I was made the youngest elder in the district so that power trip gave me reasons to WANT to believe the absurdity. Eventually, you just must face it. It’s BS.
What Are The Differences Between JWs Born In and Converted?
by minimus 39 Replies latest jw friends
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Steel
I would love to see the results of a study of the average IQ of a JW convert over the last 20 years compared to the general population.
The vast majority I have met are just dumb, lonely or mentally ill and sometimes all three.
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Tameria2001
I wouldn't call them mentally ill but are being made sick by that religion. Now why I say this is because a few years back I was a member of a smaller ExJW forum. There was a former JW who talked a bit about her life. She was raised as a Catholic, but was swayed by the JW teaching and eventually became one. She was a witness for several years, and during the course of time she ended up on different medications, one of them being for Manic Depression. Eventually, she saw through the lies of the Watchtower and left. By the time one year had passed, under her doctors care, she was able to come off of all the medication she was on for all her issues. She said when she told us that several years had passed by, and even to that day she still had a clean bill on her mental health.
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Still Totally ADD
I believe Steve Hassan brought out it was usually the well educated who converted to a Cult than a uneducated person. But then again there are always exceptions to the rule. Still Totally ADD
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smiddy3
It was bad enough being called mentally diseased by the WT and now I`m being accused of being mentally ill by my fellow ex JW`s ? LOL with a low IQ
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ShirleyW
I believe Steve Hassan brought out it was usually the well educated who converted to a Cult than a uneducated person. But then again there are always exceptions to the rule
What about the uneducated Drumpf supporters and I'm sure you'll remember during his campaign he said he loves the uneducated, still to this day they support him in full force.
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Solzhenitsyn
I became an ordained JW minister at 8 after a rigorous study of the bible for the previous 7 years.
Born In: Indoctrinated from birth. Totally thought/action approval dependent on organization. Robbed of the ability to accept and solve ones own life situations and/or problems which translates into being emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually immature.
Converted: A JW knocked at a moment of ones duress, with low self esteem, and/or being vulnerable and offered emotional, psychological, and/or spiritual shelter.
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smiddy3
I converted at 20 years of age with an alcohol problem and wondering what was the purpose in life and wondering where my life was heading when a dormant JW coworker started to witness to me.
Left my first job after 12.5 years finishing my apprenticeship in leather goods then changed tack and took up laboratory work first in the photographic industry then finally in the oil industry for 34 years ,with a few jobs in between for a total of 54 working years
I own my own home and live a comfortable reasonably healthy life to date.
When I was a JW for 33 years I had no trouble identifying myself as a JW ,now however I am cautious as to who I admit to it if ever .
A few years back I actually gave a presentation to a community group about my experiences as a JW
All in all though I don`t mention it ,however if JW`s do come up in conversation I do speak of them negatively without letting on I was one.
So we are not all dick-heads Steel
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ohnightdivine
I was quite lonely in college, away from my family, and met a JW. I felt genuinely "cared" for, and I also sincerely cared for the person in return. Eventually got baptized after so many years of doubting whether the religion really had the truth.
I KNEW about the UN hypocrisy, child abuse, etc. and due to my shock and disappointment I even printed out the internet articles and showed it to my Bible study conductor. But I was told that there is no perfect organization and that Jehovah would solve everything in his time. I already felt so alone because of all that cognitive dissonance but I guess I had what people call the "sunk cost" mentality. I already spent so many years "studying" with them. I made many "friends" with them. And nobody was outright telling me to do something bad. So I figured that as long as I focused on the good sides of the teachings 'based' from the Bible, then I wouldn't have any trouble.
Fast forward to around 7 years later, and because I was also busy with work, I never really became deeply indoctrinated. I guess I stayed for the association. That 'warm' feeling you get after each meeting when you talked to almost everyone, have dinner together afterwards, even talk about work together. Something like that.
But I already felt something was just wrong with the org. Those became magnified during WT studies. I was able to read between the lines. Even reading the WT texts literally gave me some goosebumps because the guilt-mongering was so obvious. They started asking for more, more, and more money. All this "ARE YOU DOING ENOUGH?" stuff.
Add to that the hypocrisy I observed around me. Bethel people, special pioneers, regular pioneers, all the "special people" coming from WT being treated like celebrities wherever they go. All the bling bling I saw. And then they tried to portray hard-working office-working people as 'selfish' individuals. But among the JWs, well-to-do brothers and sisters also associated most of the time with other well-to-do brothers and sisters. You still saw the social hierarchies. When you get sick, you get a visit. But of course, you have to pay for your hospitalization yourself. It's a simple matter. And it makes me sick how they encourage many to give almost all that they have to the organization--but when the time comes that they need it, especially when they become seriously ill, they are instead told to seek help from their 'wordly' relatives. I saw these things in my few years within the organization.
I joined the 'preaching' work before but I also felt disgusted by the inefficiency of the process. How it makes you harbor this 'ulterior motive' to be nice to people with the intention of converting them later. Recording time. Another stuff that made me felt sick.
Another observation is that I felt depressed most of the time when I started engaging with JWs.
The list goes on and on... but I am just thankful that I have my non-JW family who gives me the sense of normalcy and balance after years with the organization. My family doesn't know my experiences and how hurt I was, which I think is good. I am able to live my life with more positivity. To the lurkers and born-in JWs here, not all 'worldly' people are bad. There are so many beautiful people and things out there.
I am not totally DA or DF. I still attend from time to time, just for the association. It isn't making me 100% free, I know. But I guess my personality (right now) predisposes me to stick with 'long-time friends'. I hope I can be more at peace in the future.
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Phizzy
I think the difference between born-ins and converted people is very pronounced when it comes to leaving.
The converted person has a pre-cult personality, and a pre-cult world view to return to. They also have experience of living in the real world,and of the social graces within it.
The poor old born-ins like us Min don't have a clue, and have to find a totally new world view. I can remember the shock I experienced shortly after leaving when an XJW pointed out to me that " we all have to die", I had never confronted my mortality before.
There are a number of shocks like that to deal with for the born-in, the converted have more than likely dealt with such things while in the real world.
Leaving is far from easy for both groups of course, the JW Cult's control system ( B.I.T.E.) makes sure of that !