Did you ever talk to an "apostate" years before you actually left JW's?

booker-t

I remember years ago when I was on "fire" as a devout JW's a girl at the bus stop handed me a book Crisis of Conscience in 1981. I did not know what the book was all about and she told me that JW's was a "cult" and very Satanic in nature. She told me that I should leave the JW's if I wanted salvation in Jesus Christ. She handed me some born-again christian tract and invited me to her church. I almost broke my neck trying to run away from her because the "Apostate-alert" went off in my head. I got on the bus and actually glanced at the book and had a inner turmoil. I felt so guilty at reading Apostate literature that I went to one of the elders that was a very good friend of the family and who was like an uncle to me and I told him about the book. He told me that Apostates are always lying about JW's and would never debate with JW's in public because JW's would tear them apart and expose their lies. Now here I am 25 years later and I wish I had read that book from cover to cover because I would have left JW's in 1981(my baptismal date) instead of leaving JW's in the 90's. I was just wondering posters did anyone of you ever have an encounter with a "die hard" apostate and still clung onto JW's?. Do you feel foolish now that you did not listen to them?

Finally-Free

Once I went into a bar and saw a df'd guy I knew, so I sat down at his table and ordered a beer. He was shocked that I would do that, but I wasn't about to allow anyone to tell me who I could or could not speak to. He didn't share any "apostate" info with me, and I suspect he still was a believer.

I was always hearing about "apostates" and how we should avoid them, and all it did was make me curious about what they had to say. I figured that if we really had the "truth" we had nothing to fear from hearing alternate viewpoints.

W

What-A-Coincidence

Talking to an apostate would be like talking to the devil himself ? NO WAY!!!!

under_believer

He told me that Apostates are always lying about JW's and would never debate with JW's in public because JW's would tear them apart and expose their lies.

Hah! I've heard that one before too. In reality, though, nobody from the WTS would EVER, EVER debate an "apostate" in public. The R&F would see it and it would raise questions in their minds, questions that can't be answered.

This is also why the Society is so unspecific and vague when referring to teachings of apostates. They don't tell the R&F what the actual teachings are or try to refute them, because they know that their defenses would sound pretty lame.

freetosee

Sad to say, the apostates I encountered were aggressive and seemed very unhappy. Telling me the WT does not follow the bible was not convincing to me, since I saw no other religion follow and use the bible like the JW do (in Germany ppl are not as religiously active as they are compared with the US). I also looked at a long apostate video, but would find any small fault with it so as to not even consider the arguments made. It actually pushed me back deeper into the WT control.

Do I feel foolish? Yes I do. had I allowed the arguments to sink in the separation would have been earlier and easier and maybe even more effective in exposing “the truth”.

– The hypocrisy of the elders and the lack of love is what made me finally see and question things.

Freetosee