Honor among exJws

by ticatoo 15 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  gsark

  I have heard estimates of anywhere from tens of thousands to a million and a half ex-jw,s, from every known walk of life, every country, race, creed, the list goes on and on. (let the reader use discernment!) I believe there are as many reasons for being an ex-jw as there are for being a jw if not more, and there is no way to classify us. And there may be 'real' JW's among us even now, we just don't know.

  But these posters and chatters are a tiny subdivision of exjw's; computer literate ex-jw's who surf, post and chat. I don't know if it is fair to form any conclusions regarding ex-jw's based on all of us here. Although I have come to be very proud to be part of this little 'family'.

  Life is a roller coaster. Get in, sit down, shut up and hold on!
• 

  WildHorses

  Hi Tica ;)

  I am not going to take anyones side. I will sit back and listen to what is said, say what I feel, and then sit back and watch the truth come out, which it always does sooner or later, as you yourself will see.

  Just be patient, things have their way of working out. Love ya friend!

  Lilacs
• 

  TR

  Mommie Dark,

  Words of wisdom, m'lady.

  TR

  "I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every
  form of tyranny over the mind of man." --Thomas Jefferson*
• 

  VeniceIT

  'I haven't met an EXJW I didn't like' HAHHA ok that's not quite true, but I think They're great!!

  We're not a realigion being an ex anthing just denotes what we used to be not who or what we are now!!!

  I think sure there's a lot fighting here, but it's becuae people aren't afraid to speak they're mind, I don't approve of all of it, but it's thier chose.

  EXJW--'They might be full of Krap, but they won't BS you!"

  Ven

  "The best way to convince a fool that he is wrong, is to let him have his own way."---Josh Billings
• 

  Undecided

  Hi Mommie,

  I think you told it like it is. We do have the experience of having been a JW that gives us a common bond and probably makes us feel a little closer than strangers though.

  As far as morals go, I guess we let our conscience be our guide. I try not to judge others by my conscience. It feels good to do something just because it feels right, not because of some rule or trying to please some deity.

  I have found that I like almost all the ones who post here, I like diversity and that we have in full array. I might change my mind though if someone really got on my case. So far I love it here.

  Ken P.
• 

  Mommie Dark

  Ken said, "As far as morals go, I guess we let our conscience be our guide. I try not to judge others by my conscience. It feels good to do something just because it feels right, not because of some rule or trying to please some deity."

  !!!! It's SO nice to hear this from others' lips! This is why I sought and continue to want the company of other exes. It's really helpful to know others who have followed their conscience to the same conclusion.

  When I was deTowering, I asked several JWs this: what about a moral imperative, what about doing what's right JUST BECAUSE IT'S THE RIGHT THING, without fear of punishment or hope of reward? And it was literally as if I had lapsed into a foreign tongue! Every JW I talked to denied the very existence of the carrots and sticks the Society uses to keep the r&f in harness. Dialogue about the inedible nature of the plastic carrot, or the lead used to weight the blackjack, was impossible, since they wouldn't admit to being harnessed and blindered, flogged with guilt, and hitched with chains to the Tower's millstone of an ideology. Or if they did admit it, they claimed it was a GOOD thing, a protection from Jehovah, to be so bound and beaten.

  Tica, you are right, some exes do seem to still have a prob with black/white thinking. I think that these ones may have never had a 'crisis of conscience'. Having gotten accustomed to having all conscience matters decided for them by WT sources, they have never had much chance to develop critical thinking skills and individual responsibility for their thoughts/actions. It's a learned skill after all. Paranoia is endemic among JWs, as is the smug arrogance of the certainty of Jdub superiority. Unless we work at changing that dynamic, we may carry over all the bad suspicious arrogant habits we absorbed from the Tower into our post-Tower lives.

  And of course some exes will never give a rat's ass about growing a genuine conscience to replace the package Brooklyn supplied; these ones will always disappoint. Not everyone wants to grow and learn to be personally responsible. You can take the dub out of the cult can you take the cult out of the ex-dub? Not unless the ex-dub WANTS to change...

  Just Mommie's opinion, worth exactly 2 cents on the open market