If you leave the "safe waters" of the Organization and go back into the world, you are doomed to misery----per the Watchtower.....Was that your experience?
Were You Surprised That The "World" Was Not As Bad As The Watchtower Claimed?
by minimus 34 Replies latest jw friends
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White Dove
I was thrilled and giddy with excitement whenever I saw good things in "the world," which was often.
I was always thinking that they had it all wrong about how bad the world was every time I saw the good things.
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BluesBrother
Good question , I hope that a good many lurking Witnesses read this thread.
I was amazed that the people that I knew were much more "decent", honest and ordinary family minded folk than I had been led to expect. We all know what picture the WT paints of "worldly" people, especially the women....Phew! But it was not like that.
Of course we all know that there are some.....but a lot more that are good people.
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looloo
the world has good and bad in it just like the congregation !
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straightshooter
I was always shocked that the world existed for another day. Zealous brothers and sisters repeatedly would say that the "world was sooo bad that it can't get any worse." They purposely would look for evidence that the end was right around the corner. My parents were told that getting braces for me was a waste of money since the end was so close. Now I have children and they have braces.
Worldly people are suppose to be evil, yet I have real nice world neighbors.
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minimus
The GB LOVES to demonize the "world"! The fact is: I've met many people outside of the Organization who are lovely, kind hearted and caring. They don't have to be told or "reminded" about what a "good" person should do.
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undercover
Once I knew that the "safe waters" of the bOrg were bogus, then it didn't take much for me to see that world wasn't as terrible as was painted by the WTS. Once you deprogram yourself from the cult-think, then you realize that their continual casting of the world as "evil" was a control mechanism to keep you afraid of leaving. Then you can go on about your life not feeling miserable that you're away from "safe waters".
I will admit that it's not an overnight thing. It does take time to lose that indocrination. I never felt at home in the congregations and I wasn't at home in the world, so I was somewhat of a loner. Once I was out of the KH setting, I went out into the world, but didn't fit in right off. I had to work to be "normal". Some might say I still need to work at it...
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minimus
It's like the 'safe waters" of quicksand.
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sabastious
The Watchtower is worse than the world BY FAR.
Because there is always a way of escape from the world's injustice. Escaping the Watchtower's injustice is impossible, even if you leave it and never return, it comes with a price that is paid for a lifetime.
-Sab
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Scully
We left the JWs after experiencing multiple hateful incidents with various congregation members during a time of extreme difficulty - I had medical issues, we were struggling financially, and we had young children.
Once I had the medical attention I required, and was receiving regular home visits from a nurse and a personal support worker, and was being closely followed by my family doctor and a specialist, it dawned on me that all this help was coming from Worldly People™ who were genuinely concerned about my well-being and my family's well-being. We had received exactly NOTHING in the way of practical help or even moral support from the JWs. The Elders™ even staged a visit from a Newly Baptized Sister™ who was reputed to have had "experience" with demon encounters, whose mission was to suss out any possible Demonized Objects™ in our house and report back to them. It was so offensive to me that they couldn't even be bothered to visit out of concern, but had to send someone pretending to be concerned so they could gather intel on me and my family. What the hell kind of Shepherding™ is that???
I was so embarrassed when the visiting nurse asked about our "church" and whether we could ask them for support. I had to tell her what had been happening with the ostracism and shunning over the past several months, including the incident at the Memorial™ where they refused to pass me the Emblems™ (which sent me into a suicidal tailspin), and she was so horrified at how we were treated that she had tears running down her cheeks as I recounted the details. It was then that I realized that the Worldly People™ we were meeting and befriending - nurses, doctors, caregivers, and neighbours - were far more caring than the Witnesses ever were.
I've never expected perfection from anyone - but I'd choose to associate with a thousand non-JWs or ex-JWs than any one JW, any time, anywhere.