What site made you leave...

Tuesday

I was asked the other day when telling my story about leaving the witnesses when relating finally having the courage to type "Jehovah Witness" into the search bar on internet explorer and clicking around. I was never into doctrine at all when I was a witness, I barely listened at all anyhow it was the comical sites that got me. While Freeminds was a great tool I was more influenced by the Bethel Cartoons on the site. On Beacon the thing that got me most was the "Easy to answer, Hard to think about" page and Doc Bob's homepage was a great influence on me. Just wondering what were the sites that you visited most when leaving? And why was it those sites in particular? On a side note a couple of the sites I hit were so bitter I really thought that I should just avoid the sites all together but then I found a few that were just stating the facts and that got me back to reading (especially transcripts of Judicial Hearings my favorite things to read), were there any sites you found too bitter to read?

xjw_b12

Well we couldn't let this go 3 pages without a reply now could we.

I was already out, before I really got onto the web, but it was printed materials and publications from Randy's site that my dad was trying to "apostacize" me with that really made me stand up and notice. Especially the life stories of those that had left.

xjw_b12

little witch

Welcome Tuesday

I don't think 'sites' make people leave the borg. I am convinced that the societies inconsistencies and lies coupled with family iterference cause doubt in members. Websites simply offer outlets to discuss and educate vs the isolation of the borg.

I remember having questions very simple in nature, but I knew that asking the elders was futile. I would have been chastised and labeled as weak or gulp...apostate.....

Back then, I did my research at the library, the internet wasnt there at the time.

What I am trying to say is, no fully conforming jw goes to a site not sanctioned by the society. Only someone who is needing answers or feedback not available to them within their congregation would visit such sites to start with.

Thus we get people here on occaision screaming "apostates, and prove it" types. Well, obviously something isnt setting well with them, and they have no way to address their concerns through the society.

Independant thought is a basic human ability, and despite the villification given it by the society, a normal human need.

Scully

Being treated worse than dog-poop by our congregation is what convinced me that the JWs had NO love whatsoever to identify them as Jesus' true disciples. We stopped attending meetings because of that, and it wasn't until after that we started to explore the reasons "why" on the 'Net.

Love, Scully

willyloman

type "Jehovah Witness" into the search bar

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume this is a typo. But since you brought it up...

This common misuse of the name "Jehovah's Witnesses" among members of the sect is another example of the cognitive dissonance that pervades the ranks of JW-dom. Did anyone else go crazy whenever they heard this, especially from a dub? I used to wonder, "If they don't even know the name of their group, how can they possibly comprehend all this complicated doctrine and interpretation?" Of course, the answer turned out to to be: "They can't."

seeitallclearlynow

Tuesday, I hadn't attended for 6 months before I bought a computer and immediately typed in Randy Watters. I read tons of good info on his site, and I really, really enjoyed the cartoons there too! I had already decided not to go back but wasn't clear on the teachings, I just knew I didn't like the "feeling" of the Organization and I didn't believe in disfellowshipping, since my son had just been reinstated.

But I really enjoyed all the audio testimonies on jwinfoline and Tower to Truth and James Caputo's committee meeting - nothing shows better than his meeting just how blindly some of the elders follow the empty teachings of the Borg.

I sent out prayer requests with Cal Lehman and eventually called Joan Cetnar and I look forward to the convention this summer in Allentown.

Gopher

No site made me leave, the JW's themselves did.

However, the first site that HELPED keep me from going back was Randy's www.freeminds.org site. I still highly recommend it for people who need to learn about the JW's.

I was steered to that site by an on-line newspaper article in late 2000 where the JW's announced they were splitting into three new corporations and that the former governing body would only be associated with one of them. The article pointed both to the official WTS site and to freeminds, and I went to freeminds because I liked how the name sounded.

Willyloman said:

This common misuse of the name "Jehovah's Witnesses" among members of the sect is another example of the cognitive dissonance that pervades the ranks of JW-dom. Did anyone else go crazy whenever they heard this, especially from a dub?

I did hear some newer ones say "Jehovah Witness" even though the sign on the Kingdom Hall has the apostrophe and S. Heck they even have a kingdom song that spells their religion's name correctly. They are supposedly Witnesses belonging to Jehovah. Duh!

Tuesday

No I actually did type in Jehovah Witness not Jehovah's Witness or Witnesses for that matter because the plural is a narrower seach and it won't yield as many results.

GentlyFeral

The first XJW website I logged onto was AJWR - Associated Jehovah's Witness for Reform - which morphed into H2O. But by that time I had already been out for a year or more. The only written material that influenced me to leave was Steve Hassan's Combatting Cult Mind Control. I read it seeking contrasts between JW and cult life, and of course I found none.

The only website that assisted me to jump ship was www.uua.org - the Unitarian Univeralists' official website, which has no anti-witness material at all.

GentlyFeral

sandy

THIS ONE!!!!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What site made you leave...

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