My post basically reiterates IW's earlier thoughts but I had to put my 2 cents in anyway. I am very new to this board and had, up until now, decided to keep my thoughts to myself on subjects which I feel I am not knowledgable or strong enough to debate. Call me a coward--call me passive...I don't know myself who or what I am. I am in the processing of trying to learn for myself what God is all about. All my life, until recently, I have been taught one way, the WT way. I was warned never to question or doubt, for that would be Satan's evil at work. I was warned that everyone on this Earth who was not a JW was, to put it simply, evil. Even after making the scary, troubling decision to officially 'open my eyes' to other possibilities, the one thing that kept creeping back into my mind was the fear that I was wrong and, therefore, evil...letting Satan take over my mind and heart. Even now, this nagging doubt has occasionally reared it's ugly head.
But I would like now to express my deepest gratitude to you, YouKnow. In just your thread of posts alone, I have seen that I was indeed correct in questioning the faith. By your own words you have actually helped me to feel better about this whole 'apostacy' thing; you have relieved much of my guilt about abandoning Jehovah. Because now I realize I didn't abandon God--I just abandoned the organization. The God I've been reading about is forgiving. He warns us not to judge one another. He teaches us humility. He teaches us that ALL of us are to love and be loved. We are to LOVE our enemies, as well. I sensed contempt and derision from you towards others on this board. You didn't just talk 'to' the other posters--you talked 'down' to them. I cannot sit here and claim to know the truth about anything. Who am I to presume to know the true plans of our Father? Who am I to set dates? Who am I to decide what is 'acceptable' in God's eyes? Who am I to shun a supposed sinner until they 'repent', when in actuality, their purity of heart and love of God may put my own well-meaning heart to shame? My goal since coming here was and still is not to judge anyone, only to learn what I can from others. I have seen much bickering on this board over doctrines and scriptures. I can't even get into those things because I have much to learn myself. The one reason I am posting on this thread, which I promised myself I wouldn't do, is because I feel I have to address the self-righteous, incredibly insulting way in which many current JW's are behaving. They are getting cockier by the minute and it saddens me. It's one thing to be proud of your faith and joyously proclaim your feelings to others...but it's quite another thing to go out into the world and say "I am right, you're wrong--I'll live, you'll die." Awful. The lack of humility is absolutely astonishing! And quite frightnening. I can't say all JW's are like this, though. There are many JW's whom I admire for their convictions and loving, humble dispositions. But I agree with Individuals Wife wholeheartedly; those negative, arrogant qualities found in todays posts are prevalent in the society.
Kat
PS: I resent you categorizing all 'apostates' into an immoral, sinful group. I try my hardest to be a righteous, loving person. Just because I lost faith in the organization it doesen't mean I am an evil person, as you would have us think. I didn't have any awful experience that made me turn away from the "Truth" so I bear no ill-will towards JW's. That would mean hating my own family, whom I love with all my heart. In fact, the one reason I don't want to face any of them is because I do not have it in me to put them down and insult them, as I know they will surely do to me. They are so good at debating and making a person feel inferior that it would be a losing battle for me. And, after I do find the strength and courage to come out with my true feelings, if my famiy decides to shun me, then so be it. I, on the other hand, will always be there for them, through thick and thin, no matter what.
