by free2beme 32 Replies latest jw friends
No. To me its about breaking down all the things you have believed in. In some cases these things are true, in others especially with a lot of the JW teachings- false.
Thinking like a witness becomes second nature to you (well, it did me) so you have to concentrate and take a step back when analysing things again.
I don't actually look for reasons to dislike them, its just that the more I read about them & their cult & the more uncover I am shocked at their behaviour & cover ups.
One does not have to look very far to dislike them as an organized religion, and in many cases these reasons bleed into personal relationships. This "bleeding" can be found in many ways as in my case. I for a long time had nothing to do with the Witnesses, or my parents for that matter, but when I had kids they thought it their personal mission to bring my children into their convoluted, and suffice to say delusional world of religious belief. Did it make me angry? Most certainly. Did they stop the first time I asked politely to repsect my wishes? Not at all. I vented so many times here and have sat at my compter with tears running down my face, because I just couldn't or hadn't ever dealt with my own demons. It is different for everyone. So you see in many cases they bring rage, distrust and hurt upon themselves with what one could call theit bloodguilt driven system of not only dealing with people, but core beliefs which surround them and others every day, minute, second, and hour of life. Giving in to the dark side is not a bad thing, as long as you aren't on a molten planet fighting some dude who looks like Littletoe. As the jedi said, "Don't do it Vader, I have the high ground"..
Sincerely,
District Overbeer
I have noticed from reading over this site and from having contact with former Witnesses in my personal life, that a lot of time is consumed in the beginning of your exit from the Witnesses, with finding further reasons to hate or dislike the Jehovah's Witnesses.
I can't speak for anyone else, but in my case it wasn't so much an effort to dig up dirt on the organization. It was a combination of:
If your information filters are removed, then of course you are going to start finding negative things that you didn't see before. How can you not?
What I wonder though, is it sound in mind to replace these doubts with something that makes us angry.
You don't necessarily have to react with anger and hatred. You might just feel relieved that you don't have to be afraid anymore. However unrelated those issues may be to your original doubts, they can serve as reminders that the organization is just like any other, and that their opinions are to be feared the same as any other.
I can say I was looking for a reason to like them but really couldn't find one then I kept finding reasons to uterly hate them by reading the board and personal exsperience with some . I was never a dub but did do the home bible study and attend meetings in preperation for baptism (never made it that far) . It always seemed as if they wanted people to believe that salvation was based on their opinion of you instead of the faith in jesus christ . I started noticing alot of things in print were nothing more than dogma that could not be proven but was taught as major doctrine that was necessary for salvation . They really are a sad lot .....
Thanks for your comments, different views on matters is always helpful and the reason I enjoy boards like this.
I don't hate Witnesses. I was one and I am not given to self-loathing. I hate the organization they are a part of, and yes I do think I get therapeutic benefit from reminding myself of the proofs that they are not right, especially in times when I might be inclined to doubt that fact. When better?
But I can examine those realities dispassionately, while being passionately moved by them as well. The premise of the organizational claim to spirit-direction falls apart when comparing the fruitage of spirit-direction with their fruitage. I need use nothing more than their own standards as applied to other organizations to demonstrate the lack of basis for the claim.
So, you might be getting confused a bit. I am enraged by pedophilia, not just among JWs, but anywhere, anytime, anyplace. My rage carries over to any systems that provide a comfortable environment in which pedophiles can abuse children with little fear of reprisal, not just among JWs. However, I can also rationally see that the spirit of God as described in the Bible would not be supportive of such a system regardless of whose name the organization claimed to represent.
That is one example. I mentioned it because you brought it up. There are others that make me angry, but the anger is based in rational thought. In other words, in my case rational thought led to the anger, the anger did not lead to rationalization of thoughts. I think there are many here like that.
Respectfully,
OldSoul
I neither look for nor have any reasons to hate JW's. In fact, I still care for and even love many of them.
If you mean the Automonous Publishing Company known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society masquerading as a religion, No, I don't hate it either. There are many other "religions" as hurtful and some even more so. The Watchtower is a self pertituating machine churning out new members, even new leaders who, for the most part, are as duped as we once were.
What I hate is the mental state that we were all in at one time that made us victims of shams like this. We only rail against the WT because it was the sham that GOT US.
Valis,
In case you missed my other petitions, We miss you here.
Oldsoul,
I need some technical help with a project. You seem busy lately. Can I bother you?
Jst2laws
I never looked for reasons to hate the witness organization itself. I think it resembles a self-perpetuating business, which it basically is.I hate that it is disguised as religion. But I never hated the people themselves, even the GB. All of them are just men - terribly mislead men, accountable to God perhaps, but not to me. I love Jehovah's witnesses that I know. They hate me. But I cannot control that.
What I do hate is the emotional pain, even the loss of life and livelihood that has happened to literally millions of persons who have swallowed this religion as the one that comes from God.
Many of the problems that are mentioned here; child abuse, hypocricy, doctrinal flip-flops, are not unique to the religion of Jehovah's witnesses. What is unique is the mental hold that had been put on us to convince us that this is God's organization, and that the dictates of these few men in Brooklyn should control your lives, measure your character, and determine your everlasting destiny. That mind-washing that we were subjected to and the subsequent efforts to punish any who seek to break that control is where the anger stems.
All religion thinks of itself as having 'truth'. What Jehovah's witnesses do is to tell you that if you decide to leave that form of 'truth' we will destroy your friendships, family, and personal reputation in the community. You will lose contact with children, grandchildren, friends of decades, perhaps face divorce, find yourself in a void of community, have your name gossipped about, an announcement read to the congregation telling them that you are evil, publicly and privately shunning will follow and continue for the rest of your life among those whom you spent a lifetime loving. If you have children, we will encourage your mate to take them out of your care if possible, take away your rights as parent, even lie in court to keep them out of your control.
Add to this the shattering experience of finding that everything you believed is a lie - and yes there is some anger to deal with. And frustration, and confusion. But it seems to dispel with time, and boards like this one help us to heal and grow. It also fills a very real void in most of our lives at the outset of leaving - as witnesses we never learned to make a real friend, and never had one outside the organization. So during this transition time, we have a communal band of common experienced comrades to lean upon.
Boards like this are a Godsend [no pun intended here]. These people will become whole again, although they may be forever scarred by the witness experience. But like the Jew with a tattoo that shows he was at one time a slave marked for death, the rest of the body and mind slowly heals. The tat will forever remind us of what was. And determine that we will not ever repeat the experience.
Jeff
Here is a thought to think about and perhaps something we need to realize when we express thoughts in a format, such as this board. My opinion is limited on this matter to reading what I do on boards such as this and speaking with the few former Witnesses I know in my offline life. I must say, to come a conclusion that former-Witnesses seem bent on finding negative, is not something that takes a stretch of the mind to come too. I could glance over only a few post to see such thoughts and although I do no think it is the best course, it is not exactly something I did not do. I remember my zeal for learning about religion (JW's) was almost as strong as my zeal to learn about the anti-JW information when I left. I think it is only natural. However at this point in my life, I have some respect for the Witnesses for different aspects that were not once there, but more so for individuals and less and less to I even see them as an organization as a whole. Respect for what? Having faith and a willingness to lay what ever it takes on the line to keep it! As in this day and age, with internet and news media expanding, that takes a lot to do and something has to be said for such determination.
