Happy Anniversary! What a success story - so nice that all of your family got out with you. It took a lot of courage and planning to do what you did. Good for you - you reaped the benefits.
All the best to you guys!
Hadit
...but 5 years ago today, i made my first post here on jwn.. .
i was an elder, had a true-believing jw wife and our unbaptized publisher children were beginning to feel pressure from other jws to take the plunge.. .
amazing how much can happen in 5 trips around the sun.. .
Happy Anniversary! What a success story - so nice that all of your family got out with you. It took a lot of courage and planning to do what you did. Good for you - you reaped the benefits.
All the best to you guys!
Hadit
it has been a hellacious five years for many in my family...especially my poor jw wife who could almost walk on water damm it...she is a saint.....and i so hate i have hurt her in so many ways....and i mean that.....but it has hell for me too since third grade as i never fit in..... or 1995 or both of course...that damm generation of 1914 thingy being kicked to the curb..... and me knowing it was now all bs since then just as i thought it was before......you mean really???
?......you mean i actually am going to grow old and die?!?!?
!....no fukkin way?!
WOW! How fantastic. I'm so happy for you! That takes a lot of courage. This makes me hopeful that my son will leave one day too.
You have lots to celebrate!
Hadit
just talking today with an old friend.
wow she looks so much older now.
she has just retired from the "cleaning business" ... she's 76!.
Thanks Clarity! If he views me as a treasure then it's comparable to one found at a garage sale - it comes attached with a demon or two!
Sending love,
Hadit
btw - you'll be missed tomorrow!
just talking today with an old friend.
wow she looks so much older now.
she has just retired from the "cleaning business" ... she's 76!.
Thanks for sharing Clarity - that is truly heartbreaking! Makes me wonder if that is how my husband is going to feel if he wakes up and it's too late. I hope lurkers are seeing the tragedy of how many families are sacrificed for the WT. It is sad and it is a waste.
Hadit
sorry i can't copy paste it as i don't have the cdubrom anymore.
(the bin man took it!).
mrs punk always leaves her book in a prominent place at the breakfast table hoping we'll read it, see the light and go grovelling back to the 7 headed beast (gb).
What a bunch of hateful propaganda! That one paragraph is so full of blatant mind control. For people who have such an all powerful God they sure are afraid of Satan and his children, the apostates! Wow.
Now they can feel good about themselves if apostates try to talk to them because they target "people of integrity." Therefore, now my family can feel full of integrity when I speak for my father the devil.
You men at Bethel have one puny little god when you have to resort to hateful tactics. So much for your truth - you have to prop it up with your fear tactics.
Hadit
Hi Clarity!
does that seem fair?
did it ever make you feel kind of...ashamed to be a human?.
The lack of holidays, celebrations, etc. is to keep focus off of family and is a tactic to keep family bonds from forming. They take away emphasis on family members and place it on themselves. That way our emotions for family are superficial and our tight bond is with the organization. It keeps membership up and dissenters out.
Why would they stand up for the bride? They are a bunch of misogynists! Besides, the bride can't even give herself away - her father gives her to her next owner, the husband. Patriarchy at its best. Evil, vile, disgusting.
Hadit
isn't it depressing to believe that this is all there is to life?, an elder told me today that philosophers, apostates, free thinkers and many other enemies of the truth alike do not offer any hope for the future.
but this is the only organisation offering the hope.. what do you think?, the thought of living for just 70 or 80 yrs and not returning back is very depressing or do some other line of reasonings offer any hope?.
i am just curious..
Welcome to the forum - I see you joined not too long ago!
What's depressing is living in fear of a God who is going to destroy most of his children if they don't serve him. It's depressing listening to false reasoning and false hope. Everything has cycles - nothing physical lasts forever - it grows, it changes, it dies and the cycle continues. There is and never will be a physical body that lives forever. That is just man's way of trying to cheat death and to console himself.
When we hope for things in the future and worry about being good enough to live in a distant world then we miss out on our life now.
Life is now. Live it to the full and make many memories. Live, learn, laugh, love.
Hadit
true or false.. black or white.. life or death.. .
the above are binary.
this or that.. computing is based on binary choices.
Excellent post Terry! I really liked this point: Authority must be earned and accessible or it is fascist.
The black and white thinking is also evidence of cognitive immaturity. If the frontal lobes develop normally then the black and white can be blended. The WT does an excellent job of messing with our brains to keep us childlike. The first thing they instill in parents is to use the rod. This starts off the process of never questioning, never expanding our mind and keeps us is fear. When the developing brain is kept in a state of fear - it cannot grow properly and then you have frontal lobe arrestment and a very dependent person who is easy to manipulate and control.
Hadit
well, my wife and i are supposed to be visited by a couple of elders soon, as part of a "regular shepherding program".
i am a ministerial servant in our congregation and our circuit overseer has been busting the boe's chops each visit lately for not having a program in place for shepherding.
it was previously done on an "as needed" basis, but i guess he cracked the whip pretty hard on this last visit so they are going to try to get down to business.
You're in a tough spot! My heart goes out to you! It's really hard to "pretend" anything! It has so many consequences - the first one is not being true to yourself which leads to all sorts of problems both physically and mentally. It's such a difficult situation. It's also tough not to be resentful that you have to pretend. So many emotions, so many decisions and so many lives to consider. My thought is always on my son and what kind of an example am I for him if I keep pretending? Kids can see through hypocrisy and it can be very confusing. Are they going to grow up following our footsteps and not stand up for themselves? I despise what this religion does to families!
As for the elders - keeping quiet and just listening will give you time to think. You don't owe them anything. The less ammo the better.
My thoughts are with you.
Hadit
dear lee week 64 friday.
this is my blog today for freeminds.
thaoulgt i would post it here for you too.. .
Many would consider ALL religions cults. Cult or not - the point was we need to identify what we have gone through so that we don't perpetuate the cycle. We can free ourselves ONLY if we see that we have been abused, manipulated or controlled.
Hadit