Need some opinions!

by homunculus 3 Replies latest jw friends

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  homunculus

  Good morning to everyone,

  It's been a while since I have last posted, but I do want some opinions or advice if possible.I have long ago faded from the whole JW concept but keep being "officially" part of this bogus group for obvious purposes....I am fully aware of what is going on for the past 3 or so years and have fully cleaned my system of thinking and functioning from all these years of indoctrination and brain washing...My problem is my mother...She is literally obsessed with the whole JW organization idealogy...When I first opened my eyes I tried to reason with her but clearly I saw that I will get absolutely nowhere...For me it was a blessing that I left Europe and came to the United States to pursue a Masters Degree and am still in the US....It just kills my heart seeing her lose all the simple beauties of life, by being attached to an organization that has foundations constructed by fundamentalist,conservative,and the list can go on and on freaks...

  Here I am enjoying my freedom,meeting beautiful people from any given color,race,background but on the other side I am seing a very close to me person getting psychotic and paranoid because her sons (thank god my brother is in the same boat with me) are getting "spiritually" "weak"...

  I am absolutely comfortable with the idea of playing theatre in order to keep my circle unbothered...As a matter of fact it gets really fun sometimes!!!On the other hand, what would everyone who reads this post recommend?Do you get accustomed with the idea that your family will just continue in this lie?Having tried all the methods posted either in this Forum or from other sites I have gotten absolutely nowhere...

  The thing that really pisses me of though is that a good majority of JW's are just living their lives and not getting stressed anymore by the classical issues of Armagedon,Spreading the news,avoiding "Satan's traps,etc etc...I think at this point the whole group is just a social get together with a few hard core members that are getting more and more fu%^&* up seeing that i)the end isn't coming II)most of their "brothers" have been disillusioned...

  Is anyone in the same situation with me?Do you have family members that are still part of the "hardcore" group within the group?Have you found any kind of approach that at least makes them think a little?Some feedback would be highly accepted...

  At this point I want to publicly thank Randy for opening my eyes...Although I went through many websites before getting into Freeminds,your info Randy was the one that made my whole JW world just crumble down within days....I owe a lot to "apostates" helping me make serious decisions in my life lately...

  Being tired of dealing with religion my whole teenage and early adult years I decided to focus the past few years and many other things that I haven't done...Now that I "cleaned" my system I feel the urge to participate in religious issues and if possible help other people realize what I have...

  All enjoy your week and I am looking forward to reading your posts

  Homunculus
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  MerryMagdalene

  Hi there!

  Is anyone in the same situation with me?Do you have family members that are still part of the "hardcore" group within the group?Have you found any kind of approach that at least makes them think a little?

  Yes. Yes. (Happy as pigs in sh!te.) And not exactly. Whenever something makes my nearest and dearest think, she gets uncomfortable and has to do/think/say something that will restore her comfort.

  An article someone else here recommended which I found very interesting on that topic is here: http://www.csiop.org/si/2000-11/beliefs.html Why Bad Beliefs Don't Die.

  I'm still trying to figure out the best way of handling the whole thing. Trying to be honest yet restrained so as not to push her over the edge of not talking to me again.

  Look forward to hearing more on this, as always.

  ~Merry
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  rebel8

  When they do "questionable" things, support/encourage it and pretend you don't notice it's against their beliefs. For example, if they agree to spend XMas with you, go out of your way to minimize their discomfort and maximize their fun, so they will realize it's natural and not wrong. Make a little packet of documents with source materials--no commentary--such as the UN letter, Beth Shan, Rand stock documents, etc. Write the URL on the bottom and highlight the appropriate sections. Send it anonymously.

  I think there's more about this in the Best Of folder.
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  drew sagan

  After attending the latest special assembly program I can tell you that more and more are simply going for the social atmosphere. The material of the talks tells me that most people are not really making being a witness as important as the simple pleasures and draws of life. The hard core are slowly being reduced.
  
  Personally, I was of the hard core believers around 99-02. I was in deep. I have tried to think about what could have got to me at that point in time and I realize that nothing could. Way back in 2000 I was on freeminds.org Because I was so deep into the Watchtower I didn't really make much of it. Instead I saw it as kind of a joke. This is the best apostates can do? It had no effect on me. What I read really didn't get past my brick wall. I was very curious about Ray Franzs books, but assumed that they would be filled with lies. When I asked a friend about Ray Franz he told me that Ray had tried to use his position as a GB member to hold power in a local congregation, and when it didn't work left and got DF'd (could there be a more inaccurate recount of what happeded?) This was enough for me to realize that the books wern't worth reading.
  
  My own thinking ability OVER TIME helped me finally see through it all. When I was ready to finally look at it from an objective viewpoint, I could finally understand things and see them for what they where. It's something that is personal, I don't know if it can be shown or proved.
  
  Personally I have found that if you really do your research and KNOW YOUR TOPIC FRONT AND BACK, asking questions about things for which the typical witness has no answer is the best way to go. Get them stuck. I allways do this, not in a way to try and prove anybody wrong, but instead I ask questions out of sincerity, that I really want to know the answer and I wasn't able to find it. It's with these kind of little "seeds" help can be given to those still "in".
  
  Good luck to you. I wish you the best in all your efforts.