by jhine 33 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
It was Christmas and Halloween which do have roots in pagan practices promoted by other religions, which do create sociological problems from celebrating these traditional holidays.
I actually know of other people who have similar opinions on these holiday events as well and they were never JWS.
Because I left due to studying comparative religion and history, traditions that were taboo suddenly became more fascinating. I love the way myth and legend develop and evolve with local adaptations and my wife loves hosting so we love Xmas.
We were lucky our first year out together and met loving friends who asked us to join them in their Christmas block party. It was as close to Norman Rockwell as you can get. They are nominal Christians and great examples of community involvement. They also invited us to volunteer at a church Christmas dinner made available to anyone and met many more lovely people we now regard as family. In our own home we now host a 'Christmas Round the World' party (different country's traditions each year) with good friends and a number of former JWs. Our place is tiny but we ice skate on the lake and have a bonfire. I want to create that same feeling I had at our first Christmas for our guests. It is the highlight of our year.
Halloween for us is Frankenstein and pumpkins, neither of us enjoy modern horror movies, as we think they cheapen life and foster superstitious fears. We usually dress up in fun costumes and pass out small toys and candy at the shop downtown and have a good time.
As far as hang-ups, lingering self doubt that we at least partially attribute to the religion took a while to get balanced.
I'm still in, but I look around and feel a bit of guilt if I use more than one towel in the restroom.
Rub a Dub
Shame on you Rubby , best to ask Jah for forgiveness for that , truly a terrible sin.
Fink...Think of traditions as human traditions rather than "Pagan" traditions. As a story telling animals, legends and traditions define us as a species. For me, as the Bible's stories became part of the larger body of human legends, all of it became academic.
For me, when I " disappeared" , I felt uncomfortable when people would celebrate christmas or birthdays. After a few years, I became strong enough to say " Merry Christmas" or " Happy Birthday" and now I can party like the rest of them. The hardest to shake is the fear of armegeddon... Anytime I watch the news, I still have that small lingering worry that has been so deeply pushed into my soul... but what will be will be i guess
gabcol...I know others who have left over 20 years ago who still harbor these fears. There is no shortcut to conquering them, IMO it requires honest, critical evaluation of the Bible to put this stuff to bed for good.
RubaDub: "but I look around and feel a bit of guilt if I use more than one towel in the restroom."
Good one!🤣
As an Anglican , l don't celebrate Halloween or eat black pudding , however l do know Christians who eat it with no bother . That is up to their conscience , no one judges .
Jan
Do you still feel guilty going into a church for a wedding or a funeral?
No, I actually started attending a church, well several even before I sent in my DA letter. I was looking for answers.
Can you bring yourself to celebrate birthdays or Christmas?
Yes, but for a long time, I was in conflict over the holidays. To tell you the truth it took me 18 years before I was totally free of any conflict regarding anything involving religion or the bible.
Would you hesitate to accept a blood transfusion if you needed one?
I had one, it was either that or not being around to raise my two young sons, and leaving my husband behind.
Does the indoctrination that you received still work to put a barrier between you and the rest of society in the way it was intended to when you were "in"?
Do indoctrination but a barrier between me and the rest of society, no, but dealing with selfish pricks has.
