As a side point, I wasnt refering to me.... I was speaking in general about the masses on and off this board.
I dont need help, I own Harleys:)
Animal
This vs That
by animal 27 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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blackout
Interesting post Animal,
I had a funny (strange) witness upbringing in that I was a witness until 4 years old then my parents left for 6 years (thats right from 1976) then my mum went back with me and my dad was disfellowshipped for smoking.
During the 6 years we were out I would go to meetings with my grandparents in the holidays. This kept a bit of a mind washing grip on me. However I feel I benefited growing up from those 6 years I had out, as I saw that the world was a good place and I had 'wordly' friends. I can also see the difference in friends who were strictly brought up as witnesses, they dont have anything else to weigh it against, I really feel for those of you who were brought up in this religion purely, especially those 'home schooled' I am sure it is much harder to break through the brain washing, I know I have a hard enough time of it. Actually I am amazed you have done it, you must be very strong and positive people.
Here's to being free!
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kat_newmas
Just my side....
I too was raised a brainwashed, scared little person. If you have read my posts you know that I left when I was twelve.. ran away... by the age of 18 I was still scared to death. It seemed, even though I knew they were wrong about being judgemental, and shunning their own children.... I just couldnt shake that "feeling" that I was going to be wiped out. They used to tell us that when armageddon came, people would try to shoot themselves in the head(scuicide) they said the gun would go off... and the bullet would go in... but the evil ones would not die... they would just suffer in a puddle of their own blood.... that was an image that I still dream about.... I am 33 now.
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mouthy
Yes I have to agree--- Growing up as a JW must be very difficult to rid the mind of the teachings. I did it to my kids.... I came into it as an adult- But when they ousted me -I still wanted to kill my self
I believed it was the only truth -http://www.jwinfoline.com/Page/Audio.htm for the whole story of my exit. ( grace gough)There was not any groups like there is now- I had cut off all my worldly freinds. So knew NO ONE who was out... Thought I was a JUDAS....... I am so sorry I made so many JWs .... But when one is blinded by a false prophet -they are just as blinded - It only means you kids that are emerging from that cacoon are smarter than those of us who were "hoodwinked" Keep on examining - make sure you dont get trapped in to any other "groups" there is hundreds out there teaching false things. I got into the Coonites after leaving the WT DAH!!!!! Nothing like an old fool.
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Maverick
My ex was a 'truthbaby' but I didn't get involved until I was 24. My parents never discussed God or religion or anything to do with worship. After getting involved with the J-duds my J-dud relatives came out of the woodwork. You'd think I hit the lottery! Turns out my Mother hated the bunch and her J-dud mother-in-law and vowed to let us kids make up are own minds about God. It really upset her and my Dad when I got into that mess.For 25 years they waited and took the crap we were taught to dish out to the 'not dead yet dead family'! They are happy with me now. Why did I, a relatively well educated and successful artist, buy into the J-dud crap? I wanted to believe all the things they taught! I wanted to see the good in things and people. I wanted to believe so much that I overlooked all the lies and BS and crap they dish out. And if my rotten, adulterous, sneaky ex wife had more brains and been more careful I would probably still be in there with the rest of the Big Slow Dummies! Thank You, Gretchen Brown! And Thank You to her stupid new husband, give her three or four years and he'll be on this board posting his sob story! Maverick
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animal
And again, for those of you always looking at the negative.... I asked the question not to make it an "us vs them" thing, but rather to inform people that there is a real difference. Neither is better or worse than the other, just different.
As for me, I was somewhere in between. My first memories were sitting on hard wooden seats in a large room full of people. My mother was in and out all our young lives, no xmas or bdays one year, then having all the "worldly" things the next, only to throw away the xmas ornaments a few years later and do the JW thing. We never knew what each year would bring. She always did use the threats of Armageddon on us if we did something wrong tho.
Her being a single mother since I was about 4, my job was to watch my little sis while she worked. We basically raised ourselves until she married an elder in '69. The rest is old history that led to my freedom. But, to this day, I remember her telling me my skin would rot off my bones when God comes to save her and the other "good" people. Nice christian thing to say, eh?
Animal
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Valis
There's either a sucker born every minute or a sucker sucked in at the same rate...I'm with Simon on this one I think...people who make a conscious descision are hard to deal with many times because they have the same mentality that got them sucked in to begin with. People who stick their hand in a fire on purpose have no room to complain when they get blistered...The problems they incur on a personal level are totally understandable and a different matter, but treatment at the hands of a group of idiots they chose freely to hang out with is something else entirely. I'm not trying to piss anybody off, just telling it how I see it. For those of us born into it I would liken it to the process of evolution. The strong willed/minded will outlive the personal usefullness of the high control group and make their own way...if they don't then its church 3 times aweek etc...Both have commonalities that bring (this group in particular) together. Its amazing we don't treat each other differently because of this,but actually use those commonalities as stepping stones to build friendships, understand one another and repair the lives left to the wind by so called "friends and family" Thanks for your post animal...I wish we had more time to talk, but I guess we were busy having a good time, which I'll swap either or witcha any day bro.
Sincerely,
District Overbeer
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wednesday
to further add to this, what about those of us who were born into the truth, but parents were always considered spiritaullly weak? Until i was 12, my parents were regualr occ attenders, and we were considered jws though (unlike today-that group are not considered jws anymore)We were forced to live like jws, but just no jw assocaition. I think that there are a lot of quasi jws out there, not really in, not out. It's a strange way to live, sort of like the twilight zone. this group is generally ignored by JWs, b/c they are considered hopeless, they have been exposed to truth all their life and never really dne anything about it.
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animal
Maybe there are many different levels, not just raised in or joined? I only ever thought of the born and brainwashed vs the choosers.
Pretty interesting.
Animal