Matrix moment - what was it and when did you share it? (page 4)

FreeAtLast1914

Mine happened to me when I was conducting a Bible Study with a youth in the congregation. He was 15. We were studying a chapter discussing how we (as JWs) know the Bible is from God and not men.

He asked a simple question, one that I had heard a million times before, "How do we know that these men wrote what God told them to write, not their own ideas?"

Instantly my training kicked in and I directed him to 2 Tim 3:16. And while he was reading it, it dawned on me. How can I use the fact the Bible claims it is inspired for proof of inspiration? I will never forget that moment. On my way home the question haunted me until I realized the fallacy of JW logic. The next wave instantly hit me like a sucker punch; if they Society has this wrong, what else have they missed?

Within a couple months, I stopped going out in service and managed to find ways to miss almost every meeting. A couple years later, deep into my slow fade, I stopped altogether.

A matrix moment, indeed.

lisaBObeesa

I had been out a few years and I didn't believe in the JWs...but I had some 'hold-over' beliefs... Like, they are the religion following most closely to the Bible, the GB are good people, just mistaken, etc...

Then one day I went to the library (this was pre-internet) just to be absolutely sure that the JWs were not 'The Truth." I decided to check out the 'they changed the Bible' claim.

1. I found a list of verses that people said the JWs had changed.

2. I sat down at a table with every single version of the Bible that the library had, and compared all the different Bibles, including the interlinear...

3. In about 5 minutes, I saw that the GB and the people who translated the NWT are not 'good people who are mistaken', they are FRAUDS.

It was shocking and infuriating, even though I was already out and did not believe (or thought I didn't believe) in the JW religion.

LongHairGal

MMXIV:

Sounds like a good movie and I will have to see it one of these days to see what everybody is talking about. Anyway, I had several rude awakenings in the religion but hung on ever-optimistic or just because I was in plain old denial.

However, when the relgion came out with their 1995 changed teaching on generation I could no longer deny or ignore. What a total shock and insult to everybody's intelligence!! It was truly over as far as I was concerned and I had NO use for the religion anymore. I was a zombie and hung around for the sake of friends until 2000 when I found out the truth on the internet. I then pointed my feet towards the door and began my "fade" from the religion.

craigulous

Mine started a little bit at a time. When I was a "youth" (as the society refers to children and adolescents) I was starting to become discontented with loosing friends and family members to being df'ed. Especially when I moved to a new congregation and my new best friends was df'ed for smoking weed. That really disheartened me, normal teen behavior, and instead of helping him kick him out??? Then I got married at 19, and all of my in-laws got df'ed in a period of about 3 years. My wife at the time developed a drinking problem, a very serious one, as we went to the elders for help. What a joke that was! One of the elders kept calling her a drug addict, and being so rude and disrespectful to her. She was practicaly crying out for help, and that was the reaction. I eventually told him to shut up, I had no fear of any consequences, and told him look at what you are doing to one of the congregation who is asking for help, and you are being hateful. Eventually my father in-law gave me "Crisis of conscience" and that was very eye opening. The other thing is that I have always been a reader, and did not limit it to the societies publications, so that helped me develop critical thinking skills. Another thing that helped me, but this was after I had already faded, was to read "Conversations with God" by Neale Donald Walsh. That helped me to reconcile with God, and realize that God does not have to be the bastard that is presented in the Bible, in particular the OT.

Peace

MMXIV

all powerful stuff and again the realisation of flawed doctrines a big moment for people - especially when they were actually searching for the truth.

LongHairGal - on the topic of films I saw the Shawshank Redemption a few days back and that probably best describes my experience in the truth (as I'm sure many can relate) - many years of being trapped, controlled, my life being wasted away and it took a lot of years of planning but finally I broke free. Alas I didn't bring the institution down when I escaped but it does feel great to be free.

mmxiv

JediMaster

I'd been df twice and was honestly trying to get reinstated the 2nd time because I still belived. I suffer from depression and dealing with gay feelings all my life. I came too close to taking my life over the whole thing. The elders never showed any sympathy or even a little bit of compassion even when they knew I was going to a therapist several times a week and that I was under heavy medication. I could not belive a God of love could be backing such insensitive bastards. No love = not the truth. The Matrix's code sort of became clearer and clearer after that moment. It literally saved my life.

wallsofjericho

Blonde moment

in that video he said that Rutherford told German JW's to march with placards against socialism. Is this accurate? Does anyone have a reference for that?

No matter how one would spin a protest like that, it is pure politics. Not only would this be leading JW's to the slaughter, it would also be breaking neutrality which is ironic since JW's were persected BECAUSE they were neutral

blond-moment

wallsofjericho

http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/hitler-nazi.php Here is some information on it.

You can contact PT himself, I am speaking for him but I am sure he would be happy to share his sources. http://www.youtube.com/user/propagandatechniques

I personally haven't done a whole lot of research on this subject yet, but what I have read, breaks my heart.

HayDay

I didn't come down like a house of cards, but the high maintenance fantasy kept fading.

I remember this special tract we were supposed to hand out, maybe 4 years ago. I was looking at the cover and there's all these doomsday lightening bolts in a creepy sky and this END IS NEAR type wording, complete with The Harlot from Babylon riding her multihead tiger cat beast drinking blood out of a golden goblet on the back. I remember saying to myself, okay there are 2 possibilities here;

/1/the WTS has direct news from God that this really is The End and I've picked the right religion and Armagedon is coming, maybe 2 years or so.

/2/this is totally a scam and embarassing that I'm handing these crazy tracts out to people, I'm giving the Governing Body and ultimatum here, if Armagedon doesn't come in the next 2 years I've wasted too much time/money/energy, etc.

So I kind of faded and then I went back to a different congregation and realized how much I couldn't stand the Witness culture, actually I hated it, it was driving me up a wall. My faded friend showed me all kinds of 1914 data from a trusted website and I was blown away. Then I found out about the molestors in the congregations everywhere from Silent Lambs and that was the final straw! My mother was sexually abused and that was too personal! I'm now a happy advocate on how awful that religion is!

"Religion is a Snare and a Racket"

MrDarkKnight

The revision of the generation teaching set me on the path to exiting.

Matrix moment - what was it and when did you share it?

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