Do you think of yourself as an apostate (page 3)

FairMind

Barbar, your description of your feelings about the WT religion fits me also. Exjwelder said ?No I think of myself as a balanced witness who looks at things from all angles to get a balanced viewpoint. Also view myself as an insider working for change?. This fits too except I?m not working for a change. What I?m doing is waiting for the WTS to self-destruct. FairMind

freedom96

I don't want to be labeled as anything in particular.

Active witnesses no doubt consider me one. But that is their opinion, and they are entitled to that, but I wish they were more educated on the subject.

ValiantBoy

I wear my apostate badge with pride

Gretchen956

JWs consider me an apostate, so I take that on with pride. I don't think of myself as an apostate, but in some sense of the word I suppose I am in that I did believe it and then left it. I do NOT try to convert active JWs, if someone asks questions I will answer, but mostly I listen, and then I encourage them to think about things that are outside their normal thought pattern. Because if you find what makes a person ticks you can find ways to put things in their way along the lines of those interests. Not anti-JW things either.

Let me give my youngest brother as an example. He was one of those guys that was out for a LONG time and living WAY outside any lifestyle condoned by the rank and file. But he believed they were right and would stand up for them. I did not argue or try to persuade him, I just listened. And then in the course of conversation it came up that he was very interested in Judeaism (sp?). So instead of arguing about his JW beliefs, I gave him reading material on his other interests, (sort of Kabala). At any rate, the end result was that he was a lot more open minded, and after he started being more aware he started catching them (JWs) up in so much of their BS all on his OWN with no help at all from me.

So maybe thats being "sly and cunning," I prefer to think of it as encouraging. But I would NEVER tell anyone else what to believe no matter what I might think of it personally. Each person's spirituality is a deeply personal matter, in my opinion.

Sherry

IP_SEC

One sad form of mind control is that, you dont have to 'promote a sect' to be considered an apostate. All you have to do is dogmaticly hold views that are different from the governing body or be critical of the org. Hmmm if there is a GB vote on doctrine change are the minority considered apostates for having the wrong view?

A side note. Elders are encouraged not to bother calling on ppl DF'd for a critical attitude toward the org in their once a year visit to DF'd ones. My thought has always been that this is probably because they dont want to take a chance on those elders being converted to doubters by those apostate liars.

IPSec

onacruse

Hello barbar

Insofar as the label "apostate" is concerned: One person's apostate is another person's liberator.

Kate and I were just talking about this. Ideas, philosophies, religious belief systems--they can all be changed with a mere wave of our hand, if we so choose. Does our life cease because one minute we say "I do believe in God" and the next minute "I don't believe in God"?

No, we continue to exist.

And so what prevents us from exploring the possibilities? Fear.

Fear of what, pray tell?

Fear of that God that we have invented for ourselves, fear of violating the constraints that were imposed upon us from early childhood, and (on an ethical level) fear of punishment by social authority.

But, one thing that especially struck a chord with me:

I never try to talk my mother out of the religion, I feel that although she has a false hope, it is better than the emptiness she would feel at her time of life if she no longer was a witness.

I don't mean to be in any way dismissive in saying this, but: The emptiness we feel within ourselves is the emptiness we choose to feel within ourselves.

There is that adage "The older you get, the harder it is to change." And there is certainly a good measure of truth in that, insofar as typical human behavior is concerned. But it's not a genetically encoded, certain and unavoidable consequence of our existence.

We are what we make ourselves to be.

Craig

gumby

"The older you get, the harder it is to change."

Poor Kate....she's REALLY stuck without the posibility of you ever changin. I may not me a bible believer, but I'll still pray for her. She's just too nice to have to deal with it. Have she mentioned anything about nursin homes yet bud? She'll prolly start mentioning it soon. It will only make things easier for her. K...I'm done now.

Gumby

Effervescent

"Apostates, Demons and Jehovah. These are the three most powerful words in the JW world." Too true! I remember all too well the hushed tones that the apostates were talked about in. Thinking back it reminds me of campers telling ghost stories holding the flashlight up under their chin. "And then... he became an APOSTATE!" "AAAAAGHHH!!!!" In my childhood I always held the same kind of fear for apostates as I did for demons. Only since stumbling across this site did it even occur to me that by Witnesses definition I was very much an apostate. Have I ever thought of myself so??? Not once. But on reflecting, I suppose being someone who doesnt just buy into the mob mentality is something to be proud of. If they want to label me apostate, then thats fine too!

rwagoner

While I still believe in God and still have faith...I have most definitely turned my back on the wbts organization. I also feel that the jw's are a cult and take every opportunity to try to steer other unsuspecting people away from their clutches.

By my definition that makes me an Apostate and to be honest, I am very proud of the title.

I made t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc that are clearly anti jw. I confront jw's whenever possible and educate the public on their false teachings and shunning practice. I am basically just an a**hole LOL.

I always try to remain polite, professional and smiling when dealing with them and I take great pleasure in demonstrating my relaxed, free, happy and successful lifestyle now that I am out of the org.

RGW

BluesBrother

apostate

1. One who has forsaken the faith, principles, or party, to which he before adhered; especially, one who has forsaken his religion for another; a pervert; a renegade.

2. One who, after having received sacred orders, renounces his clerical profession.

Origin: L. Apostata, Gr, fr. See Apostasy.

Source: Websters Dictionary

(01 Mar 1998)

By that definition I guess I am a closet apostate, although I don't like the word pervert! But Yes , I am pleased to say that I found the guts to question my previously held beliefs and abandon the wrong teachings and practices. That is what the Bible says we must do. That is what early Christians did. That is what many dubs believe they have done. Ray Franz called it an "Ugly word" used to describe a person who has a "Crisis of conscience"

Do you think of yourself as an apostate