by Samuel Thorsen 71 Replies latest jw friends
The Information super highway has helped me cope with my latent PTSD.
It's been my therapy
I exited before the WWW the thing that clinched it for me was learning that JW's are a spin off the the adventist.
The Millerites: Armageddon (History Channel)
DSl/Cable (high bandwidth) version
What a shocker!
No. I was disfellowshipped long before internet access (1987). Went through long periods of depression until my brother told me to Google "Jehovahs Witnesses".
reading Rutherford's books and the abuse issue pushed me out the door.
Blondie, can you suggest any official JW reading I can recommend to my JW friends that might have the same effect? The proclaimers book??
No I would not be.
What the internet did was CONFIRM what I already knew or suspected.
I did learn many new things and for that I am grateful.
LHG
Great Topic!
For Nomadsoul: Welcome to this board! I'm curious how your family treats you, or are you publicly OUT? Congrats on using your mind and going on to college!
AuntieJane
From my post on the Why did you become an Exjdub thread.
I've had my doubts for a long time. I just hoped things would change for the better. Then back in November a bunch of things synched up at once for me.1. I felt I was spiritually weak, I was really bothered by what I saw as hypocrisy on the blood issue, so I started an intense restudy of the bible. I found our research materials sometimes quiet lacking, so I started going direct to the source, Strongs, etc. I started to see some problems with the NWT like using the term exercise faith instead of believe. One day I was reading Revelation 7 in the interliniear and saw enopion used both to reference the position of a great crowd and the 24 elders and 4 living creatures, "wait a second" I said. *Flips over to revelation 19* No wonder, the great crowd is in heaven. I saw these as blatant lies to support the dogma of the society.
2. We had the bible reading which included Deut 18:20-22.---- As I read those verses and researched what the society said about them, I could tell they were hiding something. (One of the awakes completely distorted what 18:20-22 says)
3. That same month a brother came to give a talk in which he referenced the 1975 issue. It then hit me that though I had a canned response ready for opposers if they brought up 1975, I really didnt know what the society said about it back in the late 60s early 70s. So I researched every ref to 1975 and found that Deut 18:20-22 applied to them in every way.
4. One day I was researching the word "Jehovah" and googled it. Whoa! look at all these sites. The first site I clickyd was Randy's (dogpatch) I thought "hah! stinking apostate losers" But I read some for a laugh. I loved his tales from beth'el. Then from his randytv page I found JWD. I was like "oh brother more apostates" But as I read you guy's posts, I realized that apostates are not the 'frothing at the mouth' lunatics I was told about. I also realized, I was an apostate too.
So here we be.
So I think it would have happend with out the web, I just think the evolution might have taken years, not months. I think what the web did for me was sho me that the picture the society paints of apostos is not true.
I'd probably still be dragging my ass to meetings, yeah. I'd just have pent up hardcore doubts for years but still think they had the 'truth' somehow. I have always been a skeptic.. sitting in the back row questioning things and having bouts of laughter in all the wrong places during the meetings. I learned about Franz' books, read about the misrepresentations in the Creation book from AlanF, the 607 B.C deliberate lies, the child abuse fiasco, and the ridiculous blood policy in detail - all from the internet. It helped push me over the threshold.
Thank you, internet.
GBL
I quit associating in 1974 when I was 30 after I realized what the year text meant and after being bullied and messed with by the Witness people. I was a believing walkaway until 1992 when I read Crisis Of Conscience. In 1995 the Witness people came at me with flamethrowers when I had a 72 hour mental health hold put on my Witness son. That was a turning point for me. That's when I first contacted former Witnesses.
Randy Watters told me about the internet and the email group of ex Witnesses. So I got a new computer and started posting. After that I left a written history of articles and posts. The internet connection has been a real benefit for me. It's been an outlet for me to write about what I think about. It's been an education. I've meet great people, quite a few in person.
It keeps me informed of activities of the Witness group. I like it!
I wasn't a believer in my adolescence and followed on a perihelial level as a skeptic in my 20's. I got emotionally caught up in the hype about 1975 and my first wife's enthusiasm but I was a rat in a lifeboat. The mean Witness people and the lies they told about their failed predictions for 1975 pushed me out like an ejection seat.
Their message to me since I left is: "We didn't like you when you were a Witness!". I sensed that. It was actually good to hear it and see it in print. Now I know I didn't imagine it.
No. I left because i couldn't take it any more..
but thanks to JWD, I learned I didn't have to feel guilty about my choice..
Who knows, I might have returned without the internet.. I would have sowed some wild oats.. let them df me and then maybe would have gone back after I missed my mom and stuff..
so now that I know the truth....about the truth.. I know not to waste my time doing that.. and enjoy life
I was on my way out of the JWs before I got online. However, the internet helped me to leave more quickly and it also helped in that it created a support group for me as I left.
Jeff Schwehm
