by RayoFlight2014 74 Replies latest jw experiences
Hi LongHairGal,
My feelings about the cult are reflected in your words and yes, there are so many variables that can determine or influence how an individual is affected.
It is indeed a "crapshoot".
I, in no way wanted to imply that you were any less impacted because you weren't raised or born-in to the cult, so I somewhat regret the wording of my topic title. I want to be inclusive and hope you feel that.
With care and love,
RayoFlight2014.
RAYOFLIGHT:
No, I didn’t get that impression at all.
Believe me, I am well aware that people who are born/raised in the JW religion are the worst affected. Even people who come in as a young adult can be negatively affected. I cringe when I think about it.
People who are raised as JWs but who are able to get out at a younger age and strike out on their own seem to do okay. This is usually a male. He may or may not have family members who shun but he knew he had to get out and made whatever sacrifices. Other people’s circumstances could be more complicated. What if they work for JWs or have a business with JW customers? They have to be careful.
It is really a tangled mess and I wish anybody luck who wants to extricate themselves from this horrible trap.
LongHairGal,
At 19/20 years old and losing my religion, I was working for a jw brother who identified as one of the anointed.
We had a mutual "anointed" friend.
Both these men were older than my father and they were the type of folk I liked associating with. The older of the two was not my employer and old enough to be my great grandfather, he was distressed by the watchtower's emphasis on hours spent preaching rather than looking after or tending to the flock, the orphan and the widow.
They would speak openly and with integrity to truth as they saw it, regardless of watchtower interpretation.
We would read the daily text together during meal breaks, discussing and debating how it applied to us personally, to the local congregation and to the brotherhood internationally.
When I decided I no longer wished to attend the meetings I was open and candid with my employer, I did not fear the consequences, but it was complicated and upsetting.
A few months after I stopped going to the meetings, my employer stopped going also.
I hope that gives you some insight into my experience 28 years ago.
Losing my religion was a song that played often on the radio the year I was departing.
Fink,
The internet and the access to vast quantities of verifiable information that it provides has been a huge game-changer for any organization that insists on hiding and misquoting information.
The internet wasn't something I could access in any meaningful way back in the 1990's. And it wasn't until 2015 when I had more than 300mb of data allowance per month on my phone.
Once I unlocked that door it was like entering another dimension.
Just WOW.
To all,
Here's another REM song that impacted me greatly in the aftermath of leaving the religion I was born into.
Fortunately I never had suicidal thoughts.
And though I was literally alone, unable to share my grief, I felt surely I'm not the only one who can't reconcile with jw beliefs.
Years later I find out I was right.
