Posts by OnTheWayOut

31

Atheists - How Did You Become An Atheist After Waking Up?

by pale.emperor in

i consider myself an atheist.

and right now i'm reading a lot on atheism in general (books written to answer creationists).. i'd be interested in knowing how you became an atheist after leaving the jws and how long did it take?

was it instant or did your belief in a deity gradually decline?.

OnTheWayOut

My stages differ from yours, but I get it:

Still believed in the God of the Bible. I figured "Christendom" had it more right.
Believed the Bible "could" be God's Word.
Completed enough study of why Watchtower was a cult and kept studying to see what was up with the root of that religion- The Bible.
Included Eastern Thought in my studies.
Similarly to your path, found great books from the likes of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens and also great videos on the secular establishment of the Bible.
Finally broke through to see how the Flood could not be true, the god of the Bible was a war-god. Continued to read science and added much about Jesus being a myth or just a man.
Just as I could never go back to the JW's once the truth about "the truth" was discovered, I could never go back to believing in the god that men created.

My whole philosophy of life was flipped upside down. People come first. While we plan for our futures, we plan for NOW and our IMMEDIATE future, not some hopeful everlasting future. We do our best to enjoy life and family now, before we are gone forever. It is not a dismal outlook.

Understanding "the big bang" and "string theory" are important things, but not knowing all about them doesn't default to "God did it." Humans are in the infant stage of understanding the universe, but religion asks us to stop seeking better answers.

28

advice please/data protection

by Phoebe in

jw
friends

i have just received an email from an elder's wife regarding the new data protection laws.

between the lines it sounds like she has been asked to contact me.. she says they 'don't want to leave me out' so they want me to fill out the form as 'i'm still part of the congregation'.

also, my blood card needs updating, apparently.. the elder in charge will be in contact.. obviously, i'm not doing either, but what do i do?

OnTheWayOut

There is no judicial committee for not keeping forms up to date. Members don't technically have to have blood cards.

8

JW's Setting Up Carts at Chicago Train Stations

by OnTheWayOut in

the reader is very chicago-oriented but for your benefit while reading, "the el" is the elevated train system that ties in with the subway system for commuters and "cta" is the chicago transit authority that runs the commuter trains and buses.

https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/is-it-legal-for-jehovahs-witnesses-to-proselytize-inside-cta-stations/content?oid=47477482.

OnTheWayOut

The Reader is very Chicago-oriented but for your benefit while reading, "the el" is the elevated train system that ties in with the subway system for commuters and "CTA" is the Chicago Transit Authority that runs the commuter trains and buses.

https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/is-it-legal-for-jehovahs-witnesses-to-proselytize-inside-cta-stations/Content?oid=47477482

7

AwakeI explains differences in Scripture quotations

by Doug Mason in

this article in the awake!

of november 22, 1968 discusses reasons for differences between quotations in the new testament (“christian scriptures”) and their hebrew or septuagint sources.. http://www.jwstudies.com/awake__nov_22__1968__was_the_writer_quoting.pdf .

doug.

OnTheWayOut

It does seem that they were laying a foundation for the finding of errors in the NWT.

The errors are not ours, but rather in the thing we copied from. But God allowed it so it's all still inspired.

16

Continuing congregation mergers

by Are you serious in

in the area i live in the pacific northwest, three spanish congregations we're merged into two a couple of years ago and in the next month or so four english congregations will be cut down to three.

both situations happened because of lack of growth.

a few years ago, i would never have imagined spanish congregations disappearing or merging but it's happening.

OnTheWayOut

Three cheers for the decline.

52

My JW Elder Brother Passed Away

by minimus in

jw
friends

he was basically a good man, just a believer in the religion.

when we were both elders we were best of friends and then things deteriorated when i was not an elder for a while.

then after becoming an elder again, i slowly drifted away from the religion and he drifted further away from me.

OnTheWayOut

I am sorry for your loss and the loss that your family members will be mourning.

The cult based on "What are you doing for Watchtower TODAY?" does allow for drifting apart.

10

Zappa

by JRK in

jw
friends

i am stoked about going to see dweezil zappa in concert on thursday.

it is going to be a date night, and the person i am taking never had the chance to see his father frank in concert.

i know that she will appreciate the complexity and beauty of his music, as well as some of his off-color humor.. yes "humor does belong in music!".

OnTheWayOut

Um....you are welcome.

10

Zappa

by JRK in

jw
friends

i am stoked about going to see dweezil zappa in concert on thursday.

it is going to be a date night, and the person i am taking never had the chance to see his father frank in concert.

i know that she will appreciate the complexity and beauty of his music, as well as some of his off-color humor.. yes "humor does belong in music!".

OnTheWayOut

Have a great time.

11

Norwegian Article in English: THE ELDER

by AndersonsInfo in

you’ll find this article very long and very interesting.

it was published as part of a series of articles in a quality newspaper in southern norway.

as seen from the article, the journalists have been working on this article for several months.

OnTheWayOut

Despite any positive changes at Watchtower, they verify that the first step any elders take is reporting to Watchtower before all else. The internal investigation still takes priority over any criminal investigation for them. They may still interfere with the criminal investigation by delaying and by their amateur interviews that may taint later professional ones. They still allow for defining and searching for "sin" ahead of reporting crimes.

They may say they don't discourage reporting to the police, but they don't automatically do it themselves. Accompanying a child to the police and standing with them to encourage them coming forward with criminal charges does not mean they have already determined guilt. If a child came forward with a murder accusation against an adult, they would take them to the police. It should be the same difference.

23

There is No Way Out For Me

by Addison0998 in

i have come to the conclusion that there is no way for me to ever leave.

although i have some friends at work, my whole social structure are witnesses.

even if i move congregations, my parents have contacts everywhere who will tell them if i’m not active.

OnTheWayOut

You are going to get all kinds of answers here. Many will say your mind is still in cult think. Many will say you must seek your own happiness and let go or take chances with family relationships.

No matter what advice, rest assured that many of us do understand where you are. But we all have to make our own choices.

If I had children in my situation, I would not hesitate to cease being a "fader" and I would simply sacrifice my relationships with any JW's to allow my kids to have the freedoms I would want them to have. But I do not have such children, so I don't choose that path. Some pull the plug on a marriage in order to get away from the cult. Others, like myself, do not. Some choose life-long family relationships over enjoying their freedom in other ways.

You must make those choices. I can say that I was not going to miss out on the enjoyment of ending the regular mind-numbing meetings. I found a way that worked out for me, for the most part, where I can keep family relations, but I lost all JW friends. Well, I have better non-JW friends, so that part is good.

You could consider at least becoming a very "WEAK" JW and let your family "flip out" a bit over that. They could eventually get used to your inactive lifestyle. You can gauge how far to take it by their reactions and your desires.

I can say with confidence that I would rather attempt such than just be resolved to be a JW and never even pursue a life partner. And if my family could eventually cope with my inactive status, but would not attend a wedding, I would miss them at my wedding.

Consider this- Recruiting (what they call field service) is not mandatory. They say it is, but being inactive is not a DF offense. I turned in a tiny bit of "fake time" but kept it extremely low, and then stopped turning in time. Consider some choices there. If you can't bring yourself to an inactive status, how about a barely active status with minimal (faked) 1 hour reports?