Another one out in the mid-late 20's ... never really bought into it fully (raised in the org), but went out of obligation, family, freinds, etc. Also didn't really think about leaving since it was just the way I was raised. But the whole generation thing happened and made me think about what it was I was buying into. Out I came!
30 and Out?
by Black Man 49 Replies latest jw friends
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paulvarjak
I was 27, raised a JW, elder, with the wool firmly over my eyes. The generation "light" was hard to stomach and probably put me in the proper mindset to make an eventual change. Then, while doing research for the bookstudy in the laughable Daniel book, I happened upon the 607/587 problem. Spent two months doing my own research and found everything unraveled. Most troubling were the volume of quotes deceptively taken out of context. DA'd at 28.
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MoeJoJoJo
Great thread!
I started having major doubts about a year ago-I am now 31.
I think I finally fully matured around 30 and began to examine my life and ask myself some questions. I finally figured out who I am and what I want to do with my life.
Food for thought: Why did Jesus not get baptized until age 33? Was it because there was no one to baptize him before that? Maybe someone could fill me in on this (something I've wondered for a while). I personally have thought that pre-teens and teen-agers are to immature to dedicate their lives and get baptized. (even tho I was baptized at 13) That is definitely an adult decision. -
larc
Very interesting thread, and something I hadn't thought about. I started fading when I was 22, and was out when I was 25.
MoJo, slight correction, Jesus was baptized at thirty, which fits our number here even better.
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ChrisVance
Hmm, I was 42 when I left, but I had been baptized for 30 years.
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ChuckD
I think that there may be another reason that this is a critical time for many people. In most schools of psychology, the passage through the late 20's for most people is considered quite significant and marks a period known as "ego chill." This is when people become fully aware of and (hopefully) accept their own mortality. Before that, people know on a factual level that they will die some day, but after that phase they fully accept it. That is why a serious conversation with a 25 yo is much different than a conversation with a 30 yo. People 20-25 have a lot more in common with each other than they do with people who are 25-30, while people 30-35 are not all that different in this regard..
Anyway, the acceptance of one's mortality is certainly going to be very different for someone who has, until then, been in "the truth". They have to deal with the realities of life and death (consciously or not) and come to grips with the fact that they ARE going to die some day. Or, they have to put this reality out of their mind and delude themselves with the societies claptrap about living forever. Adding a few years to the process for having things come to a head, and the age of 30 (ish) seems likely to be quite pivotal for many who were raised in the organization.
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Sam Beli
30? Nope, it was 40 something for me (guess I’m a little slower than most of you). The ’75 thing got me started with serious doubts. Raised a JW, so I always had some doubts in the back of my mind. The ’75 failure brought my doubts to the front of my mind, but family pressures made me repress my doubts for another 20 years!
Definitely out since 95 – though I didn’t even know about the generation thing till a couple of years later.
Sam Beli
I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. Eccl 1:14, 15
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MoeJoJoJo
Larc,
Thanks for the correction---I knew that :was having one of those Duh days. -
Michael3000
What up, Black?
I answered 'yes' to all of your points - but I was 26 when I jumped ship.
When & where were you at Bethel? I was there between '86 & '88. Left "Da Troof" in '93.
--Michael
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LDH
Yup count me in.
Blackman can you email me?
Lisa