by LB 25 Replies latest jw experiences
I wish I knew this site before my family became involved with the witnesses. The internet wasn't available in the mid-60's. And it's not like the Society to advertise this site, anyway. My "fleshly" brother told me about this website. Like larc, this can be addicting for me, as well. Now, everytime I'm on the computer, the rest of the family knows which site I'm on. Hey, I even find out stuff on here first that my JW parent doesn't know about the Society.
more2C
For me, I never looked on the internet about JW until I had been out over a year. I just left the religion. But I started feeling like I needed something in my life in connection to a higher power. I began to look JW stuff up on the net and found a bunch or exJW sights and found I was not alone. I began to explore other ways to express my spirituality, and it is all working out great....
Steph
I never even know this world of ex-JWs existed until I joined this board. I really thought I was just totally alone. And honestly, the option of getting re-instated in order to have my family back, was always in the back of my mind. I never thought that JW's were that bad or even a false prophet until I joined this board. I remember that first day, last June doing a search on Google and getting totally blown away with all the info I discovered about the JW false teachings. I lurked here for a day or so, but I've been addicted ever since. Now there is no questions about it - I will never go back. Not even to get my family back. I think it's their loss...not mine.
Andi
Steph - nice to see you post by your name.
Andi
I learned about this site in Yahoo chat. I was a lurker too for quite a while until I got brave enough to join.
I have been disfellowshipped coming on 7 yrs. It was a year ago that I started going in to exdub chat rooms and actually getting to talk to people that have been through the same things I have. It is wierd how people go thru the same emotions and feelings upon leaving the borg, isn't it?
Which all goes to show that the Internet is rapidly unravelling the mystery of the WTS, it is emerging from the annals of the past as just another misguided religion.
The WTS has fought a long hard battle against, education, TV, movies, reading non WTS literature, in fact anything that might unmask them, but they have failed.
Now it is the Internet that is on the 'Most Wanted' list. In time they will lose this battle also, and as evidenced above it is happening sooner rather than later.
HS
I think we all suffer from, at least to some degree, from PWTSS. That's POST WITNESS TRAUMATIC STRESS SYNDROME.
When I first went on the internet, I was inactive but still believed it was the "troof". But I guess I must have had some nagging doubts inside me, in order to have allowed myself to be inactive. I remember the last year I was going door to door, I wasn't really that interested in converting anyone. If someone said they weren't interested, I'd wish them well without even trying to give a witness.
Anyway, when I first went on the internet, the first site I discovered was H20. But I soon realised it was "apostate" and didn't go back for a long time. I hung out at witnesses.net (witnet) and witnessesonline.net (WOL) as they were pro-witness sites. I enjoyed them, but realised I was with the more liberal thinkers. Some people would bring up points they had read about WT history, and this caused many a debate on the forums, even whether to allow such discussions on the sites! Especially witnet, as WOL was more paranoid and refused such open discussion.
Then one afternoon, I thought to myself, "what's all this about "apostate" sites? If they are really spreading lies, it will be easy to pick it". As a 3rd generation witness, and a family that had always been very strong in the "troof", I felt there was nothing I didn't know.
How wrong I was!
I think the most powerful sites were those that contained personal accounts. As I read them, I could relate to the situations and experiences many of these ones had encountered in their lives as witnesses. Plus there was the false prophecy. I had always been interested in the Bible's prophecies, yet to see the shakiness of the 607 doctrine was a real killer. Afterall, if 607 wasn't a real date, then there wasn't any meaning to 1914, and if 1914 wasn't a biblical date, then the FDS wasn't really chosen by God, and so forth.
I read COC. It confirmed all the things I had suspected but could never put my finger on.
Eventually I went back to H20. I lurked but rarely ever posted (under a different nik) because of the negativity that prevailed there. As well, Obed, the owner of witnet, allowed witnet to become more liberal, and lively discussions re the 607 date (curtesy of Uncle Onion), Ray Franz, Beth Sarim and other controversial issues took place. I enjoyed such discussions, as I was now familiar with info gleaned from "apostate" sites.
In December 2000, to the shock of many loyal posters, Obed closed down witnet. Where was I to go?
So on Dec 16 2000 I registered here on jw.com. The site was recommended as a replacement of witnet by a fellow witnet poster, who ultimately didn't stay because this site was "too apostate", LOL.
By this time I was well and truly inactive and a non-attender of meetings. I still got the occasional "shepherding visit" but said nothing regarding what I had learnt online.
Did the internet influence my leaving the WTS? It certainly wasn't the cause of my leaving, but it sure helped me in making the decision of leaving, and even how to leave gracefully. There are hundreds of personal sites out there by ex-witnesses, most of them I don't think I'll ever be able to find again. But sites such as Freeminds and AJWRB were extremely helpful, especially with their lack of bitterness in the dispensing of the information.
Perhaps it's time to get some car stickers, or just ordinary stickers made up to leave anywhere public, advertising...
Guess it should be clear that it is a EXJW site! (LOL)
Any JW's seeing them might just be tempted! Also it would let the public know where they can inform themselves also.
We need to Advertise! Advertise! Advertise!!
Latte
How about tshirts that say "Have you hugged an apostate today?"
I read about an exmormon who had one. Heehee!
