I'm thinking of going back

by Smoky 42 Replies latest jw friends

  • Smoky
    Smoky

    Over the weekend my cousin came to visit from MI, and her husband (elder) started to do his shepperding thing with me (have not attended meetings for over 1 year), and made a compeling argument about how the holy spirit is given by God ONLY if you attend meeting and go to field service...etc, etc. and the whole "faith and works" issue. It was a different angle that i have never heard before, about me being a "instrument or tool" of God...blah, blah, blah..

    Anyhow, It got me thinking about going back...especially when things are not going to well for me right now... (he said its because I LEFT Jehovah).

    How can i convince myself that this is not true?

  • Doubtfully Yours
    Doubtfully Yours

    We all have good and bad days, good and bad years for that matter.

    Many of them are such sales people for the WTBTS!!! This is what we are all trained for in there!

    Stick it out and make things work for you outside of the WTBTS. Otherwise, you'll be trapped for ever.

    DY

  • dh
    dh

    No offence but when people say shit like you just posted, it annoys me. It's nothing personal against you, it's just that personality type. If you want to go back, then go back. If you don't, don't. It's your choice. If you can't convince yourself either way, i.e. you need JW's to convince you to join them, or Ex JW's to convince you not to... Well, if that's the case you're an idiot, sheep, whatever the word is, if you can't make your own mind up on what YOU want to do with YOUR life, you are a prime candidate for being a JW.

    I don't mean to sound offensive, just do what YOU want. So what if you don't live forever. Better to live the life you know you have than waste it hoping for one that may never happen.

  • Gopher
    Gopher

    Is it really logical that an all-powerful and loving God would only help people who put in enough effort to spread literature from a particular publishing house?

    Of course, if the "God of Truth" worked only through one publishing house to give his "good news" to mankind, that literature would wouldn't say one thing is truth up until 1995 and then now say that what they said then wasn't true. (I'm talking about the idea that the generation that saw 1914 would not pass away before Armageddon, which is what the Watchtower publishers now hope you'll forget.)

  • RescueMe
    RescueMe

    Smoky:

    (he said its because I LEFT Jehovah).

    Did you truly leave "Jehovah" or did you simply leave the organization? To me anyhow, that is the difference. Did you abandon your faith and beliefs altogether or simply leave behind a group who uses fear, intimidation and brainwashing techniques to keep you bound to them?

  • ko38
    ko38

    To go back just to do better,(money,job mental health?) Sounds like you may need help that the society doesnt offer.You were not specific as to what you weren't doing so well in now,but I assure you it is not because of leaving the org.Its also not God doing it to you, it is life as we know it and it happens to everyone.The dubs teach that Satans tools to mislead are self gratifying things like money,sex and power.An elder told me when I first started studying with him(I was unemployed)that I should expect to get a job soon because SATAN wants to take me away from the org by not having time to go to meetings.

    When I left he came and visited with my family about 2 months later and asked my wife how I was doing and she said great,never better hes making great money and is happy.(she said he let out a sigh and said oh)Like he hoped I was doing poorly.

    The witnesses use whatever statements they want to make you believe if everything is going this way or that it is due to not being a jw or being a jw.Keep in mind those statements will flip flop to fit whatever situation they choose.

    If you ask them if God performs miracles they will say no.So how does God affect you physically?.He doesnt.If he did dont you think he would spare the jw's from cancer,car wrecks,floods,heart attacks?Give me a break tell them to quit speculating and guessing and show some facts that support that bull.Especially when the society doesnt support it or stick to that belief of God intervining in peoples lives.

  • sf
    sf

    I fully concur with dh's post.

    a compeling argument about how the holy spirit is given by God ONLY if you attend meeting and go to field service.

    LOL!! Surely, you jest.

    It was a different angle that i have never heard before, about me being a "instrument or tool" of God...blah, blah, blah..

    Exactly...blah, blah, blah. It was an angle I'm sure he banked on you not hearing before, thus the best bait to lure you in.

    What does your life consist of now that would cause you to re-enter a book publishing organization, disguised as a 'true religion with the only true god', that kills it's members with lethal policies that are enforced by twisted scripture/ doctrines? Just curious.

    sKally

  • FreeWilly
    FreeWilly

    I have to agree with DH. You are (literally) asking to be manipulated. People of this mental state are vulnerable to high control groups that promise to make everything better.

    For example, your friend offered what you believe to be a convincing argument, i.e Jehovah?s Spirit is gained through meeting attendance, without any mention of the proof of this claim. Since meeting attendance is so pivotal to salvation, surely it is explained in great detail in scripture - right? Certainly, Jesus and the Apostles would not be so incompetent to have left this out. Surely your friend isn?t hanging his entire argument on "don't forsake the gathering of yourselves together" - correct? Do you recall the Bible chapters that explain the Holy Spirit's dependence on meeting attendance? If so please post them. My guess is that since this correlation is found nowhere in scripture, your friend can only cut-and-paste scriptures together, along with healthy doses of "reasoning" to come to this conclusion. Recall this technique has gotten JW's in all sorts of dilemmas from Pyramidology to Doomsday.

    If you are going back at least admit to yourself why you are doing so. It doesn't sound like you are returning because of a conclusive study of the evidence. It sounds like you desire the social rewards of returning to the fold. You will return as a "prodigal son", welcomed, praised and "love bombed" by all (at least for the time being). You will instantly gain psuedo-friends (contingent, of course, on you membership). You will hear comforting sermons reassuring your righteous decision.

    I would say you are only postponing disappointment. Seek real friends, not conditional one's. Find real meaning in life, not a well-sold story. And most importantly, take control of your life's direction -don't delegate this to others.

  • diamondblue1974
    diamondblue1974

    DH... whilst your remark is pointed and will probably cause some offense i dont think i couldve said it any better myself; well said.

    With respect to the poster on this thread; the fact that things havent gone right for you or couldve gone better is not because you have left jehovah it is probably because you (like the rest of us) have made wrong decisions...this is how we learn so take dont be disheartened...dust yourself down and get on with life.

    The comments from the elder suggesting it is because you left the organisation strongly implies that we have no control over our life and discounts the whole freedom of choice issue; it is one of those manipulation techniques used to enable the WTBTS to obtain control over the lives of those who have given up taking control of their own. Jehovah does not control your life....you do...by all means give praise to him for the blessings you do have but give him greater praise by being true to yourself.

    Words of advice....take control, pray about your choices if you believe in a creator, consider them against the background of the events and make a decision either way.

  • diamondblue1974
    diamondblue1974

    freewilly are we tuned in to each other somewhere because we seem to be writing the same stuff in as many words.... sorry to have repeated anything you said....

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