All of the above.....plus, I can have sex!!!!
What does freedom from The Watchtower look like in the life of a former JW?
by JustMeNonJDub 27 Replies latest jw friends
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Ucantnome
thinking about being an Anglican
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Markw1509
I echo all the above.
My life started the day I left it all.
I never realised when I was in the 'bubble' how I was controlled. Everything I thought was controlled. I was told what to believe. I was not allowed my own thoughts. How silly I was, but I never saw it.
I live a long way from the congregation I attended. I've often thought what I would say to a witness if they came to my door now. It would probably go something like this:.....
"Yes, I have beliefs. Actually, I'm told what to believe by a small group of people in the USA. They tell me what to believe and how to live my life. I have to believe them, because if I don't, my friends won't speak to me. I'm not sure what I believe really; it kinda changes each year or two. But it's still right, even when it changes. How do I know it's right? Because they tell me it is. What if they tell me something and then change their minds? Don't be silly! That just proves that God is with them and showing them the way. There might be detours along the way, but we're still going in the right direction. How do I know? Because those people in the USA tell me it's right!"
Reading that back to myself, it sound everso-slightly strange. Yet that is what I believed.
Now, I am free to research, free to examine the kind of life I would like to lead, and free to choose.
It's such a weight off my shoulders.
And I know I'm not the only one, thanks to these wonderful websites.
Thoreau said "The bulk of men lead lives of quiet desperation". I honestly believe that is the prime emotion within the rank and file of the Witnesses. They live in quiet desperation, hoping against hope that what they believe will actually happen. Sometime. Someday. Please.
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snare&racket
Freedom of....
thought
experssion
Self
mind
life
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smiddy
"Yes, I have beliefs. Actually, I'm told what to believe by a small group of people in the USA. They tell me what to believe and how to live my life. I have to believe them, because if I don't, my friends won't speak to me. I'm not sure what I believe really; it kinda changes each year or two. But it's still right, even when it changes. How do I know it's right? Because they tell me it is. What if they tell me something and then change their minds? Don't be silly! That just proves that God is with them and showing them the way. There might be detours along the way, but we're still going in the right direction. How do I know? Because those people in the USA tell me it's right!"
Markw1509 Welcome to the board , I loved that ,I`ll try it if ever I get an opportunity , though I think I`m marked ,they by-passed my house the last time they were in this area.
smiddy
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doofdaddy
For me I was free to meet truly moral people, not in a christian sense but who have thought about their life and their influence on others..
People who liked me for who I was, not because they were forced by the rules of the wts to "like" me.
People who were far more honest in their lifestyles, not feigning an impossible perfection, not hiding and sneeking around or having family connections in high places to save their asses.
People of all cultures who are proud of their culture, not forced into one homogenous group by Western ideals of materialism dressed as religion.
People who truly care for me (and others) despite having differing opinions and in fact encourage debate and challenge.
I could go on for pages.....
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AbaDaddy
"quiet desperation" is actually ok, we all know how it feels. how we manage it is a toughy.
we seem to crave certainty, or at at least prediction (a map of how things will be), and we often satisfy it by handing it over to authority when we don't have the answers. religious authorities offer explanations, and the proverbial carrot on a stick helps us believe them. if we want to approximate the truth of something, if that indeed is what we are looking for, we may do better to keep our desires and fears suspended, remove any personal reward the claims may offer, then ask the questions.
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fresh prince of ohio
Abadaddy i feel a quiet and sometimes not-so-quiet desperation every day. ive managed to cope with the loss of certainty so far, but it seems to be getting harder, not easier. i wish I didn't have so much anxiety. JWism freed me from that anxiety.