by sexyk 21 Replies latest jw friends
I Ordered Crisis of Conscience a few minutes ago ! It should be in around a week or 2 !
I've heard many great things about this book for people who have left the JW religion and were having a hard time, like myself.
For those who read it, has it changed your life in any way ? Personal thoughts please.
This thread has some of my comments from reading CoC
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/86729/1.ashx
It changes you,
purps
I did not need Crisis of Conscience in order to see that the WTS isn't what it claims to be. But, after reading it, this fact became overwhelmingly confirmed.
You will never forget many of the things you read in it.
Just seeing directly how the Governing Body really works- that is priceless.
Holy Spirit directs these guys? They barely use the Bible and decide matters
on a two-thirds vote. Well.... Read the book.
hey when you're done, send it my way!!! LOL, guess i have to order it too now, maybe just to send to my mom and sister
the infamous one
I hadn't been to a Kingdom Hall in over twenty years when I read COC. I wish I had known about it sooner because it takes all your dangling threads of doubt and unanswered questions and ties them together into a more understandable whole. It is an excellent book and I found it doubly interesting because the author's tenure of being on the Governing Body almost perfectly matched the dates and duration of my most active time in the cult (late 1960's to early 1980's). So much of what he recounts sparked memories of the changes and events we saw on a congregational level miles away from Brooklyn adding much to his crediabilty and proving the incrediable centralized power of the Organization and of its influence over our lives. I would even swear that R. Franz's writing style was already familiar to me because some of the Society's reading material was actually written by R. Franz during these times.
I left the Watch Tower Society in the early 1980's knowing something was wrong. For me it was an accumulation of various logical disconnects between the Society's own internal rules and cosmology and their even greater disconnect with what I knew to be scientific fact. Noah's Flood was a real problem for me because even as a youngster I kept both fresh water and marine aquariums and knew that there was no way that any type of aquatic life could have survived in both forms from the only two possibilities the Flood presented: either a fresh water dominated flood or a salt water dominated Flood which would have killed off all life in one or the other of these environments and yet just 3500 years or so later we have both thriving ecosystems. I also knew how sun dependant and delicate corals were and how slow they build up giant reefs like the Great Barrier Reef so I knew there was just no way that there could have been a literal Global Flood submeging coral reefs for months hundreds of feet below the surface just a few thousand years ago. Nor was there a good explaination of how plants and animals could repopulate every seperated continent in just a few thousand years looking all the while like they were perfectly adapted to live there all along.
Some internal logic problems I had included not understanding why it was OK to drink coffee and other caffienated drinks with drugs in them but disfellowshipping people for drug use when they smoked or chewed tobacco. Shouldn't all nonperscription drugs be banned or no drugs at all to be consistant? What about the completely unscriptural beard ban while women clearly violated scripture by having their hair done and styled at beauty shops and wearing makeup? Why did we wear suits and dress clothes all the time since I was pretty sure Jesus and his poor disciples didn't wear the finest dress clothes out in their ministries nor did I think the early christians turned in time sheets nor did they ask for donations. I was also angry with the clear scriptural role women should have had by remaining silent in the congregation and yet they commented at the studies and participated in the ministry school. I was also very unsure of how the Remnant of the 144,000 were communicating God's will to the Organization since back then there were 4 or 5 old anointed faithfuls in our congregation who I had never heard or seen communicate in any way with headquarters. I also didn't understand how the END could be near when the majority of the world's population in Muslim and Communist countries had never even been contacted with the "Good News". Not taking a blood tranfusion to the point of death but then eating unkoshered meat, the whole reason for the scripture on blood in the first place was about making sure your meat was kosher slaughtered. Not to mention sweeping 1975 under the rug.
After reading COC it was very clear that the Anointed Remnent of the 144,000 didn't really run the Society and never had. This was the biggest lie I had been told and it is clear why it was told. R. Franz's insider view was a perfect compliment to fill in all the gaps that a Rank and File JW doesn't know about his religion. It was also comforting to see that even members of the Governing Body didn't understand all the rules nor were they convinced 100% about much of the JW dogma. COC answered many questions. It is important to have these blank spots filled in and the questions answered because many of us who leave still believe in parts of what we were brain washed with and books like COC and other research will go a long way in freeing you from all forms of JW nonsense so you can live a guilt and fear free life.
I was always told that GB was NOT like the Pope *untouchable*...In the book you will read of the two very honest Irish pioneers who thought they could talk to at least one of the GB as they made the trip all the way from Ireland just to see them, and how they were treated by the Watchtower organization. It is appalling.
Liberty: Your synopsis of C of C was excellent. My wife, once a staunch dub, read it and did a 180. Her lingering doubts evaporated - she was now certain we'd been mislead and has been able to walk away without regret.
Hello Sexyk, Mr. Flipper here. Having been raised around the alleged " truth" it was quite an eye opener for me at age 47 to finally read something from a person on the inside of the governing body who knew all the ins and outs of what really , honestly goes on in the Watchtower's decision making processes. The book will help you see how controlling they are, how they base everything on their own interpretation without any legitimate facts at all. It helped just confirm in my life what I suspected, they aren't willing to admit they are wrong, how they have totally abused their own people, even at Bethel, and have spit them out like yesterdays garbage for virtually no reason at all that makes any sense. It helped me be so grateful that my wife , my son, and myself are not a part of a dangerous mind controlling cult who has no interest in you as a person, you are just another cog in their wheel, a thing, not a being or a valued human being. Enjoy the book, and I hope it brings peace to your heart, and helps you figure life out. Peace,Mr. Flipper.
SexyK,
I was out of the cult for 20+ years when I finally read CoC, it kinda wrapped up all the loose ends for me. It took me awhile to read it, had to put it down, take a break. It also made me very angry at time, not at any one person to speak of but just to know who the GB worked, that they made decisions that changed peoples lives with little or no consideration, no prayer and very little discussion.
Be prepared to get angry, have lots of eye opening moments and most of all you will feel relieved if there is any doubt in your mind a bout this religion cult.
nj
