How Do I Explain To My TalkTherapist That JW's Believe They Will Never Die? (page 2)

LoisLane looking for Superman

OutLaw ... Help me. I feel clueless. This religion took my whole life, now ALL the doctrines seem and are totally BS garbage.

Sometimes, my mouth can't speak. Too much emotion behind the hurt and pain.

LoisLane

Hi Lois Lane, non-dub here... when I hear/read salient points like this from people like you I'm floored. Then I sit back and try to imagine what it might feel like, in this case, to think you would live forever. I can't do it. It's too hard to grasp but it makes me see how a JW's entire world/life view would be so different in so many major fundamental ways. Ugh! and then 'waking up' and realizing you WILL die along with everyone else, - - what a mind screw that would be. Living forever for sure would be a prime feature of the con this cult sells, so don't feel bad for believing it at one time. I wish everyone could wake up -- sigh!

steve2

Do you live in a so-called Christian country? Surely your wide-eyed therapist has stranger things to pop her eyes about that common beliefs among Bible believers about living forever. She really needs to save her incredulity for clients who literally have 3 eyes or dogs who leave her barking mad phone messages asking for good advice on proper English spelling (American dogs are atrocious spellers). Throw her a couple of books about common Christian beliefs and tell her to stop with the irritating facial reactions.

Hortensia

There are layers to it. There's the belief that they won't die, repeated over and over. Underneath there's the fear that one isn't good enough and not only will die, but will die a horrible excruciating death at Armageddon. I used to have nightmares about armageddon, I could feel my body shriveling up like a leaf in these dreams, while all the JWs around me survived and saw my destruction.

Terrible thing to teach children.

zeb

We understood here (Australia) that when Jesus returned and then those alive at the time would never see death. Those dead would be resuurected. and those "deserving of judgement" would be deaded.

How this idea of never dying in the mean time got loose in the US puzzles me.

Scully

I think the Armageddon is Coming, Any Day Now, Really Really Soon message got hammered into our thoughts with such urgency, such tenacity, that we were probably powerless to stop it from taking hold. Then there were the ominous warnings of The Composite Sign in Matthew 24 - wars, famines, etc. that everything seemed to fit together. It was as if we'd been "privileged" to understand what others couldn't - that was all part of the scam. All we had to do was put our lives on hold, preach Door-to-Door, go to Meetings and Assemblies and Conventions where all of these thoughts are reinforced, avoid getting too close to outsiders and dissenters (who might undo the brainwashing) and give our money to the WTS. That seems like a small price to pay for such a huge payoff!!

I think the most difficult thing we have to do as we exit the cult is admit to ourselves that we bought into the lie, hook, line and sinker. It can mess with your head that we were so gullible, so DUMB, for so many years. How could I be so *stupid*???? We weren't stupid. We were vulnerable, for whatever reason, and JWs prey on that vulnerability. The WTS are predators. Remember how we were taught to seek out potential Bible Studies: someone who is new to the neighborhood, maybe newly married, newly divorced or separated, or maybe a new baby, or have children who have left home. They are looking for people who may be temporarily emotionally off-balance, in a state of transition, which makes them vulnerable to being ensnared.

Nobody wakes up one day and decides to join a cult. The cult *recruits* you. They have targeted you and played to your vulnerabilities - that's how they've been trained. Vulerable people, including children raised in that environment, have no training or experience in counter-intelligence to effectively do battle with cult mind control tactics. How do you suppose that educated people, doctors, lawyers, engineers, physicists, etc. end up being advertising material in the Awake! magazine??

nicolaou

it seems incredulous that we EVER could have believed we were going to LIVE FOREVER and NEVER DIE. . . . Any thoughts on how I explain this lunacy to her?

Simply, bluntly and honestly. If, as a professional therapist, she is struggling to accept your testimony as truthful point her in this direction. Ask her to create an account and post a question asking for our responses.

x

Sapphy

zeb - The prospect of never dying is global, I was certainly sold that when I was gowing up:

Note this quote is from 2005, so even after the 1914 generation teaching was changed!

"Jesus indicated that a similar day [to the Flood] is coming in our time. Those heeding the knowledge associated with this event will have the prospect of not only surviving but also living forever. In addition, the dead who are in Gods memory will be raised to life with the prospect of never having to die again. ... All evidence shows that this day is very near, which means that you may never die at all." Watchtower 2005 Apr 15 p.5"

sir82

JWs have no monopoly on wacked-out bizarro ideas.

If your therapist has more than a little experience, she's probably helped dozens of people all wack-a-doodled up from religious nuttery.

Just tell it like it is - she'll understand.

sspo

WE believed a lot garbage for decades and taught it to others but keep in mind the human race for thousands of years have been worshipping these "gods" in the heavens that are never seen and heard from anyone.

The romans and the greeks had hundreds of gods that they looked to in their everyday life

The Catholics believe in hundreds of saints and Hindus in millions of Gods and the Muslim terrorist gets 70 virgins if he blows one an infidel, the Mormons have their own weird belief.

Mankind has been victim of this fraud which is religion and just be happy you got out of the watchtower and not believe the lie anymore.

How Do I Explain To My TalkTherapist That JW's Believe They Will Never Die?