Is it really so that some people here became Catholic after leaving the Borg?
by gubberningbody 52 Replies latest jw friends
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TTWSYF
Hi StAnn, I am not familiar with the Tridentine Rite Parish, but it certainly sounds like it would make the MadJW madder.
My re-embrace of the catholic faith did not involve rcc, but rather a family members trip to a place called Medjugorje in Bosnia. It cascaded into several family members making the same trip and the whole family [,aside from the JW sibling with his family] returning to the catholic faith.
dc
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dgp
I have the impression that it's even more common to become atheist.
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TTWSYF
Ya, I find alot of that too.
Too bad.
dc
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cyberjesus
When you leave the JWs part of your world collapses if not all. The realization that you were not in the truth leaves inside you an empty space that you search to fill immediately. But that is still part of the indoctrination of the mind control group - where are we gonna go if we are not with Jehovahs people?
That happened to me. I was desperate to find the right group to go. But who? Why would some intelligent people go to catholicism, and other went to evangelical groups, others became satanist and others turn atheist? If we all shared the same thoughts regarding "false religion"?
Someone told me here that there was no hurry. To take my time since there was no armaggedon so I did.
So the question arised? Do we even need a religion? do we need a group? Where do we get those questions? from the bible? from the WT? Is the bible accurate? is it even divine? Is there a divine? etc etc etc
some are just confortable with finding another religion filling thus the void left by the JWs but do we really need to fill that void?
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Gregor
Catholicsm is a fantastic religion! No wonder it is so popular. Ritual and ceremony that sets the high bar. Awe inspiring cathedrals and churches all over the world. Can incorporate any local pagan culture with no muss no fuss. Iconography up the kazoo. Deahthbed forgiveness for any soul no matter how vile, crawling with pedo clerics like ants on a sugar cube and it doesn't slow them down one bit! and don't forget the blood and gore! Christ on the cross, nails through the hands and feet, crown of thorns! Spear in the side. Statues bleeding tears of blood. Miracles and exorcisms. Choose your own personal saint! Rosary beads to help you keep track of your personal chanting, snack on the transmog. of bread and wine into Christs flesh and blood every day and twice on Sunday.
Damn, I might get baptized!
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dgp
You're forgetting that Catholics don't have to read the Watchtower.
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White Dove
I'm sort of a Catholic witch.
They've got as many saints as witches have god(dess)es.
I like the ceremony, too, and the pretty things in the church.
I could never obey anyone but myself and the law, though.
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GLTirebiter
What makes Catholicism appealing? From my POV, the chuch teaches the strong moral standards some seek with the Witnesses, but with more conventional Christian doctrine. It respects scripture without the restraints of word-for-word literalism (thus the church accepts many Bible translations as valid, if sometimes incomplete: Douay-Rheims, RSV, JB, NAB, KJV, pretty much anything but NWT). Scripture readings during mass are passages read in context, and clearly separated from the commentary (homily, aka sermon). The worship service includes worship, not just a pep talk and sales pitch. They back up their words with the largest non-government charitable operations on Earth.
Remember, I was never a Witness myself. I was lapsed from the church for about twenty years when I married a lasped JW woman. She soon returned to the Kingdom Hall. Seeing the WTBTS in action, close-up, was an eye-opening contrast for this "unbelieving mate". After we divorced, I took stock of myself and where I was going, what I was doing right and where I was falling short. I took my time, evaluated the options, and after about a year concluded that the church I left in my youth remained the best fit for me. I guess you could say my Ex finally did succeed in converting me, just not the way she intended!
Returning was a non-event compared to what a DF'ed Witness endures. I started showing up, first sporadically, then every week. I re-learned the teachings, read the Bible, and my when the decision was made I spent a short time in the confessional. No outside pressure, no committee meeting, no interrogation, no probationary period, just forgiveness and a fresh start. After fourty years away, it was "Welcome Back!"
The Watchtower relishes the image of being a pure congregation, a "showcase of saints." The church considers itself to be the "hospital for sinners." I went back to where I belong.
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cyberjesus
They have altar boys!