by JG 38 Replies latest jw friends
What was your crisis of conscience, moment of clarity, epiphany or realization? I am so interested in what got you thinking.
Blessing to you,
Sean
(I realized I am being a little paranoid with the screen name. What is the chance that Kathy will find this It took me forever to find this forum.)
It always bothered me that the "society" kept changing it's mind about certain dates, so I decided to do some of my own research with the intention of proving that the organization was wrong. I read every scripture I could find on false prophets and it became clear to me that that is exactly what they are: false prophets. I didn't want to be a part of something God finds unfavorable.
StinkyP
"Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer"
With me it wasn't so much a crisis. I had once been df'd for fornication with the guy I was living with when I started studying. I was reinstated, then oops, about a year after that I ended up back with the same guy and was scared of being df'd again and just never went back.
My mom bought a computer and I liked it so much I bought my own. Well, I first found the jw chat room on aol and when I asked for help I was treated as if I had aids or something. They were rude and unkind. A guy im'd me and said he knew someone I should talk to. (DocBob) It wasn't long after talking with him that I found the ex jw's love Jehovah chat room and that is when I was given links to freeminds and wto. One day of reading is all it took me to realise I had been involved with a cult.
The funny thing is, JW's claim they are a loving people and that "apostates" are evil. It is the "apostates" who showed me love and helped me. I love apostates
Lilacs
From the late 1970s onward I gradually came to realize that a lot of what the Watchtower taught about science-related topics was wrong. After doing a lot of research into the solid facts of science, I realized that not only were the Society's teachings wrong, but that they knew better about a lot of things and still taught the bogus garbage anyway. I found that they quoted dishonestly and misrepresented not only specific quotes, but the entire argument or view of the one quoted. You can see my analysis of their 1985 Creation book in the article "The WTS View of Creation and Evolution" here: http://www.geocities.com/osarsif/index2.htm
I suppose my biggest single disappointment with Watchtower was understanding how pervasive their dishonesty is. You can't trust a word they say on any topic unless you do a thorough check yourself.
AlanF
look, i am not sure about 'answer to prayers" anymore.
I do know that humans have "common sense" (whatever that is)
If you are a mechanic trying to resolve a problem,
you think hard (pray)
and all of of the sudden you know what to do.
generaly when you concentrate on the issue, consciously or unconsciously and honestly you find the answer.
There seem to be laws (god?) which govern no only the physical world sucha as magnetism, electromagnetc spectrum, gravity etc but ALSO the untangible 'world' if we (knowngly or not) do not harmonize with the 'law' we get unexpected undesired results and viceversa.
When they dropped Charging the householder for the literature and made it free (but asking for a donation), the KM said it was done because Jeh. wanted his people to stand out from False Religion and not be seen to be making money. Sounded good!
BUT....that was only in my country! I learned that Australia for example still charged for literature and continued doing so for at least 10 more years. I spoke to brothers in Australia who did not even KNOW about the free literature in Europe!!
So didn't Jeh. want the Australian brothers to be standing out from false religion??
I then relaised I was being conned and the whole thing was about lying to people while making money. Nothing else matters to these dudes.
I discussed this with a CO and he said that the Society prints misleading information in the KM and magazines because the enemies read it, and they have to be misled. But if you are in the "know", i.e. attend all meetings, then you get the "real" info.
What bull!
Pope
my las post belong to another thread but anyway,
CRISIS flooded my my mind when
1.- they blamed the R&F about failing 'profecies'
2.- Big guys were stealing my money and the GB nor anyoneelse did anything about it, despite my direct complaint. I had to call worldly 'authorities'.
Another big guy is NOW repeating the story some other way. But i already send the "signal", another court case coming...
I tolerate small or stupid guys, but not big smart ass guys, lying in my face and stealing from me. They got confused as to whom i let get away with it...
The one crisis? Heh, I can pinpoint it to a specific day, although I had doubts since I was a little girl and never really trusted anything told to me. It was "blah blah blah" crap, and because I didn't see my dad "walking as he talked" it never sunk in as "truth".
The moment when I knew was when I was 17 years old. In the previous few months I had been stalked and raped twice by a stranger. One day when a teacher asked me why my grades were slipping I broke down and told her everything. She was required to call the police and did so. Boy am I glad I told her first!
Anyhow, the police detective came to our house so of course my parents found out. My mom felt the need to call the elders and tell them. Apparently I needed to talk to them. Ugh, I cringe just thinking about that.
I went to the meeting with three elders because I thought it was going to be somewhat of a counseling session. Believe me, I needed counseling by then. I didn't think it would be bad especially since my favorite elders (dad of the Doan clan) was one of the three. Little did I know that they would immediately inquire why I went to the police, and why I hadn't come to them and only them first. WTF?! So there I was realing from their lack of consideration (they hadn't made any consoling remarks yet) and they continued the inquisition.
They asked what I was wearing, did I scream, what did the stranger do to me, why was I alone, blah blah blah. And you know what? They did this to me even though he wasn't even a JW!!!
So, yeah, that would be my moment of reality. I was so fucking scared, crying, (because until recently when I got some Lithium, I cried anytime I was confronted), that I numbly answered their questions. I just wanted to get out of there. That, and if I didn't answer a question they hinted I might be disfellowshipped. I believe a quote I remember would be "are you sure you don't remember or are you trying to mislead us? You know what Jehovah thinks of liers. He punishes them through the organization". Yeah, real subtle.
I walked out of that back room, out the hall door and never stepped foot in that hall again. Since then I've only been to one and that was only for a funeral.
Like I mentioned, I always had doubts, in fact, I never once believed in Jehovah, or at least the God they talked about. I have always been a distrusting person, and I am very grateful for that disposition. It kept me from being sucked in.
*edited for crappy typing from lack of sleep*
For me it was the hypocrisy and corruption I saw. And the higher up you looked the worse it got. If only the average dub knew what really goes on behind the closed doors of an elders meeting!
JW's stand up and say how they are "God's Chosen People" but they're no better than any other church. Worse even.
I can remember when I reached the point of feeling that I could no longer be a part of the lies and double-standards. So I "faded away." And how much did "Jehovah's loving people" care????
NOT A BIT!
-----------------------------------
To the world you may be one person,
But to one person you may be the world.
For me it was the way our family relationships disintergrated after we became JWs. We had all got on quite well before The Troof - but after we became good little dubbies, with dubbie partners, there was constant undercurrents of bad feelings, resentfulness and outright nastiness. It was so intolerable to me, that one day I realised that we couldn't possibly be in the true religion. "By the love you have amongst yourselves, all will know you are my disciples" = NOT US!
Marilyn
