Dear "OOTB" mind-collective:
First off, WELCOME!!
I hope OTWO's wrong about you. I'm guessing this is more of a language barrier issue. But if I'm wrong, I don't give out enough personal information (I hope) to be identified. I'd recommend you do the same. Also, the advice to get your own individual accounts is also good. At this point, if any of you are reported to the elders, you can just say: "I was curious. I looked. I won't any more. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." But if you keep on posting and start making anti-JW comments, it will be used against you if one of you starts having second thoughts and goes to the elders.
Up front, for what it's worth, I am a 3rd generation raised in "the truth" JW. Regular Pioneered for years. I was an elder for many years. I'm married to a JW loyal wife and have teenage children.
If the Creator of the Universe reveals himself in a convincing, moral way sometime in the future, I have no desire to rebel.
I wish I had kept a diary of my thoughts when I first started reading here. (You might want to consider it, just make sure it's ABSOLUTELY under lock and key and/or really good password protection.) It's becoming a faded memory now, but I'll give it a try.
At first I think it was a combination of curiosity, knowing that certain things were wrong with the organization, but at the same time hoping to find that "the apostates" were a bunch of demonized, unreasonable, lying misfits. AND THEY ARE!! Just kidding folks.
As much as I hate the whole male-dominated, high-control hierarchy of the JWs now, seeing former high "ranking" JWs posting here had a powerful effect on me. Looking back, it shouldn't have made any difference who was posting, but seeing former elders, COs and at least one or two DOs posting here was a huge reassurance to me that it wasn't just me being wicked. My apologies to the women and those who never were MSs or Elders. But this is the mindset that develops when you're conditioned to believe what comes from on high and question or dismiss "untheocratic" comments that come from regular publishers.
Here's an often repeated sentence that you might want to think about:
"I'd rather have questions I can't answer, than answers I can't question."
It feels SO GOOD to be mentally free of the subtle high-control tactics that permeate the entire JW organization.
Side point:
WAC said:
I would copy threads onto my PDA and read them at the meeting.
LOL!! Me too! Still do.
Open Mind