i left the jws and went to a baptist church which was far better than anything i'd known before having been born into the dangerous cult of the watchtower corporation.. having travelled a path of spirituallity i have concluded that there is no god evident to me.
evolution?
i have no idea...i just live my life knowing that when i die there is nothing after it.
For many years, I could not bring myself to say " there is no god".
I had a Catholic work colleague who told me the same.
But with the passing years, I now can say it: "There is no God, otherwise he would have ............"
There: I've gone and said it. Jean-Luc has come out of the closet.
an hour or two ago, i was reading a topic on this forum that welcomed new elders to jwn.
there was some criticism aimed at the op and i understand that elders shouldn't be singled out as special.
one poster said he/she hates all elders.
An interesting thread Socrates.
In answer to your question: certainly not.
I think, in fact, that most of the male members on the board, have served as an elder.
It is as an elder, that you really see what goes on behind the scenes, what is said, how they react, ect. Even though the R&F can guess, as an eleder you actually SEE it. And for a good number, they are disgusted, and disappointed.
Yours is a difficult situation I have seen it before. You know, of course , that you will not succeed in changing them. Even the much awaited CO "he will sort it out!" can do very little.
I wish you lots of strength in the meantime. On the board you can vent freely at least. You will find some who disagree with you, but many who understand from personal experience.
Good luck with your family.
jlp
i am disfellowshipped, separated from my husband, and have been "lurking" for some time.
only because i was so unbelievably lonely for being disfellowshipped, i was missing my "friends" terribly, did i even bump into this site.
i googled "lonely and disfellowshipped" and a stream of experiences appeared on the screen.
Welcome to the forum loseingit.
It is sad to here your story, though so many have had similar experiences.
Your pseudonym says alot. However, I hope, and it is altogether possible, that in the future you will look back on this choice with a smile, realising just how far you've come. In the meantime, you will find friends here, some who you will sympathise with more than others.
And the beauty is, this site is active 24 hours a day. You can always find someone on line.
Good luck with your future, and again, welcome.
jlp
my jw friend of 20 years, the first one i ever met, the one who got me into jwism in the first place, unfriended me from facebook without explanation.
other jws who have unfriended me at least called me names (apostate) and told me they were unfriending me, but they were no loss.
but someone who's been your friend since you were 13...and no explanation...i'd think 20 years- 20 years!
Hi Julia.
I'm sorry to hear of your experience, though it was bound to come sooner or later.
I am somewhat surprised at the rapidity, as it seems from your posts that you are just in the early stages of fading.
I have been out years now. 15 years ago, the law was: you shun people, AFTER a talk has been given from the plateform, and you "understand" who it applys to.
The same for disfellowshipping. You were not disfellowshipped until after the announcement was made from the plateform, which was no sooner than 7 days after the judicial committee, (a time period which allows for you to appeal).
There are alot of rules in the elders manual on procedure, which is rather amusing for a religion, don't you think?
What really angered me most, was that no one, not even the elders respected these procedures when I was disfellowshipped. I knew I was going to be, and had no objection. I was no longer ready to live by the tenets of the wtbts. I did not go to the jc. No point.
But they did not respect their own laws and regulations. Maybe those regulations have changed ( new light) or maybe your " friend" isn't respecting them either.
i thought i would share some of my observations on counting field service time, reports, etc.
and how those reports are viewed, to those that are still so fixated on numbers.. i served as secretary on the service committee for many years, and have seen it all!.
i was really disheartened when wt changed the requirement for aux pioneering to allow for 30 hrs, instead of the 50 it has been for so long.
Welcome to the board Tech.
I am going to enjoy reading your posts. I see that you are a person after my own heart:
if you are going to do something, then do it properly.
If ownly the rank and file could see what really goes on at elders meetings. Its not even a question of a particular congregation, as some think.
It is everywhere: every country,every congregation is the same.
that his jw best friend he hasn't seen in ages is coming for holidays from where he now lives overseas.
this jw friend was instrumental in getting my husband into the cult before we met.
i heard from a jw from my old cong who just emailed me.
I suggest that you also tell your husband of your fears, as they are justified.
You both have some time to prepare yourselves.
I have followed the evolution of your situation with interest. It seems that until now, that you have been pleasantly surprised. There is probably no reason why that should change.
By the way, was your husband planning of going to the CA?
i am just wondering how many here have gone through the experience of being disfellowshipped and divorced?
i am currently in that situation and sometimes i am afraid of what to expect.
thankfully i have a good core of friends, but nonetheless i still find myself somewhat nervous of what to expect in my new life.
Hi Free of 1914.
We're you able to find someone who was understanding of such issues?
In answer to your question, yes.
However, it is not wise to advertise upfront that you were a JW. But when to tell, that is the question
When the now MrsP found out I used to be a jw, ( from an exjw friend in common, ) she phoned me up ( we lived a long way apart ), to make sure that I was really out of it.
I was able to assure her, and 16 years later, we are still happily together. Today, we talk about my life, childhood, etc, as a jw. She realises that I am somewhat scarred from the experience, and she realises also, that I visit this site to find people that can understand more easily than she can.
Most of my inlaw family do not know about my past life. Its amusing, because one of my wifes cousins is a jw. A few do know but it took several years before I told them.
There is, of course, no garantees in life, but be assured, your life is not over. On the contrary,its just beginning.
I was like you. I did not want to spend my life alone. Maybe, in hindsight I ran after wouldbe partners a little too much. But one day, when I was not looking, I bumped into Mrs P. So take heart. Life will not always be easy. But it does hold out some wonderful surprises.
Good luck.
jlp
this is the first time i've commented on this site, but i do enjoy to come here just to help clarify myself in times of need, ie when those wretched teachings resurface.
a bit about myself.. i was born in 1970 into the wonderful happy organisation (lol) and had a unremarkable childhood or so i thought (apart from being abused by an ms), all i can remember is being terrified of dying at armageddon.
attending 5 meetings a week and being used to preach as people wont shout at a child, studying the literature, not being able to watch popular tv shows, no xmas, birthdays the usual shit.. fast forward to age 16 and i fell in love with a worldly girl (the horror) and got her pregnant, my parents were devasted talking all the time how people in the borg would view them, nothing about what i was going thru, 16 and becoming a father, quite a big thing to me.
Thank you for sharing your very touching story with us, and please dont be " sorry for rambling on".
Though the jws probably think you are a weak person and that is the reason for all your past troubles,
in reality you are a very strong person, who was able to come through, despite everything.
I wish you every luck and a very happy future in your new job.
jlp
funny picture in new public watchtower.
evidently there was a digital camera taking pictures about 3,500 years ago.
noah had family worship night in the ark, so all you slackers have no excuse!
As LoisLane pointed out:
'' no doubt.......''
Just how many times have we seen that phrase in the WT ?
Take it to mean, ''we are about to make something up that we have absolutely no proof for''
*we are all from different cultural and educational backgrounds, we all experience different circumstances in life, and i don't mean to offend anyone on this forum in any way.*.
with that said here are my observations, and i want to know what you have observed.. in my experience i have noticed a trend: zealous witnessestend to exhibit the worst grammar when compared to non-witnesses!.
i want you to think back, or check it out for yourself if you haven't noticed it.. on social networks: compare comments on anything by jws (especially the uber-zealous ones) with those of your atheist or other religiously affiliated friends.
Having just read '' facebook comments'', a slightly earlier thread by zound, ( and frankly, I was surprised ).
I must agree with you.
