who is who on here?? (page 2)

clementine

i've nver been JW, and i've even never had a study...

i'm an atheist jw, inactive, but not missing any meetings (almost). i'm afraid i'll get health problems someday, because every time i come home from meeting my stomach hurts because of so much "spiritual food at proper time".

rebel8

just wondered how many of you are ex jws, left or df'd, how many are still in but have lost heart?

I wasn't DFd. Decided I knew it wasn't the troof and wanted out. Stopped going in service and to meetings. Was 18 living w/my jw mom. Mom said I had to go to a JC as a condition of living in her house. (Had $0 to move out with, since she had prohibited me from having any of my own money. All proceeds from my part time job went to car/gas for pioneering and the rest to mom. Good strategy for keeping me under her thumb, huh?)

Went to JC. There was nothing to discuss. They interrogated me...asking me if I'd smoked, had sex, etc. No to all. They said, "We can't DF you because we can't find any scriptural reason to." (said w/a tone of disappointment) Asked me if I want to DA. I said no. They asked why, I said, "No reason." Real reason was I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of making an announcement that I was DAd.

are there any jws on here who still believe its all the truth, go to meetings and trust the organisation?

I think no positive thoughts about the wts. I know it's an evil organization and everything they say is either a lie or incorrect.

who has left and gone to another religion, or who is from another religion?

I was confirmed as a RC a few yrs ago. Was RC before being JW, but wasn't old enough to be confirmed before converting to jw. Wanted to be confirmed for several reasons....1, I admit, was so I could get married in the RC church (important to husband)...2 was therapeutic...I felt I had been mean and hateful to the RCs when I was a jw...wanted to make up for that I guess...I also felt that RC confirmation was the ultimate rejection of my jw past.

I don't consider myself RC really though. I don't believe in their view of God, although I do have a lot of respect for the modern day RCs.....My personal beliefs can best be described by: www.spiritualhumanism.org/faq

who is an athiest.

I accept that anything we believe about God existing or not is just a guess, however, I think I'm more agnostic than anything else.

anyone left the jw's changed their mind and gone back?

Nope.

anyone, like me, had a study but not been a jw?

Nope. Was pretty much forced to get baptized when I was 16. 1 yr later I graduated from high school and began the process of leaving the jws.

Peppermint

Holly,
I was a jw from the age of 16 until my early 30?s. I stopped initially to regain my sanity and health intending to go back. Thing is once I saw the organisation from a distance things changed and I gradually started to see it in a new light and this new light didn?t come from Brooklyn.

No wonder the organization makes a big thing about immersing yourself in the truth, the whole thing is a treadmill designed to keep your mind from wandering and your body tired.

Do I have doubts about my decision? Not deep down, but you cant escape from some of the conditioning you received from parents, family, friends and indoctrinators.

Have I joined another religion? No, I have looked into a few but they all seemed to be flawed in one way or another, if the society teaches one thing well its how to see faults in other religions. I still believe in God but my religion at the moment is more of the hug-a-tree variety.

mtbatoon

I was born into it and spent the first 16 years of my life hiding under the covers in fear of Armageddon and a good part after that trying to get over it. I left around the time my mother suggested I should get dipped. When she told me I would have to ask myself the question will I dedicate my life to Jehovah, being brought up as a good dub I couldn't tell a lie and said no. I think that my teenage loins had the casting vote on that one so it just goes to show that even thought it has a mind of its own that's not to say it doesn't have some sense.

Not being baptised I wasn't DA, DF or even had any elders come round to put me pack on the right path. I was snubbed by my family for two years for living in sin which still hurts even though we're now on good terms.

I had quite a few problems believing most of what's written in the bible so didn't turn to any other Christian faiths but kept the moral guidance of Jesus teachings as I understood them. For a while I dallied with eastern religions and new age religions to fill the ?spiritual void? but eventually came to the conclusion that if there was one true religion then it would be easer to find, practical and not hidden away under rituals and obscure text. I float between atheism, agnosticism and humanism thought I've no wish to make any belief formal seeing as how life has taught me not to put my trust in any one doctrine.

Until a year ago I though the JW's were just another crackpot Christian franchise but looking on the Internet I've revised my ideas and now see them for the first time as the cult they are.

jgnat

<--------------- never a JW. Married one instead.

I am a regular Christian, vanilla flavour.

garybuss

I was raised by Witness parents and was 30 when I kicked the Kingdom Hall door on the way out in 1974. I was a believing walkaway until 1992 when I read Crisis Of Conscience. Most of my extended family are Witness members. We think they are where they belong. We hope they stay there.

Dragonlady76

Right now I think that due to the intense indoctrination and control of the WTBS I would have a hard time going to any church or believing in organized religion, I have tried, but just can't bring myself to accept the all the religious lifestyle and beliefs. I don't know if I am angry or just an athiest, it's very confusing to me.I do know that thanks to my upbrining I despise authority and control.

Dragonlady76

fairchild

I'm like you, Holly. Studied with the JW's (off and on for 20 years!). Somehow I never got around to getting baptized, but did go to all the meetings. I came to this site, thinking there were JW's here, and I would find some support re baptism. My mouth fell open after reading some posts on here. I bought Crisis Of Conscience, which I'm currently reading. I stopped going to the meetings, about a month after I initially found this site. Somehow, nobody at all from the KH has contacted me. If they do, I will tell them exactly why I don't go to the meetings anymore, and suggest they read CoC. If they don't, oh well, what can I say? I have no hard feelings against them, as most JWs I know are quite gentle people. They are good and honest people, being misled by the GB.

jeanniebeanz

Well, I was born into it. Had some issues with certain teachings or rather the lack of explaination for them but was generally okay with it. Got into a violent marriage, left him after 15 years as a punching bag and found someone else. I was, of course, disfellowshipped.

At that point, I believed that I had made a mistake, and started to research their faith in an effort to go back as a stronger witness than I had been before. What I found when researching was disgusting, and I decided that there was no way I'd ever go back.

I miss my family, but it was their choice to walk away from me out of their own blindness by choice, so whatever. I've made a new family and new friends.

Jeannie

who is who on here??