I didn't leave "the truth" (please stop calling it that), I left a mind controlling cult, and Halloween and Christmas are opportunities for good family bonding and fun. Does it make much sense to you, that your god lets babies die of starvation, but he is so petty as to hold what holidays you celebrate with your family eternally against you?
Since leaving the truth, do you celebrate holidays, and does your participation in such bring you happiness?
by Stand for Pure Worship 102 Replies latest jw friends
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Lied2NoMore
I always craved to do holidays when I was young and birthdays too. Now that I'm awake to the WT's cult operation I again crave to do holidays but my ignorant circle of JW family and friends prevent me. Stupid cult.
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LisaRose
I am sorry I missed out on it for so many years, but I am making up for lost time. Yes, I celebrate it, and I enjoy it very much. I love to decorate and bake. We enjoy picking out gifts, we start early, and don't buy that many, we are mostly done for this year. The Watchtower always made a big deal about the materialism of it, but it's only that way if you want it to be. It's more about getting together with family for us.
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steve2
Dear Brother StandForPureWorship:
Thank you for your question. We believe that your time would be far more productively spent actively engaging in the urgent work of talking to sheep-like persons about Jehovah God's fast-approaching kingdom. It is not wise to raise questions that are idle and speculative. There remains much important work to do so that sincere ones will be reached and given an opportunity to learn life-saving truths. While we acknowledge that this line of baited questioning is important to you, as brothers genuinely concerned about maintaining integrity, we need to make it clear that you are skating fkg close to the wind. Shape up or ship out. You need to do more than Stand For Pure Worship in name only.
Your loving brothers, etc.
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JakeM2012
SFpw, wow, at least an attempt to be humbly inquisitive. Great.
For all, I deactivated four years ago. I have not done the "holidays" meaning decorating the house, putting up a christmas tree, carving a turkey, inviting family. I do enjoy every couple of years going to the Biltmore in N.C. during Christmas, it is awesomely cool.
Some history: Years ago (1970's) my family had a gathering that timewise "corresponded" to the worldly thanksgiving holiday. Primarily, then, as a middle class family, we got together because Everyone was off of work, and in honor we went to the Grand Parents Home and occasionally had turkey, (not always), in addition (because turkey was at the cheapest price for the year), and we had a dinner with the whole family.
My older brother balked when he was in his early twenties after marriage (again 1970's), and said that we were "celebrating" thanksgiving. (I wonder where he came up with this, because, I don't think his wife liked being around the family, she was too snooty and a donkey) Well, that was it, ending it, for family get togethers. We have not been together since. We tried going to a cafeteria for years to honor GF and GM but there was still critism and now Grandfather and Grandmother are dead, it's over. I guess we all did assembly at the funeral, oh, great.
SFpw, I have a JW disfunctional family that is great at being critical, judgemental, and hateful, because they are the elders, RBC's coordinators, District convention talk givers, etc. They have been indoctrinated very well into the hate mongering religion. Wuhoo!!
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Jeffro
Stand for Pure Worship:
Since leaving the truth, do you celebrity holidays, and does your participation in such bring you happiness?
The leading question is predicated on a false premise, in regard to the use of the subjective use of the words "truth" and "happiness". And "celebrity" isn't a verb.
While I'm thankful to have never participated in such holidays, I can't deny my curiosity about ex-JWs that do celebrate. Do the holidays do anything for you?
Are you genuinely that naive? If you have ever experienced any occasion where family and friends have enjoyed time together, then you should know that such times are pleasant, irrespective of the 'reason'.
JakeM2012:
SFpw, wow, at least an attempt to be humbly inquisitive. Great.
If only that were the case. There's nothing humble about the question at all. It's supposed to elicit some ethereal drivel about 'true' 'happiness'.
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ShirleyW
SFPW writes - While I'm thankful to have never participated in such holidays,
he says he's thankful, like praise jehovah so thankful that I was born in to the only true religion, yet he asks us "evil apostates" to answer what the attraction is . . give me an "f"in' break.
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Stand for Pure Worship
Well, I'll be darned, someone with a name like Jeffro discovered my typo. Thanks for catching that. To be sure, I do ask this sincerely and perhaps saying that I'm glad to never have participated was a poor choice of words. What I mean is, I don't necessarily feel I'm missing out on anything. However, media has a way of making holidays appear magical and I wonder just how true that is. Reading your thoughts and experiences lead me to conclude that the holidays can be a good excuse to get together with the family at least due to convenience and I respect that. As well as volunteering. However, can any of you say that the holidays you've celebrated, have left you with cherished memories? Did you have an unforgettable New Years? A Thanksgiving or Christmas that will bring a tear to your eye years from now? A Valentines Day that made you forget about life's irritations if even momentarily?
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Jeffro
Stand for Pure Worship:
Well, I'll be darned, someone with a name like Jeffro discovered my typo.
However, can any of you say that the holidays you've celebrated, have left you with cherished memories? Did you have an unforgettable New Years? A Thanksgiving or Christmas that will bring a tear to your eye years from now? A Valentines Day that made you forget about life's irritations if even momentarily?
Are you seriously that naive?! Most people have warm memories of such occasions. Certainly more so than any JW meeting or convention.
Any thoughts about trying to defend your religion's contradictions of their own beliefs with the new translation of Jeremiah 29:10? Or is that all too hard?
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factfinder
Ironically, by the time I gave up meetings, my family were no longer making a big deal of holidays.
Nothing gets celebrated in my house.
I feel I lost out on a lot by wasting 30 years as a witness.