by Shawn 39 Replies latest jw experiences
The Bible. The more I read it and thought about what it said, the more I knew I just couldn't believe it anymore. That I was a JW at the time was just peripheral. I could've just as easily been a Pentecostal, the exit woulda been the same. (Minus the shunning!)
Dave
Shawn 'Sign of the Last Days - When?' is an awesome, awesome book for getting over that whole composite sign myth and adventist movement stuff. You'll love it.
GBL
C of C and ISOCF opened my eyes as to my JW beliefs. But when that was done, then the matter of christianity came into question. The books that opened my eyes to that were "Is it God's Word" by Joseph Wheless, which can be found online here:
http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/joseph_wheless/is_it_gods_word/index.shtml
and "The Age of Reason" by Thomas Paine.
I read the book by Wheless first, and was blown away to discover it had been written in 1926. Then I was further blown away by Thomas Paine, discovering it was written in 1794.
I guess another one I forgot about is located here:
http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/vincent_runyon/left_ministry.html#c3
The website by Joseph Alward http://members.aol.com/jalw/joseph_alward.html also had a great impact, because that was where I first came in contact with Hank's Ass. Truly a momentous occasion.
I found reading the older publications of the WTS were very revealing to a long-time JW like myself.
Studies in the Scriptures Volumes 1-6
Finished Mystery Volume 7
Any of Rutherford's books
The Golden Age Magazine/Consolation Magazine
One thing that popped out is that the WTS taught that Jesus presence began in 1874 not the 1914 the pretend they believed all along.
Blondie
For me it was the Bible.
Religion teaches that the Bible is mankind's instruction book from God our heavenly Father. My earthly Father was a drunk and even in his worst day he was more coherent than God's little instruction book the Bible.
To use one of the analogies the WTS used in the big red Paradise book about the instruction book to operate your microwave oven and comparing it to learning the truth about God's purpose for mankind I'll stick to an instruction book that doesn't on one page tell me to do thus and so to cook my food then flip the page and oops..........we've updated that to be thus and so......
Instruction book or the Bible? Which one actually makes sense and gets the job done?
Kate (of the keep it simple stupid class)
stillajwexelder, from what I understand that is a hard book to read with out a lot of historical knowledge. Do you recomend it? Yes - I found it excellent - of all the Books The Gentile Times Reconsidered did it for me - because without that there is no 1914 , without 1914 there is no 1919 and the FDS being chosen and so it proves they are not Gods Sole Channel - definitely worth a read and I do recommend it
The books that opened my eyes to the JW's were "Crisis of Conscience" and "True Believer". I didn't actually read "True Believer", but my husband read enough of it to me, that I feel like I did.
The book that started me realizing the Bible wasn't what I thought it was was "The Age of Reason". Another really good one was "The Christ Conspiracy"..............wowee, that one had some amazing facts that I had no idea about...........
Crisis of Conscience opened my eyes and The Gentile Times Reconsidered removed every ounce of faith I had in the Watchtower. With 1914 gone the Watchtower crumbled to dust for me.
I just ordered "30 years a Watchtower Slave" for 58 cents on amazaon.com. Any other suggestions?
For me, it was not a book at all, but a video. "Jehovah's Witnesses; A Non-Prophet Organization"
J
