Well, Munka, you'll be in tomorrow before any of us here!
for any of you that have read my threads(im a struggling one)
by MUNKAFATS 23 Replies latest jw friends
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TheListener
Hi Munkafats. What an unusual name.
Asking your witness friend questions is a good idea. I caution, though, don't just believe everything they say. Yes, they will use some bible scriptures to back up what they say, but the real question is, what scriptures do they leave out? Do they consider the context of the scriptures? Things like that.
Discussing things with a witness can be tricky. They absolutely do not mind questions, but, they expect their answers to be accepted. After pressing for more information or trying to get a witness to understand a point you're making they will get frustrated and eventually label you as unwilling to learn.
Go easy with your friend. Do you intend to tell your friend that you got your list of questions from the internet? It would be interesting to hear the reaction.
You may want to stick with one or two main points. Points that you can easily get a second opinion on, here or elsewhere.
Good luck.
I've been confused before too. I wish the best for you.
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wednesday
Profanity is a choice. I don't think it's a very good one ,but sometimes the only word that describes how you feel is a curse word . Most try and keep it at a "dull roar" on jwd. As a rule most professional people do not use profanity at work but have been known to curse a bit at home. It is a choice. The board does actually have a rule about this, but the mods are pretty human here and will let some stuff pass.
You feel like a jw b/c really you still are-in your head. And that is where it counts. It will take a while for the brainwashing to dissipate, but eventually you won't cringe so much at different opinions. Most that come here think a discussion is an argument. The reason is is of course -only jws are correct, anyone else is governed by Satan. It takes a while to realize that you have been lied to/ bought the Brooklyn bridge etc. After a while you will realize that you can do just as the others suggested -read what appeals to you and leave the rest.
When I first came to the board I could not tolerate the religious discussions. I was so sick of jws and anything they said . I wanted to read personal stories, and that is really common .
One tip, remember this forum is public and try not to put in print things you will later regret The mods are human and have been known to remove a post or two, but for the most part, what you post stays here (for anyone who knows how to use goggle to read) .
I have been here almost 5 yrs. I came in on the heels of the silentlambs expose. This board has changed so much since then. If you think it can get offensive now, look back about 5 yrs .They really stop all mud slinging now .
Once I realized that CT Russel was just another guy at the turn of the century who bought into the Apocalypse, my entire viewpoint changed. I saw the wts as just another religion and I felt like I could breathe. I have not left Jehovah, I have left an abusive org.
welcome, weds
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smellsgood
Hi MUNKAFATS!
Well, I've personally never been a JW. It is a tactic to control information to label anyone who has become an ex-JW a tool of the devil. That's probably why your battling the most. You said you were confused and had questions...what kind of questions do you have? Questions about the organization? It is scary to look at things that seem to contradict what a practising JW so firmly believes.
There are many religions that claim to be the truth, and that to question them is the work of Satan. www.howcultswork.com,,,The WT is not unique in this... -
theinfamousone
superficially, the witnesses are a great people... a great organization even... like most other religions, they preach honesty, love and all good things... but once you really get into their organization, they lie, cheat, fornicate, cause problems, deride, berate, gossip and that's just the peopns at the bottom... up to the top levels its money and lies to the extreme...
they are not a great people... they have repressed us heavily and we want to make sure they know we know what they are up to... molesters are protected in that religion. child beaters receive promotions within the congregation. fornicators become presiding overseers... we know... and we will try our best to help others realize it too.
the infamous one
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jaguarbass
The witnesses arent honest, and the world isnt honest. The kind of honesty the witnesses teach their followers is to screw themselves, the individual witnesses, to magnify and glorify the magazine publishing company. If the witnesses were honest they would have told you they are false phrophets and that you should stone them or at least turn away from them.
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AK - Jeff
You know, my first few visits to this site, my impression was that JWD gave those who left the organization a 'black eye' to any who were Jw's lurking here. That was because there were so many opinions expressed, lifestyles discussed, that were in direct opposition to the black/white lines that the Jw's had drawn in the sand.
Though I had 'left' them, they had never left me, in the sense that my mind was still captive. It takes a mind a long time to wash the indoctrination out. The 'quick rinse' cycle will not ever do that. So one's jw influenced mind sees what it sees due to an inablility to see otherwise. With time, that will change.
I do not fornicate. I try and not lie, steal or cheat intentionally in this life. I have an intact marriage, love my neighbors, and believe in God. I do use profanity too often nowadays, I believe a response to emotional entrapment that kept me from doing so all my life. It is a method of self expression.
I am still offended at times by some of the topics or responses I see here. I do believe that the same could be said of nearly every other discussion board on the internet at times. The notable exception might be religious forums that forbid such. I tend to avoid them due to the similarities with the religion I have left.
But, most of the time, I find the freedom of expression and opinion to be refreshing, not intimidating or confusing. This board represents a cross-section of society for the most part. The only difference is that most of the people here have left the WTS religion. Some have become athiests, some Christian, others agnostic, some pagan, some have integrated eastern religion into thier lives, others have become Muslim. In that mix, you will not find unity of opinion all the time. But you will find diverse thinking that you could encounter few places, especially among those who understand the Jw experience and can relate to others coming out of that religion. That is priceless IMO.
Please stick around. Perhaps you can become a bit more specific, so as to aid us in approaching the matter of discussion with you.
Welcome
Jeff
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MUNKAFATS
im not a jw just interested. When i talk about swearing(i can do that pretty well) etc im not having a go at anyone , its just that im dissappointed and feel let down about jw after what im reading , i dont understand as i thought they just taught you to be honest really at the end of the day . I couldnt see any thing much wrong with that , i dont understand why supposed people can go from being like that to the exact opposite , im certainly not asking for this site to be moderated at ALL . I just need answers which is why im here , quite simply i dont know what to believe , help i feel stuck between what im reading on these sites and my jw friends
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MUNKAFATS
just to add to this, when i was a teenager there was a girl in my class who was a jw , she was so nice , im nearly 40 now but about 10 years ago i saw her again , boy had she changed , i asked her what had happened , she told me she had found drugs , her 2 kiddies were running riot , no husband, that was the last time i saw her , she was tring to organise a school reunion i opted out i was so horrified with they she had become , i even prayed that she go back to what she was before
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bebu
its just that im dissappointed and feel let down about jw after what im reading , i dont understand as i thought they just taught you to be honest really at the end of the day . I couldnt see any thing much wrong with that
Well said! I agree, too! As a non-JW I would have thought that honesty was what they were really preaching about. But when you look at it long enough, read their tracts carefully, and open the door to the closet of skeletons, you find that the Watchtower Society (WTS) is not mostly concerned about truth or honesty, but their own image. They are pharisees wrangling for the praises of society by promoting themselves as "pious"... and not really caring about the value of truth. Their writings are filled with false modestly.
Of course, there are many good-hearted people who are in the JWs, who DO care about the value of honesty and truth. The cognitive dissonance (or as Ray Franz put it as the title of his book, "Crisis of Conscience") eventually brings them to leave. Some of them post here now. Your friend may become such a person, too, you never know!
bebu