How Others Helped Us Think

Lady Lee

My anonymous reader has an interesting question

How Others Helped Us Think

For me, it was two things:

A high school teacher asked me, "Does it make sense to you that God thinks that the people at your Kingdom Hall are better Christians and more worthy than say....Mother Theresa?"

Some years later, a boyfriend (a man very respected by me) said simply, "If that's who God is, then he doesn't deserve me. Or my praise and worship, either."

These two statements had a deeply profound effect on me and led me to eventually walk out the JW door forever with no regrets or confusion about it either.

What about you?

jst2laws

Lady Lee,

I wish, at one of those many moments of clarity in my life, I would have had the such external input as your 'anonymous reader'.

So many missed opportunities and so many lost decades.

Jst2laws

I can't find the rhyme in all my reason I've lost sense of time and all seasons I feel I've been beaten
down By the words of men who have no grounds I can't sleep beneath the trees of wisdom When
your ax has cut the roots that feed them Forked tongues in bitter mouths Can drive a man to bleed
from inside out What if you did? What if you lied? What if I avenge? What if eye for an eye? I've
seen the wicked fruit of your vine Destroy the man who lacks a strong mind Human pride sings a
vengeful song Inspired by the times you've been walked on My stage is shared by many millions
Who lift their hands up high because they feel this We are one We are strong The more you hold
us down the more we press on What if you did? What if you lied? What if I avenge? What if eye
for an eye? I know I can't hold the hate inside my mind 'Cause what consumes your thoughts
controls your life So I'll just ask a question What if? What if your words could be judged like a
crime? Written by Tremonti/Stapp Published by Tremonti/Stapp Music

candidlynuts

i was always told how terrible the people of the world were. and seeing how i was treated in the congregation i figured the world had to be TERRIBLE. i met people who were kind to me ,( for the longest time i'd try to figure out what their motive was) and people who really sought to know me and who enjoyed my company. TOTALLY different than the congregation. just meeting people and not being so isolated helped me. as far as anyone saying anything... my male friend at one point said did i really think a loving God would want me to be part of a religon that made my self esteem so low. he couldnt believe how worthless i percieved myself to be. it was at his urging i went to a psychiatrist and started therapy. BIG help!

blacksheep

Okay, good question. As much as I resent my not-JW-dad-who-neverthless-supported-my-jw-mom-and-forced-us-to-do-all-the-JW-stuff...my husband pointed out to me that, through his ridicule, and constantly challenging JW beliefs during dinner time, etc, he was planting the seeds of descent.

I believe my husband is right. IMO, my father was far to subtle, but, he did force me to think in different ways.

Maverick

When I started to travel a lot I went to meetings in the local K-halls where I stayed. I found the people to be just as petty, small-minded and suspicious as the friends at the Hall I went to at home. And because I work in construction I got the inside story on a lot of the local Witlesses from other workers who did business with or had family members who were JW's. I previously had believed the problems I saw at home were just an isolated phenomena. Not so! It comes from the top down. The guys who ride herd over the "sheep" are mean-spirited, petty, hate-filled and fightened little men so the RF absorb that basic attitude. Maverick

Sunnygal41

Lady Lee, good question from the AR! To tell you the truth, (no pun intended) I had always had a problem thinking of the extremely compassionate, loving ones of this world, such as Mother Theresa and the Dali Llama(sp?) being written off with a snap of the fingers by "Jehoover".....I'm sorry, I just could not swallow it down that this supposedly compassionate god would deny all the good that these people had done...........the other big point in my "awakening" came when I went on a return visit and the young woman invited us in and I saw the obvious sincerity in her quest for "truth"...she had concordances and various bibles on her table, and was very versed in scripture. One thing that stands out in my mind was when I talked to her about the "hope" that we as "christians" have of living on a "paradise earth" siting the scriptures in Genesis and then in Psalms............she calmly shared some thoughts from a concordance re: the word earth and dwelling on it, which shattered my faith.............I left there, with the regular pioneer in tow, struggling to hide how deeply I was shaken. I later confided in a regular pioneer friend that I was extremely close with what had happened and she really had nothing to counter with that would recement my wavering faith, other than to offer to study with me..............that moment along with consecutive experiences basically put me where I am today.........thank Spirit! Another thing that just came into my memory was how many times people would try to share literature with us and having to refuse it.....it just stank of insecurity and fear that we could not be open minded and secure enough in our own faith to allow an interchange..............no matter what spin the Society tried to put on it.

Terri