by WinstonSmith 336 Replies latest jw experiences
Ha ha, sorry about that! I'm back at work after holidays so was a bit tired last night. It is coming, I promise (jeez I sound like the WT).
Unfortunately it does not involve mum. I have had two left-field surprises that have got the year off to a good start.
:-)
When you are ready Winston, we know it must be very tiring being upside down all the time !
Ha ha Phizzy, the temperature was above 30 degrees today so nnnneeeeerr!
:-)
So, as mentioned, a couple of really neat things have happened in the last week or so. I will talk about one then the other.
I can't remember if I mentioned it at the time, but when I sent my DA letter and message to my friends on Facebook, I only sent it to our Australia based friends. I figured that eventually word would seep through to NZ. Sure enough, over time the NZ 'friends' have quietly unfriended me too. Not one of bothered to check to see if it was true, or if i was okay - true to form for JWs where there is no such thing as unconditional love, just the icy cold compliance with the rules dictated by the OctoPope.
So the other day I made a post on my blog, and following my usual habit, posted a link to it on Facebook. In it I talked about how Mrs Smith and I had had a fantastic break over the holiday period, and enjoyed not having any pressure to knock on doors, keep up time, or go to meetings, and all the guilt trips that get heaped on you if you miss out on doing those things. I mentioned how it was now so nice to hang out with people who love us for who we are, not for our mutual compliance with the ever changing rules of the overlords.
The next morning my phone beeped with a new Facebook message, and the home screen showed the name of a JW person that I have been friends with since my teens. The first line of the message was showing on my phone screen and it said: "Hey Winston, I read your blog post...."
I thought 'Here goes another one. Probably tell me how much they love me but have to cut me off for my own benefit or something.'
Boy, was I wrong.
The message went thus: Hey Winston, I read your blog post, and I just want to say that I will always be your friend no matter what. We are always told to make time for friends, but with my young family, sometimes life is so busy. If you ever need someone to chat to that is uninvolved I'm only a message away. I'm not saying you need someone - but I'm available anyway.
I am still part of the faith, and take each day as it comes. I keep an open heart and attitude to all my friends and family - as I expect the same in return. You helped us through a really difficult time in the past, and I very positive memories of our times together. Always thinking of you guys, lots of love, Sister Cool.
So I replied to her and expressed how much her message meant to me after having been erased by my mother and sister. I said:
It was a tough decision to leave, it was a big part of my life. But after serving as an elder and seeing how it really works behind the scenes, and knowing how the Society's policies have lead to the abuse of children, and a whole bunch of other things, it got to the point where I just didn't want to do it any more.
There are some things that I just cannot agree on that the Society teaches. Like you, I respect what others believe, and will fight for their right to believe whatever they want. All I ask in return is the same consideration. Unfortunately Mum and my sister don't see it like that, and they have not talked to me for months. The bible says nothing about how to treat family members who leave, yet I have been cast off not only by them, but by all the Witness friends we had here. I understand that they are doing what they think is right, but I have been called some horrible things since making my decision and it is hard for me to see anything in their actions that Jesus would approve of. Love is supposed to cover a multitude of sins right?
I hope we can remain in touch, but understand if you feel like we can't be seen to be friends on FB. My email is always on, feel free to contact me at anytime. I'm always happy to talk about anything. While we may believe different things, we will always, as far as I am concerned, be friends.
Luv ya mate. Stay cool and look after those little munchkins.
I then got a reply that really warmed my heart: Mate! I don't give a rats arse if people see me as your friend on FB. And I will keep in touch.
It made my day to hear her say that. We have been chatting on and off since then as time allows. She has said some interesting things too, like how when her brother was DF'd she stood up for him and defended him against a lot of crap and lies people were saying about him. She still keeps in regular contact with him. She even said about shunning:
it's a reaction that doesn't come naturally, but people are convinced it is correct. U nderstanding and LOVE go a long way. Just like you said treat people with love.
So there it is. A pretty cool way to start the year off.
And if you think that was cool, wait 'til you hear the other thing that has happened...
So I mentioned that there was another really cool thing that has happened over the last couple of weeks.
A little while back I made some posts in a thread here on JWN that related to this part of the world. A short time after this, I got a PM from another user on JWN saying “Hey man, you mentioned a bunch of names that I am also familiar with, I wonder if we know each other ha ha.” They said where they grew up and a ballpark figure of their age, they offered some names as to who they thought I might have been.
So this got my mind racing! Maybe there is someone out there that I actually know! None of the names of who they thought I was were correct, but I did know all the people they guessed. Before replying I went through all their threads to see if there was any tell-tale info that might give me a clue. Based on the place they said they grew up, I had an idea of who it might have been, but was not convinced.
I replied and said that while none of his guesses were right, the names they had mentioned were most definitely familiar. We went back and forth a couple of times I didn’t give much info away, but the person sent me their Skype name and said “If you feel like it, let’s have a catch up” and as soon as I saw their Skype username, I instantly knew who it was, as it was a nickname that I remember from way back.
Not only do I know this person, but this person is someone I consider a good friend, someone who used to regularly come over and hang out, shoot pool, road trip, and play cricket with.
In other words, a mate.
One of my mates is also on their way out of the organisation! Yyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhh!
They haven’t been to a meeting in more than a year, and much like Mrs Smith and I have been pretty much ignored and left to fade by their hopeless elders. They are hoping to just fade out and be forgotten about instead of having to go down the DA / DF path. I have promised to help them as much as possible.
Pretty frakkin’ awesome eh?
Yes it is. So far, so good, Winston! Happy for you that you have found some old friends who are also on the outside of the WT bubble!
Great News !
there is something special about friends who you grew up with, and if you can re-unite with them, the shared experience of WT LaLa Land is something that normal people cannot undrstand of course, however brilliant a friend they may be.
May we all experience more of this, as the WT itself fades and loses its grip on the minds of the Sheeple.
Yes, that's great Winston.
We've got so much new technology available to us today, including the internet and mobile phones. It is a lot easier to come into contact with people we've known in the past. This is not a good thing for the WTBTS and gives us the benefit of having more support than would have been available before.
Hi guys,
Thanks for your comments guys, indeed it has been a good start to the year. In fact, even today I got back in touch with an old friend from way back via Facebook. He was DF'd for apostacy back then, and we haven't spoken since, but within an hour of me sending my friend request, we were chatting like old friends.
:-)
Came across this today, thought it was interesting:
Russian Court Declares Jehovah's Witness Brochures Extremist
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140113/186483 ... emist.html
MOSCOW, January 13 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian court has declared brochures produced by the Jehovah’s Witnesses to be extremist, the Prosecutor General’s Office said Monday.
The court in the southern city of Kurgan ruled that four pamphlets published by the Christian evangelical sect were discriminatory against people who did not belong to the organization.
The booklets were titled “How to Achieve Happiness in Life,” “What Can People Hope For?” “How to Develop a Close Relationship With God,” and “What You Need to Know About God and His Meaning.”
The prosecutor’s office said that analyses by linguistic experts had concluded that the brochures contained propaganda that promoted the superiority of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and denigrated other faiths as false.
Jehovah’s Witnesses claims more than 7 million followers worldwide, including more than 130,000 in Russia. The religious group frequently faces pressure from Russian authorities for its beliefs and has been banned in a number of regions, as well as in some former Soviet republics.
A Moscow court ordered the dissolution of the local branch of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2004 and banned its activities amid allegations that the community was brainwashing children and breaking up families through its teachings.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the decision was unlawful in 2010 and ordered Russia to pay 70,000 euro ($95,000) in damages.
Russian courts declared numerous publications by Jehovah’s Witnesses to be extremist in 2009.
