Are you sure leaving the JW religion has made your life better?. Lurkers think twice (page 23)

Heaven

It's interesting to read OPs like this. I find it fascinating how dishonesty always pairs with delusion. I prefer honesty and reality thanks, hence my choice to never become a baptized anything.

talesin

YES!!! I am soooo happy I chose freedom over bondage.

It's been a whole lifetime --- I left the b'Org at 18, and am now 53. My decision has wrought some hard times (mostly due to the lack of family support when I was ill), but I have NO REGRETS.

It's been so freeing to NOT have to live by the Society TM 's rules and regulations.

To be the best person I can be, because I CHOOSE THAT PATH... and to have the best friends,,, who truly do love me unconditionally. Never will they abandon me, just because I may disagree with them, especially on an ideological issue.

I LOVE being 'worldly',,, and being able to choose my own path,,, my own friends/family.

tal

sizemik

@Heaven & Talesin . . . such well chosen words . . . honesty, reality, love, freedom. What else is there?

talesin

size,, my brother ...

sizemik

Being JW takes away all of them . . . honesty, reality, love and freedom.

It takes away honesty by forcing children to lie to avoid a beating, to say they love something they don't believe or enjoy. It forces people to lie to remain in a united family, or have any family contact at all. It teaches a lie. And then teaches us to tell it to others. We get to live a lie.

It takes away reality by creating a false world for us to live in where everyone else is evil. We can't do this, we can't do that, we can't wear this, we can't watch that, we can't go here, but we must do this. All the time the "real" world is out there somewhere else. False hopes, false dreams, false friends are all this false world of theirs has to offer. What else can come from it but disappointment? Because it's just not fuckin' real!

It takes away love by having us say goodbye to "worldly" friends and relatives. Good honest people who we should be loving. It replaces it with lovers who have different reasons than the former for loving us. After waking up we see it as a very poor quality of love. Why? . . . because love we find outside is real love . . . yes, love out there in the world is a far better quality love. It's real love.

Being JW takes away our freedom. They take away our freedom to choose, to think, to say, to do, to go . . . it's all laid out by someone else. It all has consequences, ugly consequences. It's psychological, intellectual and arguably physical slavery . . . how much more freedom can you lose?

Freedom is truly known . . . by the captive who has flown. Honesty, reality, love and freedom. Do you really understand the value of these things?

I ask you Mankelli . . . why would anyone in their right mind give these up a second time?

ScenicViewer

That's very good Sizemik. I'm not sure Mankelli has room for the common sense and truthfulness expdressed in your post...he/she/it seems so slanted and disingenuous in his rematks...but the truth of what you have said rings true to many, many people who have had the Watchtower experience.

mankkeli

sizemik - I get your point, but dont lets deceive people with the intention that happy times are ahead once you are out of the borg. From a selfish point of view it appears that the control tactics the borg uses comes along with too many restrictions, but in the long run, it is just the most appropriate measure needed to coordinate decent living and inject sanity into an ever degrading human lifestyle.

You need to remember that in this world, we are not really "free" , even the so-called "freedom of speech" has its own borderline. We are all captive of one thing or the other at every point in time in our lifetime.

My message can be consummated with a proverb that goes this way "The devil we know is better than the God we don't know". That being said, Instead of dragging people out of the borg with our version of twisted speeches and masterful misrepresentation of reality, rather, lets encourage them to make peace and get-by with the reality they are familiar with by enhancing their motivation to keep their senses while serving Jehovah with their fellow brothers.

garyneal

Hey Man,

Why don't you come to either this group or this group and tell all of us former IFB's the same sort of spiel you're telling these former witnesses.

The Independent Fundamental Baptist churches all believe that they are the only church with the correct interpretation of scripture (and therefore, the only true religion), they believe that the world at large is ruled by Satan, they believe that only being active in their church can assure your salvation, and they believe that people who leave are not happy.

Here, I fixed your message in a format that you could take to these groups:

I get your point, but dont lets deceive people with the intention that happy times are ahead once you are out of the IFB. From a selfish point of view it appears that the control tactics the IFB churches use comes along with too many restrictions, but in the long run, it is just the most appropriate measure needed to coordinate decent living and inject sanity into an ever degrading human lifestyle.

You need to remember that in this world, we are not really "free" , even the so-called "freedom of speech" has its own borderline. We are all captive of one thing or the other at every point in time in our lifetime.

My message can be consummated with a proverb that goes this way "The devil we know is better than the God we don't know". That being said, Instead of dragging people out of the IFB with our version of twisted speeches and masterful misrepresentation of reality, rather, lets encourage them to make peace and get-by with the reality they are familiar with by enhancing their motivation to keep their senses while serving God and the church with their fellow brothers.

Violia

My life is better in that I have a clearer understanding of how my life got so screwed up at such a young age and just kept spiraling downward. I went into therapy and kept pushing myself-- even now there are things that are still surfacing. I also notice that some trauma is buried so deep that I can't recall it until that person literally dies. That is some powerful fear. The wts is not conductive to allowing you to explore trauma or have real feelings . We must all be so happy.

" hold your head up.." I say that to myself each day I get up.

ShadesofGrey

Being a JW has taught my daughter to be afraid of death, afraid of the "Great Tribulation" and Armageddon, and afraid that her classmates will all die. If I stay in I am doing that to her. I hope I am a better parent than that. I hope that I love her enough to do better.

This post below is excellent, thank you size.