WT Teaching That You Can't Leave Behind

by jhine 33 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  jhine

  After posting on another thread it became apparent to me that it can be difficult for some ex JWs to totally shake off all WT teaching , even after leaving the org.

  Do you still feel guilty going into a church for a wedding or a funeral . Can you bring yourself to celebrate birthdays or Christmas . Would you hesitate to accept a blood transfusion if you needed one ? Does the indoctrination that you received still work to put a barrier between you and the rest of society in the way it was intended to when you were "in " ?

  Jan
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  alanv

  Even now after being out for 25 years, I find some things i was taught when i was in have an affect on me. I actually hate xmas and my own birthday. To me xmas is just an excuse to to over eat, over drink and send that once a year xmas card to someone you think you should. And i hate being reminded that im now another year older each birthday. So although i agree with Watchtower about those celebrations, they are for my own reasons, and nothing to do with their religious doctrines.
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  Chook

  The cults indoctrination runs deep , but for those not born in who can compare ,the transition back to so called pagan practices comes is a blessing and easy( speaking from experience). This jw Church is evil in demonising birthdays for kids , I haven’t heard of too many beheadings while blowing out the candles.
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  stillin

  I cling to the idea that there is justice. Somewhere, somehow. we have an inner sense of right and wrong and something seems definitely wrong on this planet. I still hope that there can be some sort of "healing" for the family of human beings.
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  LoveUniHateExams

  Do you still feel guilty going into a church for a wedding or a funeral - nope. I don't find myself in churches often but I realise that other people have Christian beliefs. I no longer subscribe to the Watchtower's 'Christendom' crap.

  Can you bring yourself to celebrate birthdays or Christmas - hell yeah! Every year, I go up to the Cairngorms and visit friends and family. We celebrate xmas and see in the new year. In 2017-18 me, my cousin, my cousin's partner and his sister went to a big Scottish Hogmaney in the street. We saw in the new year with line dancing and whisky. Generally speaking, when I visit these guys, much stilton and turkey is eaten and much red wine and Scotch whisky is drunk.

  Would you hesitate to accept a blood transfusion if you needed one ? - I would have no hesitation if I really needed one. I'd have no religious concerns on the matter. The only concern I might have would be that the blood has been properly screened. I don't want AIDS.

  PS - I eat black pudding. It's rich but quite nice. I recommend anyone to give it a try.
  
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  jwundubbed

  Do you still feel guilty going into a church for a wedding or a funeral .

  I work in a church now. I provide childcare during services. It isn't 'my' church. Why would I feel guilty going into a church? When I was a JW, I didn't feel guilty if I tried. I felt scared. I don't feel scared anymore either. It's just another building, like any other.

  Can you bring yourself to celebrate birthdays or Christmas .

  I don't celebrate Christmas because I'm not a Christian. I celebrate whatever I want to in the ways that I want to. There is no 'bringing myself to it'. But I do things with intention now, and not just to fit social norms. I'm forming my own traditions. I haven't decided what that is for birthdays. I celebrate Winter solstice when I can by drumming in the sun. I celebrate Halloween in my own way. I add something when I want to add it and it is all about me and what I want to do with my life. My ex-life as a JW isn't a part of it.

  Would you hesitate to accept a blood transfusion if you needed one ?

  Yes. Because that is a big decision. I don't take any big decisions lightly. I don't take any medical procedures lightly. It's my life on the line. I give blood when I can and I don't feel that there is a moral implication in the mix.

  Does the indoctrination that you received still work to put a barrier between you and the rest of society in the way it was intended to when you were "in " ?

  The indoctrination wasn't the only thing that put a barrier between myself and the rest of society. There were a number of other things operating at the same time that are still in play. The indoctrination told me to hold myself apart for my own safety and so that I would be saved. I don't believe either of those things to be true anymore, so no. It isn't the teachings from my childhood that set me apart from any society.
  

  I've been out about 25 years. It took me at least half of that to overcome the indoctrination. If I wanted to conform to society the way that I conformed to the religion then I could be well into a new 'emotional in' than I am now. I don't want to conform to a society. I want to be me and find my way.

  Black pudding... ew. To each their own. But I don't like rare steak either. It's a geographical thing. People from east coast USA recognize that a steak can be juicy and tasty and have no pink to it. I don't do rare steak, I don't do sushi (more of a texture thing), and I have no desire to ever try black pudding... or haggis.. or oysters... or a lot of other foods that are gross to me. It has nothing to do with an aversion to blood stemming from my childhood indoctrination.
  
  
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  punkofnice

  Although I don't currently wear a tin foil hat, the WBT$ has left me loathing authority and seeing the world political scene as a joke where a hidden hand actually runs things. Although, I don't believe in the Illuminati. It's confusing being me.

  
  
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  EverApostate

  IMHO NO. Reason is, I made an in-depth investigation about JW as well as all other religions and came to understand that all are scams.

  It took a year for me to get deprogrammed like this, after I found the TTATT.

  Even while POMO, and still a member, I took part in birth day celebrations and other festivities and never felt a tinge of guilt. And then submitted my Dissociation to the elders

  Any religious practices/rules/rituals of JWs(As well of other religions) seem a fun to me now.
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  EverApostate

  Just a few consideration to see how ridiculous WT teaching are:

  Allow people and children and die by refusing them blood transfusions - good thing according to WT

  Celebrate Birthdays - Evil thing according to WT.

  Shun people who disassocaite themselves (my case) - Good thing according to WT

  Never donate to any charities but donate to WT - Good thing according to WT

  Dont partake in family religious celebrations (like christening and chrismas) but pester them to attend your yearly memorial. (Symbolic Cannibalistic ritual in fact) - Very much Justified by WT
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  iwantoutnow

  Though my kids are still young enough to look forward to and love Holidays, they really have no meaning to me.

  Has nothing to do with "teachings" from being a JW, its the lack of tradition.

  Memories and joys with holidays buildup from childhood.

  They become things you look forward to and cherish, and are surrounded with memories with family and friends.

  I have none of those, so they have no meaning to me now.