THE WAY IN IS THE WAY OUT

Terry

I got in officially in November of 1963 when I was baptised at the Cleburne, Texas assembly. I'd been associated since about 1958/9.

I got out in 1978/79. Judicial committee cut me loose.

The way in consisted of having Jehovah's Witnesses demonstrate to me that there was considerable false information and hypocricy in Christendom. I lost confidence in what I had been told, taught and believed.

Today, I believe that is also the way out of Jehovah's Witnesses!

There is a demonstrable amount of false information and hypocricy among Jehovah's Witnesses.

But, just as members of Christendom defend their hypocricy; so too do Jehovah's Witnesses using the same arguments of rationalization and deflection.

If it isn't about what is TRUE, then, what is it about? It is about being right. It is about being consistent with what is right. Hypocricy demonstrates a willingness to have it both ways at once and deny there is conflict.

Example:

Christendom takes a demonstrably pagan holiday like Christmas and loudly insists it honors the true god and his son. Their is no dishonor, they claim, in making a silk purse out of the sow's ear.

Jehovah's Witnesses insist that their setting dates for Armageddon was mere eagerness for God's will to be done even though it misrepresented the facts and set people into motion contrary to their own best interests. It defamed the name of Jehovah by saying it was "God's" date and not their own. It brought reproach. Big Deal, say the JW's. Get over it.

The bible is held up as the touchstone of veracity in testing doctrine by both Christendom and Jehovah's Witnesses. Yet, both misrepresent the actual history of how oral tales came to be canon. Both ignore the multiplicity of competing stories equally revered and regarded as inspired which were voted out. Bible historians do not present the same pristine and untampered evidence of political intrigue, infighting and backpeddling which brought us the bible as we now know it. Why? Because both groups need some big stick of AUTHORITY to "prove" their orthodoxy.

The way in is the way out. How?

By seeing what is dissonant with facts one can question the rigorous insistance by hard-headed people that only THEIR view is correct and everybody else is dead wrong. By seeing not just one side is wrong, but; that ALL SIDES bear the burden of hypocritical self-blindness, you can get out of the mind trap of social comfort.

The way out, then, is to see historical evidence for what it brings to light and how that illuminates the cover-ups which promote a particular brand-name religion as the be-all and end-all of God's approval.

In the time of Jesus the religion of Judaism was split into many factions all arguing with each other as to who was more righteous. In the time of Paul nothing had changed. Paul only added yet another faction to the pitbulls in the fighting arena! Remember, there was no New Testament for either Jesus or Paul.

It is the boys in the backroom who voted on and got the politically correct books branded with official imprimatur.

The arguments weren't settled then and they aren't going to ever be settled no matter how people vote on what is true.

The way out is to free yourself from believing in the fairy tale that there is any magic book handed to mankind directly by a God inspiring and protecting the purity of truth within.

We only have men's opinions. That's all we ever had.

Why become a party to buying in to men's opinions and pretending it is historically proved to be God's unyielding truth?

THE WAY OUT is to not join up in the first place.

Warlock

THANKS TERRY. THAT WAS VERY GOOD.

Warlock

willyloman

So true. I got "out" the same way I got "in," by studying. I became a dub by learning their doctrine and embracing it, although in retrospect I'm not sure I ever fully embraced all dub doctrine. I just wanted companionship, family and respect, and dubdom gave me that. For a while.

After it stopped working for me, and I knew I had to get out, I just reversed the process. I read everything I could get my hands on in an effort to learn whether the JWs really had "the truth" (I knew they didn't, I just needed affirmation). Then I had to study other literature to find out why I had been so gullible and needy.

When I was first studying with the dubs, and I'd come across something that didn't make sense, the guy "teaching" me would always say, "Well, let's move on and come back to that later. You know, the longer you study, the more you learn about Jehovah, the easier it is to understand these complex issues."

I now find that the longer you are "out," the more you "study" the truth about the truth, and the more you come to be in touch with your authentic self, as they say, the easier it is to be free. There are people on this forum who have left but they haven't done the "work" to get themselves well. I think that's a mistake. Knowledge is power, and this is never more true than when you exit or fade.

JamesThomas

Well spoken and sensible post as usual, Terry.

free yourself from believing in the fairy tale

You and I are on the same track here. Where indeed does the fairy tale, really, really end? and what remains when it's does?

j

moshe

It took me about 7 or 8 years to make those similar steps of logic. Critical thinking skills used to get out of the WT just wouldn't stop nagging me - Ist Christian Churches, then the NT, then Jesus, then the entire Bible, then all religions. I found a safe haven in Judaism, my wife's faith. The only requirement is a belief in God. I can decide what is the rest of the story.

Midget-Sasquatch

Terry

In your case, hypocrisy of other religions made you turn to the dubs. For another poster it was discovering the poor support for some doctrines/beliefs. It makes total sense that seeing those very same elements in the dubs would also trigger your leaving them.

I think the key here, then, is that you both were able to see them because of your striving for intellectual honesty and not completely suppressing your critical thinking. I'd say those two components together are the vehicle and the road out of Dubstown.

OUTLAW

Terry..Some of us had no choice..We are Dub-Kid`s..Regardless of age...OUTLAW

choosing life

I wanted answers for everything in life. The dubs seemed, for a time, to provide the answers. With some experience in life, I realized there are no answers to many of life's questions. And I didn't need to know all the details anymore.

So I guess it is true that what brings you in can easily take you out later.

LittleToe

Outlaw:
Terry's maxim still holds true for many birthed in. The way in was through sex (on the part of their parents) and the way out proves to be similar, with the catalyst of a Judicial Committee for "fornication"

Clam

When I decided to fade I still had an underlying belief that the JWs had "the truth". The lifestyle and indeed the prize was not for me. Two friends of mine had been disfellowshipped and I saw their families torn apart. The faithful in the Congo were robotic and cold. I felt that a full life away from these people was preferable to an eternity with them. But like I say, I still had a belief that it was "the truth" and to varying degrees it had a negative effect on my mind and my life. Then the internet came along and I started to educate myself about the JW cult. The real thruth didn't cause me to exit but it did allow me to finally let go.

THE WAY IN IS THE WAY OUT

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