by keyser soze 40 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Donny:
The worst I have ever been treated as an employer was by a witness woman; she embezzled from me, and when I fired her after offering her health care through the end of the year so she could have a needed surgery, she trashed my reputation up and down the town and congregation for months.
She was unbelievable; she is STILL a pioneer, her husband an elder.
4/12/06 was my 20th wedding anniversary. It was the Memorial and my husband was giving the talk. I had basically been under house arrest for 20 years. I seethed with anger that I had let myself live a life not too much different than the women in Afganistan. My husband had put this god forsaken religion ahead of our daughters and me. I walked out of that KH that night never to return. Filed for divorce and gained full custody of my two daughters. Three years of happiness and freedom for all three of us!!!
The start for me was having the S*&%T beat out of me and my siblings by my JW parents for 20 years. At one point or another, we all went to the elders about how we were being treated, but all we got was that we had to obey and that Dad had the right to do whatever he felt was necessary to keep control of his household.
Then in my 30's, being in service and having some snot-nosed 13 year old brothers telling me they didnt have to listen to me because they were baptised. The elders told me that while they shouldn't say it to me, it was technically true.
Then being married for 20+ years to a controlling, unloving, demanding man who never appreciated anything I ever did.
I've mentioned here before the 10 years of nasty letters I got from sisters telling me how unwelcome I was in the congregation.
And a myriad other little irritations that just beat me down til I couldn't take it anymore.
Enjoying my break from the craziness. Enjoying meeting people who are normal.
Nice thoughts, everyone. A variety of differen't experiences, that all point to the same thing: a lack of love in the organization.
I find it very revealing that as you say Keyser,nearly all mention the lack of love in the Borg.
I am one of the rare ones I suppose, who left primarily for doctrinal reasons i.e The FDS/GB putting themselves in the place of Jesus in so many ways.
All the while I was in, I realised that all was not well,but I stupidly believed that as God had allowed His name to be on the religion He would correct matters.
Of course I now know that He does not care to correct their (the WT) blasphemies, at least at this time, anymore than any other religion.
But the lack of love is a terrible indictment, and so obvious once you are out of the bubble.
Love
Wobble
Good Old Bill Harris, C.O for the Portsmouth UK area about 4 years ago finished it for me. He was giving his opening talk on a Tuesday evening telling the whole congregation how wrong it was for brothers to think independently of the faithful and discreet slave. He said that an independent attitude was evidence of pride and Jehovah hates pride. (I still have my notes from that talk) Then later in the talk he recounted the story of CT Russell who independently made a study of the scriptures in Allegheny.
I immediately thought, if its ok for Russell to research independently, why isn't it ok for us? The whole thing sruck me as nonsense and I began my research in earnest after that.
Thanks Bill, your nonsense in that talk really opened my eyes.
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When I began to see my teenage children being forced to conform to opinions of the Elders it brought out a protective mother instinct in me like a wolf protecting her cubs . I knew my youngest son was going to stop associating and I would be damned if I would follow the WT counsel to shun him .
i salute you.. kids are everything who are we to screw them up
1995 Generation change = Had that "uh oh" feeling...if they can just change a core belief system in a few sentences buried in a paragraph, I think we are screwed
1999-2000 = Numerous outside sources discussed the amazing things that had happened in the last one hundred years, and how awful life was for the average person at the turn of the century, it was far from idyllic. Also, learning about the multiple apocalyptic religions that came before us made me realize JW were just like all of them.
2000-2001 - Blood fraction changed, thinking to myself at the hall while listening to the explanation by the liason committee heavy, "I think there are legal issues involved here." Searched the internet and read the reform site. Was appalled at the QFR about the same time stating you DA'd yourself by taking blood. Knew for sure it was a legal issue that was the basis for the flimsy policy change.
June 2001 - After spending 3 days nursing my elderly, very ill mother, I just made it home in time to be able to call in on the phone for the meeting that Sunday morning. I followed along as the comments in the WT just went off on how Jah's spirit is only at the meeting, dissing the "unfaithful" for poor service time and lack of appreciation for Jah's provision...blah blah blah. I have a moment of clarity and realized I just didn't belong with these people. I knew my circumstances wouldn't change in the foreseeable future, and according to their comments, I was crap. And I knew I wasn't crap. I stopped cold at that moment and never went back. Mind you, with most of my family and everyone I ever knew all JW's.
But nothing seemed more sure or more right to do then, and ever since.
when my mother told me my baby was going to die because of me. cant see a living god killing a baby, well me thats another story.
I had already decided that if God wanted me to associate with nut cases I'd do it to please him. However after the Nov. 15th 1995 issue of the watchtower I knew that God had nothing to do with the WT.
Bada Bing ...no more nuts in my life......for the most part.
