hello im new (page 2)

nowisee

thanks for asking. i live within eyesight of wtc and women where i live were watching the towers get hit knowing their husbands were in them. i was very afraid and i guess i had a knee-jerk reaction that this was beginning of bigA. when i left wts i made a conscientious decision not to think about anything to do with religion. i decided i was just too stupid to figure any of it all out, and i proceeded to live my life doing whatever felt good at the moment. but since jws seemed to have some elements of truth there was always an undercurrent of questioning. after 9ll i knew for sure that i was not in the right place, i didn't know what to do, and yes i contemplated going back, or at least the possibility -- who shall we go away to? always echoed in my mind. over the last year i have been seeking, asking, knocking and thankfully, and now thoroughly convinced that wts is not the place to be, and in fact this search has brought me just recently to many jw/exjw sites and to this one too.

Brummie

i live within eyesight of wtc and women where i live were watching the towers get hit knowing their husbands were in them.

Hello nowisee and WELCOME, glad you decided to post and join the crew. Looking forward to hearing more of your story "as and when" you feel like sharing, you will find support here.

The above statement, that must have been totally traumatising, it was dumbfounding and shocking enough (understatement) just to watch the whole episode unfold via the TV! I'm glad you have been researching, glad you are here.

Brummie

Maverick

Welcome, Maverick

DJ

A warm welcome to you nowisee,

You got it! Psalm 118:8 is where we need to put our trust, not in man-made religions. There are many more scriptures like that in the bible. It's clear. Happy that now you see....!! Dj

Swan

Dear NowISee,

I want to welcome you to the forum.

When 9/11 occurred it was of course very shocking, but not totally unexpected. Terrorist attacks have been occurring for many years, just not as often in the US. We had Oklahoma City, and we had the first WTC bombing, but we haven't had nearly the problem as some other countries. It's too bad we didn't pay attention to the wake up call with those previous incidents; we might have prevented 9/11 or maybe minimized it.

One thing I did know, as horrific and awful as that day was, I knew this was not part of the Watchtower prophecy. I knew that terrorists had attacked those buildings. Men did that. I knew that Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941. Men did that too. The Oklahoma City bombing was another attack by men. The first WTC bombing was also by terrorists. The attack on the USS Cole was also by mere men. None of these had anything to do with JWs.

I guess I have been out of it long enough that I don't automatically think that Armageddon is coming just because something else bad happens in the world. There have always been bad things happening. None of these are a result of Jehovah's wrath. None of them were predicted by the JWs any more when I predict that sun will come up tomorrow and someone will die a horrible death somewhere in the world.

Did I always think this way? When I first left I figured that whatever remaining years left, if Armageddon did come, would be lived in freedom. So I had doubts then. There were some thunderstorms at night that scared me awake with the thought that maybe the JWs were right and God was starting his war. I haven't had that thought in years. Now I have educated myself on websites like these and have the benefit of hours of therapy. Now the thought that God would kill all but 1% of the world's population because, even though they may be good people, they don't recognize 11 old white guys in Brooklyn NY as their saviors, is ludicrous. I can't imagine how I ever believed any of it. But like my therapist said, if you grow up being told red is blue, you will always think red is blue, because you have no other frame of reference.

So keep reading, keep researching, talk to friends, talk to people here, go to exit counseling if you can afford it, and continue your de-conditioning. One of these days the thunder will boom and you won't panic. One of these days you will know when red is red and shake your head at the memory that you once thought it was blue.

Tammy

Yesterdays Child

Great point swan " welcome New " If the the big A came tomorrow 2 billion hindus and muslems and others would be gone because no jw knocked on there door . Hmmmm

A Paduan

Hi nowisee,

Glad to hear it.

911 wasn't significant for me because I don't live in the U.S. and I don't think the world is going to end (anyway, I like to be with God).

Not to deny that it was indeed a tradgedy - but my teenage son was becoming influenced by all the hype until I pointed out that in Bopahl, 10,000 people died from a U.S. company gas leak, and now it's 20,000 with 100,000 injured - no war on terror over that though - just some poor people - not even decent help. In Rwanda 800,000 Tutsi were murdered, and nearly 11,000 people were killed in that hurricane Mitch.

I can feel for those people affected by 911, but when you remove yourself from western influence (and media in particular), other events have importance too.

As to your feeling of an impending armageddon, I hope one day that you can call yourself 'nowidontfeelit'.

paduan

SheilaM

Welcome!!!

Death by Questions

Welcome NowISee!! I too am a newbie here. Unlike you though,I decided to share my detailed experiences on my first post. I understand how you'd feel a little aprehensive about doing that until you know people a little better,and thats fine. I should mention however,that I was hanging around a couple of months before I posted, so I felt like I knew a lot of people already.

I also look forward to hearing more of your story, when you feel comfortable sharing.....The way I see it is, that for most of us,espeacially for those who still have family in the org,there isn't a better group of people to share your experiences with. After all,though experiences differ,everyone here shares the same thing in common. There aren't any other people that can relate to your feelings more then those who were a part of the org, but now see through it. Once again, welcome!!

calamityjane

Welcome to the board.

When you feel comfortable to post your story, we'll be here to listen and help.

hello im new

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