Does it shock you that there are so few people on this board?

by free2beme 31 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Mysterious

  Everyone leaves for different reasons. Not everyone has a need to dissect what they used to believe in detail, some no longer have even family and friends tied to the organization and thus no interest in the topic in general.

  You also have to remember the vast majority of the general population doesn't visit forum communities on a regular basis, so it should not be surprising that a lot of ex-jws don't. And that is before you figure in the fact that a lot of them are not tech savvy due to having been in the organization so long.

  A lot of kids that simply don't believe in it or want to do their own thing who are leaving are not going to care about a site that is discussing the JWs, they left because they don't care about it anymore.

  That being said I know there are a lot of lurkers and people using the site as an information source as well. And the community is still a good size in my opinion. So no I would not say I am surprised and I wouldn't really say there are so few people on this board either.
• 

  Van Gogh

  Please feel welcome icare4u! Theo Vincent
• 

  jgnat

  A politician knows that for every person who writes them about a particular issue, there are a hundred who feel as strongly but never write, and likely another thousand who mildly agree. So letters are always taken seriously by a politician.

  I once stumbled upon an exiting JW going to my same congregation on another chatroom. Now, consider say, that there are sixty regular members in our congregation. For there to be a 3% chance that two members have access to the internet and happen to connect online, like, what are the odds? Now, our circumstance might have been an unusual coincidence, but if it weren't, consider the implications! It means that the Watchtower writers are absolutely correct, that there are people "not to be trusted" in every congregation. The person I connected with, by the way, has never registered here.

  I am not shocked. I consider this board to be the tip of the iceberg.
• 

  SWALKER

  I know 2 elders and their wives/children that left after I showed them the info on the U.N. that I printed off the U.N. website. They just got on with their lives and are busy with work, etc. They just don't really care about the JW's or issues that come up...they faded successfully and hope to keep it that way. I didn't post for a long time...just didn't feel the need. Then I read about a child abuse situation in this area and could not keep my mouth shut about it...one thing lead to another and I started posting here...a little at first and more as time has gone by. I will have to agree that you need skin as thick as a rhino's behind to post here!

  Swalker (wonders why the dr has such a hard time giving me a shot!!!)
• 

  zagor

  x-jdubs have many different forums on the net, over the last year or so I've seen literally dozens. Here is one I've found few days ago. Considering the domain name it should have occurred to me right from the outset that such site exists, but it didn't.

  . http://www.disfellowshipped.org/
• 

  cyber-sista

  I have used the computer/internet for years for business and research, but even after separating from the Org I was still afraid of the foaming at the mouth apostates I would find out on the internet if I dared searched. it was when I was at the end of my rope and in shear desperation did I type in Jehovah's witness just to see if there were any out there who had my same experiences and if there was any help out there, which I truly believed at the time I was one of very few. My hands were shaking--my heart was pounding...I have come a long way since then...I think fear is a big obstacle...

  cybs
• 

  cyber-sista

  PS... even my nephews who have left the Org now and all 3 living wild lives--drugs, lots of alcohol, etc refuse to think that you should believe anything that is written on the internet that is against JWs. The little bit I have shared with them has got back around to me through my father who says my nephews think I am unbalanced for looking at any of it. While they no longer want to be JWs and living a contrary lifestyle to the JW belief they have a block about doing any research as to what it is/was really all about. I believe their present self abuse may be a form of denial about the whole belief system.

  cybs
• 

  fahrvegnugen

  I think as sites like this one continue to mature and develop, word will get around and you may see more participation from ex-JWs or those on the fringes who haven't yet left.

  A number of years ago when I was first looking around the web for sites about JWs, alot of the ones I came across were of the, "I USED TO BE A WATCHTOWER SLAVE BUT NOW I"M A BORN-AGAIN SLAIN-IN-THE-SPIRIT TALKIN'-IN-TONGUES HOLY-ROLLIN' CHRISTIAN---HALLELUJAH---PRAISE JEEEEZZUUUUS!!!" variety. No offense intended to those here who may be Christians, but most ex-JWs have no interest in jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, if you know what I mean.

  Also, sites run by church groups who seem obsessed with demonizing every aspect of JWs are a huge turn off for me. My beef is with the teachings and the borganization--not the average JW who is just trying to live his life the way he believes God wants him to. Anyway, this site is a pretty good one and I hope it will continue to develop as a resource for those who have left and those who are thinking of leaving.
• 

  luna2

  2. Some leavers think its still the truth

  Yup. That was me for almost four years. I had no desire to go back to the KH, to go out door to door, to live my life under the heavy load of duty and guilt, but I still thought it was the truth. Unreal, isn't it?
• 

  JAVA

  I think some who walk away still have a negative impression of former Witnesses.

  The "Evil Slaves" and "apostates" are little titles used by the Tower to draw tails and horns on former JWs. It's no wonder some former Witnesses still have that image even when they become former JWs. This so-called loving cult does everything possible to create low self-esteem to anyone disagreeing with The Watchtower. As some have already pointed out, in time many go beyond the Tower Fear Factor and peek out the window.

  Many older adults are not computer literate, and it could be the number of older JWs is higher than the norm. However, most younger and middle-aged folks are on-line which has helped many exit cults like the Watchtower. There wasn't much help for former members before the Internet and forums like this. When you add up the number of web groups and folks posting, I think there are more people helped than we think.

  As to forums like this being a cyber pub--I agree. An older group called "Philia" used to be called a pub. We invited members to pull up a bar stool and enjoy the chat and drinks.