i was born into "the truth" back in 1964. i made the big mistake of getting baptised when i was about 14 or so, purely to please my father as i saw how proud he was when my brothers were baptised....didn't work.. we moved to a new congregation when i was about 8, he introduced all my brothers to the congregation by name, a short bio of thier endearing qualities and how proud he was of them, when he introduced me it was "and this is our black sheep of the family, steve".. i remember living in fear at the fast approaching 1975....actually, living in terror is probably a more apt desciption.
all of you will full well know how it was instilled into us at every meeting and assembly how we are living in the last days.. as a 15 year old, a brother dobbed me in for kissing a worldly girl at school.
went through the marked process, judicial committy, disfellowshipped and the shunning which continues to this day by what's left of my family.
By 1977 (allowing Jehovah two years to have gotten around to creating Eve and calling it a Day), I had decided Armageddon probably wasn't coming, and probably by the early 1980s it was out of my system for good.
Isn't it crazy what we used to believe and when it didn't happen how we explained it away?
i was born into "the truth" back in 1964. i made the big mistake of getting baptised when i was about 14 or so, purely to please my father as i saw how proud he was when my brothers were baptised....didn't work.. we moved to a new congregation when i was about 8, he introduced all my brothers to the congregation by name, a short bio of thier endearing qualities and how proud he was of them, when he introduced me it was "and this is our black sheep of the family, steve".. i remember living in fear at the fast approaching 1975....actually, living in terror is probably a more apt desciption.
all of you will full well know how it was instilled into us at every meeting and assembly how we are living in the last days.. as a 15 year old, a brother dobbed me in for kissing a worldly girl at school.
went through the marked process, judicial committy, disfellowshipped and the shunning which continues to this day by what's left of my family.
My personal opinion is that less than half of the JWs actually have much confidence in seeing armageddon - they are just repeating the words about it, but privately don't expect it anytime soon.
Interesting comment, JWoods. It does seem that if witnesses really believe that armageddon is near at hand they would be doing a lot of things differently. Preaching through more efficient channels, have a sense of urgency, visit all inactive ones to save them before it is too late and similar activities.
As a witness, I have not believed for decades and we lived our life in two worlds. Now we live in just one world and it is not the witness one.
zarco
a non-jw pilot friend of mine who doesn't know i was a jw sent me this, with the title "mind control made easy!".
it was eerie to watch this and recognize the similarities.
it could be useful in helping a current jw who has doubts "get out", as it is not produced by an ex-jw.
Thought provoking video. Thanks for sharing it.
...and i think it's starting to show.. i started a thread the other day about being hounded after several years of having successfully(?
) faded.
i've been taken aback a bit the recent developments but i'm making a new strategy...one that depends more on sticking to my guns and laying the cards on the table.
Interesting thread. We were witnesses for a long time and when we think back over our life as witnesses it is shocking to count the number of faders. We have been away for 13 months. For a few months we attended meetings sporadically and did some fake Saturday service. For about 8 months we have not been to any meetings. Interestingly, we have not had any shepherding calls (unless you count Open Mind's visit as a shepherding call).
A few friends invite us to do things. And with a couple of families that we care about we have associated with them at times. Both of the families have elder husbands and still no shepherding calls.
The only almost shepherding calls where when the CO was visiting and two times the service car group came over to say hi and to deliver the KMs. We said hi and thanks for the KMs. I guess I need to find out when the next CO visit is because I am sure the service group routine will start anew. One of the group (elder) said he wanted to schedule a shepherding call and I told him to come to my office anytime. He has not called again or stopped by my office.
zarco
whatever your chosen strategy for leaving jws, the fundamental truth is that there is no clean / simple exit.
the mind control, the manipulation of normal family relationships etc will make any strategy very difficult at times.
the key issue is to know this ahead of time and be prepared, as best you can.. we've all chosen leaving strategies acording to our personal circumstances, preferences and learning from others.
Well said, Willyloman!
I see from some of the responses that self-righteousness and judgmentalism, the two traits we all took to heart when we were earnest dubbies, do not necessarily go away when some of us leave the organization. Which is too bad, since the single most important thing you can learn once you are away from that toxic atmosphere is: Everyone's mileage varies.
i mentioned to an elder/friend the other day that it occurred to me that there really doesan't seem to be any scriptural precedent or mandate for the tradition of praying before we eat.
i said that jesus blessed the loaves and fishes when he performed that miracle, and he blessed the wine and bread at the last supper, but i couldn't think of any other example of it.
i also suggested that the tradition of praying before eating was probably rooted in giving thanks to the various gods of nature and the perception og god as being involved in the outcome of the harvest, and that, by that way of looking at it, we probably shouldn't pray before eating....silence..
OM -
Whenever my wife, my daughter or any other female says the toast I insist that they wear a head covering. So far no one's obeyed.Where did I go wrong?
The females in your family sound a lot like mine, I feel lucky I don't have to wear a head covering:)
zarco
jwfreak: please check your private messages.. readers: please help keep this page near the front for a day or two so jwfreak is more apt to find it.. thanks.. marvin shilmer.
Marv - i wonder if it is best to leave JWFreak alone... he obviously is a great source and I hate to put him in an awkward spot by having the board focus on him.
With respect, zarco
i mentioned to an elder/friend the other day that it occurred to me that there really doesan't seem to be any scriptural precedent or mandate for the tradition of praying before we eat.
i said that jesus blessed the loaves and fishes when he performed that miracle, and he blessed the wine and bread at the last supper, but i couldn't think of any other example of it.
i also suggested that the tradition of praying before eating was probably rooted in giving thanks to the various gods of nature and the perception og god as being involved in the outcome of the harvest, and that, by that way of looking at it, we probably shouldn't pray before eating....silence..
Friends of ours taught us to say a toast instead of a prayer. We love the suggestion and practice it when possible. It is even better to have a child or "sister" say the toast :)
And of course we clink the glasses to make sure to chase the demons out of the room lest they eat some of the good food.
zarco
is that how you've perceived therapists and counselors?.
btw, i apologize in advance for those who are currently unemployed.
this thread will not do you any good unless you are able to get a job with an employee assistance program (eap).
OM - thanks for the good advice. Qualified therapists are a wonderful resource. My spouse found someone who has helped JWs and xJWs. My spouse does not tell me a lot about the sessions, but we both are so pleased with the sound advice provided by the therapist. Leaving the "truth" (I can't resist) is often a traumatic, painful and emotional experience. Again, thanks for the reminder about a good resource.
zarco
let me explain a little about what i do each day...... i work for a company that arranges trusts in the cook islands, turks & caicos, panama, etc.
i know that blondie is against what i am about to say, but i do not just believe that the wts have a variety of trusts in various jurisdictions around the world......i am absolutely positive they do.. .
i personally look after 14 trusts.
God Delusion - I enjoyed reading this thread and it is very possible that the WTS currently uses these tactics. However, I can state with reasonable certainty that they did not use off-shore trusts to to hide cash flows up until a few years ago. I also doubt that they use off-shore trusts now, mostly due to counterparty risk, but I don't know for sure. They do have decent advisors with creative ideas, so surely that have considered these arrangements.
zarco
