A question to the ex-JW's...

by losthobbit 46 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Murray Smith

  At a critical point around my exit decision I came across a quote by Albert Einstein . . .

  "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex, but it takes a stroke of genius, and quite some courage, to move in the opposite direction"

  I was so intrigued by this coming from such a source . . . a scientist . . . and I buried myself in the implications of this concept.

  Apart from learning a lot on how this man's mind actually worked . . . ie; simplifying matters, stripping away as much of the "smoke and mirrors" as possible and seeing what's left . . . ?

  Place into the process the simple priciple . . . "A tree is recognised by it's fruits . . . " and what you end up with is VERY SIMPLE . . . a huge pile of very rotten fruit!
• 

  Millions

  clarity - you are more than welcome to it, just writing down stuff as I think it, will no doubt get me in trouble one day :P Mr Falcon thanks for the convention style applause, I guess I should have some new book to hold up now...

  chickpea - thank god there are some mothers like you who can see sense and don't just follow blindly out of fear. I wish my own mum had been like yourself, sadly she is stuck fast in it and nothing will get her to put her ex-JW children before her 'god'. She fears losing out on everything she has lived for for the last 50 years. So tragic.

  Murray Smith - sounds like you had a damn hard road out of it. Glad you made it though.

  loads of great experiences in this thread :) well, not great, mainly terrible, the great part is that everyone got out :P
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  miseryloveselders

  I was born into the cancer, and its been 30+ years of little things and big things. The one that finally pushed me over the age was a WT from a couple years back that asked the question of whether or not those that left the organization had found sufficient spiritual food elsewhere? They then answered the question saying, "no, for there are none." That to me is one of the most presumpteous, cocky, not to mention stupidest things I've ever read. The really telling part about that question and the answer was, if they had found sufficient spiritual food elsewhere, I'm not supposed to talk to them about it. I'm supposed to shun them, not even say hello to them. That speaks volumes about a religion that touts itself as Da Troof.
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  PublishingCult

  This might sound like an oversimplification, but I let the definition of the word "truth" sink in. Then I held JW's, the Governing Body, and the WTBTS up to that standard. It allowed me to question without fear of consequences. Once you start questioning, the momentum starts to build and the answers come fast and readily. 7.2 JW's claim to have "the truth", but they cannot tell the truth even about "the truth", that is, their beliefs and practices. Case and point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C0xBRmSwd8 (how does one embed a video here?)
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  Black Sheep

  The first thing I remember, I would have been about ten years old, was Dad telling me that he knew the Bible must inspired by Jehovah because Isaiah described the earth as a circle, therefore he knew it was a sphere while the current science of the day was that it was flat.

  The second one I remember was Dad telling me that he knew the Watchtower had Jehovah's guidence because they taught that the superior authorities in Romans 12:10 were Jesus & Jehovah during the war years, and that prevented JWs from going to war.

  I knew that both statements were complete rubbish, but nothing else was to be believed under my father's roof.
• 

  LisaRose

  I bought the BS hook, line and sinker when I was 13. I never questioned it much, I just thought I was a spiritual failure. I hated service I hated the meetings, I hated the conventions. My husband got DF'd early on in our marriage adding another burden. I worked full time with 2 children, but still I stuggled on for 30 years trying to make the meetings and trying to brainwash my kids. I look back now and realized that deep down, I had doughts. But in my head I still thought I believed it, I didn't realize I was just brainwashed.

  I reached a breaking point in my horrible marriage and left it and the religion. I thought, a God of love could not want me to stay the rest of my life in a miserable, unhappy marriage. If he wants to judge me for leaving, and kill me at the Big A, so bit, I would accept that judgement,l but I could not stay, even so. There was a part of my mind that still thought, well maybe, maybe it was true, maybe I will go back.

  Of course, after being away from the contstant refinforcement of the meetings, I started developing better critical thinking skills. I realized that none of it help up. It took about 2 or 3 years for this to happen. Then I found this site and it was great to find out these things that just made me all the more happy that I didn't spend any more time in that situtation. I wouldn't go back ever for any reason, I'd rather be dead.
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  losthobbit

  Wow! Thanks for all the interesting comments. You guys rock! You make me want to become an ex-JW, even though I've never been a JW. I was assimulated into another group of sheep / borg / lemmings that I left after 30 years.

  Millions... loved the comment:

  "Truth stands by itself, it doesn't need constant reaffirmation. Anything that collapses by itself once you stop feeding it, is not worth having in the first place. Truth is something you feel inside, that is personal to each one of us, and that grows day by day as you live life. It is not something you learn from a question-and-answer discussion of badly written books with pictures of lions and beachballs."
• 

  losthobbit

  ... and yes, I have heard of cognitive dissonance.

  I read a free online PDF book called "Software for Your Brain", which explains such things, and teaches one to open one's mind.
• 

  wasblind

  Welcome Losthobbit
• 

  satinka

  Truth can stand up to questions and doubts.

  For elders to constantly suppress people with doubts means they do not have much faith in their religious convictions.

  satinka