First love cooling off - how did you deal with it?

Pole

In the Witness world there is a label for everything. That's how things work in many systems with distinct totalitarian traits. As a zealuos witness I believed in the homemade psychology provided by the Writing Department. It helped me "explain" my emotional states in a TRUTHwise way.

As an example, when the initial brainwashing and self-delusion ceased to work its magic on me (about a year after my baptism) I badly needed an explanation of my state which would allow me to classify my gradual disappointment and put it in the WTS-accepted framework, so that I could deal with it without refuing "the Truth". Here is what the WTS cognitive scientists had for me:

Voila!!! So it was just my "fist-love" cooling off. That's normal... And I almost thought there was something wrong with "the Truth". Happily, it turned out my feelings were all bible-based! Or were they?

Well, it took me another two years to figure out that all their explanations ultimately put the blame on me, Satan or the wicked "System of Things". Then I reached the conclusion that there could have been something wrong with me, Satan and the wicked System of Things 50%, 60% or 95% of the time, but why did the Watchtower articles never said there was something wrong with the doctrine?

Questions:

Did you believe in the WTS explanations of your feelings about "the Truth" and other emotional states?

How long did they make sense for you?

When your "first love" grew cold, did you try to rationalize it the WTS way?

Pole

upside/down

Amen- brother!

I gotta start writing my "book", it would be required that you're under a physicians care and heavily medicated with an anti-depressant before you could even be allowed to read it.

The English language is inadequate to describe my encounters with the WTS and their neophyte pinings err. "counsel" to help me and my family with problems that defy belief. It's intersting to note that all of our very serious problems including adultery, lying, child abuse, drugs, drunkeness, bearing false witness, slander etc- all came from Witnesses in "good standing" (not a "worldly" person in the bunch to blame this time) and NOTHING was done or will be done (per letters from the WTS stating such) - all to "SPARE JEHOVAH"S NAME THE REPROACH". Which means when translated we lie to protect God's name from the truth, that his people are full of filth, and worse yet do nothing about it!

"Evil triumphs- when good men do nothing"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

redhotchilipepper

Amen-brother again!

what_Truth?

Never really had a love for the org in the first place. I beleived it all when I was a kid, but to me Jehovah was some dude on a cloud keeping score every time you did something wrong. It was a way for my mother to keep me in line more than anything. I kept putting up with it until I couldn't stand it any more. I quit the church and ran away from home at about the same time.

jwbot

When your love starts to cool...eat it before it gets too cold!!