From the vantage point of an outsider

InChristAlone

Greetings,

I have been reading on here for about a year and a half, joined some time ago, and have posted on rare occasions. Since I have become a little more comfortable in this forum lately, I thought I would give you some insight into who I am and why I am here. I am a Christian in the sense that I follow Christ and no man-made organization. I do believe in God because I have experienced first-hand His blessings, His comfort, and miraculous things that can only be attributed to Him. I have never been a JW although I have an entire side of my family who are, and I love them dearly. They still talk with me, although we have an agreement not to delve into religion, just to keep things amiable.

I became fascinated with the JW's about two years ago when I finally decided to take a step back from my own indoctrination and examine scriptures for myself. It was very interesting to me how a group of people could take the same 66 books of the Bible and come up with a completely different understanding. So my search has been to examine why I believe what I believe. I have a long way to go, but it is a marathon rather than a sprint. As I have learned more and more about the JW's, I have developed a real concern for those who are asleep within the organization for the same reasons as many of you. The vast majority of the people in it are no different than me, just sitting there and accepting the indoctrination that comes their way. Whether or not they ever agree with me doctrinally is of no concern to me. Whether or not they suffer at the hands of a cult matters a great deal to me.

My purpose here is in no way to convert or challenge anyone's belief system. I may occasionally offer explanations regarding beliefs of mainstream Christianity, but it is never for the sake of argument. I truly appreciate the wealth of knowledge within the members of this forum and the variety of backgrounds here. Many of you have challenged me to ponder many things, and for that I thank you. Please keep it up.

LisaRose

I have also been thinking about those still in the organization, but also about those who are inactive or marginally active but who are still mentally enslaved to the Watchtower. Many of those no doubt are still afraid to visit so called apostate web sites, so do not know the extent of the deceptions involved that led them to become dubs. Even if inactive, they are still being affected, because they still think they should be active. My sister was inactive for thirty years, but went back to get access to her grandchildren, and now is drinking the kool-aid. She never went on apostate sites, still believing the brainwashing that they are filled with hateful, bitter people. I would like to somehow reach out to those people.

sarahsmile

Hello!

Kojack57

LisaRose: As a former elder I was in that same mode of not even thinking about outside research. Although I stopped attending meetings and starting fading never once gave it a thought, for years.

Its so ingrained in us with this watchtower mentality to stay away from research or anything they consider Apostate. But a friend of mine who was a former bethelite asked me while eating lunch did I know of Raymond Franz?

I looked at him and said No but, I know who Fred Franz is. Then he slowly enlightened me about his two books and me not being a reader, wanted to know more. So, I read both of his books before my friend even picked it up. Then I told him some things in the book about the Malawi-Mexico fiasco and he started reading.

I never thought I would ever like reading because who really likes reading the watchtower anyway, I know I didn't, I just glanced over it like most j-dubs do. Well now I know TTATT and I can't get enough of it, it's a freeking eye opener to say the least.

So, don't give up on your sister, there is hope one day she will see the light.

Adventurousone

Greetings:

I enjoyed your post where you say you've developed a real concern for those in the organization. So have we, because they are so blinded by the teachings of the Society. We wish we could get them all to see the real truth about the organization and it's teachings. Because they are blinded they can only see what the Society wants them to see. Thanks for seeing it for what it really is a bunch of lies.

Indian Larry

I enjoyed your post. Good luck with your search.