Amazing Awake Experience, Former druggie looks up JWs in the phone book and starts studying

by LostGeneration 33 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  LostGeneration

  What? No looking up JWs on the internet first? And uses a phone book, who even owns a phone book anymore?

  Here is the an "experience" from pg 7 of the August 2011 Awake.

  “My teenage years were a blur of alcohol,
  drugs, and violence,” says Ashley, 24, “and the
  music that fueled it was heavy metal and rap.
  The profane, hate-filled lyrics and strong, driving
  beat made me feel powerful. The music
  also connected me to my drug-taking friends.
  Rappers and heavy-metal bands were our mentors
  and heroes.

  “Soon, however, my life spiraled out of control.
  When I was 17, I nearly died of a drug overdose.
  When I woke up, I prayed to God for help.
  A boy had once told me that God’s name is Jehovah,
  which I associated with Jehovah’s Witnesses.
  So I picked up the telephone book,
  called the Witnesses, and started studying the
  Bible with them.

  “I gave up my bad habits and threw out my
  music. But when I tossed my CDs in the trash,
  I stood there staring at them. My heart was torn.
  So I reminded myself that this music, along
  with my vices, was destroying me. I turned and
  walked away.

  “Today, years later, I still feel drawn to
  heavy metal and rap. So I avoid them as if they
  were addictive drugs. Now I enjoy many other
  kinds of music, including ballads, easy rock,
  and some classical. But the best thing is that
  I am in control.”
• 

  Mr. Falcon

  It's another Festivus miracle!
• 

  Anony Mous

  People that like both heavy metal AND rap at that age? They are very different types of music and very different types of people to hang out with. Also, not everyone that likes that music does drugs nor is there any proven correlation between them so destroying the music would do nothing. It's more likely that shunning all your former friends and family 'helps' you get out of that environment but replacing it with a cult mindset is not the answer. Both heavy metal and rap have been ostracized by the WTBTS cult for a long time so this is most likely one of those made up stories or at best made up out of different, hyped up, overexagerated stories.
• 

  LostGeneration

  Good catch Anony...I don't think those crowds mingle much!
• 

  sinis

  Why is it that the JW's attract all the nuts?
• 

  Mr. Falcon

  hahaha honestly, I listened to all kinds of music (alot with Parental Advisory's on the covers) but the music that made me "think" and break out mentally of the JW-cult was probably Bob Dylan, Floyd and *gasp!*........ The Mountain Goats!!!!!!

  Typical conservative, fundementalist nonsense.

  
• 

  Rocky_Girl

  Blech... This story is so transparent! It is laced with loaded phrases and cult jargon. And, it is poorly written. I have a rule about life experience stories: you can be dishonest or you can be boring, but you can't be both. If you go to all that trouble to make something up, at least make it interesting.
• 

  clearpoison

  Well my maths tell that this crabbing of phonebook happened seven years ago. I have no problem relating to reading phonebook back then.

  CP
• 

  LostGeneration

  Ahhh..clearpoison, you are correct. I guess in my eagerness to expose another silly WT experience I overlooked the difference. So this happened in 2004...can't recall if I had dumped the phone book altogether by then, but it does make the "experience" a little more believable.
• 

  clearpoison

  Interesting though that as far as I remember this is a first notification where rock is seen in positive light, she is referring easy rock as something she enjoys. I have hard time thinking that back then when easy rock was invented it would have been written as agreeable music. So much for standards that stay the tooth of time.

  CP