Posts by tornapart

68

A "follow up" meeting?!?!

by DATA-DOG in

well, now they want a follow up visit!

when you tell the elders that you have doubts and they say " its okay, we have had our doubts.

having doubts is not apostasy.

reading COC for the first time

by This is my tigersuit in

Yes, I felt like you when I first read CoC... as you can see from the username I chose. A couple of years on I don't feel that way anymore. Take it slow, don't rush things, give yourself time to adjust and come to terms with it all before you decide what you are going to do.

68

A "follow up" meeting?!?!

by DATA-DOG in

well, now they want a follow up visit!

when you tell the elders that you have doubts and they say " its okay, we have had our doubts.

having doubts is not apostasy.

tornapart

DD... just do what I've done and say you don't want to talk about it. What you think and what you believe is your business and no-one elses. They only have the power that you give them.

35

Dilemma

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

gorby and his lovely wife had during dinner a chat about watchtower hypocrisy.

she faded with me since 2007 and shows sometimes affection for the organization.. we talked about the gb and ray franz.. she asked me if she could read my ray franz books.. now i have a dilemma.

the books gave me a hard time in the '90.. i know the ray franz truth can hurt and shock her so much.

tornapart

Let her read CoC first. I read it still believing it was 'God's organisation'. Once I'd finished I knew it wasn't. SfCF sealed it. At least she has you to support her once she realises it's all false. It's much harder when you have no-one.

All the best Gorby

10

Keeping it simple.

by gingerbread in

jw
friends

as the convention season is upon many of us, i recall my first assembly that we attended during the very beginning of our questioning if this religion that we were raised in was 'right'.

by really listening to the talks and observing the behavior of the other attendees, we came away that weekend with real focus on uncovering the realities of being one of jehovah's witnesses.. i had, for many years, issues with some basic organizational practices and customs : turning in a time slip, counting hours, re-hashing material over and over, dress and grooming rules, congregational politics/favoritism/discrimination, the 'judicial committee', etc.. at the same time we were researching the history of the watchtower and it's core beliefs : what were the origins of the belief in a paradise earth, the faithful and discreet slave, and (most importantly) the watchtower's chronology/dating that leads to the 1914 conclusion.. to all who are in the beginning of this process, i recommend you keep it simple.

take one topic or issue at a time and prove to yourself that the watchtower's stance is biblical.

tornapart

I just found reading CoC was enough. In just 3 days I was totally mentally out.

23

Do you "believe" differently from what you "know"?

by compound complex in

jw
friends

greetings, all those still searching, still wondering .

.. in one of many faith-related books i have read, i recall the author declaring that there's a difference between what we know and what we believe.

while i cannot recall the author nor his commentary, i acknowledge that, while i do know ttatt and that the bible in not without error, yet there's a part of me deep inside that holds onto the so-called spiritual.. how is it for you personally as you make the transition from the invisible to the visible?

tornapart

Coco, I feel similar to you. Since finding out TTATT my faith has been rocked and shaken. In the organisation, definitely. In God, sometimes. Especially when reading all the 'atheist' related threads on here. They have certainly given me much food for thought. Yet still, I have a yearning inside me for the spiritual. Is God a part of it? Or is spirituality separate from God but still something as humans we need. Yes, I still believe in God but I think there is something more or something different from the God religion has taught us.

I enjoy reading books by the author Philip Yancey who has asked many many questions over his life. He bacame agnostic during his adolesence after leaving a fundamentalist religion. The God he now believes in is NOT the God he was shown as a youngster. I find his questioning and the answers he discovers are on a par with my own discovery.

The questions though continue. Sometimes I put all my thoughts of God and all other questions to one side and just get on and enjoy my life. But those questions still niggle away in the background. I find I can't forget about God, he's there all the time for me, whether I want him or not. He's a part of my life and even if non believers think I'm just another deluded christian, I'm actually happy that he is.

But he is NOT the God of the WT!!

15

HERE IS YOUR MAP. . . your task is to find the spot which says: YOU ARE HERE

by Terry in

jw
friends

here is your map:.

1. i suspect the truth isn't what i thought it was.. 2. omg--i realize i've been lied to and duped.. 3. what should i do?--i don't want to lose my wife, kids, family, friends, dog, pet hamster .

.. 4. what if jehovah's witnesses really do have the true religion and it's simple human error screwing it up?.

tornapart

I got to number 3 but no. 4 doesn't really apply. I'm 50/50 on number 5. And no to 6 and 7.

I've definitely gone through 1 and 2 but now I feel content with where I am. It's my life, my beliefs (or non beliefs) and I'm free to believe what I want and do what I want as long as it doesn't hurt those closest to me. This for me is where the problem lies.

7

Tour de France

by konceptual99 in

if anyone wants to see some beautiful english landscapes then get some of the live footage of the tour de france, currently making it's way through the yorkshire countryside.. another good opportunity for a british winner again....

tornapart

Shame about Cav...

33

Getting really for three days in hell

by cookiemaster in

hey guys, there's another thing i wanted to share with you.

i know this topic has been discussed over and over again, but it's just so fun to complain about it.

we're going to the district convention this weekend.

tornapart

I read that in Romania when the ban on the religion was lifted that there had been so many changes in the intervening years that many JWs thought the WT had gone apostate and started their own independent 'real' JW group. Have you heard of this?

Hope it all goes well for you. I have to go to at least one day to keep the family peace and because I am curious. I can see through all the BS. Fotunately it's inside and comfortable. Think if I was in your place there's no way I'd go!!

25

Updated list of Watchtower RANKS (not Classes!)

by Focus in

jw
friends

23 common or garden bethelite.

25 common or garden elder.

58 female child of unbaptized associate; dead unbaptized associate/family.

tornapart

Focus.. you mention no.98, One who attempts to tape a JC proceeding. So what if he/she actually DOES tape and then goes and posts it on Youtube?

Btw.. I noticed you have a rather large gap between your posts....several years in fact.... what happened?