Studying all over again

ozziepost

Ana raised a very moot point on an earlier thread and so I thought I'd bring it up for discussion. (See, Ana, I don't always go back to where I last was!!!)

Anyway, the points made were these:

Ana: Do you find that you have to study all over again, and just as hard, to speak to the dubs about the truth not being the "troof"?
I have only just seen that it is a study unto itself.

Ozzie: I find that I need to try hard to retain points in the memory for use in conversing with die-hard dubs. It's no use referring to my books in the middle of a conversation! Kinda like "Gotta check it up in the Reasoning book", eh?

Is that how others have found it?

Any comments?

Cheers,
Ozzie

"If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

- Ron Hutchcraft Surviving the Storms of Stress

Lari

I have put very little if any effort into studying up on my "apostate" views. I just don't know if it is worth all the extra effort. Also, we all know (if you were JW) its one thing to "fall out of the truth" and quite another to be and apostate.

I did read Crisis of Conscience - I did that shortly after I left and believe me, it cured my guilt over leaving.

rekless

I find it that I can talk about the rules and regulations to anybody but it is useless because those that are not JWs can not comprehine what I am telling them and the JWs just are too closed minded to listen and those that will listen to you haven't a clue of what you are talking about because they just got baptized to please mama and daddy. They never studied, just scanned the info to answer at the meetings.

garybuss

Hi Ozzie

I had to educate myself of Witness beliefs after I had left the group. I knew I had beliefs on many subjects but I could not explain many of them to you nor to myself.

I had the Watch Tower Corporation's opinions on things mixed up with my own experiences. My own experiences look very different when not filtered through the world view of the Watch Tower Corporation.

Many of my beliefs implanted by the Corporation by innuendo and rote repetition were in my mind like a memory of a dream. Seemed real, but clarity and details were missing.

I knew the governing body was representing the anointed by appointment by god, but I could not explain how the diffused group making up the anointed got together and appointed the governing body. And how did god appoint the anointed to be his book publishing and real estate corporation? And when did this happen?

How were district and circuit servants and company servants and later elders appointed? Why is it again that I don't do alternative military service? Why do we use the Luther cannon? How is it again we don't like the Catholic Church? Don't they have all those old manuscripts and aren't they responsible for the Christian religion in the first place?

Why is again that we don't read the Bible? Why is the Koran wrong? Who was Schnell? Why are Jehovah's Witnesses listed in all the cult books in the public library? Where did the name Jehovah come from?

Why do we shun our friends and relatives and act nice to strangers again? Why do we say we have the truth but it is different than it was when I was a kid but they called it the truth then too? Why do we wait on Jehovah when all directions come from the Corporate offices in New York? Why not just say wait on New York?

Why don't we like the Jews? Wasn't Jesus a Jew? Why do Kingdom Halls have crying rooms? Why not laughing rooms? Why do the men dress like business and the women dress like they are going to a party?

Did I ever have one original thought of my own? Or were they all implanted?

gb

LaDonnaAna

Ozz,

Thanks for this thread

I actually went so far as to study evolution in depth. I also find that having one's whole family as dubs DOES lead me to believe that I need to have answers at my fingertips.

Prior to my shunning I actually managed to have my adopted father and mother unable to answer questions on a lot of points I mad. They said they had to ask the elders. Well, guess what?? The elders couldn't answer those questions either!!!

I was caught on this site....and that was the end of me...oh well....

But the other day I had a call from my father...he said he was worried about me and didn't know why. When I told him what had happened he was very understanding....and I really do not know if the shunning has been lifted.......they always lift it at some time...I am just tired of the pick me up, put me down, lifestyle.

Thanks again for this post Oz....and Oz? You really are "nuttier" than I. You DID go back to Larc's thread or you wouldn't have known what I wrote....DUH!!!!!!

I'm not that stupid to fall for that trick, Oz..

Ana

DanielHaase

Ozz,
It's a bit odd, but I actually know more about the prophetic teachings and such than when I was a witness! And I was raised a witness. How sad.