I posted this in another thread, and when I saw how much detail I had written I decided it deserved its own thread.
My study ended in December in this manner.
The two guys came and we slogged through the usual questions I have and the non answers I would usually get. Discussions that went off on tangents not relevent to my question and would sometimes circle back around, but still with no answer.
On this particular day they wre ganging up on me about attending meetings and my progress not going forward unless I did that. I asked the bullying one how he would know about my spiritual progress and what qualifications he had to make that assesment, since I was not obligated to report to him on that matter. I told him I was accountable to my Creator and not to any men.
They kept on and I decided to have some fun so I asked, "Why do you assume I do not attend meetings? Just because I have not told you about it does not mean I do not meet with others to study the Bible."
He asked what kingdom hall I went to and I said I did not go to one, but that I met with other people who got together and studied the Bible to learn how to do God's will for them. He started prying about details of what they taught. I said it was all scriptural, and that unlike what they were telling me, I could never find any scripture that went contary to their beliefs. He started pressing me for details about if they use God's name correctly and the trinity and all this stuff. I could see he was laying a trap. I answered this way.
"Since you have told me you feel I am not qualified to teach, I will not presume to tell you what I learn with these people. You came to my doot to teach me and I will respect that arrangement. I will do this, if you are interested in their views I can give you a contact so you can go speak with them about this. There is one woman in particular who could skillfully guide you through thier teachings, and I have been very impressed by her."
I could see him boiling inside. So at that point he said the study was off with us, and blamed me for shutting it down. I smiled and did not protest, although this was a unilateral clause in the agreement that was never mentioned to me nor in writing. He said I was "arrogant". I laughed and said that was ironic, that he would come and tell me his religious beliefs, which he was to lazy to develop on his own but parroted from the publications of other men, were all correct, and anyone who believed otherwise was wrong. I smiled and told him that was rich. I also asked him exactly what was arrogant about me studying the Bible and desiring to discern and obey God's will. He had no answer, but instead started blustering about how I had shut down the study and it was off. He got in about an hour of this and then they stalked away, though the good cop guy was stricken as his non cult personanlity had taken a liking to me, and I to him.
So I have no study, and the JW world retreats into the past. Now I move on, and will be wanting to go through about 2 years of studies that I recorded, looking for gems of JW wisdom to share with interested persons. I feel empathy for people who have suffered this nonsense without a choice or options, and want to do my part to prevent people from getting trapped in this snare and racket. I already have, because in the time that I had some of the society's finest tied up in not answering my questions, they lost the opportunity to persuade someone gullible into joining them. My estimate is that I consumed about 300-400 hours of the so called preaching work, and I learned a hell of a lot about the Bible and history, though that was in spite of them and not with much of their help.
I will put notice here when I start publishing the audio.
Kurt