Did you ever have a discussion with an apostate that helped your journey out.

by jwfacts 51 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  longgone

  No, I had been taught all of my life that apostates are dangerous and if we listened to them or read their literature we would be pulled into Satan's"system" immediately.This was reinforced because as a child on several occasions over the years someone would rush up to the stage at the district conventions yelling things out. Several brothers would have to literally pull them back and out of the stadium, it was quite a scene. Also, it was really scary for me as a little kid who had no idea what it was all about. I hope anyone who considers this tactic will seriously think about the feelings of small children and the many sensitive and sincere Witnesses in attendance.

  I realized the Watchtower Society was wrong by what few critical thinking skills I had learned outside of it. Also, the small number of family members who left years before were always respectful of my beliefs. They were the ones I went to with my doubts. Fortunately, the very first site I came across after that, when I dared to look on the internet was JW facts. Thank you with all my heart, Paul.Just as it is called, it's all facts. Solid information backed by references to their own publications confirmed that my doubts were valid. The video Growing up a Jehovah's Witness was excellent. Later, this support forum is what got me through the initial stages. Thank you so much, Simon. My view is that angry and/or sarcastic ex-jw videos, tactless words to any current members, or any level of aggression to wake up individuals has the very opposite effect. I hope it ends.
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  LongHairGal

  LONDO:

  Regarding the Mr. Coffee person who picketed outside Bethel:

  Many years ago I was once invited to a gathering where a sister told the story of "Mr. Coffee" and how he supposedly was struck by a delivery truck or something similar (if I have my story right). The bethelites felt it was rather funny and felt that he brought it on himself because he wasn't watching where he was standing when picketing.

  The impression I got was that these bethelites were smug in their ivory tower! I wonder how many of them are still left or if they were among the bethelites sent packing over the last decade?
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  Bungi Bill

  My first contacts with Ex-JWs did not occur until ten years after the last time I walked out of a kingdom hall.

  For me , a series of gradually accumulating private doubts led me to carry out some discreet research; such "research" as was available in the pre-internet era. That mainly came down to a very small number of books, such as WC Stevenson's 1975: A Year of Doom?, plus certain writings of David Reed. Talking about the effectiveness of an "aggressive" approach - one "apostate" book that failed to impress me was W. Schnell's 30 Years A Watchtower Slave. It somehow came over more as the rantings of somebody slightly unbalanced, rather than an informative work on the Jehovahs Witnesses. (Even WC Stevenson gave Schnell's work a negative mention).

  My doubts really began with the failure of anything to happen in 1975, plus the official silence that followed it. However, not wanting to classed amongst the "quitters", I found ways to rationalise my way around that one (for a decade or two afterwards, anyway). As Morpheus aptly described it "Realizing and accepting are two different things". That was me, all-right!
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  UnshackleTheChains

  Hi jwfacts

  For me, it was the plain and simple age of the internet. At first, I was reluctant to read anything apostate on line as I was totally brainwashed in my view of anything apostate.

  In 1995, I remember going in to a Christian book shop and seeing a book about the Witnesses and bought it. I then sat in the car and looked at the cover of the book, but then decided I couldn't read it as this was wrong. So I threw it in the rubbish

  What finally drew my attention to apostate material was when a brother sent a link to ancient Babylon photos which I found interesting. I clicked a few links and saw the confusion over the date 607 bce.

  This then led me to JWN and the rest is history.
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  _Morpheus

  @longhair gal: yes mr coffee was hit by a bethel laundry truck. I wasnt an eye witness but the brother driving felt awful for as long as i was in contact with him, simply because it was an honest mistake and he knew that it appeared to be intentional because coffee was a raging lunatic.

  Btw coffee was so named because his big apostate moment of awakening was deciding that jw's shouldn't be allowed to drink coffee or tea as caffeine is addictive. He would stand out side Brooklyn bethel and rant for hours at the top of his lungs about the hypocrisy of jw's drinking caffeinated products.

  All so called "militant" apostates end up sounding just as foolish to me , both when i was dub and now far removed.
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  Londo111

  If I understand correctly, Watchtower had to pick up his medical bills.

  He also disapproved of makeup and called women with makeup walking by "hussies".
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  _Morpheus

  Lol yea your right londo, on both counts.
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  LongHairGal

  LONDO:

  I suppose this person never read Old Testament scriptures that show women painted their eyes (the name "Horn of Eye Paint" referring to one of Job's daughters). They were veiled and probably all you saw was their eyes.

  I can understand somebody being turned off by women wearing a pound of makeup and maybe red lipstick. But, makeup done moderately shouldn't be bothering anybody. Every now and then you run into somebody (usually a man) who has issues about this and have hang ups about women's adornment. Know what? That's THEIR problem.
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  DesirousOfChange

  It was a Return Visit that eventually became a "Bible Study" who began asking many "difficult" questions that required me to do much research. In hindsight, I think she was "studying" with me! She "studied" for several months and even attended meetings quite regularly. In the course of our "study" she planted many seeds of doubt with me because the WT Publication answers to her questions were vague, twisted, unsupported which led to me using good old Google for research. The rest is history. . . . .

  An interesting fact is that I was eventually led to jwfacts and this site. I lurked for months and refused to join fearing I would be exposed. (Are all JWs so paranoid?) And even upon finding the courage to join and post here, I was a bit of quasi-advocate for WT. (Thus the name: Desirous of Change). At that point I really thought things could be changed.
  
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  JW GoneBad

  jwfacts: Looking back, none of those experiences prompted me to leave, but they did remain with me and made me understand that people do have intelligent reasons for not believing it was the truth. That seed of doubt always remained.

  That was it for me. Most anti-JW comments, articles or protests that I've seen or read have a common thread that runs through them...that the Jehovah's Witnesses movement is a stiff, rigid and hate-filled religion.

  Those seeds of doubt finally took their toll on my 'JWs are the one true religion' mentality...and so here I am...ever so thankful to the anti-JW movement!