by minimus 48 Replies latest jw friends
As a young teenager, I would look at "apostate" books at the city library. I was always intrigued as to what was sooo bad and other than a few writings of some that seemed like they HATED the Witnesses, I would clandestinely look at literature, especially in "Christian" bookstores.
It took YEARS for me to finally disconnect. I will say that Ray Franz' books enlightened me the most!
Do you remember how you got involved in "apostasy"??
Lurking here.
jwfacts.
These two web sites were instrumental in my awakening.
I was on a business trip and there were some witnesses in a mall and the guy I was with said "oh look, those are the people who think they know the star that god lives on".
Of course, I was all "actually, I'm a Jehovahs Witness and we do NOT believe that".
Later he apologised and said he must have got it wrong with some referenced to old WT articles where he thought he'd read it.
Of course I went and looked it up and yup, "god lives in the Plaides'.
After that you start questioning more and more and I soon ordered some books off Randy / Freeminds and read everything I could.
Simon, about how long of a time did it take you from that experience until you KNEW the religion wasn't the "Truth"??
Simon, about how long of a time did it take you from that experience until you KNEW the religion wasn't the "Truth"??
I can't remember exactly how long ... probably 3-6 months. I did read a lot of books, not just on the WTS but also the bible, science, history etc... which gave me confidence that I wasn't making a wrong or rash decision.
Actually leaving took much longer though.
For someone who was raised in the cult, it's very difficult to just accept the obvious and move on bevause you recognize you will give up your friends and family.
I knew the religion was a deceptive fraud shortly after the 1975 shenanigan.
My suspicion was that it was a fear mongering religious publishing house run by Charlatans and after a few years of examination I found out that I was exactly right.
Why not proclaim that your organization has been chosen by god, it just enhances the viability toward the literature your selling
and proliferating.
A man in a Christian bookshop gave me a book called "Awake! to the Watchtower!" to read in 1999. I was petrified in case anyone saw me read it on the train but I couldn't stop myself from reading.
My first experience with 'apostacy' was reading a box of old Watchtower literature (old light) as a young teen. Stuff from the 1950's and 1960's. I read what seemed interesting at first, and what I eventually realised was absurb in comparison to what 'we' now believed. Funnily enough what had the most impact was reading the Awake magazine containing 'advice' not to go to university because the end WOULD come BEFORE the time taken to complete a degree set off warning flags. I started wondering if 'we' still believed that, if it was really that bad, couldn't you do both (study and pioneer)? And shouldn't the matter be someone's personaly choice? I started taking everything with a grain of salt since thing, and more and more I began to realise that the reality of millions of people were being manipulated by a printing company in New York.
I was first exposed to apostasy back when America Online was HUGE in the mid 90s and I would see what they would type in the chatroom.
