Posts by SM62

..one night I was praying, and suddenly I came around thinking, ?there's no one listening to me?, and gave up, it was like a flash of light to me. I no longer pray.

Me too, Frogit. I used to think I was just talking to myself - I never had the feeling that anyone or anything was listening. Maybe prayer is therapeutic becasue it helps you to talk through your problems - and because you concentrate on those problems you are able to find a way to sort some of them out. I honestly don't think God is listening. If he is, why is he so choosy about which prayers he answers. Why answer a prayer for a brother in the UK to find a job (so I've been told) but ignore the prayers of a child who is starving to death? The brother in question wasn't destitute - in fact he was quite comfortably off - but according to him, he prayed for work and found a brill job. What about those languishing in prison camps or torture chambers, or children being abused by their parents, or wives being beaten by their husbands - the list is endless. I'm sure many of their prayers are ignored, but God listens to petty requests??

Terri

27

Satanists have Longer Life Expectancy?

by shaii in

jw
friends

i'm curious about which is the healthier choice: satanism or jehovahs witnesses?

it seems to me that you hear alot less about satanists having problems, than you do witnesses!

SM62

It seems to me that you hear alot less about satanists having problems, than you do witnesses!

Shaii,

This is probably because you hear so much about JWs in general. I meet them all the time, at work, at college, on holiday etc. I don't recall ever meeting a satanist. I don't know what the figures are for satanists in the world, but if there are fewer of them than JWs, you won't hear of their problems so much. You could say the same for many other groups who stay out of the limelight.

Talking of figures, it would be interesting to know roughly how many ex-JWs there are in the world. Somebody told me they now outnumber JWs - does anyone know if this is true?

Terri

83

"Weak People Become Jehovah's Witnesses"

by minimus in

jw
friends

somebody recently expressed that point of view to me.

do you agree with that??

?

SM62

I think people that come into the borg (as opposed to those raised in) are either weak or unwell emotionally

I think people that become JWs later on in life GENERALLY are in a vulnerable state.

Both these statements are too generalised and are certainly not true of many people I know who became JWs later in life. If that was your personal experience, and you went through a period where you were too weak to think for yourself, so be it, but you shouldn't assume that others felt the same way. I wasn't any more vulnerable when I became a JW than I was at any other point in my life. And, as Scooby pointed out, it takes a lot of strength to keep going as a JW. When I think of all the pulls on my time, finances and emotions, I was very very strong to keep going. To carry on, trying to be different from everyone else, remembering to pre-study for this and that, arranging your time to go out on service even though you have a full time job, 5 kids, a sick and elderly mother to care for, a useless lump of a husband, plus you are studying at college in the evenings etc etc- you have got to be pretty damn strong to do all that (a friend of mine who is a JW does all of that and more!). And the amount of time spent at meetings each week - if JWs were that weak, they would all be in padded cells by now. Most people would not be able to do what my friend does WITHOUT the added responsibility of meetings, Bible study and service - so how on earth can she be weak? She became a JW late in life at the age of 24. Many people become JWs because the message appeals to them - they actually believe they can be happier and look forward to a world without pain or suffering. They want to see their dead loved ones again, and they have a longing to serve God and for some this is the best way. They also enjoy looking into the Bible to try to find answers, perhaps for the first time in their lives. At least those were some of the reasons I came in. And remember, many of us already belonged to another religion when we became JWs and to break away from that was very hard - I felt guilty for years because I felt I had betrayed my Catholic roots. It wasn't a decision I made because I felt 'weak' or 'vulneable'.

Having said that, It also takes a lot of strength to STOP going to the KH and break away - you know you will eventually become an outcast and you lose many of your friends - even your own family can turn against you. To realise that all your hopes were built on a lie is a so depressing that I can't find words to describe it.

Terri

18

Lies and the Lying Jehovah's Witnesses who tell them

by joelbear in

jw
friends

a visit home recently brought me back up against the destructiveness of the watchtower society.. far from being happy, my parents are exhaustingly sad, angry and bitter.

they spent the weekend.

chopping first at each other and then at my brother and i. how we had disappointed them.

SM62

I know many JWs who are genuinely happy. Some are close family and I know they are happy because I know them very well. Granted, there are many who lead double lives and many who are very unhappy within the organisation, but you can't say that there are no happy JWs - that's just as daft as the JWs saying all 'worldly' people are unhappy. I was an unhappy JW and I'm glad I'm out, but if my family are happy being JWs, I'm happy for them, as long as they don't put any pressure on me to conform to their ways, and vice versa - I won't force them to think like me!

Terri

24

Pleasing Jehovah or Pleasing the Congregation??

by worldlygirl in

i was always annoyed with my ex for using the words "pleasing to jehovah" to describe certain actions.

in actuality, he an his family (and i suspect others as well) seemed to be much more concerned with pleasing other witnesses or members of their congregations.

as an outsider, it seemed to me that they were always looking for "loopholes" to get by with certain practices, as if they thought they could trick jehovah or that he wouldn't notice so long as they were not reproved or disfellowshipped.. my ex sister-in-law regularly spent the night with her boyfriend or he with her.

SM62

If there is proof of wrongdoing, elders will not overlook the problem and immediately form a judicial committee to handle those cases

SOJ,

Surely you can't believe this? In my experience, elders form a JC when someone has done something that they personally do not like - they are extremely biased and act on their own little pet hates. They ignore the wrongdoing of their family and close friends and it is so obvious in my congregation that your are either part of the 'in' crowd (in other words, do what the hell you like as long as you don't create too much disturbance and you're ok with us good old elders ) or, like me, you are one of the misfits who can never do anything right. Whilst many elders do try to treat people humanely, there are many who abuse their position and use it to massage their already over-inflated egos.

Terri

34

What will you remember most about 2003?

by JH in

jw
friends

.

with all the events that happened in 2003, what will you remember most about this year, let it be on the world scene or in your personal life?

SM62

For me personally, it was the year I came across this board and had my eyes truly opened and all my doubts about the WTS confirmed. It was the year I decided I was capable of deciding for myself - I didn't need the approval of others just to be me. So what if I am a misfit and classed as a bad associate, I like being me!

It was a sad year for the world in general - war, war and more war. But I don't think things will change - it has been the same since time began - people just can't get along. If families have feuds, and neighbours can't get along, if schools have discipline problems and gangs roam the streets, political parties can't agree on anything and religions divide and stir up animosity, it's no wonder the world is in such a mess.

Terri

23

What do you disagree with the Disfellowshipping policy?

by ClassAvenger in

what do you disagree with the disfellowshipping policy?

SM62

As I explained to one of the local elders, I think that an organisation has a right to choose who it wants as members. If I was threatening to go to the KH to heckle the speaker, they have a right to tell me to stay out. If I totally disagree with the beliefs of a particular religion (whether RC, Jew, Muslim, JW etc), why would I want to go to their place of meeting? BUT, and a big BUT, no organisation has the right to tell anyone who they can and cannot speak to. They have no right to put pressure on friends and family and force them to cut a loved one out of their life. What sort of sick people do that? If a couple have 10 children, and all 10 choose 10 different religions, what does that matter? Why would the parents only talk to whoever agrees with their beliefs? No loving parent would do that. The WTS is the sort of organisation that causes the type of problems we see in Northern Ireland. They are causing divisions with this cruel and heartless policy and they don't seem to care about the serious damage inflicted on people, many of whom have not been DFd for fornication or anything like that, but simply for daring to speak their minds and for having different views to those at the top. JCs are sinister kangaroo courts held in secret - why all the secrecy? Even in a 'worldly' court of law, the accused is allowed to have witnesses. I will never agree with this policy - it is one of the reasons why I can't go back to the KH, although the main reason is that I could never accept their ridiculous interpretation of the 144,000 of Revelation - it really makes me sick.

Terri

53

Does Death & Aging Frighten You?

by Guest 77 in

jw
friends

yeah, just what are your thoughts.

does death and aging frighten you?

why your answer?

SM62

That this is just a stepping stone ( earthly life) to a better place- I do believe there will be no pain, no tears, no heart ache in the next life

Mouthy,

This sounds so fantastic and is what I always wanted to happen. I wish I had your faith. I really want to believe this, but faith escapes me. I have started to wonder whether there is something wrong with me deep down. I never really believed in anything I was taught as a Catholic, and as a JW, I was really not 'in' like some were - I was always on the fringes. I do read a lot and try to find answers, but I get nowhere. I would love to know that this life is just the beginning, but where do you get such faith from? I am not disputing it - as far as I am concerned, you probably have what I haven't got, but how do I get it too. I have tried religion but just feel numb from it all. Sorry to ramble so much.

Terri

53

Does Death & Aging Frighten You?

by Guest 77 in

jw
friends

yeah, just what are your thoughts.

does death and aging frighten you?

why your answer?

SM62

The reason why people fear death is that their going to miss themselves

Spot on, Guest! I will miss myself. I have so much to do and see and experience. And even if I live to be 80/90, I won't be able to do much once my body starts deteriorating - so the average human who lives to be 80 only has around 50 years to really do anything they want to - that's is not long enough - I want to go on forever. As a JW, I thought I would. Now I know that I was lied to, I don't know what to expect.

As to death, well, I've welcomed death many times

Why? Why would anyone welcome death? I can understand it if you were sick or in pain (physically, emotionally or mentally), and death was the only way out of your misery. But if not, what other reason can there be? - I'm just curious. I hear many people say that they look forward to dying - and these are people that have health, wealth and all the rest.

Terri