by alecholmesthedetective 50 Replies latest jw friends
It's good to see you here Mr Holmes.
Oh, SNAP!!! The 'new light'(TM) woke you up, just like the 'overlapping'(TM) woke me up.
The GB sure are getting dafter with their self worship.
I went from JW to Christian to Atheist.
Keep testing. Question everything for evidence.
Keep posting.
Regards Paul
step inside and fasten your seat belt
the door is open
LOL Paul/Punkofnince, exactly. When I did my research recently and came across all the stupid generation changes I pinched myself and asked, "Where the hell were you when this happened and how come didn't you realize it sooner?" And then I remembered I was either just not going to meetings, or just trying to solve problems with elders whilst still trying to hang on to my faith. So, now with the New Light (TM) and all the research I did I found all the evidence I needed to see that a lot of the problems that happen inside the org are simply symptomatic of a sick mind-control cult.
God, that's right the GB gets ever more deluded as each day goes by. It's both hilarious and angering at the same time.
Yes, I am waking to the reality that whatever truth is out there has to stand up to scrutiny and be backed up by evidence. I am very open-minded now and I feel that I owe it to myself to research the Bible without WT bias and publications and test everything. I've got an agnostic girlfriend who is very pragmatic about these things, so it's good because her unbiased questioning perspective nudges me in the right direction.
I love this quote from the Sherlock Holmes stories:
"Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing. It may seem to point very straight to one thing, but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different."
Thanks a lot for the support, I will keep posting.
Alec
Welcome to the board.
Bangalore
BTTT, Peace out, Mr. Flipper
Alright, I've updated my Gravatar profile and written a bit more of my story.
https://en.gravatar.com/alecholmesthedetective
Funny how it came out as something for non-JWs to read. Perhaps because I feel the to understand how 3 months of intense sleep-depriving research overturned 15 years of Watchtower indoctrination.
It goes like this:
" I'm Alec Holmes, I'm an ex-Jehovah's Witness and an atheist, and cannot reveal my personal information for the time being, even though I wish I could do so, because if I did I would be immediately summoned to a kangaroo court known as a 'judicial committee' to be judged by three elders without a fair trial.
Jehovah's Witnesses are not allowed to publicly discuss or hold different views from current doctrines. Persistent dissenters are 'disfellowshipped' (excommunicated) and shunned forever by friends and family.
I was born in the religion, got baptized at a very young age (early teens) and really believed it was the only true religion. At that young age I couldn't possibly have known I was actually dedicating myself to a high-control man-led organization. I devoted myself, my time, my talent, and my energy going out trying to preach to others what I believed was the truth from the bible. I was a pioneer (a minister who devotes 70-hours a month preaching) for about 9 years and a ministerial servant (deacon) for about 7 years and did my best to please the Watchtower's version of God, Jehovah.
In October 2012, the Watchtower updated their doctrine on the identity of a certain "faithful and discreet slave", a parable from Jesus found in Matthew 24:45-51 and Luke 12:42-48. This slave would be appointed to provide spiritual food to the Christian congregation, it was God's sole channel of communication on earth.
What I did not know was that the Watchtower had changed this doctrine several times in the past. They don't divulge the whole truth.
I had been taught from infancy and had then taught countless others, had given public talks, had even defended out in the preaching work the doctrine that the faithful and discreet slave were the remnant of Christ's 'anointed' brothers on earth. These were no more than 9,000 worldwide in the 2000's and they were 'represented' by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, a group of elders made up exclusively of 'anointed' brothers, based in world headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.
What that actually meant in practise is that the Governing Body had the final word in doctrinal matters. If even an 'anointed' disagreed with one of their teachings, that would've been tantamount to disagreeing with God's holy spirit.
The latest change in understanding was that, no, the faithful slave were not the 'anointed' brothers of Christ on earth, no, guess what, it is the Governing Body itself! Eight men sitting in a room in Brooklyn making decisions that affect the lives of millions people in the whole world.
What puzzled me was something I had always believed and had always defended—a truth—had changed so easily, so simply. It didn't add up. I decided to investigate. And found many others online around the world who had the same misgivings as me.
Deeper investigation led me to the discovery that the Governing Body had always been the de facto faithful slave, the only difference is that now they were being upfront about it. The rest of the story needs a whole new post about it.
It was an intense journey. But it has led me to finally knowing the truth about the Watchtower. I have stopped attending their meetings or engaging in any activity related to the organization. I have now two choices before me: be disfellowshipped or leave of my own volition (disassociate myself). Both will lead to my perpetual shunning. I couldn't possibly hide forever, I must be true to myself and to live your life in fear is worse than losing your freedom.
So what I'm doing is biding my time before I come out to friends and family as a non-believing Jehovah's Witness, to then be viewed as dead by them indefinitely.
I'm Alec Holmes and this is my story."
howdy
AlecHolmes:
"When I did my research recently and came across all the stupid generation changes I pinched myself and asked, "Where the hell were you when this happened and how come didn't you realize it sooner?" And then I remembered I was either just not going to meetings, or just trying to solve problems with elders whilst still trying to hang on to my faith."
A belated hello Alec! Recently i have been scouring the inside of my brain to try and remember when the overlapping generation thing came to be. I cant remember a darn thing about it! In fact, I think I learned of this wonderful new truth (cough) on JWnet!! Having a newborn daughter probably didnt help at the time, in-fighting between families etc would have been a distraction. My wife has just trundled downstairs to greet the new day, and I asked her the same question. Do you remember when this new light about the overlapping generation happened? "No, not a clue? Is this another new light?"
In fact, thinking back, our whole life in the jw machine is just a fog. Certain things are highlights or when things went wrong, but on a spiritual level, it was a wilderness full of nothing...and it was only 5 or 6 years ago when we left. Strange, but it feels as if my life is only just starting.
GoneAwol..for good
Another belated welcome!
Thanks fakesmile! And thanks GoneAwol! And thanks cobaltcupcake!
In fact, thinking back, our whole life in the jw machine is just a fog. Certain things are highlights or when things went wrong, but on a spiritual level, it was a wilderness full of nothing...and it was only 5 or 6 years ago when we left. Strange, but it feels as if my life is only just starting.
That is so true GoneAwol, a wilderness of nothingness. I like that phrase, I'll use it, if you don't mind. (I promise to send you the royalties, LOL). And with me too some things are highlights of when things went wrong and my life feels like it has just started too.
Alec
