looking back, being a jw meant constantly analyzing and categorizing others.
on field service, persons were either "sheeplike" or "goatlike".
in the congregation it went even further.
yes - very judgemental as a JW. Didn't realize it much. But hindsight is 20/20
no - when I left it was very easy to see people as people. no right/wrong judgement of them just 'is'. even when I decide if I want to hang with a person or not ... me not hanging doesn't mean they are right or wrong, good or bad ~ just means they are not compatible with who I am in this moment. It was very easy to settle into that frame of mind when I left.
Smiles
Let me start count ...
3 years 4 months 1 day ~ since I walked away happily free of it.
Smiles
he uses terms like: .
~ its okay if you dont recognize gods sovergnty .
~ its okay , you dont know better, if you knew what i knew then you wouldnt (celebrate xmas) lol .. i told him i knew what he knew, and its irrelevant, havent gotten to the fact they can play with pinatas because they dont mean the same thing they used to.
I just wanted to add a ((HUG)). Sounds like classic JW behavior.
Smiles
my 3 min.
interview.
they had asked me ahead of time not to talk of the witness connection; didn't want to piss anyone off.. http://www.kvewtogo.com/news-video/?section=9&mgid=2020.
WOOOOO HOOOO!!
Congrats to you and the kids!!
just let me start out by saying i am unable to give certain details of my life as i have learned very quickly this can cause a lot of problems.
i was born into the 'truth' as my mother had been studying with a few sisters on and off at a local congregation.
my father was never a jw and came in and out of my life for many years..to this day i do not give him much time.
Welcome United States!!
I may you enjoy your freedom for the bOrg.
Smiles,
rap star ja rule blames his familys jehovahs witness roots for ruining his childhood.. .
the im real hitmaker reveals he was never allowed to celebrate birthdays or christmases growing up - and even playing with other children was a problem for his strict grandparents, who helped raise him.. .
as a result, the rapper, real name jeffrey atkins, goes overboard when his children celebrate birthdays and special occasions.. .
I'm glad he is verbal about it too. I wish him peace.
Smiles
hey!
since the "in" and "active" jw's have their dating websites, what about us?
at the moment, i see myself, at a future date, feeling most comfortable with someone with a similar background, someone who understood the issues left over from the experience of being a jw.
I dont see why it wouldnt work. There are many on this board who have gotten together.
Smiles
growing up amongst jws, i saw the core beliefs as a threat.
be a jw, or die horribly.
but no one i knew ever admitted this, it was all about 'loving jehovah'.
because I believe the crap I had been fed growing up. I had not discovered my own freedom yet.
growing up amongst jws, i saw the core beliefs as a threat.
be a jw, or die horribly.
but no one i knew ever admitted this, it was all about 'loving jehovah'.
I stayed in because I thought it was the only way to 'god'. When I found it was all a bunch of lies then neither fear of people nor fear of 'god' kept me in.
as you know, common theists believe in a literal "god" who supposedly created and rules the universe; while common atheists reject the idea of "god" altogether.. generally,spiritual atheists are people who do not believe in a literal "god" (thus the term "atheist"), but still consider themselves to be (often deeply) "spiritual" people.. for spiritual atheists, being "spiritual" generally means to have thoughts, words, and actions that are in harmony with the idea that we are all, in some way, connected - that the entire world can be thought of as one entity made up of smaller interacting entities.. therefore, spiritual atheists generally feel that as they go about their lives striving to be personally healthy and happy, they should also be striving to help the world around them be healthy and happy.
this empowering concept is referred to as "wholistic ethics".. although spiritual atheists do not believe in a literal "god"; they generally recognize "god" as an important and powerful symbol of the inter-connectedness and one-ness of the universe.
they see that, individually, everything in the universe is a part of "god"; and, collectively, everything in the universe is "god".
Very Intersting topic...
Smiles
