by ILoveTTATT 34 Replies latest jw friends
Hi everyone,
Another of my rants...
Why am I still scared when I read something that the JW's have written? Why does it still upset me to read JW literature? I know they are bullshit, but why do I get the phobia of Armageddon and I don't really read what they have to say, despite knowing that 99% of the time, it is an easy argument to win?
Why, despite all the TTATT, do I still "doubt my doubts"?
Has that ever happened to you?
ILTTATT
Yes, it has happened to me.
Last Spring I was reading some issues of the study edition and it began to make sense. Last year I contemplated going back to the KH to see what it would be like.
Not EVERYTHING in the publications is false. The indoctrination still holds sway a bit, I think. I no longer believe in Armageddon anymore, it makes no sense, and is based on only a one-time occurence of Har-Magedon in Revelation.
But we know it is not REALLY God's organization. It is hard to completly break free from what we once so deeply believed in.
Cult indoctrination can be a powerful thing. Sometimes, even after your conscious, rational mind has awakened your subconscious, irrational mind could still be asleep and vulnerable to emotional control.
It may also be that you're not fully convinced about TTATT. You may still need to make The Truth About The Truth your own - more deeply.
Another factor could be continued belief in bible-based theism. The JWs teachings on Armageddon and other subjects that induce your fear are based on their interpretations of the bible. As long as you still believe the bible, there is always the potential for you to wonder at the back of your mind if what they're saying could be true after all as they're using an authority you still respect - the bible. Do you still believe in God and the bible?
Having done enough research on the subject of religion in general I'm now an atheist and hence have absolutely no fear from anything they print or say. Not only do I know TTATT but I also know TTAR. I'm not trying to encourage you to become an Atheist (although you owe it to yourself to do some honest, objective research into religion if you haven't already done so). I'm just telling you why you could be feeling the way you do while I'm not. Even if you're still convinced about theism, your knowing that it can cause you to doubt TTATT can in itself help you to better cope with and overcome your doubts.
It is cognitive dissonance. The mind is a powerful thing and it was under their control and may well still be at certain times. I my experience I know it's BS and therefore reinforce that belief and realise that any 'good bits' about the JWs have simply been rehashed from other religions or simply from humanity. To say they are the true religion and yet a little bit is tainted is unacceptable to me. Of course we know it's more than just a little bit that's wrong!
but why do I get the phobia of Armageddon ?
Because it has been psychologically implanted into your subconscious.
The WTS. has used Armageddon to attract attention to its broad base of literature, as well " The End Times " doctrine.
Well in reality this is just ancient mythological story telling and it will never happen.
But as long as people such as yourself and others believe this, the WTS. will exploit you for time , labor and money.
As time passes the notion of it all will disappear completely, trust me , it took myself a couple of years .
I left the religion 14 years ago, yet when the dubs come by I feel a little weird, my heart beats faster, I feel stressed. This is cult mind control, it's effects linger on, even when you know it's all bunk.
After having had several similar experiences myself, I start to comprehend what it was that attracted me to this #$%&ing bloody religion in the first place. And yes, it does defy all logic. (I think that is the major part of the problem).
Bill
A prominent catholic once said" give me a child of 6years of age and I will give you a catholic for life" And the same can be true for any organization that uses cult like practices to instill in its subjects doctrines , no matter how bazzare .
Honestly , I have had similar experiences in previous years . Whether it is to do with the fact you know what they are going to say , and you are thinking how am I going to answer it ? with what you are feeling now . Remembering of course you have been conditioned over a long period of time to their brainwashing.
Am I being extremist in saying they brainwashed you ? Just Think
I am using my experiences now going back to the 1960`s .
We had a book study on a tuesday night , encouraged to do an hour field service before the meeting started. The meeting was Q.& A. You read the paragraph , the question at the bottom of the page , the answer in the paragraph. No thinking required their. Thursday night meetings Ministry School and Service meetings , all indoctrinating sessions with no opportunity to challenge or put forth an alternate veiw .Sunday was the Public talk , which very few , if any ever , public ever came . Followed by the Watchtower Study where you were really indoctrinated .Questions and paragraphs that had the answer to the questions ? That you were supposed to parrot , and we did .% meetings a week OK two of those meetings may have been joined to two other meetings , but it is still 5 meetings , plus your own personal study you had to do with these 5 meetings in preperation , and also preparing for field service , and the amount of time going from door to door. Publishers 10hrs min , Etc.
I dont think a lot of ex JW`s realise the extent of their conditioning/brainwashing they have been subjected to over the years. I hope that sites like this will give us the freedom to move on and enjoy what life has to offer us without the fear that religious manipulators would like to impose on us.
smiddy
Ah, but have you really learned TTATT fully? What stands in it's vacuum?
It's because your level of enlightenment is not yet mature. You havn't yet formed a fully coherent alternative world-view that will erase the fear. You may be harbouring lingering feelings that perhaps the JW's might somehow be right after all.
The cure is to keep reading deeply of the great philosophers, skeptics and rationalists who can set you free. I'd recommend the brilliant minds of Robert G Ingersoll, Voltaire, Thomas Paine, David Hitchens et al. Imbibe deeply and be healed.
Lisa Rose, good point about the heart, feeling stressed.
If you have a heart condition, which might have been created by WT influence, it is important
for your own good to not let them, or their implanted control COOKIES stress you again.
