Posts by TheWanderer

218

Does anybody still believe in God and the Bible?

by tornapart in

i just want to know out of interest how many here still believe in god and christ and that the bible is god's word.

my faith in the wts is gone but i still love god and his son.

i've noticed that many here have lost their faith in god as well as the wts.

TheWanderer

Without wanting to rehash all of the points of view previously mentioned, and just focus on the original question.. yes, I still believe in God. I tried another religion for a few months after leaving JWs, mostly for the social interactions I think... but it just wasn't for me. Still, I couldn't deny that there is something... God.. Divine influence... Karmic balance... that exists in life. I also believe, as a mere human being, the exact nature of it is out of the realm of my understanding, like color to a blind person.

I don't believe God is cruel or vengeful, I don't believe he's interested in punishing the people who don't believe in his methodology, nor do I believe he will punish those who don't find the One True Way man purports.

However, I do believe that the Bible is a sacred text, inspired by God, but I do not believe it is the only one. There is truth and spirituality to be found around the world in various cultures, and not JUST in the Western civilization's choice.

I also believe that spirituality should be the true pursuit of man, not religion. Religion is just a path in which humans try to help other humans find spirituality... but unfortunately, since religion is run by humans, its often bogged down with ceremony, ritual, dogma, and other distractions. Men find the power in leading religiously, and as the old quote said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." So for me, I'm just not interested in religion as a whole.... its fine for others, just not my thing.

What I did find comforting was studying Buddhist philosophy... it was like getting a second opinion on life or something.

To each their own, but I believe spirituality... the goodness of man, the reflection of God's image... is in every person if they seek it and pursue it in their lives.

51

Things You Wished You Told the Elders (OR DID TELL THEM)!!!

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

tell us........

TheWanderer

LOL That's awesome, Entirely :)

51

Things You Wished You Told the Elders (OR DID TELL THEM)!!!

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

tell us........

TheWanderer

"Why did I get DF'd when my mother - solely responsible for my upbringing in this organization - abused me physically and psychologically for most of my childhood until I stood up to her abuse at 16 before leaving home... and she was told only 'You have suffered enough already' in response to her sins?"

18

Legendary Coach Joe Paterno died today RIP

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/22/us/pennsylvania-obit-paterno/index.html?hpt=hp_t1.

TheWanderer

EDIT: I was confused because I saw the bit mentioned below about 'getitng it wrong', not realizing that this morning, he did in fact pass away.

For me, the shame is that people wrongly blamed him for the Penn State issues, which kind of unjustly tarnished his legacy a bit.

71

Do you miss "dressing up" for the meetings?

by dozy in

i was thinking about this the other day when doing a bit of tidying up of my wardrobe.

all the kh suits are now pushed to the back of the wardrobe and i am seriously thinking about a visit to the charity shop to get rid of most of them.. for me one of the (few) enjoyable aspects of being a jw was getting dressed up.

my secular work very rarely involves putting on a dress suit & tie so i miss getting dressed up - smart suit , tie , shiny shoes , slapping on the aftershave.

TheWanderer

I wore a bolo tie once, it just felt weird, I was so used to the traditional necktie.

But wearing a suit & tie from around age 5 until 19? Yes, I actually do miss it a bit. My crew at work used to have Formal Friday - since they wear casual clothes anyway (for the work we do), they would dress UP on Friday.. slacks, tie, suit coat.. very stylish. Unfortunately, when they started wearing top hats and walking canes, the owners decided it was too much and put a stop to it, sigh.

It would be a little strange having a necktie on again, but I wouldn't mind being all dressed up again. Kind of twisted, I know, lol...

22

My Story

by TheWanderer in

i found this site quite a few months ago, after a curiosity search on wikipedia about jws and what's going on with the organization.

i was unfortunately born into it, 4th-generation; my great-grandfather was a special pioneer spreading the word in the early 1900s.

it was all i knew growing up, even though i struggled between trying to conform to make everyone happy ... and finding my own way in life.

TheWanderer

Thanks again for the support. Unlike some who are still struggling with being in or out, I'm very comfortable with my departure from the JWs.. really, from religion as a whole. It's fine for some, just not for me.

In fact, when I first found this site last year, I didn't join because I thought it was going to be all negative. "@#$% those @#$%ing JWs and their @#$@# ^#$@# with a @#$%#$% broomstick!" lol (Thankfully, this site isn't all anger and hate and such) And honestly, I -was- angry for a while in my early 20s, but now I'm cresting over the 40 mark and I'm over it. It happened, there was some good that came from it, I can't change what happened.. so I just accept it and move on with my life.

And if my story happens to inspire or encourage anyone out there who might be 'on the fence'... well, that's all the better. :)

59

What weird things have you read in the bible?

by stillAwitness in

jw
friends

the fact that nimrod's name means: "he stirred up the whole earth to rebel"

and yet ezra's name means: "help"

what caused nimord's mother to name him something that had such a negative meaning and yet he turned out to be just that?

TheWanderer

Something that is a very different sort of 'weird' for me. I'm too tired to look it up.. but I know there is a parable Jesus gave about an old servant about to be retired by his owner, realizing that he would be let go, essentially he went to the people who owed money to his owner, and told them they owed less. Really, he was helping his boss's creditors to steal from his owner!

And Jesus applauded him! I never understood what lesson we were to learn from that, and I've come to assume something there was lost in translation, lol

(Unless we've got it all wrong, and there's a missing chapter of 3 John where were are told to follow Ye Olde Ponzi Scheme...)

43

What was life like for you as a JW teenager?

by highdose in

in the wt's illistrations they portray jw teenagers as happy, together group.

my experinace is that the jw teenagers in the cong were some of the bitchyist backstabbing arse holes i'll ever meet.. it was unheard of for us to engage in group "wholesome activity" as show in the wt's illistrations.

the competition amongst the girls for the handsome, sane and elders sons were cut throat.

TheWanderer

I had an experience like the one mentioned, where I was more of the 'nerd' type and the 1-2 teens in my congregation were more hip than I was. They were nice enough to let me tag along, though, but I always felt like a 'fifth wheel' kind of thing. (Note: this was the mid to late 80s)

My mother was actually helpful with this, to a point... since my family went back a couple generations in JWs, we were kind of looked up to by the more spiritually-minded people. So mom would try to hold little get-togethers at our house, to try and help me and some of the other socially-challenged teens (and keep them from worldly alternatives, etc). Once we had a lip-synching 'party' with about a dozen or two kids (and the parents who wanted to attend), good times.

I do remember getting my hopes up once... senior prom was NEVER an option, of course. But that year a bunch of parents wanted to try and have an alternative within the organization so the kids wouldn't be quite as left out by not going. The word spread through several congregations in neighboring cities that a school auditorium was available, and there was going to be a prom-like gathering for the teens.. dress up formally as possible, a musically-inclined friend was going to play some tunes and had 'acceptable' music to be played as well... even as incredibly shy as I was, this was defintely something I was looking forward to this for WEEKS (especially since there was a super-cutie young sister I had met, and had hoped to talk to some more, heh).

....but the weekend before it was going to happen, there was some talks about avoiding 'large gatherings', a few people had crisis of conscience issues, and it was cancelled. sigh

It was a little difficult for me because there were higher expectations. Everyone seemed to think I'd be a regular pioneer and probably Bethel bound when I got out of school. It was kind of fun getting privleges within the congregation... carrying the microphones, giving talks, reading the Watchtower aloud on Sunday... but deep down it always felt like having to settle for what I could get, since I couldn't have what I really wanted, lol

Personally, I was already tempted by worldly influences, a bit of a rebel despite being from a 'good family'... I'd listen to worldy pop music, try to catch TV shows when mom wasn't around, etc. I liked a couple of friends I made who were more open-minded, being able to escape and play video games, listen to whatever was on the radio without changing the station because a 'bad song' came on, lol Always had crushes on girls but was too shy to talk to them, and you weren't supposed to be all that friendly anyway (since it was WAY too young to be thinking about marriage, so any considerations of dating were not acceptable). At best, I could hope for a group outing that included the pretty young lady I was pining for, and maybe getting the courage to talk to her, lol

Funny, I could talk to complete strangers in service, deal with 'conversation stoppers', do informal street work... but talk to the happy brunette who was my age? Yikes! haha

Ah well. In the end, like any other teenager.. I guess I just tried to make the best of it, do what I could, and find the enjoyment that was there... and along the way, had a lot of unusual experiences! :)

(hmm, that was a lot more than I thought I had to say,haha)

55

CO visit. New light

by 2tone in

jw
friends

if you want to skip to the new light or understanding, its underlined for you pleasure.

i think some will find this interesting.

we had the co tonight.

TheWanderer

That's a pretty convenient bit of revisionist history, lol. Not to mention covering up the old bit about the generation who saw 1914 will not pass away without seeing Armageddon, etc.

Wow, that's some blatant idolatry right there... hopefully it will be enough to people like my family to finally realize this is NOT God's truth, just another religion of man.

...but sadly, probably not...

20

How many JWs does it take...

by TheWanderer in

...to change a light bulb?

actually.... ...i have no idea.

what's your best punchline for it?.

TheWanderer

Nice! :)

My first automatic response was 144,000 but couldn't find the good explanation for it, heh