Inquiry mind wants to know

by jw 39 Replies latest jw friends

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  jw

  What years were you an active Jw?

  When was the last year you attended a meeting?

  Were you a true christian or did you live a double life?

  What turn you away from the WTS?

  Do you consider yourself a christian , agnostic or an athiest now and why?
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  KW13

  I see, well i was a JW from 1996 - December 2003

  I last attended a meeting in 2004

  I lived a life of a JW up until mid 2003

  I turned away cos its lies e.t.c

  Now i am a Christian.

  --------

  Hope this is the real you.
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  mouthy

  What years were you an active Jw? 1965-1987

  When was the last year you attended a meeting? 1987( memorial)

  Were you a true christian or did you live a double life? I thought I was -but I couldnt have been Because I did nto realise Jesus is the way NOT the Organization

  What turn you away from the WTS? They gave me the heave ho when I said I didnt believe Jesus came invisably in 1914

  Do you consider yourself a christian , agnostic or an athiest now and why?I am a born again Christian since Oct 20th 1989.Because I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life & forgive me all I had done .... I believe he did.
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  under_believer
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  MidwichCuckoo

  You first jw.......
  
  
  

  Were you a true christian or did you live a double life?
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  KW13

  MidwichCuckoo, surely she/he must be an ex-jw to be on an apostate site!
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  steve2

  I was far too complex to lead 'just' a double life: When just surviving was an issue, I led a triple and quadruple life.

  Seriously, though:

  I was a JW from 1969 until 1982, although I was raised in the religion (but I don't count the years trudging door-to-door with my mother because I didn't do it out of any religious conviction).

  I remember my last meeting: It was April 1982, a week after the Ray Franz' article appeared in Time. I walked out of the Kingdom Hall on a Thursday night knowing it would be the last time I ever set foot in a kingdom hall ever again. Now, 24 years later, I'm doing the best I ever did in my life and have not stepped foot inside a kingdom hall since then.

  I left simply because it is just another man-made religion; it is not, nor has it ever been, God's channel of communication. To me, it is as simple as that. Everything else is 'window dressing'.

  In my life as a JW, I genuinely believed I was a true Christian.

  It is hard to describe my beliefs: I tend more towards agnosticism: I know enough about life to realise that because I might genuinely believe in something and experience something at a deep level doesn't make it true. Once burned...twice shy. I admire people who are committed to their beliefs, including JWs, especially those whose lives actually reflect what they preach. I so admire people who are not bull-shitters. I have enormous admiration for people who have been able to get their lives together with the help of religion, psychology and so on. I tend to judge people who judge me and go weak at the knees around people who accept me for who I am.
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  lovelylil

  Here is some of my background:

  I was a witness from 1993 - 2004 - wife of a MS, and pioneer for five years. Both my kids were unbaptized publishers and my whole family was very active and consider a pillar family in the hall.

  I thought I was a Christian but was wrong - I agree with Mouthy on this one. Jesus is not the organization and to be a "true" Christian, you are to be a follower of Christ not of an organizational institution.

  I became a Christian a few months after leaving the WT when I repented of my sins, told Jesus and Jehovah I was very sorry for the haughty self righteous and judgemental attitude I had towards everyone in the world I thought I was superior too as a Witness I asked them to forgive me and for Christ to come into my heart and show me the true way of following him and I told Jesus and Jehovah I wanted to no longer be enslaved to any man made religion, I just wanted to follow them with all my heart. If they approved of me, I asked that they give my holy spirit to show me I was accepted as a child of God, which they did, and that is when I was spirit-begotten. (some say born again)

  Why did I leave? I believe Jesus called me out of false religion by slowly opening my eyes to all the false teachings, misapplying of scriptures, putting heavy burdens on the friends that the WT was doing, yet not willing to budge them with their own little finger. And, all the other injustices. Each time I responded to Jesus, he showed me a little bit more that was wrong with the Org. My eyes were opened over a one year time period and finally, I could no longer sit thru a meeting at all and listen to all the nonsense, so I walked out and never went back that was around October 2004. After leaving and knowing full well why and who helped me leave, I decided to become dedicated to christ.

  Now, I am a free agent in Christ. And go to church but no church or religion will ever own me again.I make up my own mind, using my own conscience about what I feel is right or wrong according to the scriptures and since I am a free agent, I can fellowship with any other Christians no matter what their denominational beliefs as I consider them all my brothers and sisters in the faith.
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  jgnat

  What years were you an active Jw? -0-

  When was the last year you attended a meeting? 2006

  Were you a true christian or did you live a double life? Repented once, worked on my "new man" ever since. I am the same to everybody, sometimes to the extreme embarrassment of my family.

  What turn you away from the WTS? Their deceptive language.

  Do you consider yourself a christian , agnostic or an athiest now and why? Christian. I believe Jesus saved me from a horrible future. I've been His these past twenty-plus years.
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  coffee_black

  What years were you an active Jw? 1952 born into it. Baptized in 1960 (age 8) DAed 1993

  When was the last year you attended a meeting? 1992

  Were you a true christian or did you live a double life? I didn't know what a "true Christian" was as a jw. I thought I did, but I was wrong. I did not lead a double life.

  What turn you away from the WTS?

  I understand how hard it is for you to see why someone would leave the organization… unless it is for the reasons that you’ve been told by the society. I used to think the same way. Here are some of the assumptions:

  1: Must have done something terrible, probably immorality

  2: Must not love Jehovah

  3: Couldn’t live up to Jehovah’s standards

  4: Wanted to pursue worldly things

  5: Didn’t like the preaching work

  6: Had a bad heart

  7: Must have been leading a secret life

  8: Someone stumbled him/her

  9: Had a bad attitude

  10: lost his/her faith

  There are more, but I’ll stop there. Sound familiar?

  I didn’t leave for any of the reasons on that list. I know you think that I am mistaken about my own mind/heart, so I’ll start at the beginning. It was a very long process for me. I did not wake up one day and think… Ok, today I leave “Jehovah’s organization”.

  For a number of years, I had concerns. Something just didn’t feel right. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but like any good JW, I tried to ignore the red flags that arose over time. There were many issues, but I’ll only touch on a just a couple because this will get very long if I try to include everything from a span of many years.

  1: My dad died in 1978 of kidney failure. During his lengthy illness the subject of kidney transplant arose. My parents sought the advice of the society, and found that, according to the society, organ transplantation was “against Jehovah’s law”, and that it amounted to cannibalism. My dad did not have a transplant as a direct result of this reasoning. He remained on dialysis (which was not enough in his case) until his death. Two years later, the society changed their policy, and it became a matter of conscience as to whether or not to have a transplant.

  I cannot tell you the emotion I felt when reading the “questions from the readers” that was the vehicle for the policy change. Now, most JWs will say that …”well, he was faithful and he’ll be back in the new system.” The question is “who was he faithful to?” It wasn’t Jehovah that demanded that he abstain from a transplant. His death did not result from being faithful to Jehovah…and faithfulness to the instruction of an organization is not the basis by which one gains salvation. Further, my dad was 68 years old when he died, a relatively young man. No one can replace the years he lost… I have 2 children who would have loved to have had a grandfather. He would have enriched their lives immensely. Now, who claims responsibility for this? Was it Jehovah who made the mistake? No….Jehovah does not make mistakes. The society went “beyond what is written” with terrible consequences, consequences that they do not take responsibility for…or even apologize for.

  At that point, I was still very much “in” the organization, and I tried very hard to avoid thinking about it.

  2: When my son was about 7 years old, one of his friends from the congregation, an elder’s son came for a visit. They were outside playing when a little boy from the neighborhood wanted to join them. The elder’s son started screaming at the little boy telling him that Jehovah hated him….that he wasn’t one of Jehovah’s witnesses and that he was going to die at Armageddon. I heard the commotion and went outside to see the little boy in tears and my son trying to comfort him. I called the elder and asked him to come and get his son. Where does that kind of hatred come from? Any religion that teaches a child to hate is not only unchristian, it’s dangerous.

  Still in…trying to rationalize this as an isolated incident…

  3: When my daughter was 13, she was very observant, wise beyond her years. She saw things going on in the congregation that she knew were wrong. She asked me on several occasions “Where is the love….isn’t that supposed to be the identifying mark of the true religion? Well, where is it?” I had no answer for her because she was right. It wasn’t there. It wasn’t just one congregation either. We were in several in Florida. I have attended congregations from MA to CA to Fl. The most important identifying mark… and it is virtually absent….

  Still in, still trying to make excuses….

  Many many more issues arose over time, and I continued to push them to the back of my mind. It got awfully crowded back there….and finally after my divorce in 1990 I decided to assess my life, and examine all that I believed. It was a turning point for me.

  As a JW I had told countless people to examine their religion. I had never taken my own advice. I decided to do so. If it really was the truth, I would apply myself “whole-souled” If it wasn’t, it was time I knew. It was Fall, 1990. I was 38 years old.

  I have an extensive library of JW publications that goes back to the turn of the 20 th century. I started at the beginning, and read continuously. It took nearly 2 years, and it broke my heart.

  The society claims that they were chosen to represent Jehovah in 1918-1919 (depending on which publication you reference.) They claim that they were chosen based on the fact that they, and they alone were teaching Bible truths. If they were truly chosen on that basis, why is it that the teachings of today have little if any resemblance to what they taught then? I know what they taught then, because I have read it from the original publications. Not the same teachings at all….not by any stretch of the imagination.

  The first really major books published by the society was the series “Studies in the Scriptures” The final volume was published in 1917, and was the most recent publication at the supposed time of their being chosen. I think every JW should have that book as required reading. It is filled with the craziest stuff I have ever read. And to add insult to injury, on the cover of this book (and all of the Studies in the Scriptures) is the symbol of the Egyptian sun God, Ra. Now I ask you, in examining the religions of the world, do you really think that Jehovah would choose a group that has the symbol of another god on the cover of their main teaching tool? And just what is it doing there to begin with?

  It got worse the more I read. Changing teachings…false prophecies… 1874…1914, 1918, 1925…on and on. The original calculation to get to the year 1914 was taken from the measurements of the “Great Pyramid of Giza” from something called the “Pyramid inch”….first written about by Charles Piazzi Smythe…a mystic. The “Ancient worthies” men like Abraham, Isaac & Jacob were supposed to be resurrected in 1925, and Judge Rutherford even had a mansion built for them, and deeded to them. It’s in San Diego, and it was sold in the early 40s after that prophecy failed. Did you know that Adam was the first Pharaoh…and he’s buried in the sphinx? Yup and Jehovah resides in the Pleadies…. On and on. No jw today believes any of this stuff, no thinking person would…but it’s the substance by which they were supposedly chosen by God.

  Ah, but you will say…we have new light!!! Look at Proverbs 4:18!! Please do, but this time read the whole chapter. This scripture does not teach “new light”. It is the story of a father teaching his son the best way to live his life… To sum it up: If you live a righteous life, you live an enlightened life. If you live a wicked life, you live in darkness. It has nothing to do with justifying changing teachings. Jehovah doesn’t change. Truth doesn’t change.

  This doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. It is truly a mess. There is literally nothing to trust!

  Ah, but they are imperfect men, you say. They’ve made mistakes that’s all. Ok, then why not judge all religions by the same standard.? They are also made up of imperfect men. The society condemns all other religions for doing things that they themselves are guilty of. Why a double standard?

  As I said before, it would have been easier to ignore the evidence and stay. ..to bury my head and try to ignore the facts. It was all I ever knew…ever believed…and it crumbled before my eyes. My consciennce won’t allow me to remain part of that organization. Live up to their standards? No, it’s the other way around. They do not live up to my standards. And they definitely do not live up to Jehovah’s standards. Faithful and Discreet Slave? There is nothing faithful nor discreet about their record. They are not who they claim to be. Their history confirms this sad fact.

  How different from the simple truths that Jesus taught! Sometime if you get the chance, read just Jesus’ words in the Gospels. It is well worth the effort. You will find a message of love and trust and hope. It is where I now put my faith and trust.