Posts by Steve Lowry

9

"When you've got 'em by the balls their hearts and minds will follow"

by logansrun in

jw
friends

i was watching one of my favorite movies the other day -- "all the president's men" -- when this fabulous statement was made : "when you've got 'em by the balls their hearts and minds will follow.

how true.

makes me think of the drones in the land of dub.

Steve Lowry

Yea, pretty much sums it for me. Did you also mention the fear of seperation from God if the JW leaves the organzation? This may the the biggest of all the 'fears' the Watchtower uses to keep the JW in line. Ironic since, if there was ever a religion that keeps people bogged down and seperated from God, it would be the Wacthtower Society. Unreal . . .

You're right though. It is a religion based on fear, while all the while it's followers walk around with 'smiley' faces. I could never live a lie like that again. So glad I left.

Steve

33

I Don't Hate JW's. I Just Think They're Wrong

by minimus in

jw
friends

every so often, i'll read on the board how some just hate jw's.

whether it's the individuals or the organization, some vehemently abhor everything connected to jehovah's witnesses.

i do not personally hate anyone.

Steve Lowry

I think JW's are turned into the 'victim' state slowly. There's the old analogy of how you go about cooking a frog that comes to mind. You don't throw a frog into boiling water, cuz he'll just jump out. You place em' in cool water, in a pot, and slowly turn up the heat. He never realizes he's getting 'cooked' until it’s too late. He just stays in there until he's finally cooked. I know its a simply analogy, but I believe this is how it basically works. If JW's were forced to state a disclaimer at the door about the whole religion, they would get very few people willing to jump into 'boiling' water (IMO). Instead, the JW presents the peculiarities of the religion slowly to the new 'believer'.

It’s an indoctrination process.

33

I Don't Hate JW's. I Just Think They're Wrong

by minimus in

jw
friends

every so often, i'll read on the board how some just hate jw's.

whether it's the individuals or the organization, some vehemently abhor everything connected to jehovah's witnesses.

i do not personally hate anyone.

Steve Lowry

Uh, how does it go again? Witnesses don't hurt people; the Watchtower Society hurts people. Or something like that.

I'm forty-eight years old and if there's one thing I've learned, is that anyone is capable of anything given the right circumstances, motive and opportunity. You can't hate the people who are Jehovah's Witnesses for the harm they cause anymore than you can hate the German people for being Nazis. The potential to be destructive to others is in ALL of us.

However I don't buy into the idea that they (JW's) are simply victims. They're victims to be sure, but they are WILLING victims. I truly believe that in every JW's life, they are given the awareness at some point in their "walk" that they are wrong and are doing wrong. It is at this point they become willing victims (IMO) if they continue being in the organization/cult. Ergo, I have little sympathy for them for the pain they ultimately experience from their choices.

Steve

11

The Enormity of It All

by Swan in

occasionally the enormity of it all just comes flooding back in on me.

at times it just seems so overwhelming.

at times it seems so incredibly fantastic so as to be unbelievable.

Steve Lowry

The Matrix? Yeah, don't know why I never saw it that way. You bet.

I'll take the RED pill please, Morpheus!

21

Why I believe my baptism was not valid. (welcome comments)

by thebeliever in

when i was 11 or 12, my best friend (who's father was also an elder) suggested i get some of my mom's cigarettes for us to smoke.

sounded like a good idea, so i did and we tried it.

i thought it was horrible, but she had done it before and whatever.

Steve Lowry

Hi Believer.

Well, then show your brother how happy you are. I know (as well as you), that JW's are trained to think that only JW's are genuinely happy. Another Watchtower lie. Let him see all your success and how good life can be, even though you're not a JW anymore. Of course this assumes he still has anything to do with you. One thing I would advise against is 'witnessing' to him. Let someone else maybe do that. I have known many folks in your situation who took their JW loved ones to task about their JW beliefs only to have it backfire on them. Just love him and maybe one day he'll see the light and what a blessing he has in his sister!

Steve

14

How to Witness to JWs

by Tower Man in

jw
friends

my 10 do's and dont's when witnessing to jws seems to be popular.

let me know how you like them and if you have any other methods that you use that seem to work well.. tower man.

http://www.towertotruth.net/do'sanddont's.htm

Steve Lowry

I warn those who may be interested in becoming a JW. And I try and help those who have come out of the relgion and need direction. But as for those caught in the middle (meaning the active staunch JW who you can't get to even admit to one error) I leave alone. Been there , done that, and all I got to show for it is a bunch of wasted time. Witnessing to a JW ain't my gift. That doesn't mean others can't be successful at it. I relize that. Just not me.

Uh, that doesn't mean I don't like to have a little 'sport' with one form time to time. Its enjoyable for me to shake up their little world with a dose of reality. Oh yea, I always enjoy that! But I don't hold out any hope that I can change their minds. Nope, not anymore anyway.

Steve

11

The Enormity of It All

by Swan in

occasionally the enormity of it all just comes flooding back in on me.

at times it just seems so overwhelming.

at times it seems so incredibly fantastic so as to be unbelievable.

Steve Lowry

"Like being raised on a movie set, you walk through a door one day to find it is all just a facade. The enormity of the lie, the world they created for you to live in, the mindset you once excepted as normal, is sometimes too huge to comprehend yourself, much less explain to others who grew up "normal." "

Hey Tammy,

NOW, your life can begin! I think its kinda like a death, leaving the Watchtower Society. First there's shock, then denial, then anger, then sadness, and then finally, acceptance. It can take a while to go through these phases for someone who leaves the JW religion. But it comes.

I like your "movie set" analogy. I can just hear God saying "CUT". I'm sure He is exited about you 'walking off the set' and your new found life and realization. I don't believe He wants anyone to be caught up in any thing that keeps people from knowing Him.

With freedom comes the responsibilty of making wise and sound choices. But give me my freedom please!

Steve

21

Why I believe my baptism was not valid. (welcome comments)

by thebeliever in

when i was 11 or 12, my best friend (who's father was also an elder) suggested i get some of my mom's cigarettes for us to smoke.

sounded like a good idea, so i did and we tried it.

i thought it was horrible, but she had done it before and whatever.

Steve Lowry

The whole "baptism" thing as you well know is just a set-up for the Society to be able to pressure on its followers later on and to keep the masses in line, so to speak. It’s really not a dedication as much as it is indoctrination, IMO. It simply becomes the line one crosses, that separates the before you are a JW and after you become one. It’s got nothing to do with God (this kind of baptism) and is all to do with "legalities" of a cultic religion. Try not giving the JW baptism any more energy than it deserves (i.e. lawsuit). It’s meaningless anyway. Or maybe try thinking of it (getting JW baptized) as helping to make your leaving the Watchtower Society (DF'ed) a more definite reality. After all, NOT being a JW anymore is the best thing for your life. When the elders came to my house to set up proceedings to DF me, (I listened to their pious empty concerns and then) they were taken a back when I told them, "Hey, after you disfellowship me, could you like send me a copy of some kind of document that states that fact? I want to frame it and put in my study on the wall, so anytime I think of joining some other stupid group I can look at it and be reminded of why I don't wanna do that, OK?" Their little JW’s jaws dropped as I disarmed them right before their eyes. It was a beautiful thing. It was a great feeling of empowerment for ME however. I’m not exactly sure how you feel toward the Society. Do you still wish to belong? Do you still have some loaylties? Or is it you just don’t want to loose family members by trying to invalidate your JW baptism and thereby ‘keep’ your family intact? It’s all too late for that now. Even if they agreed to cancel out any meaning to you getting baptized, you’re still dead to them anyway. Look, the Watchtower Society needs YOU, you don’t need THEM. Maybe I’m missing your concerns here. I’m sorry if that’s the case. I just wanted to share a little about how I feel about the JW baptism BS.

When I got saved in 1984 while attending a little church in S. Florida, I got baptized again. But this time it was for my Heavenly Father and not for a man made, man run, my manipulated cultic organization. Do you still believe in God? Then find a little church and go baptized again. It will give a sense of well being and will help you realize how invalid your JW baptism really was.

Good luck to you!

36

What's the most hypocritical thing(s) you've ever seen a JW do?

by Steve Lowry in

jw
friends

up high on my list has to be when a jw co-worker named john fitzgerald tore into me one morning (when i was coming in late for work) for grabbing a quick piece of cake from the lunch room.

turns out, someone in this small little office had brought in the remainder of their birthday cake for folks at work to finish up eating.

john was older than i and a ministerial servant (ooh) and felt it his responsibility to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Steve Lowry

I'd like to add this one:

(Sorry, this is long)

In the early 1980’s my sister sent me a letter asking me not to visit her or any of her family any more as I had displeased Jehovah by leaving "His Godly Organization". (In 1979 I stopped going to the Hall and when the elders came to my house, I told em’ I didn’t believe in all that Watchtower crap anymore. For this, they DF’ed me.) The last time I saw my two nephews they were just little kids and my niece was about five, I guess. That’s been some twenty years ago now. I’ve never heard a word from any of them in all this time. So be it.

Late in 1995, my wife and I had a little girl. She came into the world hard, at 13 weeks premature and weighing in at 1lb /14oz! She was in the hospital for nine weeks. The day to day struggle for her to survive was hour to hour many, many times. My wife suffered kidney failure and was very sick with a condition called pre-eclampsia (sp?) During the time my baby was fighting to live and my wife was sick and recuperating, I never got a call or a even card or any kind of support from my sister. And it wasn’t cuz she didn’t know what was going on. She knew. Well, two months later we brought little Joy home and started learning how to care for a challenged infant. About this time my JW mother informed me my sister was making a bunch of stuff to send us for the baby. When we got it, it came with a little card she had written. It was written in a tone that there was an existing relationship. But there wasn’t. There also wasn’t the first word about the fifteen years or so she hadn’t contacted me in any way after her original letter. No apology, no regret, nothing. She said she was "a little worried there for a while" (the hospital I guess) but was relieved that everything turned out OK. Imagine how overwhelmed I was by her concern? Not! She asked if we would kiss the baby Aunt Dee? What? I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t good enough for her and her family, but she was good enough for mine! Hypocritical bitch. She just wanted to enjoy experiencing my little girl, like I would have enjoyed experiencing my nephews and niece growing up. You can’t have it both ways, honey. Too little, too late.

I kept one item and gave the rest of it away. I found out through my mom that my sister became real offended that we didn’t take any pictures of the baby with the gifts she had sent, to send along to her. Unbelievable.

It’s been eight years now since Joy was born, and I still won’t consider allowing my sister into my life or my child’s life in any way. And she won’t be able to in the future either.

BTW, Joy is a healthy happy little eight year old today.

8

My Witness Experience

by Paradise Found in

iam grateful for my witness experience.

for the personal development the experience has given me.i belive the experience has made me a better man not a lesser man.. admittadly any positivnes that has come out of the negative is at great cost.

that i have been more angry than sad.that i have been unable to educate and warn those indoctrinated in this lie.

Steve Lowry

Thank you, I plan on sticking around. Its been a while since I enjoyed talking with others about the JW experience.

Steve