Why 'Apostates' Are All The More Remarkable

metatron

I was watching an interview with Hank Paulson ( big time former government official who pushed all the humongous bailouts of banks into being).

He was the ultimate diplomat referring to Bush ( who couldn't even put together a coherent sentence) as a skilled politician who understood the dangers involved, Pelosi as "cooperative" ( yeah, sure), and others in complimentary terms.

It all resembles the final scenes of the novel "Catch-22", in which the main character (Yossarian) is told that he can be free if he agrees to love and speak well about his superiors.

This is the normal response: You lie thru your teeth about the ignorant, venial thugs who ordered you around, even after you are free of them because you probably are never totally free from them! You kissed a$$ when you were around them and so it's not difficult to continue doing it now.

"Opposing", being an "Apostate" may require a greater sense of self sacrifice than the 'righteous' behavior that preceeded it! Why not just lie and say, 'the Governing Body are great guys", 'Bethel service is the closest thing to Paradise", 'This really is the "truth'".

metatron

Mad Sweeney

Being apostate is the ballsiest of the ballsy. You folks ROCK!

villabolo

In all honesty it is probably somewhat easier to be a Jehovah's Witness "Apostate" as opposed to a Government or Corporate "Apostate" (whistleblower) because the Witnesses don't have quite as much power over your life as the latter two. Nevertheless there are plenty of secular whistleblowers out there, I was one.

villabolo

xbro

i dont like the lable apostate,it has all manner of conotations that i find disagreeable,i prefer just plain ex-jw.

wobble

I sometimes refer to myself as *** the Apostate in a joking way, but the word is certainly pejorative, and insulting, when the WT applies it to us.

It has the thought of traitorous, backsliding, turncoat about it.

I prefer to call myself an "Advocate" , of the Truth, which I have always been in my heart, so I have not Apostasised. I have rejected anything I have found to be un-truth , which I always did.

It is just that the non-truth I have rejected is that which is taught by the JW/WT Org.

I agree with the thread title, all on here are remarkable, in the way we have courageously become a better Advocate.

Love

Wobble

teel

My wife just asked me this, who do I consider has it easier, me or her? It's obvious it's her. She has everything laid out on the table, she has no idea what it means to truly research. She has a cardboard cutout conscience ready prepared for her. If there's absolutely anything troubling her, she knows where to look: in the Watchtowers.

An "apostate" trying to be a good man on the other hand has it much harder. Questions that troubled philosophists for ages are still not resolved to everyone's liking. All I can do is weigh everything I know about being a good man and decide upon that. If I make a wrong decision, there's only one person I can blame: myself. A JW escapes from that responsibility: they only "followed orders". If it's from the Society, it must be from God. If it changes, it was from imperfect humans, but Jehovah tolerated the imperfection, so the fault was still not either of the person, nor the GB.

In the book "Brainwashing" writer Kathleen Taylor pointed out very well: these kind of groups dissolve responsibility. We, "apostates" have to stand up for ourselves, have no such valve.

nancy drew

there's a cat stevens song that has the line "it,s hard but it's harder to ignore it if they were right i'd agree but it's them they know not me now there's a way and i know but i have to go away"

WTWizard

We do have to make sacrifices. Often, your family is lost to the religion if we decide to leave it. Sometimes, we also have to sacrifice jobs and homes, if we have witlesses as bosses or slumlords (usually, they are too busy in field circus to be proper landlords). Lose your religion, you also lose job and home.

Even those in alone make sacrifices to leave. Whatever friendships they make in the cancer are lost. They also frequently get hounded, and that "We miss you at the boasting session. When are you coming back? We'll see you this Thursday evening or Sunday morning."

LongHairGal

Metatron,

I agree that it takes more strength of character to be a so-called apostate. Even though this word is considered to be an insult when used by JWs, it doesn't have quite the sting they would like it to have because I supposedly was an 'apostate' when I left the Catholic church. I have heard other religions throw this word around.

If somebody had to ask me why I joined the JW religion I would have to say it was an interest in end-time prophecy and a search for 'truth'. What finally led me OUT of the religion? The search for 'truth'.

Lady Lee

Like many negative terms to identify a group of people, historically many of those same people adopt the pejorative word and claim it as their strength.

I'm an x-JW. But I am also an apostate. For 10 years after I left the WT teachings were still very much a part of who I was. Even though I wasn't going to meetings I still believed. It wasn't until I started doing some research that the term apostate meant anything to me. Now I claim the pejorative word, "apostate" as my strength.

I suppose a person could say remaining a mindless JW is easier. Except that for me it was harder. Harder to the point of believing the only way out was suicide. And I came very close to implementing my plan. Something inside of me snapped and I realized I didn't want to be dead. I wanted out. I wanted freedom. Not only freedom from my abusive husband but from all the people and things that controlled my life.

It took great courage to take the steps needed to physically get out. It took a lot of courage 10 years later to start researching and get my mind out.

If I had the choice of the life in versus the life out, the life out by far is easier. There isn't even a way to describe the difference for me except that is is the difference between both a physical and mental bondage and physical and mental freedom.

There were sacrifices. It wasn't easy. But it was worth it

Why 'Apostates' Are All The More Remarkable

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