Does being called an 'apostate' upset you? (page 2)

Beck_Melbourne

I have been called worse things...like a 'stinking' apostate! Better then being called 'sistah' again!

Beck

hillary_step

I have no problem with the label 'apostate'.

Like COMF, I am fully aware of what the WTS means by this term. They have manufactured the term 'apostate' as a 'reverse-marketing' slogan to encourage people not to buy their goods, but actually as we have fallen away from WTS beliefs we have become apostatein the true definition of the word. As such, most of us wear this enforced label as a badge of pride, not as an insult.

Now, the term WholeWheat would worry me greatly, due to the possibility that it may actually be be half-baked.

HS

dustrabbit

It's an Apostate thing, you wouldn't understand....

Perfection Seeker

I think the whole word "APOSTATE" is misunderstood. The witnesses make it sound like if you're apostate that you don't believe in God, and that you are a lost cause. The ACTUAL definition is:

Main Entry: apos.ta.syPronunciation: &-'ps-t&-sE
Function: nounEtymology: Middle English apostasie, from Late Latin apostasia, from Greek, literally, revolt, from aphistasthai to revolt, from apo- + histasthai to stand -- more at STAND
Date: 14th century
Inflected Form(s): plural -sies
1 : renunciation of a religious faith
2 : abandonment of a previous loyalty

So, are we "apostates" yes- we have renounced our former faith. Does that mean we don't believe in God? No. It just means we don't agree that the witnesses have a direct & only like to Jehovah (God) and that we are finding him in our own way, or in another religion. I always believed that apostates were so bad- and they didn't believe in God or Jehovah. But, actually, most apostates do believe in God- just not the organization. I am an apostate, in the way that yes, I have abandoned my previous faith.

I like how the people refer to the use of the N word, or blacks, but also for overweight people- you can't say "You're fat" and get away with it, but a fat person can. I guess the main thing here is "Don't call ANYONE names" Who are we to judge others? Besides, if you're on this site- it is usually because you have left the organization, and you want to be bitter, or voice your stories, or find friends, or hear others experiences, etc.

zenpunk

Sometimes I feel like wearing the word like a badge...but somehow when a JW calls me one, I get very upset.

jack2

Heaven, that made a lot of sense!

Perfection seeker.....good post.

SpiderMonkey

Personally, I love the word. It is the antithesis of everything I was taught to be as a child, and since I hate what I was taught to be as a child, well...

Being called an apostate by another apostate makes me smile. Being called an apostate by a JW gives me a warm feeling all over. And being called an apostate by You Know makes me LMFAO.

Sabine

Well, I've been called a nigger AND I've been called an apostate. I'd have to say, being called a nigger hurts far worst because the people that call me that never know me, they are just reacting to my skin color...something I can never "take off", and yet people think they know exactly what I'm all about. Those that have called me an apostate are reacting to my speaking against the elders or against certain policies and doctrines.

The conotation I disagree with in regard to being called an apostate is that I am going to try to chalenge someone's religious beliefs JUST SO I can convert them to my current religious belief...nothing could be further from the truth. I have asked jw friends that still talk to me what their definition of apostate is. Most answer that it's someone that not only talks agains the organization, but that actively recruits for a different religious belief system. Granted the few jw friends I still have are extremely liberal, I guess the R&F would say anyone that speaks against the borg. or the elders is an apostate...guilty as charged!!

Cygnus

I called Naeblis an apostate to his face today, and he threatened to punch me in the face, but I ducked skillfully under his blow, leaping nimbly aside, and he forgot about it and ordered another beer.

Incense_and_Peppermints

Do all of you ex-Jehovah's witnesses get upset when you are called an apostate? You all call each other apostates, so why should you all get upset if I call you apostates? If you don't like being called 'apostate', what title would you prefer?

no. 'apostate' is their terminology, not mine. when i use the term here, i am only expressing it to describe their view of me. jehovah's witnesses need to label things and people they don't understand. i don't think of myself as an apostate, rather, as a person. but when i come here, i am an apostate because i speak out against them. does that help? i don't require a title, although 'the girl most likely to' has a nice ring to it.

Does being called an 'apostate' upset you?

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