How sure were you that it was the truth?

sleepy

When you were a witness how sure were you that it was the truth?
Were you totally convinced or did you think it was just the best way to serve a God but not perfect.
It amazes me when I think of how vigourusly I defended the witness and my ideals when on the minisrty and in talking to friends.
What worries me is that if I was so covinced then about what I belive then should I be so convinced now.
Back then I was at the pinnacle of understanding or at least I belived I was , do I feel the same now?
Well I try to not be so dogmatic about thing now. I just when reasoning , try to belive what seems most reasonable according to my current knowledge ,but always alow that something may come along and shatter it.
Has the realisation that you can totally belive something and yet be wrong changed you?

So how do you rate yourself as an ex JW believer?
Were you,
0. fanatic
1. fully convinced.
2. quite sure but with a bit of doubt.
3. knew there was something wrong but not quite sure.
4. just went along with it for other reasons.
5. never believed
6. couldn't give a toss
And how do you rate yourself now about what you believe?

Xena

hhhmmm as a JW I was probably a #4 - Just went along with it for other reasons.

You know I could talk the talk but I never completely believed any of it..even when my parents died I could't conceive them being just in the grave asleep...and the resurection hope has never seemed that real to me..course that could be because my holier then thou JW sister pretty much had me convinced I would never make it anyway

I saw several "holes" in the Bible and but until my parents passed away and my daughter was born I was content to "drift" along as a JW...it was comfortable at the time...everyone was pretty much happy with me..I have to admit sometimes I miss the JW rut I was in...but I could never go back now I know to much...

Now I am now a very liberal person...my feeling on religion now..if it makes you happy and you don't try to make me feel bad about myself then I don't care what religion you do or don't practice. I tend to be openminded and willing to listen to most anyone.

I enjoy your threads sleepy..they make me think..lol a rare thing indeed

JanH

sleepy,

When you were a witness how sure were you that it was the truth?

Absolutely. I was committed and a true believer for years. I guess you could rate me as #1. Doubts about substantual issues started to arise in my early 20s, and after a few years I was fully convinced it was not true, and left.

On interesting thing: I have found that those who are not so committed, and often live a hypocritical double life, tend to detest "apostates" even more than the fully convinced. They even hate "apostates" more than they hate the zealous pioneer-elder types.

- Jan
--
"Doctor how can you diagnose someone with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and then act like I had some choice about barging in here right now?" -- As Good As It Gets

peaceloveharmony

well i guess i would say i am a toss up between #4 and #6. tried to believe it since it's what i was raised with but by the time i was about 12-13 i more or less just did what was expected of me all the while making friends with the worldly kids. by the time i got baptized i was definately very #6...just got baptized since everyone else was doing it. oh well, live and learn!

sleepy

Thank you Xena , nice to be appreciated.
I was like you Jan H but in my middle twenties.

None of my freinds know about me yet as I am (was)in a different cong to all of them.
Most were lax in the "truth" I wonder how they will treat me when they know.
Well I will find out over christmas as I have been invited to some witness parties.I wonder what will happen when they know.

Mr Ben

Definitely a 1, later a 2, then a 3, then here!

I started like I wuz on fire! Then started thinking about small things, all animals veggies etc. but just put it to the back of my mind. Then we had an MS who was discovered to have been sexually abusing children for 15 years, including 3 years prior to his being made an MS. I started saying to people things like, "Wasn't John an approved man? And the holy spirit approved him? OK, so does the hs approve of paedophiles? Of course not! So did the hs approve or appoint John? No. So if it didn't appoint John, how can you be sure it appointed anybody. Etc." I got into trouble for this.

I was releived to find the info on the net which finally put the whole thing to rest.

I reckon I have come full circle. The reasonable, tolerant person I was before I became a dub is something I am trying to become again. They really fuck with your mind.

The only thing for sure now is that I cannot be certain or dogmatic.

Religion n.
An organisation designed to promote atheism.

Mum

I was a #1. Even when I left, I still believed it was "the truth" and that something was terribly wrong with me because it did not square with what I call the truth inside of me.

With time, I have divested myself of any and all notions that there is any value in it except to teach me to be less naive, more wary.

Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow. - Horace

I have learned to live each day as it comes and not to borrow trouble by dreading tomorrow. - Dorothy Dix

Seeker4

I was a 1 for a long, long time. But the idea that you believe this is the truth AND perfect was not what I felt. I used to aggressively disagree with the "this is a perfect org made up of imperfect people" idea. I would point out any number of mistakes the WTS had made, and do it openly from the platform. Actually, that's the only way I stayed a Witness. I could see the mistakes - I simply allowed for them and didn't expect too much from the Org.

I moved to a 2 for probably the last 10 to 15 years I was a JW. The doubts won out, as they became clearer and clearer, and the WTS explanations became less and less believable.

Now I would rate myself as a careful and not especially dogmatic thinker - except in those areas where I KNOW I'm right!!! Old habits are hard to break! (Joking there, folks) But seriously, I DO NOT by any means give full weight to every idea that comes along. They are not all of equal value, and though I might agree that you can believe what you want to believe, I also may very well think that some of the things you believe are simply stupid and mostly worthless.

Just because I may not be as absolutley certain of things as I was a Witness, doesn't mean I have to be totally open to every idiocy that comes down the pike.
S4

OUTLAW

When I was a kid I believed it was the truth..Parents can beat any answer they want out of you...OUTLAW

LB

I started out about a 1 but quickly slid down that scale. I came into it quickly, and left fairly quickly too. Just long enough to screw up my son as he married a pioneer. Too bad our mistakes have to rub off on others.

How sure were you that it was the truth?

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