What Are The Differences Between JWs Born In and Converted?

by minimus 39 Replies latest jw friends

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  Diogenesister

  Phizzycan remember the shock I experienced shortly after leaving when an XJW pointed out to me that " we all have to die", I had never confronted my mortality before.

  It seems so obvious, doesn't it?

  " you're going to die one day"

  Yet I'm still dealing with my own mortality, and even though I'm not a born in I was indoctrinated from a very young child - and I really believed.

  Neutrality, no warmaking, no hell...all made sense to me, so I thought this has to be true.

  My experience of 70s converts is that most of them were educated...to a point. Language graduates, pilots, midwives, engineers, accountants....none of these types of education, back then, included critical thinking as part of the curriculum, however.

  There were certainly no true academics.
  
  
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  Phoebe

  I was born in but my husband came in aged 28.

  He was a real believer in God before he converted and had already read the bible twice. He was impressed by seeing a quick build near his home and got called on and the rest is history.

  Interestingly, having now left the JWs he avidly reads his bible, prays and still believes very much in God. While i struggle to make sense of anything and have more questions than answers.
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  minimus

  “I had a pre-cult personality “..., I like that! Some seem predisposed toward being a cult member
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  Giordano

  A convert is a fool to believe the WTBTS, this is the same with any high control religion that a convert enters.

  A born-in goes along to get along. They may never experience the high spirituality that the convert feels.....which is a good thing.......... because it allows the born-in to move on with their life.

  The convert leaves when they come to understand that their needs and inabilities are not protected as a baptized JW. That in fact they are judged more harshly. Their identity is crushed for any one of a hundred issue's...... notably speech and grooming. Appearance is everything in the JW world. Obedience is even more important then faith. In fact faith is totally not needed in the JW world. It is less a religion then a social club.

  The converted authentic's self is not appreciated by their fellow JW's. When they finally leave they have been stripped of what little identity they once had.
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  minimus

  All so well put!👍
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  LongHairGal

  MINIMUS:

  The term “pre-Cult personality” is a poor choice of words on my part and doesn’t mean what you think it means.

  What I meant was “my Normal worldly personality” before I was tainted by the sick views of the Jehovah’s Witness religion. I probably still retained some of it while I was still in the religion which is a good thing for me because I could have been more damaged. Thankfully, I warded off some of their bullshit!
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  minimus

  Thanks for the clarification. I like my definition better.🤓
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  mentalclarity

  The main difference is choice. Born ins get raised in it, usually getting baptized pretty young and then as an adult might have doubts if they have enough exposure to the real world. As a third generation witness with no non-jw family, it was all I knew until I got older.

  I'm not really sure how adults get suckered in, but at least they got to choose to join.
  
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  LongHairGal

  MENTAL CLARITY:

  A coworker told me about them...They really put on a good show for me: happy smiling people, no hint of the authoritarian attitude, everybody was supposedly equal, no clergy, lots of gatherings, no criticism, eagerness to talk about my favorite topic at the time of end-time prophecy.

  I didn’t really think of it as a religion per se, just a group. I got the sense of finally having new friends since my non-JW family at the time was rather new to the area and I didn’t know many people.

  The ugliness didn’t rear its head until after I was baptized..the rest is history and I’m 18 years out.. I’m just grateful I held onto my job until retirement. I look back at my experience in the Witness religion like a job I had many years ago that I’m glad I quit.
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  mentalclarity

  @LongHairGal - yeah that seems to go along with what I observed throughout the years. People who seemed somewhat isolated, either because they were far away from their family and friends or just felt like they didn't belong (for whatever reason) seemed to be attracted to the "insta-family" that JWs created.