Do Not Let Your Opponent Define You...

by truth_b_known 14 Replies latest jw friends

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  truth_b_known

  I recently went to a class offered by my local Chamber of Commerce that teaches people how to run an election campaign. I did this because a good friend of mine asked me to assist him in getting elected to a local county office. I'm highly involved in politics, now, and thought it would be something fun to do.

  One point that really struck a chord with me went something like this:

  "Do not let your opponent define you. You define your opponent. Never name your opponent by name. That's just free advertising for your opponent and distracts voters from you."

  So, I began to think about this in regards to where I am at in life in regards to religion. I was born to parents who were and still are diehard members of the evil empire. It wasn't until my late 20's/early 30's that things started to change.

  I made contact with an old friend I had not seen or heard from in about 7 years. He would ask: What's your Jehovah's Witness status? We had a wide spectrum of terms to answer that. It went from "Inactive with plans to get back" to "full-on apostate".

  With that being said, I have recently come to the thinking that I will refuse to allow the evil empire to label me with it's terminology. I will define myself and I will define the evil empire. If I do not, then I am still part of it.

  With that being said....

  I am not an "inactive publisher".

  I am not an "apostate".

  I am not part of "The Christian Congegation of Jehovah's Witnesses" nor do I prescribe to their beliefs as published in the works of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society.

  I am, however:

  A highly-educated man with two college degrees that loves life, my fellow man, and being of service to them.
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  Ding

  Very good point.
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  N.drew

  Wecome truth_be_known! That is a good point of view. Thank you for sharing it.
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  leavingwt

  Is it possible that there is another, future stage?

  I ask, because I no longer view the WT organization as an opponent.

  High-control groups are everywhere. This just happens to be the one that me and my parents got sucked into during the mid-80's.

  I now promote liberty.
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  wobble

  Good thread Truth-be-Known, I have long hated the way the WT labels everybody, and even the terms they sometimes use, to label people "Worldly" or "Apostate" is bad enough, but I always hated it when they would refer to the love of your life and your life-long parner as your "mate", animals have mates.

  They would define me by any number of their derogatory terms if asked to describe what I was, but I describe myself as a "Rational Humanist".

  I too, am not an "Inactive publisher", as that implies that I could become active again for the WT, and that ain't gonna happen !

  Apostate ? no, I didn't leave the religion, it left me.

  Yup, Rational Humanist, that defines me, and you could add part-time drunk and good-time Charlie..
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  truth_b_known

  LeavingWT:

  I was not refering to the WTB&TS as an opponent. My point is to not accept their labels by using it for yourself. My best friends in my high school and college years were all raised as Jehovah's Witnesses as I was. None of us are, now. However, we would still speak in terms as if we were some how still in the organization.

  Were are not a part of that organization. Therefor, I refuse to use that organization's views and terminology to describe any part of my life. I refuse to allow it to define who I am.

  If one of Jehovah's Witnesses were to say to me: "You are an apostate," I would answer,"No. I am not an apostate. I will not allow your cult to define me as something negative simply because I disagree with your teachings and practices. To call me an apostate is to judge me and, even by your own professed teachings, you do not have the authority to do so."

  Clear as mud?
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  Bella15

  Awesome !!! Being labeled by "titles" defined by the WTC means you are still part of that somehow ... that's the point my mother doesn't understand, I have nothing to do with them anymore ... I don't have to submit to their rules of talking to their elders ... I AM NOT PART OF THEIR WORLD ... submiting to their rules would mean for me to give them credit or acknowledging their existence and I don't give credit to LIES ... an empire that in MY WORLD would mean I am submitting to the devil ... LOL!!! For me the Watchtower is SO year 2002 ago - they are way behind in my timeline.

  By you coming to that realization, have catapulted yourself years ahead, it is a huge quantum leap to another degree of consciousness. I love those moments of self revelation!!!!!

  I define myself as a Daughter of the Most High God, totally equipped, loved, blessed, accepted, forgiven, prosperous, with life eternal (Christ) inside of me, and these trickle down in everything I do in my daily life.
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  leavingwt

  truth: Gotcha. I better understand what you're saying. I agree.
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  Balaamsass
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  Band on the Run

  I read this quote someplace else today. YOur point is well-taken. I like adopting apostate, though, as some gays accept "queer."

  More power to it. I am very proud to be an apostate. They can have the name calling win.

  Politcal campaigns are big on message. If you watch news shows, the debates don't interact with each other. All they do is repeat their talking points which are very few. Over and over. NO dialouge occurs.

  Campaigns are about winning elections, not determing policy. The problem is that you don't play yourself, you have no excuse.