What planted the seed of doubt that lead you to leave or think of leaving? (page 2)

Juniper123

Just looking around me at people and school and out and about and how they weren't always miserable, how in fact most of them got through the day just fine. That while the world was a scary place there was a lot of joy and love in it too. And feeling supremely uncomfortable in field service, knowing at right years old that knocking on someone's door to tell them everything they believe is wrong and to accept our doctrine or not see the new world is just plain wrong.

Honesty

On the way home one night I saw that someone had spraypainted this on an interstate billboard:

607 B.C.E.?

under_believer

Mine was the same as DannyBloem's. I had doubts all my life, but was a very faithful Witness.

But the impossibility of the flood really started getting to me as an adult and that was the first real seed of doubt.

Frannie Banannie

The cruel manner in which "discipline" is heaped on the WTS members by elders who abuse their authority, as both observed and experienced by myself.

Their NON-scriptural criteria for meeting THEIR baptism requirements. I think this, besides the extreme lack of love in the WTS, is the most critical doctrinal thing that chapped my grits.

Their haughtiness.

Their NOT having that identifying characteristic, "intense love for one another," which SHOULD identify those who claim to belong to the true god.

They love to hate....and to judge harshly.....others.....as well as their own members.

Frannie

Mystla

God is love. There is too much cruelty in the world today, too many horrors happening to truly good people. Just can't buy it anymore.

Misty

HappyDad

To make it short and sweet............it was the lack of love among the people who always said that Christ's true followers will be known by the love they show. Sure isn't the Jehovah's Witnesses! Then of course, there were always the nagging doubts of how other scriptures were explained to only be applied to the JW's.

HappyDad

P.S. Remember this..............There is no such thing a unconditional friendship in the borg. The ones you are close with are no different than rattlesnakes. As soon as you think everything is hunkydory..........you are turned on and bit.

tall penguin

There were many things that put doubts in my mind. But what really clinched it was ackack (also then a jw but much further along in the exit process than I) who asked me:

"Is there anything that would make you believe that this is NOT the truth?"

My first response was an addiment NO! This made me see that I was more attached to wanting it to be true than whether it was really true. And that gave me pause for thought. From there I could slowly think of things that would make me question it being the truth. Then it was just a matter of ackack very patiently providing the information to back up my doubts.

Thanks ackack.

tall penguin

parakeet

Hi Nana! To know that people are alive today because of something you did -- that must be a wonderful feeling!

The blood policy was my big doubt, too. I was never confronted directly with the issue, thank goodness, but when my son was born, I knew I would never hesitate to allow a blood transfusion if he really needed it. From the moment on, it was just a matter of time till I left.

under_believer

Tallpenguin, that is a very powerful question. It should be in everyone's toolbelt who has a loved one they're trying to free.

Parakeet, same here. Having kids was the SECOND thing that started to accelerate my doubts. That line of thought culminated with me tearing up my blood card one emotional day and throwing it in the garbage.

Carmel

It's been so many years since I began to question, but I do remember one disquieting experiance that happend when I was only a wee tot. It seems a JW family in the neighboring town were severely abusing their children mostly by neglect and refusal to take them to doctors. When the baby girl died of malnutrition there was a big stink and the police were called in by Social Services to investigate. There were stories flying around and I remember several discussions where the Cong Servant was adamant that the father had the right to decide how the children were to be raised and even if it resulted in death, the scared nature of the "family head" was more important than a child's life, considering it would be eventually resurrected anyway. That just didn't seem to fit with the sanctbity of life and how we were trying to save people to have them "live" by selling them magazines, then allow a family member to starve to death..

Just one of many incongruities of the JW social scene.

carmel

What planted the seed of doubt that lead you to leave or think of leaving?

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