So It Begins... (page 2)

notformeandmyhousehold

When I left, not a single elder or anyone else for that matter ever tried to contact me. And I was active in the hall. I don't even know if I'm DFd, but it doesn't matter one way or another to me, since it only means something if you believe in it.

RADHESYAM

if u have been baptized and refuse to answer their calls or go to their "counselling" they will kick you out saying you are DISASSOCIATED.

happened to me and countless others I know.

nugget

If it is common knowledge that you are gay and that the man you are seen with is also gay then they will assume you are commiting a sin whether you are or not. It is all about how things appear. Even if they are unsure about you but someone has confirmed that you have been seen in the company of a gay man then that will be enough.

They will take refusal to talk to them as brazen conduct and take action unless they have a reason to hold back.

They are biggoted men operating within a very narrow paradigm. They will want explanations and proof of penitence and would demand you gave up your boyfriend and returned to meetings continuing celebate. All this is designed to give you the guilt trip of your life and lower your self esteem. They will make every attempt ot probe into your private life and catch you unprepared. Your friend is controlled by the cult and thinks he is helping he is wrong. They only have the power over you you give them.

LouBelle

TimothyT - good for you that you are living your own life and being true to yourself. I had a mate that was gay and in the truth and it was heart breaking seeing him living a lie - we are both out of that faith and still friends!

I'm not sure if they can still disfellowship you. My mother was out of the faith for over 8 years, didn't go to meetings, got remarried, smoked etc and they ended up disfellowshiping her When I got d'fed)

sizemik

Hey Tim . . . a piss in the ocean remember?

Quendi

TimothyT:

They can disfellowship you in absentia, but only if they have proof of your "gross sin". As bad as the WTS is about handling matters in a way that is fair and just, they do adhere to a few rules. So they will look for testimony from someone who will accuse you of sin. If they cannot find any, then more than likely they will let the matter drop. As of now, they cannot disfellowship anyone who refuses to appear before a judicial committee without corroborating testimony from other people.

But Honesty is right to say they have only the power you give them. Continue your course of refusing to engage in any kind of communication with them. Your silence will tell them they are wasting their time. Besides, they are not really concerned with your welfare no matter what they say to the contrary. They only want to 'keep the congregation clean', and that means dissidents like yourself are considered a real danger and so should be shunned. If you never show up at the Hall again, they would probably be quite happy. My advice to you is the same others are giving you: Enjoy your life and put as much distance between you and this cult as possible.

Quendi

EntirelyPossible

You know what? If they don't like you for who you are, then just tell them they can suck your .... i mean, fuck them right in the a..... nevermind.

Franklin Massey

Tim,

You have progressed quickly since we first talked a while back. It seems that you don't feel there is a place for you in the Watchtower Organization. You may be right. If you're happy and confident of your decisions and the outcomes they will bring, then just proceed with your life and don't look back. If you don't want to remain a JW, then make a clean break, physically AND mentally. This type of situation has the potential to plague you for years - if you allow it to. You have the power to take control and leave it all behind.

If you find the rules of a certain group to be invalid, then don't worry about how that group will go about trying to enforce their rules on you. You don't play their game anymore.

If you find that you no longer want to be a part of a group because you can't conscientiously profess to believe their doctrine, then just walk away and let them sort it out.

_____

@yourmomma - You said, But in 50 years I think (hopefully) we may look back as a society and be like "wow, they did that to gay people" just like they look back at the civil rights stuff like "wow they did that to black people". I used that same line of reasoning in a group discussion with JWs when I refused to condemn same-sex marriage. They said, "But there is a BIG difference! We know it's wrong to be racist. We would never deny someone rights based on the color of their skin. We also know it's wrong to practice homosexuality." I said, "We're not talking about morals. We're talking about human rights. Just because someone chooses a different moral path than you, doesn't mean they should be excluded from basic human rights." They huffed. They claimed that comparing gay rights to the African-American civil rights struggle was unfair. They said that JWs stand firm in their standards, even if the morals of the world are in "decline." "God's standards don't change!" They said that JWs have always had this stance on homosexuality. I asked, "What if JWs taught that Africans were an inferior people and that when paradise came, their skin would turn white? Would you align yourself with that idea?" They said I was crazy! They said I was going out on a wild tangent to try to prove a point. I said, "Clearly, you don't know that early JWs used to teach just that. It was published in the magazines. You can look it up for yourself." They said, "Well, we used to celebrate Christmas too. They had a lot of changes to make." I said, "So you don't think that in the future, we may have to make changes on how we treat issues relating to gay people, similar to the way the had to drop the racist view of blacks?" No comments from that point on. I'm pretty sure none of them ever looked up the old magazines either. It's easier to write me off as being "too liberal" and an "independent thinker." The scary part is, if they are willing to let the WT Society do their thinking for them on gay rights issues, then they likely would have been a part of the civil rights problem back then too.

Jackals

The worst part of all this is that it put a dampener on our bingo night! Gutted!

But seriously..The end result of this whole process is going to be the same no matter what - Tim away from the JWs, living his life the way he wants, freely. What I despise is that his plan to fade out slowly and painlessly has been taken out of his hands by someone who doesn't even know the full story.

Here's a Pina Colada for you sweetheart

xxxxxx

thetrueone

Getting out and away from this religious publishing cult shouldn't solely rest on their non-homosexual stance.

If your baptized and they find through solid occlusive resources that your living a gay lifestyle they will most likely DF you anyways,

even if you don't go to a JC. pretty sure at least.

So It Begins...

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