What Was The 1st Thing That Made You Question?

by minimus 102 Replies latest jw friends

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  cruzanheart

  This is a very thought-provoking thread. I've been thinking about it for a few days now, and I realize that the first time I really questioned whether or not this was "THE truth" was when I saw how the raptors pounced on and ripped Big Tex to shreds back in 1988-89. It made no sense. None of that should have happened. Everything the elders, Brooklyn, and his family did was completely against what was taught from the platform. I kept waiting for someone to fix it and no one did. I watched my dad try to fix it and saw him get blackballed. For 14 years I tried to keep going and "wait on Jehovah" but I saw too much to be a "true believer" anymore and when it started affecting our children, I left.

  Nina
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  rem

  I guess I should be glad that "demonic subliminal images" in the Watchtower publications helped to get some people out, but it all seems a bit ridiculous to me. There are real problems with the Watchtower, and some people focus on stuff like this. It just amazes me.

  For me it was the 587/607 issue that started it all.

  rem
• 

  El Kabong

  Wow!!! This thread has such great posts. It's very reassuring to me that I was not alone in my thinking. No matter what the elders say.

  For me, I remember walking home from the book study in December 1974. Of course, the "After the meeting conversations" were all about the upcoming year, 1975. I remember saying to my Mom that President Ford will be the last American President. I asked if Brother Knorr will be the new president in the New System next year. (Hey I was a kid at that time). How exciting it was to think that in less than a year, the wicked will be destroyed and we will finally be living in Paradise. Heck I even had my own Mansion picked out and everything. I had to make sure it was large enough for all the Lions, Tigers, and Bears (oh my!) that I would have as pets.

  But then I started thinking, what if they start roping off sections of the earth, like they do at assemblies with sections of the stadium/arena/whatever. (I'm sorry Brothers, China is closed this millenium). I could just see the post armageddon attendants with the "keep moving" signs everywhere I would go. These boneheads in Brooklyn would start controlling EVERYTHING about our lives. That right there was enough of a turnoff.

  But, needless to say, December of 1975, I started to see things in a very different light. I no longer drank every word spoken on the platform. My mind started wandering more and more during the meetings. I was saying to myself more and more at the meetings, "Boy, what bullshite". But, of course, I still went to the meetings because I HAD to. (Still a Minor). But, as a yewt (That's Brooklyn talk...aren't we all going to speak with Brooklyn accents in the new system?), I still saw through the hypocracy and lies. Especially when the GB started insisting that they never said ANYTHING about armageddon coming in 1975. AND, I could never believe that so many friggin idiots went along with it. It reminds me of:

  TV announcer: You are watching FOX

  Simpsons: "WE ARE WATCHING FOX".

  Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble on. My fingers are on autopilot right now on the keyboard.
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  minimus

  Wait on Jehovah. That has to be one of the dumbest cliche's of all time. Hearing that over and over when injustices happen to you make you want to run out.
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  minimus

  Swan was wondering whether or not a thread was ever put up about what made us doubt. Here it is.
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  garybuss

  
  
  So many of us noticed irregularities and bad behaviors and even arrogance by those in charge of Publishing Corporation sponsored events but we excused those and went on. We even made up the excuses for the bad behaviors and failed expectations ourselves when none were offered by the Publishing Corporation.
  
  We feared to research what was not offered to us. We equated the Publishing Corporation and it's agents with God. We wanted them to be who they said they were. We wanted to be treated like they told newcomers we were treated. We wanted our questions respected and answered. We didn't want those put off and we didn't want to be put down for having them.
  
  Then they angered us. We responded in our own ways. Some of us were quiet. Some of us confronted them. They angered us more. They angered us beyond our fear. Our fear that kept us in line. The fear that kept us silent. We went out and searched for the answers they refused us and we found more. We dug. We were amazed at what we were finding in older publications and in court records. We looked in hospital wards and in prisons and in mental institutions and we found real victims. We found both victims who questioned and we found victims who obeyed. We dug deeper.
  
  We presented what we had found to those who we trusted and loved. Their doors slammed and the shunning and snubbing started. That hurt us and angered us and we resolved to not go back. Then we found each other and our goal was health and happiness. We ended up stronger as we opened the door to new friends.
  
  
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  minimus

  Beautiful response, Gary! But what made you first question???
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  hamptonite21

  I was told to Wait on Jehovah with a promblem I was having,,, I waited and waited and waited... then I realized he wasnt listening because he isnt real.
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  Soledad

  when I was about 12 or 13 I made friends with an elder's daughter who acted very wildly and was sleeping around. I thought to myself how does an elder's daughter get away with it? The elder was wealthy, so then I realized that people with money could get away with anything inside the org.

  another nagging doubt I had surfaced when I was about 16, I was getting ready for the memorial and I asked why do we continue commemorating Jesus' death if he clearly stated "do this until I return." The society taught that Jesus returned in 1914. So why continue with the memorial? And couldn't everyone partake? I never received a straightforward answer. As I got older I only became more and more doubtful. Then I left.
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  garybuss

  
  
  Hi Min, I just ran out of ability to suspend disbelief any more. Not always sure what was my first question. I had many. I mostly really did not like being a Witness. I was embarrassed to tell people I was a "minister". I wanted to be a biker outlaw. That's actually what I ended up to be:-)
  
  The deal breaker was in 1974. The Watch Tower Publishing Corporation was starting to build escape routes for their soon to fail prediction of 1975.
  
  After the fact, at a circuit assembly in Sioux Falls, a DO said from the platform, "Brothers, if you heard it, you did not hear it here!". That was the official party line and it was a lie. I kicked the door on the way out.
  
  Before that, was the district assembly vending machine incident I have written about and the necktie party in the Kingdom Hall back room. By the time 1974 came along, I had one foot out the door and one foot on a banana peel,,,,,, I was down to a couple meetings a month. They really made it hard to stay. gary