I felt much the same way when I left. I had waking visions of rocks of fire raining from the sky, killing everyone around me. I had dreams of tornados of fire ripping through cities. I thought I was a goner for certain. This was back in 1992. It takes time.
YOU EVER FEEL SCARED IT IS THE TRUTH?
by Cordelia 91 Replies latest jw friends
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acadian
Hello Cordelia.
NO,
If it were the truth, i would still be there, but the elders told me to stop doing research on the truth because that would be getting ahead of the FDS and the FDS would provide the proper food, at the proper time (I'm still waiting).
I was researching the other books mentioned in the bible these books are quoted by the bible writers they talk about prophecy and other things, my feelings are, if they quote from these books, then those bible writers must of felt they were inportant enough to include them in the bible, so why can't I research them?
Ask your dad that question.Acadian
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Terry
First of all--
If you love somebody and want to do everything to please them and you discover they aren't the person you thought they were......you can either pretend to be happy or you can face reality and leave the relationship.
But--your first emotion will never, ever be FEAR.....
unless it was an abusive relationship.
You might feel disappointed or angry or depressed......but fear?
Your real relationship is with your DAD! It isn't with Jehovah.
You don't want to disappoint the real person in the form of your father and what you fear is your Dad's disapproval.
So, face that square on.
The religious views of Jehovah's Witnesses rely on the following to keep you in.
1.Fear (of Armageddon, Satan, worldy people, shunning, etc.)
2.Self-incrimination (You are repeatedly told that you are weak, sinful, imperfect and cannot think for yourself. You are constantly charged with guilt and corruption.)
3.Ignorance (You are not allowed to know what really goes on because the real world is shut off from you. If you did absolutely everything the Watchtower instructed you to do you'd never get an education, research facts on the internet or have a friend who would be honest with you who wasn't a JW.)
4.Busy work (The object of constant meeting attendance, happy talk and door to door work is to use up all of your time and energy so that you'll be too exhausted to desire a life of your own or to entertain a prickly question about the errors of the anointed.)
5.Power plays (The foot on your neck is always there! There is an electric current of control sizzling through the Watchtower Society from the top down. Everybody is dominated in every tiny aspect of daily life. And who is the very bottom of this awful totem pole?? It is women...especially young women!! You are dirt under the feet of everybody else. No wonder you have fear!
You don't need a false sense of security from people who cannot think for themselves and make simple decisions about who to be friends with or even how to love their own family. You woke up one morning and discovered you were living in an insane asylum. Now you risk the wrath being well!
It is time for your Dad and the rest of the family to confront sanity. The only way this will happen if you escape from the Matrix of delusion and control and make a stand for being an individual who will not be intimidated.
You cannot convince your father his religious world view is a pile of steaming dog plop. He is totally dependant on that view. It is his anchor and his sense of strength and superiority. It is a rabbit's foot and an imaginary friend to comfort him in his fear.
In a court of law testimony cannot and will not be accepted unless it is THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.
The Jehovah's Witnesses have a bastardized scarecrow dressed up as "THE TRUTH" which is empty of fact and based on the wild imaginings of religious zealots from a previous century.
Today's technology has finally made it possible for honest seekers of fact to visit websites that reveal the tissue of extraordinary lies, deceptions and intrigues which prop up the Jehovah's Witness empire of mind control.
No wonder Watchtower articles galore are cracking down on so-called "Apostate" sites. They can't handle THE TRUTH about themselves!
Next time a JW starts talking to you about "only JW's have the Truth" you tell them there is something they have failed to consider: the WHOLE TRUTH! The WHOLE TRUTH is that they are false prophets who try and cover their ass. You don't have to bring up any other doctrines or issues. The Watchtower Society fails the test of a true prophet. A true prophet predicts what will happen and it comes true. The JW's predict Armageddon over and over and over and it NEVER comes true. They fail!
The scriptures tell you this: DO NOT FEAR THEM.
T
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luna2
Not any more. For some time after I became inactive I did think it was the truth, but that was only because I refused to do any research. Once I took that dreaded step (dreaded because I'd been brainwashed by the dubs into thinking that way) of looking at so-called apostate sites online, it took only hours to understand I'd been decieved and manipulated for 20 years.
There is no question in my mind that what the WTS teaches is not now nor has ever been "the truth".
Living your life by what other people think and believe is a frustrating and unsatisfying way to do things, though. Research this religion yourself....there's tons of information debunking almost every aspect of the Watchtower Society. Take a look at it. Find out for yourself.
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BluesBrother
NO..
It took a lot to break the spell. , but for me , I just consider all the ordinary people of this world. The generally honest, hard working people that are the back bone of society in every country of the world . They may worship God, in the way that they have been taught to do - or not , no matter.. Does it make sense to teach that God is going to horribly kill them because they do not associate with the WTS? Would God do such a thing? .... If so, what sort of a god is that ? The doctrines of Armageddon make our father out to be a dictator that is far worse than any of the notorious characters of history ...But we know him to be the God of Love.
And again , Where did the end get to? In my experience we have expected it "any time now" since the early sixty's , then 70's, 80's 90's and now we are halfway through the first decade of the twenty first century. It just hasn't come, has it?
I know that experienced Witnesses can be so convincing, especially if you are not yet ready to completely stand aside from their teaching . But you have to step "outside of the box" , If you stay debating their issues on their own terms they will always sound good. The arguments are tried and "field tested"... just wrong, if one looks at the whole picture
Once the blinkers are completely off there is no going back.
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TheListener
No.
But, like some others I did for a while. I thought I just didn't get it. I thought I had the problem. News events or weather events would make my mind reel with thoughts of my imminent death. I was losing it. The only way I was able to survive was good friends (both physical and cyber) and studying the issues that I thought made the WTS right.
Funny how that worked for me. When I thought the WTS was right I wasn't willing to follow them because it felt so wrong to my inner compass. Now that I know they're wrong and don't follow their teachings my family thinks I'm the one with the faulty inner compass. Go figure!
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IP_SEC
Terry,
I got to tell you, everytime I read one of your posts its like reading iambic pentameter
they have failed to consider: the WHOLE TRUTH! The WHOLE TRUTH is that they are false prophets
Truely poetic. -
undercover
When I first knew something was wrong, I went back and forth on whether it could be the "truth" or not. Some things made sense, others made no sense.
The first six months or so, I had those feelings of "what if I'm wrong" or "what if they're right". My first few posts on this board show the wishy-washiness of where I was at the time.
Over time and with research those feelings of "what if" became more and more of "they can't be" and then eventually, "they definitely aren't". Like has been mentioned, it takes time to overcome the indoctrination, the brainwashing. Years and years of control, fear and guilt do not go away over night. Even when you get to the point that you see through all the smoke and mirrors, there are times when something can trigger old feelings or fears and cause you to wonder again. Over time, those instances become less and less. In time, you wonder how in the heck you ever fell for such silliness and stupidity.
It's not a short road to find freedom from this wacky religion but in today's world with instant communication and the information highway, you don't have to go it alone. There's a world of information and support just a few clicks away.
Do listen to your father and then test out what he says. Whatever your father says "sounds" good, but is it sound? Check into what he says, not using just WT publications but look it up elsewhere also.
Decide for yourself if the Bible condemns birthdays, for instance. Just because two birthdays ended badly, is that principle enough to regard them as evil? Then compare the principle behind birthdays to other 'pagan' customs. Is the WTS consistent with their principles from one 'pagan' custom to another? If not, why? What do other scholars say about birthdays and the bible? Do scholars have anything to say?
Only you can decide what you are going to do. Not your father, not any of us, only you. But before you make any decision make sure that you have researched it from all angles, not just one.
Good luck.
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NYCkid
No I don't, but w hat a great question. This is a question I struggled with for a long time and as a third generation Witness, I really wanted to believe that it was the truth. Frankly, going to college opened my eyes and mind beyond belief. This experience is so profound for me since I've always had an open mind and am interested in different viewpoints (so I may get more out of college than just specific job training). However the real catalyst for me was once I realized that there is no direct telephone/fax line from Jehovah to the Governing Body and/or NY Bethel . I always wondered how this worked especially when they sent potential elder, ministerial servant and bethel applicants to Bethel for "prayerful consideration." How did these men get their direction for administrative tasks like approving or not approving a person to be an elder and information to write in their publications? Did they become possessed by Jehovah as they wrote down things in a trance like state? Did they have dreams? Was there writings on their walls? Did a fax miraculously appear in their fax machine?
Then I came to the understanding that most if not all of the publications, especially in the last several decades and especially the monthly publications are NOT written by the Governing Body and by the writing department. Most if not all of these men (I don't think women do any writing other than administration support and correspondence) have nothing more than a high school education (which makes sense if you read the WT and Awake) and certainly no formal theological training other than what they learned as Jehovah's Witnesses, from their own publications. Furthermore, applications for elders, ministerial servants, missionaries, bethel service are not individually prayed over. They're reviewed much like an application for a job and consideration is taken from whether the local elders gave their support of this individual and the JW history and background of the person.
Discovering this was such a bummer and removed much of the mystique surrounding the whole idea of being personally chosen and directed by Jehovah. Although the religion is filled with sincere and nice people, it's nothing more than a highly organized and efficient system of publishing, controlled by humans to control humans.
Best wishes,
NYCkid
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Brigid
No. They have "their truth", that is for sure. Everything is perception. You seem very young. Give yourself time and room to grow and know yourself and the universe around you. I used to give pause when something would happen in the world that was a "signal" of the last days and think--I'll bet my mother is just knowing right now that Armageddon or the great tribulation is happening! But every faith has an angle. Muslims see validation of their Jihad when the US invades Iraq. JW's see it as "reports of wars". JW's see earthquakes as "earthquakes in one place after another". Earth-based worshippers and pagans see it as a natural karmic repurcussion for the way we've treated mother earth. Jews see the persecution of their people as validation that they are chosen (and btw, they read the prophets in a totally different way and more accurately, imo) I could go on. It is all perception. You see the world through your glasses.
Also, reading the bible in Hebrew really really helps. It will change everything you have been taught about the Jewish G-d.
Love and Light,
~Brigid