I accuse my wife of apostacy. Hilarity ensues.

by under_believer 44 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  blondie

  Yes, I have used those quotations and more in my review to illustrate that in writing, officially, the WTS has said many times that only dedicated, baptized JWs and their minor children have any hope of surviving Armageddon.

  Many JWs put that out of their mind because their basic nature cannot accept that God would kill children just because their parents are not JWs. They don't want to think that their non-JW spouse, parents, children are going to die forever soon at Armageddon.

  Is that cognitive dissonance? I used to convince myself that those words in the WT were a mistake, that they were not God's thoughts. Actually, it was one of several points that made me start studying more deeply what the WTS teaches.

  Blondie
• 

  Stealth453

  Bet there was no arse slapping porno sex in your house that night.
• 

  blondie

  Sorry, have to read all the posts.
• 

  peggy

  I have begun asking questions. I start by saying,"I didn't know that Jesus was not my mediator". Of course he is. "No he is only the mediator for the annointed". This gets people thinking. I have had many tell me that they do NOT believe that Jah will destroy everyone BUT Jw's, I have had many who have been shocked to learn that jesus is not our mediator. I want people to think and question. I never did. I accepted without thought. I have learned so much on this site. The few that I have told of where I get this info, have begun their own research. They want answers. Some have said that you all are lying. Then they find the truth. It makes for interesting conversations.

  Peg
• 

  moomanchu

  She is among the sizeable group of JW's who believe that they can pick and choose their beliefs from the JW smorgasboard, and yet still call themselves JW's as long as they keep quiet about it.

  Too true, I feel the way you do. Either accept it all, or reject it all. No sitting on the fence.

  I would probably have been just as in her face as you were if not more, I'd say you won that battle but

  you might end up losing the war. Just more It takes years to program, it will take years to deprogram.

  On your original argument I love to use this one:

  Since only JW,s and people who have not rejected JW,s (those who were not preached to) are the only ones to survive armageddon, stopping field service would actually help "worldly People".

  enjoy moo
• 

  Joe Grundy

  May I contribute to this as an outsider (not, never have been a JW)?

  One of the reasons I enjoy this site is the opportunity to discuss religious issues. I tend not to do so in real life because (as an atheist) I would hate to be responsible for destroying someone's beliefs (though having learned what I have here I could ow probably make an exception for JWs and members of other destructive cults).

  I was brought up as a fairly fundamentalist (in the UK, not the US, sense - there is a difference) protestant non-conformist. I was baptised at 13, left at about 15 - normal teenage stuff, discovered girls, etc.

  I got married at 23 and a couple of years later my wife and I became involved with the local church ('going back' for me, brand-new to her). We got baptised together (yes, I had two!). We were enthusiastic and committed and I wanted to know more and more, so I started researching. t that time I believed that it was the most important thing in life, so maybe we should sell the house, give up my job, spend all our time doing good works, witnessing (no, it's not only JWs who do it!) etc. etc. In other words, live what we believed and really go for it. I shudder, lookin back, but my excuse is that I was fairly young then.

  Actually what happened was that the research just threw up more and more issues and fairly soon led to a complete loss of faith. I was sharing the research with my wife, and - without pressure or persuasion - she came to the same conclusion.

  I'm not a promoter of causing anyone to lose their faith, but I wonder what would happen in the 'UB mate' scenario (see, I'm even picking up the language!) if the UB one said something like 'I can see how important this is to you. Tell you what, let's really go into it, research, and once we're convinced, we'll sell the house and move somewhere smaller/not get that new car/furniture/redcorate/vacation and instead give the money to WT or whatever. I'll downsize my job so I can do more at home, and you can go out on the door2door a lot more.'

  Or would that just be tooooo risky?
• 

  drew sagan

  I'm glad what I said didn't get you angry. And I can understand the personality differance that makes your situation differant.
  For me the sincerity of the questions I asked my wife helped her see that what I was asking wansn't to much or unreasonable. She could tell I simply wanted to know why instead of me searching for an excuse why. I think that is important. The feeling I got from the post is that she may feel you are looking for an excuse (mabye?). I'm not in your shoes so i really don't know. I'm also not saying that you are looking for an excuse, but she could very well see it that way.
  Another major factor in helping my wife out was the poor way she was treated by so many at the hall. So it was her own personal expierance as well. She had asked questions to herself (like I think a good many witnesses do) but never got any futher. I hear all the time know her saying things like 'and another thing I allways wondered was...'
  A major point I think that can be helpful is simply asking questions about the society and the organization that dosn't attack docrine at all, instead simply ask questions about how they worship. Think about this
  - They attend meetings 5 hours a week, but only read the Bible in context 3 minutes
  - They hop from scritpure to scripture and rarely ever consider an entire passage
  - They spend hours preparing for and attending these meetings, and when they are there they are told they arn't studying enough
  - Why do they read the Watchtower word for word more than they read the Bible?
  This list could go on forever. I know that some witnesses will just put up a mental block and say that Watchtower study is pratically the Bible, but still it's worth a shot. The truth is that they are indoctrinated with Watchtower theology and arn't taught to think for themselves. Expose how the Watchtower does this. I like this approach because there is no theology involved, your simply examining WTS tactics.
  I'll be looking to see how your situation unfolds with much interest. I wish you the best.
  -drew
• 

  drew sagan

  Another thing that really helped my wife is simply talking to her about what the Witnesses REALLY teach. JWs have been bred to be childish in their thinking so they are dependent upon sucking their mother organizations breasts. My wife was actually amazed when I revealed just what witnesses actually teach, like the 144,001, jesus as mediator only for 144,000. There are also those verses in the Bible the witnesses never quote like Luke 21:8
• 

  hopie

  James 1:27 says: "The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this; to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation"

  Why are JW's discouraged to be envolved in chartable works? It is all part of their cult-like scheme to isolate the witnesses, have no feelings for the human race, the poor and needy. After all, isn't everyone else already dead in God's eyes because they are going to die (everlastingly) at Armageddon?

  Question: Why is the SCROLL OF LIFE mentioned in Revelation opened TO JUDGE ALL, at the end of the thousand years, not at the so-called time of Armageddon? Am I wrong to understand that Rev. 16: 15 may only mean a time for exposing ( 'Happy is the one that stays awake and keeps his outer garments, that he might not walk naked and people look upon his shamefulness' )

  Hopie
• 

  under_believer

  Drew, thanks again for your suggestions. Those are all good points, and they will certainly go into my quiver for possible use in the future. Particularly, the fact that Jesus is only the mediator for the "anointed" will be helpful.

  At the end of the day, though, she's not a religious woman, she's a practical (and very family-oriented) one. The kind of thing she really responds to is the stuff that will harm and affect families. Another conversation we had a few months ago, one I felt was particularly helpful, happened after we finished watching an episode of Gray's Anatomy (it's a nighttime hospital drama--I guess watching it makes me girly) together.

  In the episode, a family with like eight kids comes into the hospital, mother is pregnant with the ninth. They are fundamentalist Catholics, don't believe in birth control, don't believe in limiting their family. Wife asks one of the surgeons to give her a tubal ligation at the same time she's having her C-section, but get this, DON'T TELL HER HUSBAND because it would make him hate the wife on religious grounds. Surgeon reluctantly agrees.

  Afterwards the husband gets wind of the fact that the tubal ligation was not in fact accidental. Wife LIES, blames it on the surgeon. Surgeon probably will end up in a malpractice suit.

  Anyways after this episode is over, this exchange takes place in our house:

  WIFE: What could those Catholics possibly be thinking! Doesn't that husband realize how hard it is on his wife's body to have all those kids in a row like that? He's not the one who has to carry them. All that trauma on her body, all just for a religious belief.

  ME (the irony killing me): Well, probably they are thinking something similar to what the
  Witnesses think when they decline blood transfusions for their kids and let them die, all just for a religious belief.

  WIFE: [total silence]

  I guarantee that if my wife is silent, a point has been scored. Silence is a very unnatural state for her.