel you in. So if you believe in God then try to get closer to Him through his Word and pray for Holy Spirit to help you understand. You don' need anyone to tell you what the Bible says if you are a Bible reader, right?
BTW I found Ray Franz's books, especially In Search of Christian Freedom to be a breath of fresh air compared to the stuffy study editions of the Watchtower. You can get a PDF online version of that book very cheap at http://www.commentarypress.com
Darren, cattails correctly states that they "will always use the truth as a hook to reel you in." Remember this: If you don't do as told you can never be fully "in." It's not possible. Now many who are JWs find a measure of peace flying under the radar and doing what they please without getting caught. But they are the "weak" ones who "can never get their act together" in the mionds of JWs. In some congregations they get "marked" and on the "outside." If you're not in, why enter a situation like that? It's very schizophrenic. It generally leaves peole conflicted and chasing their tails when they could be out in the "real world" with all of us making life happen for them. Just some thoughts.
Isaac
Hey, don't worry about it. I've done some slightly crazy/emotional posts that I've later found myself wishing that I could delete. It's part of being open with people on here, sometimes you'll say something and wonder why you did, but it was just how you felt at the time. If it makes you feel any better, the link in cattails post looks quite interesting to me, so you may have helped me by starting this thread without knowing, as BP said could happen. The only thread that could be a waste of time is one that receives no replies.. This clearly hasn't been.
