What made us different? (page 3)

amused

What started me down this path was the whole 607/587 thing. I remember the first time I came across an encyclopedia article about Jerusalem that said it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587. I thought, how curious, can that be? That led to research, a subscription to Biblical Archaeology magazine and years of torment.

Once the gates were open, it became impossible to stop questioning everything.

Grouper

A cookie.

One day out on service this lady at the door gave two elderly JW's some cookies. They chatted with her as they ate the cookies and complimented her on how tasty they were. As they finished their conversation with her she mentioned she had made the cookies to sell to fund an activity at her church. The two elderly JW's said their salutations, with their mouths full of cookie, to the lady and as they turned around to face the street and out of her sight, they both spit the cookie into their hands and later informed the rest of the service group to what had happened, with the commendations from many in the group. I was flabbergasted on the action of these two elderly JWs.

This crazy behavior started something within my brain to jolt and I began to critically analyze beliefs and eventually myself.

Late

FairMind

It was the contradictions in the WT study articles that first got me thinking. One week the article would be loving and reasonable and then two weeks later a study article on the same topic would be dogmatically unloving and unreasonable. I began to see major contradictions between the actions of the organization (through the elders) and what was taught. An example being that the primary function of elders was to help us with problems and not bet spiritual policemen. The truth is their primary function is to keep the congregation in line.

diamondblue1974

Personally I dont know for sure....I do remembering feeling guilty for disbelieving whilst everybody else just nodded in blind agreement but in reality I am not sure what it was....it wasnt intelligence (as there are numerous intelligent (albeit under educated) witnesses); My mother always called me cynical and even said I was like that when I was a child.

I remember her accusing me of not trusting Jehovah as when I was a child I questioned why J had to kill all the animals that werent in the ark....funnily enough I never questioned why he was going to commit mass genocide at armaggedon but thats just me with very little in the way of priorities and plus I was only 3. But these were the questions I wanted answering and they couldnt answer them then...let alone the more important questions I was about to ask when I grew up.

Perhaps thats it....perhaps its the questioning and critical mindset that sets all us so called apostates apart from the dubs!

Db74

Big Dog

I was born in and just hated it from day one. I'm not really sure why, I know the restrictions (sports, holidays, etc.) were part of it, feeling like a freak was another part of it, and even as a kid just somehow not buying it, the stuff just never rang true for me ever.

Born under a bad sign I guess.

uninformed

In my entire sojourn as a witness it seemed that I was different than most of the others.

I took the whole thing very seriously, raised 4 kids to pioneer, missionary, and Bethel service. All the while it seemed that we all had a target on our backs.

I don't think that I ever accepted certain teachings, the great tribulation, 144,000 being literal, birthdays. But I thought these things didn't really mean that much.

After 75 I was really miffed, not that they missed the date, because I never accepted that anyway, but I was mad because they sought to blame it on all of the rest of us, and they didn't apologize until 1981, and then not much of an apology.

Then, in the 80's the "faithful and discreet slave" push was really on and I resented every WT and book that pushed the FDS issue into our face. I used to get so mad I would cuss. My wife agreed with me too.

Then the 90's came with the great apostasy. The 95 WT unhooking them from 1914, change in neutrality and voting, then finally a statement in the 97 WT that Jehovah would "never" replace this org with another. (I went cross-eyed crazy with that one).

I finally resigned as an elder in 2000, after 30 years. Then in 2002 we heard about the UN deal. I didn't want to believe it at first, but the proof was there. Then, all the Awake articles pushing UN programs. Finally, last June 2005, hearing at the Dist Conv. that we should be obedient, no matter whether they are right or wrong. The closing prayer was it, "...we give our whole souled allegiance to Jehovah's visible organization"... (Losch).

Never went back.

I am proud to say that my wife, my oldest son (8 years full time and Bethel) and his wife, my oldest daughter (7 years full time pioneer and Ecuador missionary) and her husband (pioneer and MS), and my youngest daughter (1 year pioneer, recently abandoned by her witness husband), have all given up on the WT also.

Believe it or not, I was the last to let go.

I have one son still an MS in Austin. TX that thinks we are the apostates and this in spite of the fact that he thinks the FDS is now really being led by the Evil Slave, and that he doesn't use the mags in service and he doesn't believe or accept a lot of the doctrines.

u

daystar

It was very simple for me, after a time. I just allowed myself to try to see things from another person's standpoint, not just intellectually, but emotionally as well. Once I realized that there is no such thing as Truth, or at very least it's relative, the scales really began to fall from my eyes.

shark attack

QUESTIONS QUESTIONS AND MORE QUESTIONS BUT NO PROPER ANSWERS.

What made us different?

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