I was about 4 years old when my parents joined the JWs so I have never knew anything else. I don't feel dumb or stupid because I was a jw. Most childern believe what their parents tell them is the truth.Although I became a Catholic after I left the WTS, I do and think what I want. I am not held captive by any belief. I am constantly learning and discovering different ways of thinking and seeing the world and how I fit into it.
panhandlegirl
JoinedPosts by panhandlegirl
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My Question..........................
by Night Owl insome threads question the intelligence of people who would "fall for" the teachings of the wts.. one of the current threads on this topic uses the terms "king......dumb.....hall" and calls jw's stupid, mindless, idiots.
my question is: what are you falling for now?.
nightowl.
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You have feet in your shoes
by rebel8 inyou have brains in your head.
you have feet in your shoes.
you can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
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panhandlegirl
I love Dr.Suess!! I should have read that book when I was in my 20s. I was always told I had to do what the WTS told me to do. Silly Silly me!
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Have the WTBS pretty much declared theocratic and mental war on ex-jehovahs witnessses?
by Joliette inin light of a lot of the watchtower's kool aid articles.
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panhandlegirl
I agree with Cedars and outsmartthesystem. I remember being warned about "the evil slave class" when I was young but nothing like what happened in the early 80s. I was not aware then that a purge was taking place but I was caught up in it.When I was df'd as an apostate the only support I had was my two brothers. I thought we were an anomaly until I read CoC. I had also received some brochures from "Witness Now for Jesus" so then I realized we were not alone in our dissent. Now I have no idea how I got in contact with the WNfJ but that's how I found out about CoC. This is not now the 80s. Like Dylan sang about the 60s "The times they are'a changing." This is not our grandfather's or father's'/mother's world anymore. The internet has made the world smaller. We can communicate with people all over the world and discuss ideas on what's going on. We can find information on almost anything we are looking for through the interner. Hundreds of us are not afarid if being df'd anymore. The WBS is having to consider apostates as part of the equation. After the 1975 debacle, most thinking jws, especially the young ones are not as easily fooled.The WTS uses the shunning teaching to hold those who may want to bail out in check. No one wants to lose their family or close friends. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do no matter the cost. Like outsmartthesystem said: But once the sheeple lose their fear of DF and DA ones......all hell breaks loose. So yeah.....declaring war on DF and DA ones is their only chance of keeping the glass house together.
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Crazy Photo of workers taking a break above NYC, I do not think I could do it.
by Iamallcool in.
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panhandlegirl
It makes me physically ill also. I am a total wimp. I don't even like to look out the window of a high hotel room.
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Some observations on Animal Farm by George Orwell
by WinstonSmith ini recently finished reading animal farm, written by george orwell.
as someone who has recently awoken to the truth about the truth, this book blew my mind.
the parallels with the watchtower society are quite astounding.
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panhandlegirl
Winston, I am reading the book so I don't want to read your observations right now. I will mark this page and read it after I finish. Just want to compare my thoughts to yours after I read the book. Thanks for your observations.
Panhandelgirl.
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Really Pushing WTS Lately......
by mind blown ini've been @ my place for 5 years now and hardly ever see jw's at my door or in my neighborhood, but lately they're all over the place.
one came to my door a couple weeks ago and had that over glossy newbie look in her eyes .
the pack that came today looked like they walked straight out of a musty thrift store....
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panhandlegirl
I am home on weekdays and have never had a jw come to my home.The only jw I have seen in years was a man preaching from inside his car at Walmart.
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Sleep Paralysis
by NewChapter inthis subject has come up on several different threads, and i thought it might make an interesting topic.
i've experienced sleep paralysis since i was quite little, but didn't know what it was until i was in my 30's.
since this is often mistaken for demons or alien visits, it sometimes soothes people to know that others experience it and there is a scientific explanation.. when it happens, it is extremely real.
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panhandlegirl
I have experienced this sleep paralysis. It is scary. I know we go through different stages during sleep. The paralysis may be a protection from sleep walking, I don't know. I never attibuted the event to demons. I hate it when it happens. I also used to grind my teeth. My dentist said it was because of stress. Now why would anyone who is shunned by everyone they have ever known as family or friends have any stress? Anyway, I don't think I have had this feeling in a long time.
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panhandlegirl
FS, I will be on your fb with real name.
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(PIONEERING) and the way to get ahead: PIOUS SNEERING
by Terry inthe year was 1969.. i had just spent my 2 years fulfilling my "neutrality" obligations to jehovah's organization during the viet nam war by going in to federal prison.. i thought i could use my parole to get my life together.. getting a job, saving some money, buying a car and getting a place to live didn't seem like radical or worldly ideas to me.. i guess i was pretty surprised when i walked in to the kingdom hall where i had not set foot since 1967.. .
instead of a homecoming i was greeted by----the congregation overseer (the pre-elder days).. in his hot little hand was the pioneer application form.
he handed it to me saying, "i know you'll want to continue your serving jehovah full time!".
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panhandlegirl
1969: We were at the DC in Kansas City, MO. It was the week that America landed on the moon. We, of course, did not watch it live. We were at the DC sessions. I was 25 years old. Some of the younger brothers in our circut
were in prison, one had taken the Alternate Service, working at a tuberculosis hospital, my cousin joined the Air Force before he got drafted into the Army and went to Viet Nam. My older sisted decided not to have
childern and becomea regular pioneer. I pioneered every few months. It was a stressful time. My husband was df'd for smoking during that time. I remember telling his mother that I thought he did not believe that
Amageddon was coming or else he would have stopped smoking. I expected that he would be destroyed in 1975. I was trying to save myself and my two children. He never tried to get reinstated. As you stated,
the pioneers were the ones you looked up to, they were the examples to follow. The whole country was stressed and the music played during the 60s-70 showed it. For JW's the anticipation and urgency of the preaching
work dominated our life. When nothing happened, some were disillusioned, some continued on. I was among the disillusioned and started working outside the home. Although I remained a jw, I did not attend meetings regularly and
I don't think I ever went out in field service after 1975 came and went. I don't think anyone who is not a jw can understand our experience. In fact, when I think about it myself, I can't believe I believed such a prediction.
I cannot believe I/we invested/wasted our youth on such a prediction! The Bible clearly states that nobody knows the day or the hour, not even the Son knows. And then to find out that the WTS denies their prediction and
blames it on the flock. Unbelievable!!
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A heart-wrenching comment from the JW survey...
by cedars ini've just received this comment from a country in the south china sea.
i'd rather not be more specific than that.. the english is poor, but the message is heart-wrenching.
any who question whether ordinary publishers wrestle with doubts need only read this message.
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panhandlegirl
What is so sad about this comment is that no one should ever feel that they cannot share their innermost feeling with those closest to them. No one should feel the stress of losing family or friends just because they do not agree with what an outsider, which is what the wts is, teaches. How many more people like this man are there in this world. People like we once were. As sd-7 stated, there is hope in this man's comments. The mere fact that he answered the survey demonstrates his hope for some answers to his questions. He is doubting the wts.