by tootie 30 Replies latest jw friends
Once I made a calm evaluation of the facts, I realized that being a JW was incompatible with my personal values. It was devastating to learn that so many of the things I believed were not true.
These are some of the items that gave me serious pause about continuing my association with WT.
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/wrong-with-being-jehovahs-witness.php
What fellowship does light have with darkness? A little truth mixed with lies, just seems to strengthen the lies. If you are really looking for spiritual truth, and you can see the lies they promote, then you do not belong there.
No one can claim to have the truth. It is a journey we are all on to find it. Sometimes the best we can do is just to weed out the lies and things we know that are NOT truth.
You are having a Crisis of Conscience. Read the book by that name. It will help you come down on one side or the other. It is not negative and bitter, but shockingly accurate. Written by Raymond Franz - a bit before your times I imagine, but a former member of the Governing Body who 'figured it out' and left the organization in early 1980's.
http://www.commentarypress.com/Detail/eng_crisis_s.html
Jeff
Hi my apologies - Borg is a nickname for the organisaton that refers to the way it tries to control its members thoughts and actions. I think it originated in a Star Trek episode but that's a guess
Oh, I hope I am first to post the explanation of the Borg. I love saying it.
Brooklyn ORGanization is part of it. The other part is that the Borg is a group from the world of Star Trek The Next Generation, the television series (and later movies) that used ruthless tactics in order to "assimilate" people into being part of the Borg. The members of the Borg had no individuality but just did what the "collective" directed them to do. Similarly, JW members are taught to recruit people and bring their children into the religion by tactics that would be called "ruthless" (lack of full disclosure of facts) and members tend to stop thinking for themselves and believe anything printed in Watchtower and obey whatever Watchtower tells them (like staying only in approved hotels or shunning their own children who leave the religion).
Gunna post now, hopefully before someone else.
What is personally bothersome to me is their claim that they own God and Jesus. Once you make an honest and fair examination of the JW history, it really makes this claim break into a million pieces.
Their arrogance about the rest of humanity being evil, corrupt, disgusting, alienated from God, worshippers of Satan (by default simply because they are in a different church) is simply ridiculous. Once you find out the WT is just as corrupt by their UN association and their CONTINUED protection of child molesters then you simply cannot accept their claim of ownership on Jesus and God.
haha sorry onthewayout just beat you to it but your explanation was better.
tootie, please don't buy into the lie that the "world" is full of wicked nasty people. It is the "sine qua non" of every high control group that they encourage their members to hold unrealistic views of non-members.
Almost every ex-jw I have spoken to has made similar observations that they were so amazed to discover that the world is full of real people who are just trying to enjoy life and raise their kids. I have met so many great people since I left. The kind you are best to avoid are not the norm.
Hi welcome Tootie ,
Yes I can relate to what you are going through and I am sure others here also understand . I was raised a JW and after forty yrs decided four yrs ago to walk away from that lifestyle . I didn't leave because I wanted to do anything wrong . I didn't leave because I hated the witnesses or the religion for that matter . I left because I was so unhappy .For many years I just never felt good enough in the organization . I was active and faithful ,but never felt I belonged . I left because of many small questions that built up over the years and which I felt I had no way to find answers to because we just don't question "the truth ". I began to feel as if I didn't really know what or who I was because for so long I just did what I was told to do and thought what I was told to think .
Around this time in my life there were some triggers that I can only say Woke me up . One day I was watching a Dr Phil show and he was talking to a couple of girls raised in a cult . They kept repeating how afraid they were to leave that cult because if they did their families would shun them and they were so afraid of dying outside their religion at Armegeddon . Dr Phil made some very valid points to these girls that FEAR was the overpowering feeling in their religion and how awful that was because God would surely want them to feel love over anything .
I thought WOW that is how I feel .....fear and guilt has been my whole life as awitness .
Then a serious health issue arose with my MOm and sister and I had to do some serious research on the Blood issue . For my Whole life I was well rehearsed in how to explain the No Blood stance ,but then the Awake came out showing with graphs what fractions of blood were allowed and which ones were not ! It was like a slap in my face . I had put my life and my childs in jeopardy when we had surgury because i stubbornly thougtht no blood meant No blood and now here they were saying BUT we could use some parts of blood . It became so clear to me that what we believe is based on imperfect mens opinions and those opinions can and change .They are not special elite voices from GOD .
We just stopped attending .We did not tell people my beliefs or questions . After attending the same hall for thirty years you would have thought someone would care enough to stop by and ask what happened .......that did not happen .......So I also saw the so called love and brotherhood we supposedly had was also false .
At first I was sad , then I was mad ....now I am glad and just want others to know it is not 'the truth ' , and that you can have happiness on the outside if you want ,it is up to you and only you can decide .
I really agree with what Cameo-d said
Sometimes the best we can do is just to weed out the lies and things we know that are NOT truth.
I feel this way about the JW's and when I visit other religious organizations or have religious convo's with people. There is a lot that I agree with, but then there are other issues that I just don't agree with.
@ Weeping....no I am no longer married. My husband died. My husband was raised "in the truth" just like me and we were df'd before we got married for screwing before tying the knot. (It was around that time before I got df'd that I started having my doubts). My husband always was a 'rebel and looked at as being crazy or a loose screw" to many of the friends (althogh they weren't incorrect in their views) LOL
The fact that you don't dare let it be known among your JW acquaintances that you visit "other religious organizations" is something that you might ponder. Why does the organization insist so vehemently on absolute loyalty, loyalty, loyalty, LOYALTY? That's what got to me.
