Tammy: I take it that you were once one of the JWs.
I was not. I studied for two years. Could not wrap my head around some things that they taught. But in the end, I was tired of thinking and of trying to figure/reason it out; I put the blinders on and twisted my thinking so that I could accept that what they said might be true... or that perhaps they just needed new light to catch up to what I knew was true. Regardless of how I justified it... I had accepted that they were God's chosen organization, that He was leading them, and I made the decision to get baptized. One (maybe two, I forget now) week after I told the woman who studied with me of my decision, I told her instead that I needed to stop our sessions and do my own private study (of the bible). I was not getting baptized.
This drastic change came because I discovered that I had read something wrong in the red revelation book about Armageddon. I thought everyone... including those who died at Armageddon... got a resurrection. I did not realize that everyone who died at armageddon did not get another chance... and how could I hope for that to come at any day, knowing that it would mean the death of all my loved ones (children, all family, husband, etc) No one in my family was going to become a jw at all, much less any time soon. I could not be part of it. I didn't really get far enough into the rest of the consequences, thinking about all the people like my family who would die just because they were not jws.
I needed time away from the study, so that I could study without a weekly indoctrination. Which is how I can see why it is so hard for a born in, or already baptized to break free of what they tell you to think and believe. You have 3-4 indoctrination/reinforcement sessions a week. Family study nights using wt literature. Field service. Meeting prep. Etc, etc.
But many still manage to do it. You hear that something is wrong; you hear to come out; you hear that Christ is not the one the wts points you toward; and/or you see that the teachings and actions of the people in the org are NOT of love, or of God or of Christ.
Did you believe that they had the “truth” then?
I believed that they were imperfect... but that they were God's organization.
Your statement “Truth is truth…” needs clarification.
Most of the time when I say that... it is with the added: 'regardless of who believes it or doesn't believe it'. Or something like that.
Truth is truth, is not a definition of truth. I simply mean that truth is truth... regardless of what you or I or anyone THINKS is truth; or regardless of who does or does not accept it.
I don't know which specific post you are referring to here, and I don't feel like scouring the thread. If you could point me to it, then I could better comment. I think most of the rest of your comments are based on this. So I will wait to comment on them until after you can clarify for me what post you meant. Thank you.
Peace to you,
tammy
