Poll:

by Monster 31 Replies latest jw friends

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  mebeme

  Well now wasn't that fun! I was just replying to you Gopher and I learned that if you back button to put in the UN and PW that you forgot to put in and you don't copy the huge paragraph that you just tried to post.....YOU lose it...AAAUUURRRGGGH!

  I premised the missing post with thanks Gopher and any tips for navigation are welcome since I really am a newbie newbie wooooosh! lost it all....lol on the outside....fingers are a lil angry with me though

  As I was saying: I sort of have a mourning like feeling or maybe anger associated with my abscence from the cong. I think now 4 years. I get upset when I think of the abusive use of Gods gift of knowledge within the leaders mostly of the cong. I was and am so grateful to have found Jehovah and will never know how to express the appreciation of that alone but am abhored at what is being done to so many searching as I was. I didn't even realize some of the things we as JW'S believed because coming from the "World" and not being raised up in it I edited things coming from the platform as personal choice or well thats a good attempt at guessing, the jury is out on that one (haha) type of thing but she let me know that some things had been carved in stone so to speak. Any way I have seen an abundance of pain and suffering caused by this iron hand method of "love" and I can't wait to see Jehovah's take on matters. Will be an explosive day for some is my guess

  Ok, UN and PW are in effect, sending post again
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  freedom96

  The only beliefs that I continue is what I find in the bible directly. Usually those are things taught by most Christian religions. An example would be that there is a God, and his son is Jesus. The basic things taught through history in the bible. Be good to others, etc.

  I think the WTS lost any and all credibity with their extreme beliefs, and saying they have the answer to everything. False prophecies, and hurting people such as medical issues, and the whole df'ing deal.
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  mebeme

  I'm with you all the way on this one Simon. Most people who leave the organization feel they have been dooped and they look elsewhere. I think all religion is corrupt and one must move with caution if they still feel the need for organized religion. I do not. I think there are levels so to speak in Satans organization regarding religion. I believe they are feeding grounds for him and his to manipulate right hearted people. The problem is they know who they are so they know who we are...We don't know who they are ....so we "turn the other cheek" and they have a party at our expense ....I would venture a guess that JW organization is on a level somewhat like the president or something VERY HIGH on the scale and very powerful (since the defaming is being done literally in gods name.and then it trickles down from there to all other religions.

  Edited by - mebeme on 7 December 2002 14:3:5
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  LyinEyes

  When I lost my religion... my cult , i mean,,,,,,,,, I have them to thank for my present state of mind. Which happens to be utter confusion...... I am not sure I believe the Bible at all. If you don't believe in the Bible how can you believe all the things written in it about God and Jesus and where we fit into all of it. I am even worried about my confusion if there even is a God. Right now I am just dealing with this one day at a time and I still pray and I hope God will help me to find him , in the way that he wants me too.

  I am still pissed that the JW's had me going for so long on the Paradise idea. I still would love for that one to come true,,,, but for all of mankind not just JW's , all the good people , would live there too. But it now seems like a fairy tale. But who knows?( no comment from JW's please??? LOL, they have the answers for everything)
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  yard dog

  What up James! I've scrapped their whole belief system and started over from scratch. Of course it took me 17 years to decide to do that. They may be right on some doctrinal points but I'm going to allow personal study and an open mind to lead me there and not a Watchtower magazine. I believe in God and at this stage am working on the relationship between him and his Son. Where that will take I don't know. Peace.
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  mebeme

  LyinEyes, I read to my hubby your funny comment on "NO comments from JW"S" we laughted and he wanted me to say ...yah...".They are a legend in their own minds" Just wanted to share. He never did program with them but stood by my side while I spent 15 years with em. Makes me think of all of the times they comforted me with since my husband wasn't in The truth they would be my family.....and I said hey wait a minute I believe God said it is a choice....and it wasn't mandatory that we are allowed to choose what we believe......I thanked them but said my pagon husband is a wonderful friend of mine, a good man and all the family I really needed..(besides my kiddies)...thanks anyway! It was really weird....we moved alot, several states over the time period and it never failed that after going through the JW credit check ie: is your husband in the truth, are you a pioneer etc etc.....they would always get a pitiful look as if to say....there there you poor thing...your husband isn't in the truth......and I would have to explain that it is ok. I have a wonderful husband ....I think i will keep him....hahah
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  dobby

  I don't believe any of it anymore. And I think maybe my whole life, in the back of my mind I didn't believe.

  I believe that ALL religion and ALL holy books are just part of humankind's evolution. They were ways to give hope, explain our existence and keep order in society. Unfortunately they were also the justification for men to dominate women for centuries. They are also the reason for prejudice and hatred just as easily as they may have been a force for good and understanding.

  Simply put, people are evolving as a species and learning what works and what doesn't. What makes their existence better and more meaningful and what doesn't. Religion absolutely DOES NOT make us better. In every way shape or form RELIGION IS EVIL.

  ETHICS and VALUES are different to me. Ethics and values make people and the world better. Things like honesty, loyalty, love, kindness, generosity, peace, tolerance, integrity, etc. And I believe wholeheartedly that it doesn't take fear of GOD to bring these qualities out in people. (maybe fear of jail, hee hee).

  Life is TEN times better when you stop trying to answer questions that you can not. NO one knows if God exists, and if so why we are here and what happens when we die. So Stop losing sleep over it. If there is a God and he/she is going to judge us, how can you rightly believe you will be judged on anything more than using your common sense and following the Golden Rule? What sense does it make to force us to decipher all kinds of cryptic prophecies, follow a bunch of elaborte ridiculous rules (don't say "bless you" when someone sneezes) and blindly follow the leadings of another human that is no different from yourself? AND live in dreaded fear of the possibility of dying at Armageddon despite trying your best.

  The other night I was leaving my favorite bookstore. I stood at the doorway and watched my son and my husband racing each other to our car. I was holding a cup of warm Chai tea and had just left my most favorite place on earth, namely a bookstore. It was one of those perfect moments in life. And it dawned on me, when I was a dub I would not have allowed myself to revel in the moment long without a sharp reminder to myself that "it's all well and fine, but what if you lose it all at Armageddon because you aren't home studying or preparing for field service". I would have shuddered and gone back to berating myself for everything I did wrong.

  But, now that I am not a dub. I just laughed, paused and drank in the moment. Honey, if that's as good as it's going to get, anything else is just icing.
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  rebel

  One thing I am grateful to the JWs for is that I know I would never have picked up a Bible if it hadn't been for them. It just would not have been something I would have done, even though, as a Catholic, I should have. I really, really need to believe in a resurrection to earth because I need to see someone so badly it hurts. I hate the idea of disfellowshipping and shunning because it so obviously isn't Christian. I still believe God's name is Jehovah and I don't believe in the Trinity any longer because it doesn't make sense. There are so many nice people who are JWs and I am really going to miss them when I finally make the break. I panic just thinking about it. I certainly won't miss the holier-than-thou ones in the congregation (mostly elders, MSs, pioneers etc)
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  Monster

  I didn't expect to read what I did, infact I thought most of you would say you don't believe in any of it anymore.

  I will let you know why I did this poll. Today at the store a lady was shopping with her husband, they kept looking at the WT Mag my sister drops off every so often, they assumed I was a jw (not surprisingly)we talked for a few minutes, and she began telling me a story about how an elder she rented an apt from got her fired because he decided to check and see if she really had a job, the employer let her go thinking she was trouble because of the phone call. She ended up looking everywhere for another job but she couldn't find one in time to pay the rent. The Elder started making all kinds of trouble for her, even going as far as to take other people in her apt while she was asleep showing off the apt incase she didn't come up with the rent in two weeks. She decided she was going to move out of his apt, he became angry with her starts trouble at the meetings. She curses him out at the meeting saying it was his fault in the first place that she lost her job, another elder and his wife talks with her saying she should have "never" rented an apt from this man he gives all the members trouble when they rent from him, this was something she didn't know. She decided to leave from the congregation, the elder continued to make himself appear to be righteous in his actions, from that day foward she had trouble from his supporters in the congregation. She didn't know what to do , so she spoke with a catholic preist (she said she didn't know he was a preist),the catholic church steps in pays her rent and finds a job for her, the brothers were pissed about the whole affiar but the elder didn't have a problem when the preist gave him the back rent she owed.The other members began gossiping about her. She couldn't take the bull anymore she decides to leave the religion for good. But, she still believes in what the witnesses teach. She says she has a whole book case of their literature and she still prays to Jehovah believing one day he's going to set matters straight and make a way for her to come back.

  She got me to thinking , how many of you sitll believe in what you were taught, I know most of you had bad experiences with jw. Thanks for your honest answers.

  BTW I am doing fine Derrick thanks for asking.. You made some very good points.

  Now your answers brings me to another question: So I am assuming from what most of you said, that you would be willing to return if they changed some attitudes in their ways of thinking?...

  hmmmm I wonder if I can start two threads in one..

  Peace James
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  rebel

  Once I go, I will never go back.