January 6 marks the day I went to a psychotherapist 5 years ago to find out how to deal with the war going on inside me. I didn't intend to leave the JW's, I just wanted some arrows in my quiver to help me cope. Here's the top 10 aha's! that happened to me a long the way.
1. I read a novel (London, Edward Rutherfurd, no relation to Joe) that got me thinking that generation after generation people have been expecting Jesus/God to solve their problems, using similar views, scriptures etc as the WTS. Nothing was new.
2. My psychotherapist allowed me to come to my own conclusion that the WTS is a control-oriented religion and if only that religion alone was The Truth then what kind of God would actually agree to wiping 99.9% of people off the face of the earth, not one that I could support.
3. Elaine Pagels' Origin of Satan: empirical proof that Satan was manufactured to fit the turbulent times of the 1st century AD. It was politics, not the actual word of God, that made Satan who he is today.
4. The WTS never apologized for changing the 1914 doctrine in 1994/5 with the "new light" on the translation of "generation" (genea) and we were all supposed to go along with it like that was The Truth all along.
5. Karen Armstrong's History of God - for me it was the politics of Moses who united his people with a god he borrowed from the Midianites, more politics
6. Ray Franz' two books - Crisis of Conscience and In Search of Christian Freedom. Extraordinarily well written and unassuming. Who would believe that the brothers in Malawi suffered because the Governing Body couldn't get a 2/3 majority to say it was OK to have a political card whereas the Mexican brothers could.
7. Randy Watters and his website www.freeminds.org and all the links therein. How amazing the stories of those leaving the WTS, so sadly understandable. The background information on all the changes the WTS disingenously sneaked in as New Light and falsified research - just downright crooked.
8. The website that was once support4xjws. I really appreciated being able to write out my angst, have someone understand it and echo back some hope and direction.
9. Tegretol. I was diagnosed bipolar. This drug, although for epileptics, had a miraculous affect for me - it was the first time my left brain and right brain seemed to work constructively together.
10. The people where I worked at Portland Brewing. Unlike our JW friends these people were of great comfort. They did not shun us when we were dubs, they didn't admonish us for changing our beliefs and they were as genuine as so many worldly people truly are.
What are your aha's! along the way?
Thank you all for being there!!!