by betty boop 29 Replies latest jw friends
hey Betty Boop,
welcome aboard. As you rebuild your life and move further and farther away from the JW world and it narrow minded teachings and demands; you will recognize all of it as just another middle tier fundamentalist christian religion which is tolerated in our free society.
It is a very refreshing perspective.....
be well,
Frank
Welcome Betty!!!
Hello and Welcome to the party!
Guilt free sex???
To bad you your not in California
Welcome to the board
Welcome....
Desi
Welcome!
Welcome to the forum betty!
Sincerely,
District Overbeer
Hi Betty. I've always loved your cartoons. Welcome to the forum.
does anyone ever think it might be the tribulation and we're all wrong? silly me i know but those ridiculous thoughts sometimes still torture me.
These sort of "ridiculous thoughts" that ex-JWs may experience are the result of having been conditioned and indoctrinated by a high-control group. You can expect to experience such thoughts and anxieties periodically, though with decreasing frequency as time goes on. It should be helpful to you to recognize that this sort of thing is not unique to ex-JWs but is commonly experienced by former members of any religious cult or cult-like group. They have their own conditioned, lingering tribulation, Armageddon, etc. type fears. The trick is to recognize these thoughts for what they are if they occur. Just observe them almost as a third party would, sort of like saying to yourself, "Oh, there's one of those conditioned thoughts again. Isn't that interesting. What prompted that?"
Another help is to find out what former members of other high-control groups have gone through (and what present members are going through). You'll find that the Watchtower Society is not so unique after all in the kinds of claims it makes and how it controls its members. Steve Hassan, a former Moonie who is now a professional counselor, has written a couple of good books on the subject: Combatting Cult Mind Control and Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves. When first reading of what other people believed or were afraid of, you may think, "Oh, that's silly. How could anyone believe or be afraid of something like that." Then on reflection, you can start to view your own former beliefs and fears in the same light. This can be quite liberating.
Welcome bettyboop
Does anyone think they'll take the forthcoming disappearance of power as the "tribulation"?
They'll probably take it as the Tribulation. But I was in 30 years ago and they were constantly pointing at stuff as the Tribulation then. There will always be a Tribulation for the JWs, it would be awfully boring otherwise.
