Looking back, realizing that evolution had to be true.
What triggered your doubts / awakening?
by Tornintwo 64 Replies latest jw experiences
-
-
done4good
I had lots of cognitive dissonance and squashed lingering doubts, that probably started when a friend of mine was physically attacked with a knife by his abusive elder father, and after going to the PO about it and being told that the matter would be handled, was later told that all was just "a misunderstanding". That was in 1993. I was extremely unhinged over this at the time. My friend was smart and got the hell out shortly after that incident.
12 years later, after several years of a bad marriage, I decided it made no sense to stay in such a marriage. This led me to questioning the entire marriage/divorce relationship as understood by the JWs, and shortly after that the dominoes began to fall. I stopped going to meetings entirely within 6 months of drawing those conclusions.
I healed, and finally starting asking all of those tough questions that were bottled up due to the cognitive dissonance, and they rest was history.
d4g
-
done4good
Just to add a bit of irony to the above...
The elder that committed the violent act and subsequently not disciplined, was later removed for letting his son come back home to live with them, as the son was DF'd by this time. I believe his wife drew the line over the situation, since their son had some serious issues at the time. No thanks to elder father.
Totally f@cked up cult.
d4g
-
Sofia Lose
The 'Generation' flip-flop/adjustment really did it for me. I knew then they had to be pulling this crap out of their assess just to accommodate their failed prophesies.
If not for the loss of close friends and relatives, I would be far gone physically as I am mentally/emotionally from these charlatans.
SL
-
LongHairGal
It is nice to see so many good posts from newer people finding their way out of the religion!
As others have mentioned, the 1995 changed teaching on Generation was the deciding factor in my mind that I was DONE with the JW religion!! I didn't want to admit it at first and it was a delayed reaction but I made my exit several years later. I could not tell people this was "Truth" when I no longer believed it myself!
The reality is that I lingered in the JW religion longer than I should have and am sorry I didn't walk out 10 years sooner. I was viewed negatively because I was a single woman who worked full-time.
My critics included older married women who had non-JW husbands. These men worked 40 years to provide these women with a pension and a comfortable existence! Where did these fools think money came from?? I had to support myself. Other critics included some younger ones who never wanted to be part of the workforce. Some were looking for a free ride until "Armageddon" came!!!
I did meet some nice people there and I wish them all the best. But, I am glad I am not there now to hear the never-ending appeals for money and hard-luck stories. So glad to be FREE from it all and thankful it is in my past.👍
-
-
Pubsinger
1995 generation change too. Knew straight away that something was not right. Research went round in circles until 1999 when I found Crisis of Conscience. Was out within 6 months. -
dozy
Like many here - I was something of a slow burner. I always knew at the back of my mind that something wasn't right but like many JWs suppressed it on a "where else do I go" basis & was aware that leaving the Org would hugely disrupt my life.
My kids were getting to an age ( 5 - 7 ) when I realised that I had to start teaching them to become JWs & I was very uncomfortable about that & decided one day to start researching JWs as if I had never been one myself , like I would do with any other lifestyle choice. It quickly became obvious that this wasn't "the truth".
A few final triggers were things like finding out the Society had copied the artwork from Christendom's books and even drinks company adverts for their publications and some of the blatant misquotes in books like the Creation book & the Trinity brochure. If there was a specific "last straw" it was probably the Question Box in 2007 discouraging JWs from learning biblical Hebrew or Greek and realised that this wasn't even a bible based misguided religion , just essentially a cult.
-
Tornintwo
Where else would I go?
What a powerful thought-stopping technique, stopped me looking for a long time too.
i think if you are religious, want to maintain a faith then the answer is Jesus Christ, as it was when Peter said those words. If you aren't and you settle on atheism then the answer is, wherever you like!!!
-
TTWSYF
Tornintwo Where else would I go?
Hate this cult. So much work to dismantle other faiths with their LIES.
Where else would you go?
Answer- Anywhere but here.