by XPeterX 199 Replies latest watchtower bible
Ex-JW. Born-in. Tried to believe. Was very active. Faded in the noughties and not shunned although family still in. Put most things to rest in my mind after lurking/joining JWN over the last six months. Just ordered CoC and started reading it - gripping.
MMXIV
Active.
BANE, Welcome to the forum!
Just to offer another perspective on your question to mrsjones5: Living a lie? Yes. Not that I want to, though. Do you remember the July 2009 Awake! Article on Pg. 29 "Is it wrong to change your religion?" It states "No one should be forced to worship in a way that he finds unacceptable or be made to choose between his beliefs and his family." This statement evidently doesn't apply to the Jehovah's Witness religion. Choosing to be true to one's conscience, once you believe it is no longer "the truth", will get you disfellowshipped. That's an extremely agonizing decision to have to make. So far I have decided not to make that choice in order to be with my family.
Technically, I'm a totally inactive JW and have been for nearly a decade. But, I've never been DF'd or DA'd. I was baptized at age 15 in 1976 to please the folks, but always had serious doctrinal issues with the Witnesses, which I really believed I could ignore or would eventually be explained away by NU LITE, but they never were.
Finally got tired of faking it around the late 1990s and only attended Sunday meetings to keep my JW parents happy, but was and had been doing and thinking whatever I pleased for sometime.
I've never really bothered to cover it up even to other Witnesses that I had issues with some of their beliefs, but they were always sure they could convince me it was "the truth"if they could just encourage me enough or keep studying with me.
I just let them think that...I think that was because I never was belligerent or aggressive about my doubts, I just pleasantly kept stating that I have them, and frankly, the elders in my former congos were too busy dealing with all the other crap going on to bother with my fading away...I rarely heard from them at first about my inactivity, and then never.
I think I've successfully faded, after a decade, but if I were DF'd at this point, I wouldn't give a hoot, it'd make no real difference, probably not even to my largely inactive JW parents. My mother might freak a bit, but she's got mental problems anyway (she's agoraphobic, OCD and a total hypochondriac who rarely leaves the house because of "germs")...everything makes her freak, so nothing new there.
I was baptized at the age of 11 in 1992, became inactive in 2007, disassociated March 2010.
I was raised a JW from the age of 3 years old, baptized (unwillingly) at 15 years old. Disfellowshipped at 18 years old. Reinstated at the age of 28 years old.
I became inactive at the age of 35 years old and have never associated with the "cult" again.
I have been Disassociated for 25 years. I thought it might be the truth until I found the internet and forums like this 2 1/2 years ago and Crisis of Conscience book.
Bane, you seem to have put your foot in your mouth from the get-go. If you are the active JW you claim to be you would know that your presence on this board would put you in hot water with the elders. So, I am sure you could also understand why one not believing in the org would possibly want to avoid df/da for family. I could throw a question back at you, such as why you would not go tell your elders about your presence on this 'apostate website'.
And yes, I believe the Bible is the word of God.
This is not the hall and you Bane cannot df'd me for bring an adult of 45. And yeah I will say Damn any Damn time I Damn well please Damnit.
I would assume that those who are keeping a low profile to avoid df/da would not reveal to fmaily members still in that they go to 'apostate websites'. Do your elders know you are here?
I bet it's a no Isaac
