Posts by Eyes Open

223

Diary of a thinking to return ex-Jw

by reniaa in

i thought long and hard about posting this but the mis-information on this site finally persuaded me, i already accept many may not accept what i say on face value and get their appologist pens ready for making sure no pro-witness propaganda slips through the net on this site but here goes....... i've been on this forum for a few months my first post was about how i was thinking of returning to jw's and at my sisters recommendation to look at this site for both sides of the story before taking that step.. i faded from jw's 10/11 years ago now i left my hubby at the time divorced him to going on to have more relationships and kids, i was definately given the impression after asking on this site and with what i read that if i tried to return i might face df or at least a jc but definately a couple of elders questioning me over what i've been upto these last few years - none of these have happened.

i talked with an old jw friend (yes i do have then and she never shunned me quite happily accepted an offer of coffee from me and my asking for a chat) i told her i was interested in going back and was very frank about what i done in the last 10 years but not sure how returning was done now, she quite happily said she go ask for me to find out.. result!

she came back this week and said "all i had to do was goto meetings again" and an offer of a study was there for me if i wanted it to explore the open doubts that i had expressed i now had.. not quite the fire and brimstone welcome this site led me to believe would happen.. i will keep you posted with further updates if i feel the need to put them in future.. .

Eyes Open

reniaa, As far as I'm concerned, you can post as much positivity about the WTS as you like here as long as you don't mind it being responded to. I do not question your motives - I don't know you.

lol haven't really had chance to read any books suggested yet it's early days

Make time. The one I suggested (see my previous post) is not a big book, but it is vitally important for fundamentalist Christians to read. If you read that and then go back, I will at least be satisifed that I was able to pass on the information to you and that you had some other input on correctly reading the bible. Don't rush - this is important for you and your children.

8

An excellent book you need to read on Apocalyptic Belief

by drew sagan in

i have recommended this book in a number of other thread but have never taken the time to start my own thread for this book.. .

the book is titled war in heaven, heaven on earth (theories of the apocalyptic).

it is a collection of essays by a number of prominent scholars which analyze millennialism and apocalyptic belief form a number of different contexts.. .

Eyes Open

Thanks drew.

52

How did you find JWD?

by sweet pea in

jw
friends

prompted by the thread about jwd v wts i wondered how many of you found jwd via the internet or friends/partners?

what were your first impressions?

i found this site through besty (husband) once my faith had crumbled after reading www.jwfacts.com.

Eyes Open

I was merrily surfing the web, looking for some nice recipes for our next JW get-together, when a demon flashed a popup onto my screen consisting of a NWT mistranslations thread. Now I'm a miserable apostate, doomed to destruction... Ahem... actually it was Google. I'd already been doing my own research using books and commentaries.

223

Diary of a thinking to return ex-Jw

by reniaa in

i thought long and hard about posting this but the mis-information on this site finally persuaded me, i already accept many may not accept what i say on face value and get their appologist pens ready for making sure no pro-witness propaganda slips through the net on this site but here goes....... i've been on this forum for a few months my first post was about how i was thinking of returning to jw's and at my sisters recommendation to look at this site for both sides of the story before taking that step.. i faded from jw's 10/11 years ago now i left my hubby at the time divorced him to going on to have more relationships and kids, i was definately given the impression after asking on this site and with what i read that if i tried to return i might face df or at least a jc but definately a couple of elders questioning me over what i've been upto these last few years - none of these have happened.

i talked with an old jw friend (yes i do have then and she never shunned me quite happily accepted an offer of coffee from me and my asking for a chat) i told her i was interested in going back and was very frank about what i done in the last 10 years but not sure how returning was done now, she quite happily said she go ask for me to find out.. result!

she came back this week and said "all i had to do was goto meetings again" and an offer of a study was there for me if i wanted it to explore the open doubts that i had expressed i now had.. not quite the fire and brimstone welcome this site led me to believe would happen.. i will keep you posted with further updates if i feel the need to put them in future.. .

Eyes Open

reniaa, Will you consider my suggestion of reading that book I mentioned? It's by a scholar of Hebrew and I found it very useful.

19

Fantasizing about the end of the Jehovah's Witnesses?

by Bring_the_Light in

i'm pretty new here.

after being on my own 10 years, i'm finally coming to grips with my past (which i previously just ignored/didn't think about).

thanks for existing everyone, its been very existential.

Eyes Open

Email... yeah, would be nice. But those addresses I have are people I know and who would no doubt get me disfellowshipped which I don't want right now.

2011, eh OBVES? I look forward to checking back with you in 2012 to see just where your mistake in calculation was, and then you can tell me why I should still trust you even though you got this one wrong.

10

Some Inspiration

by LouBelle in

jw
friends

i'm changing my lifestyle for the better.

i've been a bit of a slacker when it comes to getting fit, but that all changed yesturday.

i've also read some inspiring stuff - we've heard it before but it really is in our grasp.. take responsibility....sometimes the situation you find yourself in may or may not be your fault.

Eyes Open

Sounds good. I'm not used to talking to myself - will have to give it a try. :)

All the best with your new lifestyle.

36

Hi everyone I am a newbie and I need help

by philosopher in

jw
friends

i have been coming here for some months y i must admit that i am still in.

but i have serious doubts, i mean, i am 99.9% convinced, the jws are not the true religion, but i still live with my family, and they are jws, and i love them.

my parents have a long time been jws, and it is very hard for me to tell them the truth.

Eyes Open

Hi philosopher, welcome to the forum.

As others have said, you need to appreciate you can't make anyone do anything. Your only responsibility is to yourself. BUT, if you are an active Witness in good standing with your family there are ways you may be able to help them.

If you display doubts in a direct way, and let on that you don't believe JW's are the true religion, they will be frightened of you and block out what you show/say to them. You may wish to approach things by asking questions, or requesting help to understand certain points/doctrines. You could then perhaps bring in points which make it difficult for you to understand. Make them think they are helping you. The process would have to be very gradual, so it would need your commitment for months and months, maybe longer.

Feel free to post for any specific advice.

20

"Trying to get former JW's to work together is like herding cats"

by Mickey mouse in

jw
friends

otwo said this on the "suing the tower" thread.. why is this?

i have noticed it also.

i wonder whether some people would not be comfortable with the idea of a world without the watchtower?

Eyes Open

I think I am now a little over-sensitive to being controlled by others after having been a slave to others my whole life. Sometimes it's hard to objectively differentiate between what others want, my wanting to fit in and what I actually want. I'm trying not to let the fear interfere too much with the progression of my life and relationships with others.

I would love to see my former captor gone, and I don't feel dependent on it. I'd like to do something constructive, too. I don't want to be heavily involved with WT stuff my whole life as time has already been wasted on it, but helping out with a project would be something I'd consider.

As I posted in the thread you mentioned, designing a brief informational leaflet for distribution to the public is something I'd love to do and might be a way to help people guard against indoctrination.

223

Diary of a thinking to return ex-Jw

by reniaa in

i thought long and hard about posting this but the mis-information on this site finally persuaded me, i already accept many may not accept what i say on face value and get their appologist pens ready for making sure no pro-witness propaganda slips through the net on this site but here goes....... i've been on this forum for a few months my first post was about how i was thinking of returning to jw's and at my sisters recommendation to look at this site for both sides of the story before taking that step.. i faded from jw's 10/11 years ago now i left my hubby at the time divorced him to going on to have more relationships and kids, i was definately given the impression after asking on this site and with what i read that if i tried to return i might face df or at least a jc but definately a couple of elders questioning me over what i've been upto these last few years - none of these have happened.

i talked with an old jw friend (yes i do have then and she never shunned me quite happily accepted an offer of coffee from me and my asking for a chat) i told her i was interested in going back and was very frank about what i done in the last 10 years but not sure how returning was done now, she quite happily said she go ask for me to find out.. result!

she came back this week and said "all i had to do was goto meetings again" and an offer of a study was there for me if i wanted it to explore the open doubts that i had expressed i now had.. not quite the fire and brimstone welcome this site led me to believe would happen.. i will keep you posted with further updates if i feel the need to put them in future.. .

Eyes Open

Hi reniaa. It was good to read your reply.

I don't like that ultimately my position is Jw's are the best of a bad bunch and allow me to have a relationship with Jehovah as well as jesus which no other christian religions offer. Give me a better option and I'll look into it. but bear in mind you have to show me that another faith has it right doctrinely.

Firstly, another faith that has it right doctrinely? Another faith? Do you mean to say you have been willing to study the bible with more than just the NWT and WT literature, including bible-related information freely available on the interent, and still believe that Jehovah's Witnesses have anything like doctrinal justification?

If so, please, please, please read this book (links to Amazon): How to Read the Bible: History, Prophecy, Literature - Why Modern Readers Need to Know the Difference, and What It Means for Faith Today by Steven L. McKenzie.

Secondly, why should anyone here have to hand you an organised religion on a plate for you to have a relationship with God and his son? If the best you can offer your creator and Jesus Christ is "I picked that one because it was the best of a bad bunch", I would suggest you give some serious thought to what is more important to you - what God has supposedly said in the bible or the need to be integrated in a group.

It sounds like you want to do what is right. It also sounds like you need to be a lot more open-minded when you study the bible, or else you're going to end up back in a high control group (go ahead and compare its control techniques to other groups such as Scientology) masquerading as a Christian religion.

All the best. Please don't take this decision lightly - life is much better when you know you're living it for the right reasons i.e. not solely to fit in with and please other people.

19

Fantasizing about the end of the Jehovah's Witnesses?

by Bring_the_Light in

i'm pretty new here.

after being on my own 10 years, i'm finally coming to grips with my past (which i previously just ignored/didn't think about).

thanks for existing everyone, its been very existential.

Eyes Open

Unfortunately, the high control group that is Jehovah's Witnesses seems to be quite good at changing. And if it continues to change it will be able to last quite a bit longer.

It's natural that we want the world to be as we think it should be. As babies we have to learn that this isn't always the case, even within our own little worlds. Humans have an amazing capacity to believe in bullshit, and will do for a while yet. But I can't help hoping that the WTS will fade and die sooner rather than later, too (and that goes for all organised religion).

Education is a key factor in stopping the recruitment of more victims. If the public knew of the organisations history, and had more knowledge about the literature in the bible, it would be nearly impossible for JW's to dupe people. Every so often I have thoughts of designing a leaflet for distribution across the UK. I'd enjoy writing and producing it; only hitch is the small detail of money to produce and distribute it.