I remember in the 80's everyone talking about apostate literature and very stern warnings to not read it. I didn't know what they were talking about. In retrospect I realize they must have been talking about CoC. The only information I stumbled upon was Silent Lambs while trying to prove to myself that the organization was not protecting pedophiles. I made my decision to leave and did not do any research online for another 3 months. I think finding out the truth about the truth and finding like minded folks on here has reassured me and made my resolve stronger, but I got out all on my own.
When Did You First Get Exposed To "Apostate" Info? How Did It Affect You?
by minimus 31 Replies latest jw friends
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startingovernow
My first read was CofC - reading it changed my life. Just about all the things that made me miserable as a JW were explained once I realized that the Society is not God's earthly organization and that it was not God I was serving all those years, but rather a group of men who could really care less about me, especially when I started having difficulties that slowed my "service" down.
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IronHill
Honestly for me it was Silentlambs...
I was reading some news articles on pedophile in religion and it mentioned the witnesses. I googled it! Wow!
I went into the Silentlambs website and read his story (looking over my shoulder of course, I knew i was sinning!), and was transfixed by everything that was said. I googled some more, i literally couldn't get enough of it. It got to the point where it didnt bother me as much and then i really started my research.
Finally read CoC, and that was the nail in the coffin for me...the rest is history!
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HappyDad
15 to 20 years ago when I used to take my wife and daughter to the library, I would browse the religion section and look for anything about JW's to see what was being said. At that time, I had some doubts and was many times unhappy with the hypocrisy and lack of love at the KH.
A month after my wife died in 1996, I bought my first computer and after finding soooooooo much about JW's, I really got pissed. Then I ordered COC and In Search of Christian Freedom. I stumbled on to JWD about 2003 or 2004. The rest is history and now I'm free and happy.
HappyDad
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Jankyn
I did the fade as a teenager in the mid-70s (right after I got my driver's license in 1976, something that was never supposed to happen because the Big A would be here first). My belief had been slowly torn down by the lead-up to '75, then crushed by the message that the WT had never said what I had personally heard them say.
Around that time, I read an excerpt of Harrison's book in Ms. Magazine, then 30 Years a Watchtower Slave...and pretty much just walked away. Over the years, I'd pay attention whenever somethng about the JWs made the mainstream news (the TIME article on Ray Franz), but I never picked up the book. Then, I went back to grad school, and while researching something else, stumbled across Penton's book, APOCALYPSE DELAYED (this was in 1995, I think). After reading that, I did a quick search of the 'Net, found H2O, and finally ended up here.
Mind you, this entire time--more than 30 years--my family has been hoping I'd "straighten up" and come back. Argh.
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Sour Grapes
I learned the truth about the truth from a Bethel elder who caught
caught up in the mess when Franz was getting booted out.
I for some reason I was not disappointed or upset , it just added to my
existing doubts.
Sour Grapes
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donuthole
Ironically I was researching information on the Internet to validate the Watchtower teaching about the United Nations turning on "false religion". I was finding some exciting information about certain UN "think-tanks" that suggested that religion prohibited peace. During the course of this "independent" research I stumbled on the truth about the Watchtower's own relationship with the UN DPI. Normally I avoided anything critical of the Witnesses, but having found this on the UN's own website allowed me to go ahead and read it.
Having been raised as a JW and fully convinced that it was the truth I was devastated with what I learned. I fell into a pretty deep depression. Soon after that I allowed myself to begin looking at all "apostate" material on the Internet. I wanted to know what else was hidden from me. So there was a period where I was looking at a lot of this but still shied away from reading Franz' books. It was until after I was DF'd for apostasy that I finally got around to reading them, of course by then I had already reached many of the same conclusions and understandings so they weren't exactly ground breaking.
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FlyingHighNow
On line. 1999. The first thing I did was look up the official WTBTS website. I got a search results page with a link to a site that told the stories Of Ray Franz and some others. I began to seriously investigate internet sites in summer of 2001. Ordered Crisis of Conscience and read it.
I had been inactive since Feb 1990. I had too many doubts accumulate over the years. I always knew if someone handed me apostate literature that I would have to read it. And I did.
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skeeter1
A family member gave me a JW book to try to "get me back strong into the Truth." I shared the book with a friend of mine who knew the topic. She kept saying, "That quote ain't right....that's twisted...etc." So, I looked up the quotes.
Definately, the Internet. www.jwfiles.com and www.ajwrb.org were the two big ones. Then, I found freeminds and here. Poof the magic disappeared.
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jam
This site JWD since 2004. The knowledgeable frinds here have made me a proud
APOSTATE, in fact I told the last group of witnessess when they came too my
door, I am a APOSTATE, and I am proud of being one. Iam sure my name will
go down in the dreadful list, do not call list the witnessess keep. The two ladies
were speechless when I told them.. My wife ask me how can you stop them
from coming to our door, this will certainly put a end to it..