The lack of being able to question anything seriously. I always was very scientific-minded and felt like everything I believed had to be proven to me. While some aspects of the twisted logic made sense to my fourteen-year old mind, I couldn't accept, even at that age, that I couldn't draw my own conclusions and speak of them to others if they made more sense than what the Watchtower said. I also always seriously suspected that the creation/creator books were a bunch of pseudo-scientific hooey, even before I was sixteen. I did a lot of research into the claims of the human race being only 6,000 years old, and couldn't buy into that. I suppose these things could be true of other fundamental groups also, but these were the first indicators to me.
For born ins- what tipped you off it was wrong
by teela(2) 54 Replies latest jw friends
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gubberningbody
...another tip-off was the poor penmanship and spelling evident in the writing of the average believer.
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Steve_C
A number of things, some of which I'm still discovering, led me to leave after almost 40 years of being a born-in. Specifically, though, I'd have to say cultish, mind-control tactics such as:
1) Discouragement of higher education and looking into non-JW literature, including studying Biblical Greek and Hebrew.
2) Disfellowshipping, especially by family members.
- If I were to move back with my mom, she could talk to me about anything except spiritual matters, because "being disfellowshipped does not sever the family ties, normal day-to-day family activities and dealings may continue." However, once I move out, all contact is stopped except for "rare, necessary family matters." How has moving down the street changed my status as her son?
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cattails
As a kid I wondered why all the Bible characters had beards but not the brothers at the Hall
didn't they have shaving in Egypt? Why did Jehovah tell the men not to shave the extremities of
their facial hair but all the brothers were clean shaven? Maybe it was like arm pits and legs for
ladies, in the olden days Hebrew women probably didn't shave legs and arm pits either. Funny
things a young mind can think of while bored out of your mind and made to sit still at the KH.
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millions now living are dead
My body/intuition/gut rejected it long before my mind did. My mind just had to catch up. Then the holes were everywhere.
mil
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daringhart13
Their have been several for me......I suppose most is based on personality....
1. Jesus gave ONE....yes, ONE identifying factor for those following him: "....they will know you.....but they love you have among YOURSELVES." John 13:35
There is no love. And even less so among Jehovah's Witnesses. They are by far the meanest people I've ever been around. They gossip and slander like there is no tomorrow. For anyone to claim they are 'the most loving people on earth' is ABSURD in it's own right.....but for JW's to do it, its even more absurd.
2. As single brother (divorced) who was an elder, I got a 'dose' of the 'great sisters' in the organization. No offense to the ladies here..... but current JW sisters are the worst women I've ever encountered. In the last two years, I've been physically attacked (yes sexually) by 4 different MARRIED "sisters"..... propositioned for affairs by a couple more. That is just the beginning...... I seriously want to write a book on all these wonderful "Proverbs 31" like women in "the truth"......... if you're a brother, you're likely either in a sexless marriage or have a cheating wife. I've chaired more judicial meetings and 'shepherding' calls for marriage mates that HATE each other than I can possibly share. I've had brothers remove their shirt in the "B" school to reveal last nights beating at the hands of their 'wife'...................I've had servants wives flat out say "I'm not having sex with him anymore".................UGHHHGHGHGHGGHGHGHGHG.........I'm so glad to be free of these great 'women'
3. Gal. 6:9 --- "......... work what is good toward ALL (yeah right), but ESPECIALLY toward those related to you in the faith.".......LOL LOL LOL, ...... this is probably the most overlooked verse in the Bible......followed closely by James 1 where we are supposed to look after widows and orphans. WHO ARE THEY KIDDING............. people disappear all the time.........then we go get 'em and DF 'em when we hear they messed up. Its absurd how much we ignore these scriptures. Absurd.
4. PHARISEES: how does anyone with a brain not see that making people shave facial hair, not see certain movies (unless your in Canada LOL), not get vasectomies, on and on and on and on it goes (put latest pop culture item here, Facebook, Internet, hair dye, Smurfs, etc.)..... is not a direct parallel to the Pharisees who made "the word of God invalid by teaching the traditions of MEN."
5. Claiming everyone not a JW is going to die. Seriously.......... did we decide to skip Matt. 7 and Romans 14???????
6. Ripping False Religion every week: I'm still searching for the gospel accounts where Jesus gives talk after talk after talk after talk ripping the Romans, the Jews, the Pagans, the Samaritans...... basically everyone not following him. Was he as obsessed with a negative message as we are????
7. People dying now get resurrected: so why don't we all count our time by going into a Mall, shooting everyone and telling them "you will thank me later......." or should we just be praying that everyone dies before Armageddon so they get another chance???
8. KM School for Elders: the Bethel speaker told the entire circuit of elders that the GB admits they 'guess' at things and see how it works out. Yeah.....watershed moment for this guy.
9. Discipline: DFing is the cruelest thing I've ever seen. Proof its stupid????? when a person enters that room with the 3 bros, what are they most afraid of??????? .................you know the answer......and therein lies the problem. Jehovah or his Son never enter the equation....just 'please don't DF me"
10. Did I mention the gross lack of love? Yeah...... despite the articles, the Bible Stories book, oh, and GOD'S SON......we simply can't seem to grasp that we JW's are the BAD GUYS in the story of the GOOD SAMARITAN......... yeah........the ones walking on by........while that 'evil unbeliever' cares for a stranger and an enemy. SIIIIIIIIICK
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Broken Promises
The Greatest Man book – when we were studying it for the 3 rd time, the parallels between the Pharisees and the elders/WTS jumped out at me. Jesus as a person came across as a loving caring person, yet in comparison, the WTS was the complete opposite, making up rules as they went, rules that should have been a conscience decision.
Also the lack of love – a close friend was df’d and he was treated like a leper when he came back, despite crawling back for a year.
Good people dying at Armageddon – non-JWs. This was probably the first WTS doctrine I started to question.
I left for doctrinal reasons. At the same time, I began looking up information on the JWs on the internet and the rest is history….
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blondie
Just one jw parent but born-in pertains. It was the lack of love not matter what congregation we went to. The last congregation seemed to be the closest but then it was lies and cruelties and lies, lies, lies....lies that could easily be proven lies. It was like we were being challenged to stay and live with their lies. So we left. It was the best decision for us. The pressure and sadness left soon too. My husband and I thrived under the lack of pressure.
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TheSilence
I remember asking my Dad why we couldn't listen to someone else tell us about their religion if we expected them to listen to us tell them about ours. "Because we have the truth and they don't." I think I was 6 at the time and even though I didn't voice it I thought, well, yeah, but *they* think they have the truth just like we do. Even though I didn't know the word 'hypocritical' at the time I understood the definition of it within me because that felt very wrong.
Oh, and I thought it was very mean of Jehovah to be willing to kill little babies who never did anything wrong just because their Mom and Dad weren't Jehovah's Witnesses.
More things kept popping into my head after the age of 6... but those are the earliest niggling feelings of wrong that I can remember.
Jackie
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The Finger
I was talking about this last night. Although I have thought for sometime that the reason I went out was the February 1994 Watchtower. The 1975 fiasco changed the way we lived our lives more than I realized and I had stopped attending assemblies gradually and was much more critical of the Congregations especially the Elders. Although I totally believed I was still a witness and supported the Anointed. In 1993 we had a problem and a sister asked me if it would cause me to go out of the "truth" I laughed. I think for me I can put up with alot of imperfection. But false teaching is different. In the book "God's Eternal Purpose Now Triumphing for Man's Good" page 51 it states that the seventh creative day begins 4026 on page 131 it tells you we were half way through at 526 with the belief of a 7000 year creative day which we were taught the end would have to come by 1975 or the figures were wrong. We studied the book in 1975. Then they acted as if they hadn't taught anything. It weakened my faith in them as the slave at some level in my mind. The February 1994 watchtower meant they would change the generation. Which makes you question the validity of the preaching, the resurrection and all of the teachings. Having left, (generally speaking) I sleep better and the antacid tablets I had at the side of my bed for years have gone.
