i noticed that many who post here have kind of thrown the "baby out with the bathwater", when it comes to the bible and god.. i understand that there is a fine line between love and hate.
maybe they blame god for the deception.
maybe they don't trust anything to do with god any more.
It was no problem for me to return to "real" Christianity: once one realizes Watchtower is a cult the rest is easy. And now for all those who shun me: shame on them for even thinking they know the bible! I am grateful for a forgiving heart...I choose not to treat any other human being in the way I have been treated by Watchtower cult-followers.
Grace Spirit
I really believe that those who shun are very, very sad people. They don't know God's Grace as it really is and they certainly don't have the right to call themselves Christian.
What a terrible life they lead, poor souls. I much prefer to live with love for all of humankind and compassion for my brother and neighbor regardless of his or her religious affiliation (or lack of). I spring out of bed each morning because of the grace-filled day ahead of me. NOTHING the Witness cult offers compares with blissful happiness that comes from reaching out to all family, friends, and strangers.
Grace
dear all,.
why can we not get on with our lives and let go of what we have all been through?
why are we all still so angry and frustrated?
Although many of us have seen the true light and left, we're still surrounded by family members who still blindly follow Watchtower. This is why this board is so terrific: it allows us a support system to live through the difficult times with somone who is hoodwinked by a cult organization.
Grace
so...everything had been fine for a while.
i wrote my da letter, very clear and also very surprinsingly "apostate" according to the elders.
so at first, dad does what he's told is right and starts the shunning.
I'm a high school English teacher. When I teach Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and show the cheesy movie, there's a wonderful scene where we see someone rat out his neighbor for having books which is forbidden in this futuristic society (allowing only for censored literature...does this remind you of another secret society that censors all print material and forbids its members to read anything else?).
A couple of years ago, my husband and I went out for dinner on New Years Eve. By this time I had already DAed. The next week he was pulled into the back room as well...apparently someone saw him. He had to admit to the "Elders" that he is a very weak man when it comes to his wife, and this got them off his back Today I was at the mall having lunch with my non-JW parents and I saw a whole table of witnesses out in "service". They all noticed me and looked pathetically at me. They don't know me at all, nor do they want to.
It's their loss and my gain.
Grace
having spent time on this discussion board.
there has been quite a number of negative .
amount of damage in various ways, but are .
At first I agreed somewhat with you, then I became angry at your posting for suggesting such a thing. Bravo to the people who responded that they were born into it and therefore could not research it. For those of us who came later, let's remember the slickness of the propaganda the Watchtower espouses: in their literature aimed at bringing new ones into the "fold", do they really explain the shunning process, for example? Do they say, "If you question anything at all, you will be thrown out, publicly announced as one who is not to be associated with, and shunned by people you may have known for years?"
Let's face it, they're less than forthright about many most of their affairs: the finances, the UN, sexual scandals, the "Elder" arrangement, etc. These are things that you only figure out once you're in, and many never figure them out because the real "truth" is hidden.
Grace
sure we got to know a lot of people, we knew a lot more people then the average person, but how many real friends did we ever have?
a friend that we could trust, that we could confine in.
i can say i had just one, bro x and even then i still had to be careful, bro x is an elder now and he tells me that im the only real friend hes ever had, he cant freely talk to anyone.
Real friends are those who stick by your side through thick and thin; their friendship is not conditional. Based on this, I would have to say there is not one "real" friend in the entire organization...and I am referring to the non-questioning we-shun-because-we're-told-to types.
Grace
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being from canada and still "active", i always wonder whether i know other canadians on this board.
trust me, some of you would know my family.. however, still being "active", i guess i'll have to wait to see some day.. anyone else same deal?.
I really have no problem revealing myself as I am not under the control of Watchtower and I don't bend to their wishes and abuses. I am from Canada, the prairies to be exact. I use a general rule in all of the internet-related things I do to never use my real name. I think it just makes sense. I DO become concerned when I see various posters on this terrific board use real names of existing elders, etc. I worry about the legal complications, and if we can all be swept up in it.
Grace
i attended my mother's memorial at the kingdom hall saturday afternoon.
even with the jw sermon tagged on, my cousin did a lovely service for her.
there were many jws and non-jws in attendence.
As I have written a number of times, I got kicked out of my step-daughter's JW wedding (I raised her from the age of 10 and brought her back from the brink of death when she was anorexic and ignored by her "pioneer" mother). But guess who rode in the limo and walked up the aisle at the KH? Her pioneer mother who didn't contribute five cents to the child in over a decade.
If things work out, my JW husband (15 yrs older than me) will die before me. I won't even alert the "brothers" nor his JW family because, after all, they aren't talking to me. I will put in an announcement of a secular memorial in the paper with the words "Jehovah's Witnesses are not welcomed." That way, I will be honoring my own husband who has been smart enough to have a wide range of friends and work colleagues. If the JWs do something on their own, who cares?
Grace
for those who are in my old congregation "lurking" for me here i am ......i have gotten word through the "almighty jw gossip grapevine" someone is spying on me.. brooke autumn ehlert!.
i had a full thread about this but i used names, dates, and personal info - which unknowingly to me some rules i must have forgotten to follow .. if you would like the full thread pm me your e-mail,(not sending through jwd pm) and i will send it to you.
even the lurkers are welcome to read what i have to say!.
Hi, Brooke. I am sure you will enjoy most (as do I) that there is nothing they can do to you any longer. No threats of visits to the back room for a chat, nothing! Make sure your ties are cut and you truly will live a life of no fear which is filled with the Grace of God each day.
Good for you!
Grace
i go through the press releases for a local media outlet.
in this morning's batch was a "post-convention release" from a local jw re the "deliverance at hand" convention at the cow palace in sf last weekend.. .
it's a template from the wts, but this bozo didn't fill in the right blanks!
Thanks, Gopher! You put a smile on my face this evening!
Grace
