Welcome to all the newbies and lurkers that have joined this forum lately.

by smiddy3 32 Replies latest jw friends

  • flipper
    flipper

    I second Smiddy's comments. A warm welcome to newer members here . Welcome to freedom of mind and expression

  • smiddy3
    smiddy3

    Bump because there are so many more newbies now.

  • resolute Bandicoot
    resolute Bandicoot

    Hey Simon, any chance you produce some statistics on "The Great Increase"?

    RB

  • DesirousOfChange
    DesirousOfChange

    Great expansion was indeed foretold in the "time of the end".

  • smiddy3
    smiddy3

    Bump for newbies

  • scruffmcbuff
    scruffmcbuff

    Feel like this should be stuck to the 1st page really...

  • Giordano
    Giordano

    The first thing to understand is that The WTBTS is reckless with the health and welfare of it's followers. Let me be clear that they have taken a dietary ruling about blood and turned it into a life and death decision for their followers.

    1,000's of JW's die each and every year for want of a life saving blood transfusion. That No Blood Card you carry is actually a suicide note.

    We have lost family members to this blood ban.

    The JW's according to the Pew religious survey have the least higher education then any other religion and because of this they have the worse income (speaking about first world countries).

    The retention rate of JW's who are born-in and leave may be close to 67%. The divorce rate is the same as any other religion at 11%.

    http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/26/a-closer-look-at-jehovahs-witnesses-living-in-the-u-s/

    Obedience is more important then faith. The doctrines change so having faith in them is an iffy prospect. But being obedient will always allow you a seat at the table.

    The great Social Philosopher Eric Hoffer said a few things in his book the True Believer .........by the way he never mentions the JW's he simply discusses how a mass movement controls it's followers. This helped me understand the difference between faith and beliefs, between good and bad. Between a humble congregation and a corporate organization.

    Still in as a teenager I opted to pass up Bethel which is a corporate run institution and pioneered where the need was great. I wanted to be a force for good and stayed until my wife and I decided to leave the religion some 3 & 1/2 years later

    We have never looked back....best decision we ever made! We married early in life, and left the Society with one C minus High school diploma between us. We lost plenty of JW friends and family respect. I went from one of those Golden boys who gave talks all over the circuit and who held down two........ at times four positions in our small congregation.

    I am happy to report that my ex pioneer partner....my wife.....and I have been married for some 57 years.

    My experience on this forum is that I have come to understand that leaving a high control religion can be a Trumatic experience......you are not alone in experiencing this.

    http://journeyfree.org/rts/rts-its-time-to-recognize-it/;

    I will close with sharing a few observations Mr. Hoffer made. Once again he did not even know about the WTBTS. The clarity of his observations will speak for it's self.

    "The quality of ideas seems to play a minor role in mass movement leadership. What counts is the arrogant gesture, the complete disregard of the opinion of others, the single handed defiance of the world."

    "All active mass movements strive, therefore, to interpose a fact-proof screen between the faithful and the realities of the world. ...by claiming that the ultimate and absolute truth is already embodied in their doctrine and that there is no truth nor certitude outside it. ...To rely on the evidence of senses and of reason is heresy and treason. It is startling to realize how much unbelief is necessary to make belief possible. What we know as blind faith is sustained by innumerable unbelief's."



    "Not only does a mass movement depict the present as mean and miserable - it deliberately makes it so. It fashions a pattern of individual existence that is dour, hard, repressive and dull. It decries pleasures and comforts and extols the rigorous life. It views ordinary enjoyment as trivial or even discreditable, and represents the pursuit of personal happiness as immoral."

    As a JW I came to realize I was merely a puppet of the WTBTS and their ever changing point of view and their incredible ability to paint themselves into a corner.

    For those of us who have left we went through a struggle when we lost faith in the WT but that struggle gave us faith in ourselves.

  • smiddy3
    smiddy3

    Is it my imagination or are many more JW`s waking up to TTATT and it is "speeding up in this time of the end" for the WTB&TS

  • Saxon
    Saxon

    Good idea for a topic, shame I didn't see it first.

    I stopped going to meetings c2006 as a teenager and was never really into it. Discovered this website a few days ago and found it really interesting reading different accounts of how people woke up. Particularly found it interesting just how many of you are/were PIMO, some for years, and now when I see a group of witnesses out on the FS I'm going to wonder how many of them are actually into what they're doing.

    Anyway, great website and it's nice to for those people who are PIMO that they have support from people around the world ❤

  • resolute Bandicoot
    resolute Bandicoot

    Welcome Saxon, please share this site with any other escapees that you know.

    RB

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