I really want to go JW but.. (page 3)

fortbethel

All your posts have been informative. thanks.

I do get this feeling that alot of you have been hurt by The Watchtower. You can't find anything good about it? The liberation from holidays, strong family bonding ect. If you've been shuned by your families that is indeed sad. But this EPIC rage. It's sad.

OnTheWayOut

You can liberate from holidays and birthdays if you want. Nobody needs someone to threaten them with shunning if they give their daughter a birthday cake or if they watch RUDOLF THE RED-NOSED REINDEER on television.

Strong family bonding is an illusion. JW's isolate from non-JW family by immersing themselves into the JW lifestyle and avoiding family gatherings on holidays. They tell grandparents to shun grandchildren that were baptized as pre-teens then leave Watchtower. They experience divorce like any other group.

Do yourself a favor, read two very very very important books.
1. Crisis of Conscience by Raymond Franz

2. Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan

garyneal

The liberation from holidays, strong family bonding ect. If you've been shuned by your families that is indeed sad. But this EPIC rage. It's sad.

Why do you need a religion to liberate you from holidays? If you do not want to partake in them then don't.

Family bonding? Lots of families do this in other religions. Lots of them also do it without religion. If you want to bond with the Watchtower family, that is your perogative, but I don't see where the Watchtower has cornered the market on that.

So what do YOU want to do?

serenitynow!

Strong family bonding among the JWs. Really? If you should have an original thought, boom- you're out of the family. Just last week I talked to my aunt about the concerns I had about the org. One strong bone of convention for me was that as a JW you are not allowed to read the scriptures and come to your own conclusions about the meaning. I definitely disagree with their interpretation of Matthew 24. My aunt told me if I am not going to be a JW anymore, we dont really have anything in common anymore. She's my mother's sister; so much for blood being thicker than water.

sizemik

But this EPIC rage. It's sad.

Cause and effect my friend . . . every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Think about it.

mrsjones5

Strong family bonding? My father (a jw) won't talk to me (not a jw and never been baptized as such) because I won't leave my husband (a nonjw). That's some strong family bond for ya.

InterestedOne

fortbethel wrote:

You can't find anything good about it?

Just today a friend of mine interacted with some JW's who were doing some contracting work for her. She remarked how well-mannered they were and that she would rather deal with JW's than the other options in our neighborhood - we live in a not-so-nice part of a city. I was never a JW, but I studied with them for a little over 9 months because I became acquainted with a JW and wanted to familiarize myself with her beliefs. From what I have learned about their beliefs, I think the negative aspects of their worldview (e.g. believing the world is run by demons and that non-JW's are under the influence of satan) outweigh the positive aspects, such as being well-mannered.

You can develop good manners, love your family, and choose whether or not to bother with holidays without believing the world is run by demons or that non-JW's are under the influence of satan.

Sam Whiskey

Woohooo!

http://www.xmasclock.com/

FollowedMyHeart

I grew up a JW and never knew most of my relatives because they were not JWs. The grandparents, aunts, and uncles that I did know were not much more than acquaintances because they were "worldly". My parents were the only ones in either of their families to be JW so I grew up without any family interaction. Now that I'm not a JW, my mom won't even make eye contact with me. I am dead to her. AND I have no relationship with my "worldly" relatives either. I am just now starting to get to know some them, but it's a long, slow process because they don't know me, either.

Even if you do have family that are JWs, they will still treat you like dirt if they feel that you are not strong enough Witnesses. My ex's family taught me that.

So, "strong family bonding"? Yeah, like the mob.

FM

I really want to go JW but..

Diest