by cedars 77 Replies latest jw friends
Apognophos
it makes me a little uncomfortable that everything I write here is set in stone after 30 minutes.
The simple solution is to write your post with that in mind.
One thing you can do is make sure you post under "members only" if you are sharing something that you don't want to show up via search engines to non-members. Apart from that, if you are protective of your identity and you have something to say that can pin you down, it's best not to say it.
Cedars
Bringing up information from old publications and past conventions, explaining our then JW way of fervent devotion (so different from today's milquetoast religion) can create problems:
"That never happened! That was never said!" shouts one who has erased it all from his mind or wasn't alive during that epoch.
All right. End of conversation . . .
So sorry to hear so many people having to deal with this. There really are no easy answers. It's a cult - their goal is to trap you.
I feel like this thread applies to me. Still fairly new, attempting the fade, but at the stage where alot of people don't even know I have stopped attending, and the elders are having "friendly" conversations about it.
I cannot be open, and quite frankly would do alot of harm. But then again, when I see JW's witnessing at a table of airport or wherever, I feel like putting up a sign and easel pointing to them that says "They discourage college.......they enforce beliefe through shunning you......if you are not shunned those people are punished......they refuse blood for even their infants......they have predicted the end of the world 7 times."
So the apostate is strong with this one. I feel like I am living two lives. But I am pretty good at it. Maybe I will go back and just climb the ladder as an informant!
Yeah, hard to trust anyone........but I would like to. I would never betray anyone here. Period.
I know i am in the exact same boat. I am a fader for a few years now.
Mother is still in, along with sister and her family. My wife and I are completely out. Still, i find myself being cautions about revealing too much about my true feelings to them and to the many JWs i still know and talk to.
For most of them i'm a Jehovah Witness who simply stopped attending perhaps because i'm lazy, or simply not interested. They dont really ask about it and i dont bring up the issue either, because although i am out, i still would like to preserve the many friendships i developed over the years in the cult.
The only person i really talk to about this is my mother, and only because she bombards me with questions and little comments about it, which leaves me no choice but to answer back. But to my knowledge she does not discuss my position with anybody else.
Being able to leave "on my own terms and according to my own timing" is one of the things I am most grateful for.
I made the usual mistake of trusting the ruling religious clergy class, but was fortunately able to recover from the ensuing mess before it was too late. Stopped attending and formally resigned 6 months later (mid-2009).
Now I really enjoy not being under the illegitimate authority of the spiritually ignorant and blind Pharisees and Sanhedrin.
The freedom to read, discuss and associate where, when, how and with whom I choose is priceless. The learning curve has been, and continues to be exponential. I am truly delighted about this.
When I read the stories here about everyone just trying to live their lives and be at peace... It really drives home the reality of the CONTROL that the org has on us and our loved ones. I feel like we need a resistance movement or something, because no one, no group should ever be able to tell you how to LIVE YOUR LIFE!
i am so sick of this!
I almost feel like telling my family:
I am making a stand. I am speaking out. I do not believe in this any more. I am joining a cause for change. My choice to SPEAK OUT should tell you I am on to something. Pay attention!
Yes, but as the last WT study pointed out, "speaking out" is the spirit of the world! They would just think you had been possessed by the Devil or fooled by apostates. That's the sad thing about the JW mentality, it's got ready-made defenses for all occasions.
