Usually, I do not think of myself as an ex-jw. Yet, when something big in life happens, I do, at least for a while. This should have something to do with the fact that born-in jw's are not very well equipped to cope with personal losses etc, since those were not supposed to be so final or important... we were supposed to live forever...
DrJohnStMark
JoinedPosts by DrJohnStMark
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32
Are you an 'Ex Witness' or just you?
by creativhoney ini just wondered how people feel about this?
- do some only mix with other ex witnesses a couple of my friends, and it seems that by definition, they are 'ex witnesses' almost like a religion in itself.
- i would never define myself as an 'ex employee of xxx' as you leave it behind it doesnt define you.
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An atheist and a creationist are walking along a riverbank . . . .
by nicolaou inthe course of this river has obviously been designed, it's avoiding every single tree on the riverbank!.
creationist: are you trying to tell me that all those plants know where the riverbank is?.
atheist: no one designed the river!
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DrJohnStMark
This was a good one...
About the river... it reminds me of one faulty argument by the WT society: the one on Ecclesiastes 1:7. It is claimed in many WT books (Creation etc) and even on their own www pages that this particular verse exemplifies divine inspiration of the Bible by "describing the water cycle" somehow.
Now where in that verse can you find a cycle? It only says that rivers go into the sea and the sea is not filled. Only one step of the cycle (consisting of many steps as we know today) is given. From the point of view of the WT argument the most critical step of the cycle would be how water gets back up. However, in that verse only the most obvious step of the cycle is given.
Giving one step of a cycle certainly is not "describing a cycle" (except in the usual WT logic where broken links in chains of inference are allowed and even necessary). In this case a huge leap of faith is needed to see a justification for such faith (circular chain). Did I really believe such argumentation back then?
By the way, the reason for the sea not being filled was 'known' in the biblical times: Namely, from the edge of the flat earth the water falls down... Also, the origin of rain is 'explained' in Bible as sent by God in Matthew 5:45. And Isaiah 55:10 might say something about the cycle: "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither..." -
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DrJohnStMark
RR: It's a book that has words and music
Now that would be something...
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People dont get disfellowshipped anymore
by foolsparadise inthey are announced as no longer being one of jehovahs witnesses.
why then do people still shun them if they are not disfellowshipped.
witnesses talk to non jws all the time, so we should be allowed to talk to members who are announced as no longer one of jehovahs witnesses.
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DrJohnStMark
My no longer being a JW was never announced at the kingdom hall (officially I'm out after signing a form long time ago) but I'm shunned in any case. They know. Only a few members of the congregation say hello... some time ago a couple of pioneers even switched (in an illegal way) to the other side of the street in the city when they saw me coming.
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DrJohnStMark
I do miss a few JW friends of mine. Some of them were really intelligent, and probably still are even if in JWs. It is just that their brain is in an overhand knot.
In fact, I would like to be not an ex-JW. This does not mean that I would like to be a JW...
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What made you think?
by greenie ini know this topic has been covered, so feel free to ignore me or point me to another post for your response, but i'm just curious: what made you first think the jws didn't have it all?
what it a slow process or like a lightening strike?.
for me, a non-jw, it was like a lightening strike when i started reading about the blood issue..
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DrJohnStMark
About this secret smoking... My older sister told this and it has been confirmed by the younger one: When still JW, my younger sister had visited her at her home and at one point said that she needs a walk outside - for smoking which was the real reason but she could not tell, for obvious reason. Some time after that my older sister had done the same thing, leaving the younger sister to watch the babies. Needless to say, they had some serious fun afterwards, when they realized what had happened. This also might make you think...
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For Active JW Men: Ideas on Awakening Your JW Spouse (Long post)
by Open mind indisclaimer: your mileage may vary.
if you are a married, "active, in good standing" (tm), jw male who has recently discovered that the .
watchtower is not what it claims to be, this thread is for you.
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DrJohnStMark
After I quit the organization, my wife (now ex-wife, I wish her all the best) stayed in and it was a hell, with kids and all that. Then I was offered a job opportunity in another country (another language) so we moved there. After one year she was out of JWs. Being in another environment, combined with some of my arguments, did the trick (one of my arguments is written in the "what-made-you-think" thread). It had helped to look at things from a different point of view and to break the mind control. One important thing in this was (she can tell more if she's here) that using a foreign language the WT stuff looks extremely simplistic and trivial and as intellectually empty as it really is.
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What made you think?
by greenie ini know this topic has been covered, so feel free to ignore me or point me to another post for your response, but i'm just curious: what made you first think the jws didn't have it all?
what it a slow process or like a lightening strike?.
for me, a non-jw, it was like a lightening strike when i started reading about the blood issue..
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Are there ANY Bible prophecies that indisputably came true?
by nicolaou in.
i mean a prophecy made before the event, with specific detail that can be verified in history books.
nothing vague like 'reports of wars'.. .
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DrJohnStMark
There are hundreds of prophecies in Bible so the odds are that at least one of them has come true. But which one has?
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What do most ex-JWs "believe" after leaving?
by EverAStudent inhas anyone done a survey to determine what faith system, religion, or set of religious beliefs ex-jws tend to settle into after leaving the organization?
if not, would you care to post what you presently consider to be your own personal religion (e.g.
protestant, catholic, baptist, jw but not in the organization, agnostic, atheist, ...) and especially what you presently believe about jesus (was he a real historical human, is he god, is he an angel, ...).. thank you!.
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DrJohnStMark
I am a non-believer. With respect to the God of Jehovah's Witnesses I can call myself also an atheist. In my opinion, it has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that such a God does not exist.
After I quit JWs, for many years I tried to avoid any contact with religion in any form. I recognize now that, because of my background, the question (even if solved) is still of interest to me and I just cannot be indifferent. How about a religious-minded atheist? Just kidding...
Nowadays I like to talk with priests and theologians and I frequently read literature on the subject, christian and non-christian. I also go to church (buildings) quite often, because I happen to like church music (in the wide meaning of the word). Sometimes during a concert in a church it flashes in my mind that long time ago I used to be afraid of becoming attacked by demons in those places... and I relax.