Lurkers! How do you put up with it?

by PopeOfEruke 32 Replies latest watchtower bible

minimus

Lurking for a period of time, whatever that will be is step #1. CONGRATS for lurking! It's a big step---even if it's for curiousity.
The truth is, You KNOW the "Truth" isn't the truth. You KNOW it.
bud2114

In my case, I have a wife of 17 years who's been a witness her entire life along with her elderly parents. I was an elder up until about 2 years ago when I saw the light. It's tough to stay in with a straight face but she is the only heir to the family money and her folks are near to kicking the bucket. I am not about to jeopardize my share of the booty by forcing the issue until after the estate is settled. I think others may have selfish reasons like me for staying in.
PinTail

molybdenum "An elder said to me a short time ago when I was discussing my feelings about the problems in the JW's organisation "This is a time of testing & sifting,& some matters may not even be resolved until Armageddon as indicated by Zeph 3:11,12. The wisest thing to do is to change the things you can, endure the things you cant. Work with the direction as closely as your conscience will allow & try to have confidence that Jehovah will eventually readjust things if they are not right." I know for a fact that this elder is a very loving, concerned person and I know he wants to do as much as he can to help others. So leaving the JW's is not an option for him. I think this is how most get by these days. Having great faith in Jehovah not in men to put right what is wrong in time. I think that's why the they put up with it." I used to view things in this way also, but now I can see that for the most part to do so is condoning falsehoods and unloving behavior, that hurts other trusting people of good will. Does not the bible say not to be setting on both sides of the fence, take a stand at least in your own life, Jehovah is watching you and each one of us, it is not the elders of the organization that is important, it is his holy angels along with Jehovah and Jesus Christ who want us to approach Jehovah with freeness of speech and really test him out and see him bless your efforts at finding him and not showing fear of man (organization), ultimately Jehovah will deal with the organization that claims to be his spokesman. Do you think for one minute Jehovah through Jesus Christ cannot undo all the hurt that the governing body has done to all the brothers and sisters over the years, of course they can, and they will. Remember it is by Jehovah that we stand of fall, not the Watchtower Society and its Governing Body. Remember the song: "Make the truth your own" the Society has polluted the truth of Gods word greatly by diminishing our God given conscious, that must be used with our worship of Jehovah, it has always been Jehovah's intention, till selfish man through Satan's efforts to attack even our most precious conscious as it relates to our worship. Shane
molybdenum

Thansk for the responses to my comments. Well, I guess that in essence it all boils down to a matter of opinion doesn't it. I was a lurker for a while before joining( actually I think that I would prefer or be called a peruser) to see what was going down on this forum. So I find a lot of opinions. I gleaned from my perusing that: *1914 is dead wrong. *607 BCE is dead wrong. *There is no Governing Body. *The GB (if it exists) is made up of money grabbing egocentric's who have no other desire than to control. *There is no such thing (yet) as the Faithful and discreet slave. *The elders in the congregations are closeted sex maniacs/puritanical despots who get great delight in exercising authority over all the flock. *The WT is just in it for the money. *Field service is of very little value and demeans those who take part in it. *The majority of witnesses are gullible foolish people who in general have no idea of what they are doing and are being manipulated by masterful mind control. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, that is why this forum is popular. A multitude of opinions. However JW's believe that there is a loving God ( which I am sure that most people on this forum do) and they believe that the same God is going to guide them to the truth. So I can see how a witness who sees wrongdoing( ie: what is mentioned above) may not necessarily feel that escaping or embarking on a mission to expose the wrongdoing is the wise course. I don't think they feel it is a "head in the sand" response. They believe that by looking at the accounts recorded in the Bible, esp God's dealings with the Israelite nation and the problems that affected the early Christian congregation, they see Jehovah knew what was happening and eventually took action. So their sticking to the JW religion is their way of showing faith in God. And I guess they know that JW's are not the only religion that has faults and has mislead people in some way so they don't see any reason to leave and join up with another religion.Can we judge them as being foolish? Those who leave JW's feel they are right and express their opinion accordingly. Others stay and wait on Jehovah. What does God want us to do? Can we really say who is right and who is wrong? Perhaps some of the "lurkers" would like to join and express their opinion?
Hellrider

Just for the record: Any religious organisation can use Zephaniah 3, Habakkuk or 2nd Peter to justify "why the end hasn`t come", or why there are "problems" or "weed" in the organisation or whatever. Any organisation! And it will work to, on the followers, as long as they (deep down) still believe that the organisation they belong to is "Gods sole channel of communication to mankind". If the follower/believer has this, then he will swallow all the Habakkuks and Zephanias dished out. Think about it.
truthsearcher

Do you think that many people might stay in because they really have never considered that there might be a VALID different interpretation of the Bible, which would free them from adhering to the WT spin on things? I mean, if other Christians were able to patiently show them from the Bible a REASONABLE alternative, maybe some of them would be willing to leave the organization (once they had realized that by doing so, they were not leaving Jehovah, but were abandoning a loyalty to a man-made tyranny?)
I guess my feeling on this matter is that a number of Christians are ill-prepared to counter the Witnesses when they come to the door. If they had an answer "for the hope that is within them" maybe it would say something to the Witnesses? Of course, I also believe it is a spiritual battle with the forces of darkness who would rather see people enslaved to a cult than experience freedom in Christ. (or you can call it brain-washing, if you are so inclined).
I would like to welcome the newbies that I see posting here. I was away from the computer for a little while. It is great to see more and more reaching out for release from bondage! Any Ontario newbies out there?
Highlander

I originally 'lurked' here around the year 2001. I didn't sign as a member at that time, but I read through a good portion of the total postings over a two week period.
After that I never returned until about 2 years ago. I may not have accepted what I first read in 2001, but it did stay with me for a long time until my return in Dec of 2005.
For slow learners such as myself, we eventually come around to reality,, It just takes time.

PinTail

Regarding:

07-Jun-07 18:03

"Thansk for the responses to my comments. Well, I guess that in essence it all boils down to a matter of opinion doesn't it. I was a lurker for a while before joining( actually I think that I would prefer or be called a peruser) to see what was going down on this forum. So I find a lot of opinions. I gleaned from my perusing that: *1914 is dead wrong. *607 BCE is dead wrong. *There is no Governing Body. *The GB (if it exists) is made up of money grabbing egocentric's who have no other desire than to control. *There is no such thing (yet) as the Faithful and discreet slave. *The elders in the congregations are closeted sex maniacs/puritanical despots who get great delight in exercising authority over all the flock. *The WT is just in it for the money. *Field service is of very little value and demeans those who take part in it. *The majority of witnesses are gullible foolish people who in general have no idea of what they are doing and are being manipulated by masterful mind control. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, that is why this forum is popular. A multitude of opinions. However JW's believe that there is a loving God ( which I am sure that most people on this forum do) and they believe that the same God is going to guide them to the truth. So I can see how a witness who sees wrongdoing( ie: what is mentioned above) may not necessarily feel that escaping or embarking on a mission to expose the wrongdoing is the wise course. I don't think they feel it is a "head in the sand" response. They believe that by looking at the accounts recorded in the Bible, esp God's dealings with the Israelite nation and the problems that affected the early Christian congregation, they see Jehovah knew what was happening and eventually took action. So their sticking to the JW religion is their way of showing faith in God. And I guess they know that JW's are not the only religion that has faults and has mislead people in some way so they don't see any reason to leave and join up with another religion.Can we judge them as being foolish? Those who leave JW's feel they are right and express their opinion accordingly. Others stay and wait on Jehovah. What does God want us to do? Can we really say who is right and who is wrong? Perhaps some of the "lurkers" would like to join and express their opinion? " First of all I have adopted the view of the original Bible Students, I stumbled on a few of their web sites during a vulnerable time for me two years ago after my daughter died, (she, her name was Spring she was only 26 and disfellowshiped at the time) as it turned out it was (only) them, the Associated Bible Students" that stayed in contact with me and sent about thirty or forty cards and letters of encouragement many of which were hand written to me and signed by each of the brothers and sisters in their bible study groups oh, not to mention the email they sent to during that time too, I was impressed to say the least "of note I had never had the occasion to meet any of these people. A number of the Witness's had told Springs younger sister that Spring would not be resurrected because she was disfellowshiped at the time of her death, I immediately got on my hands and knees and supplicated Jehovah to please hear my prayer, and remember my dear daughter and answer my prayer concerning hope for her. The next day I read a web site from the Associated Bible Students about hope for the dead, their view is so much more loving than the Witness view, I guess cause its Jehovah's view rather than mans. Basically their view is that everyone who has ever died even Adam and Eve will be covered by the ransom provisions and will hear his voice during the time of the resurrection. Blessed be the name of Jehovah for hearing my prayer and opening my eyes during such an awful time in my life, by learning for sure now that Spring will certainly live again, and that Jehovah is anxious to bring her back to life in his due time. http://www.chicagobible.org/topics.htm

Marcel

it so simple to see the evidence and dont take actions...

just say EVERYONE here on the forum is an evil apostate who hates jehova and jesus and is likely in spiritistic connection to satan himself at least unconsciously. additionally EVERYONE is like satan himself: thrown out of paradise, angry and want lure others into death too. of course every apostate knows exactly that the JWs have the truth but hate it because they hate god and do not want to serve him. since they are satans childs who is the inventor of the lie every word they say is a hateful lie.

this all drives the apostates to create complex and even truthful looking LIES (with the help of satan of course) to destroy the faith of the holy ones. satan sometimes look like and angel of light, thats why some evidences look truthful.

every evidence is a lie and as more it looks like truth the more it is a lie - finally it proves that the bible and the JWs are right, because this is the fulfillment of the prophecy that the true christians will be hated by the world just like noah.

its perfect.
The Oracle

Hi Pope,
I haven't visited this site for a while, but I did today and your post caught my eye (even though it is not real current).
I am staying in for a while to try and free as many of my friends and family as I can, while at the same time trying to prevent real damage both psychologically and physically to the people in my congregation. I continue to serve as an "under cover" elder, actually working in the best interest of the "sheep" and not the WTS.
Great news to report! I have recently heard that two of my very good friends that I have been working on have pretty much left "the truth". I can't be 100% sure it was all my doing, however I am confident that the seeds of doubt that I planted and watered over the last year helped the cause. Sadly, I can't celebrate with them just yet. There are many more minds that need to be freed before I can leave myself.
I am about to ramp things up a bit. Stay tuned for more news!
I feel that I can have much better success working from the inside instead of the outside. There are many beautiful, kind, and innocent people trapped inside of this dangerous cult who deserve a better life, and who deserve to have their eyes opened to the real truth. Future generations of children and grandchildren hang in the balance...
- The Oracle

Lurkers! How do you put up with it?

Share this