An Elder's honest opinion...saw this on another site...thoughts?

by MsGrowingGirl20 45 Replies latest jw experiences

• 

  james_woods

  That is a very good point, Sapphy.
• 

  BizzyBee

  Acknowledging the many lies perpetrated the JWs and the WTBTS - how can he still consider this "the Truth"? He must be heavily burdened with cognitive dissonance.

  Oh - one more thing. He gave way too much personal information. Unless he was fabricating the details, he could be getting a visit from the gestapo brothers.
• 

  Juan Viejo2

  Hold on. "Shadow Elder" is not posting here. That post that starts this thread is copy of an article published several months ago on Ex-JW.com.

  http://ex-jw.com/elder-shares-honest-opinions (8/2/2009)

  See also http://ex-jw.com/elder-reveals-his-secret (1/28/2011)

  There have been many discussion threads on JWN and other forums about this elder, some supportive and many critical. I suggest that you run a search on JWN and you should find at least a half dozen rather extensive discussions.

  I've lost contact with "Shadow" and his son over the past year so I don't know what their status is now. But I thought it was interesting that this fellow was willing to actually send me an article to post on my website, sharing his opinions and taking the chance that he might be discovered and punished. Maybe he is out now - I don't know. But I sometimes wonder where some of the posters here (and on other sites) are coming from when they go out of their way to criticize an insider who, in his own way, is trying to help our cause.

  "Shadow" has responded to some of the criticism tossed at him from here and from comments posted to his article. He admits that he may have been too heavy handed in his negative comments about some apostate websites and YouTube creators. His point was that JWs are looking for reasonable and calm former JWs to lead them out and to make them feel safe leaving the WT. When ex-JWs present themselves as foul-mouthed ruffians or treat their subject with harshness and hate, it tends to strengthen their resolve against apostates and puts fear in their hearts about questioning the Watchtower.

  Criticize "Shadow" if you will, but I personally think his article has opened the eyes of dozens of JWs to facts they hadn't known before. Read the comments after the article on Ex-JW.com and decide for yourself. Then come back here and share your thoughts.

  JV
• 

  blond-moment

  To me it sounds like...hey from a JW point of view, this is what we are seeing. These are some of the apostate items we can take seriously, and these are some we can't. I know in JW mentality, from personal experience, 10 could be good, 1 could be bad, and I would jump on the bad saying "see? they don't know what they are talking about"
  
  For me, personally, when I was waking up and starting to look, I WAS looking for reasons to not take them seriously. I didn't want it to be true, learning the reality of the watchtower was turning my life upside down as it was and I was a little like Maria in the West Side Story when she found out her love, killed her brother...please let it not be trrrrue please let it not be trrrue.

  I saw this letter, mostly as constructive critism, not bashing. There is a lot of helpful suggestions in there. I also believe however, that different approaches can reach different people in different ways. I know when I was first waking up and looking, some scared the snot out of me "omg they are right..apostates are evil"...some pissed me off, how dare they disrespect so much...etc. Ironically, it was the ones that pissed me off that were the most helpful in the end, as I set out to prove them wrong. I was going to show them! Instead, it led to peeling back another layer of this crazy onion called the WT.

  I now make videos myself. I am also a teacher. When I make videos, I try to address them as if I were talking to one of my classes. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with some of his suggestions. And there is nothing wrong with doing your own thing as well. I just don't see this as bashing letter is I guess what I am trying to say.
• 

  james_woods

  I just don't see this as bashing letter is I guess what I am trying to say.

  Fix your grammer, Blond-moment - or you just cannot be a good apostate.
• 

  Amelia Ashton

  Thanks for posting
• 

  blond-moment

  Awww man, losing apostate points already? *hanging head in shame* I'll get to work on it.
• 

  james_woods

  LOL.

  Seriously, having thought about it for a few minutes - I think I might well have written something like what the shadow-elder did myself.

  Way back in the 1970s, that is, when I was first realizing that there was a rotten core in this shiny red apple of a religion.
• 

  breakfast of champions

  I give this guy less than 5 years before he's out.

  Seems like an honest person.
• 

  cantleave

  That's me 3 years ago!!

  The guy is just waking up, but still believes too much of the BS.