I prayed before I came on here.
I hope you said something nice about us. It is good to have friends in high places.
Welcome. be prepared for the ride of your life.
My first post
by BonaFide 59 Replies latest jw friends
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NewYork44M
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shadow
To point out the obvious:
Why don't you go to a JW board and ask if apostates could be right?
Don't you know what the answer will be before you ask the question? -
AnneB
"I hold some privileges"
Which "privileges" do you hold? The one that graciously allows you to spend hours away from your family "shepherding the flock"? The one that requires you to spend more time (and money!) away delivering scripted propaganda? Or perhaps it's the one where you take time off your paid employment and act like a construction worker putting up buildings that you must also pay for but will never own? Or is it the one that filled all our hearts with gladness, the most excellent privelege of lawn care and toilet swabbing one Saturday a month while at the same time juggling field service hours, child care and home responsiblities? You were saying something about being in so long you only know one way of thinking? Time to stop thinking WT is doing you the favor here!
Do they have "the truth"? The whole truth and nothing but the truth? No. Some good points? Yes...but they squeeze all the joy and benefit out of it by loading on the man made rules and regulations. If it could be as Jesus told the people 'do as they say but not as they do' it might be OK, but you can't; it's their way or the highway.
Get ready for the ride of your life! Getting out the door is difficult but once you're on the road the weather's fine and the view is fantastic!
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LockedChaos
Bonafide
Reality can be very harsh at times
The truth is the truth no matter who speaks it.
Someone (or organization) saying they do does not make it so.
Sincerity in thoughts or beliefs does not make it true.
However
Not necessarily every word is false.
Prove what you hear
No matter if it's here or there
Not every word spoken here is necessarily true either
There are good and sincere and truthful people everywhere
You must think!!
You must reason!!
You must be rational!! -
MsMcDucket
Is it any way possible that JW's may still somehow have the truth?
A little leaven spoils the whole (insert word of your choice)! Well, if it's a donut, it might be okay; but donuts have holes in them!
Seriously, you are in a tight spot! ALL OF YOUR FAMILY IS IN!!! That's horrible! I don't know what to tell you! I know one thing. You must be feeling pretty uncomfortable about the religion, which can cause a person to go insane in the membrane. Whoo! I dunno?? I guess you'll have to come here to let off steam while you figure stuff out!
Welcome to the board!
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sacolton
Is it any way possible that JW's may still somehow have the truth?
No chance. Keep researching and you'll eventually accept that the WTBTS is just a corporate publishing house. They don't have any "direct channel" to God. Read CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE to get the whole picture what goes on behind closed doors.
Like you, once it all sank in, I prayed and cried my eyes out. A flood of emotions kicked in during the next few days. Prepare for a huge emotional rollercoaster ride when it all starts caving in. We are here for you.
Welcome to the real world. You're not going insane. Congratulations on taking the first steps.
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jamiebowers
Welcome to JWD. No, it's not weird to pray before posting on this board. I pray before I get out of the bed in the morning. And no, there is no chance the jws have the truth. Most of us here have lost friends and family due to the immorality of the WTB&TS. It's painful but eventually bearable. Move as slowly as you can or jump in with both feet, but be prepared no matter what you decide to do. Form some friendships outside of the organization. Research and listen to what your mind and heart have to say. Seek professional help if necessary. Whether you fade, da yourself, get df'd or remain a jw, most here will not judge you harshly.
IMHO, the best things about not being a jw are freedom to feel, do and think basically what you want and acceptance of people for who they are. Best to you. Feel free to pm me if you need to talk one on one, (most others here have or will say the same).
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Awakened07
Welcome, BonaFide. I hope you keep reading (and eventually post more).
You'll find a lot of helpful things here on JWD, but you'll also find a lot of either seemingly weird and/or appalling things, or actually weird and/or 'appalling' things, depending on your perspective along the way.
Baby steps, and don't take things too seriously here.
Is it any way possible that JW's may still somehow have the truth?
Well.... Yes.
- If God exists, and He chose the name Jehovah, but didn't really care if the proper pronunciation was preserved through the millennia, and didn't care to make sure it was protected from 'tampering' in the book He inspired, but it had to be re-inserted several millennia later by a small American religious group.
- If God chose an organization in the 20th century, but didn't care if they had the correct information or not, and didn't care to quickly make them change vital teachings that He didn't agree with and obviously knew weren't correct, but instead let them continue to believe falsehoods for decades until He lazily, eventually, decided it was time to change them, sometimes through an 'intermediary step' that was equally false. And with no guarantee that the latest 'truth' will be the final 'truth'.
- If God doesn't care that members of His organization suffer mental and physical anguish for teachings that are not relevant to the application in our present day.
- If God doesn't care that members of His organization got tortured and/or died in one country because He had told His FDS that it was wrong to have a political party card there (in a country with one party), while it was OK in another country to bribe officials to get a card showing they had been in the military.
- If God doesn't care that His organization teaches things that are clearly scientifically proven wrong (and I'm not necessarily talking about evolution here).
- If God doesn't care that His Faithful and Discreet Slave class prints outright lies, mis-quotations of authorities, and distortions in order to bolster their worldview.
- If God doesn't care that His organization was partially part of the very organization that He had told them is an abomination and a secular substitute to His Kingdom. Or that His organization immediately disassociated as a UN NGO when they were found out [guilty faces all around].
Simply put - - If Jehovah simply doesn't care. Then perhaps.
Of course - from my personal perspective as an atheist/agnostic, I could pile on that list for a long time, and it would become absolutely impossible they have the truth either way, but easy does it.
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Casper
BonaFide, to JWD...
We understand this is a scary time, you will find lots of support here.
Wishing you the best.
Cas
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digderidoo
So Neo will it be the red pill or the blue one you take? Take the red one and you can carry on as you have been, but the take the blue one and the only promise we can make is to show you the truth.
Paul