Posts by Phaedra

2

My Big Church, Born-Again Experience

by Phaedra in

sorry to say that i was snapped up by born-agains post-jw.. gotta say they were much better than jws, but still had the same problems.. namely, no way to validate what they taught was real.

not to mention all the other problems with christianity.*.

just wanted to share that it's totally natural to keep looking for "truth" after you leave jws until you realize there's no way validate what *any* religion out there teaches.. learn from my cliff notes and save yourself some years of experimenting.. *see cofty's threads for all that.. phaedra.

Phaedra

Sorry to say that I was snapped up by born-agains post-JW.

Gotta say they were much better than JWs, but still had the same problems.

Namely, no way to validate what they taught was real. Not to mention all the other problems with Christianity.*

Just wanted to share that It's totally natural to keep looking for "truth" after you leave JWs until you realize there's no way validate what *any* religion out there teaches.

Learn from my cliff notes and save yourself some years of experimenting.

*see cofty's threads for all that.

Phaedra

8

Orgone Energy and Jehovah's Witnesses

by Phaedra in

just a little process writing ... with a some tongue-in-cheekiness tossed in.

i pulled out my copy of this book, which i still have with all the highlighted answers and scriptures written in the margins when i was a tween and teen studying to get baptized.

my whole existence was based on the ideas in this book being real and true and i lived my life accordingly, sacrificing myself to the jehovah's witnesses organization, with nothing to show for it.

Phaedra

All, thanks for your comments!

20

The worst gift of Christmas

by GrreatTeacher in

jw
friends

everybody gets one, the gift that stared up at you hopefully from its beautiful wrapping, and then, like a deflated balloon, delivers the worst gift ever.. i'm not talking about the gifts from small children like the "greatest aunt" coffee mug or the red and black lace folding fan.

surely you never would have chosen them for yourself, but it's the thought that counts from small people who love you.. then, there's the what the hell were they thinking gifts.

my mother-in-law has been giving these a lot lately.

Phaedra

I don't get any gifts on Christmas. I'd be happy that anyone thought enough of me to gift anything.

16

Should I send my condolence?

by James Mixon in

i was really close to this family, it's.

been over 20 years since i saw them last.

but the husband an elder in his 70's .

Phaedra

Follow your heart.

8

Orgone Energy and Jehovah's Witnesses

by Phaedra in

just a little process writing ... with a some tongue-in-cheekiness tossed in.

i pulled out my copy of this book, which i still have with all the highlighted answers and scriptures written in the margins when i was a tween and teen studying to get baptized.

my whole existence was based on the ideas in this book being real and true and i lived my life accordingly, sacrificing myself to the jehovah's witnesses organization, with nothing to show for it.

Phaedra

Just a little process writing ... with a some tongue-in-cheekiness tossed in. I pulled out my copy of this book, which I still have with all the highlighted answers and scriptures written in the margins when I was a tween and teen studying to get baptized.

My whole existence was based on the ideas in this book being real and true and I lived my life accordingly, sacrificing myself to the Jehovah's Witnesses Organization, with nothing to show for it. I grieve for the countless others who are/were likewise deceived.

You Can't Live Forever in Paradise on Earth: Orgone Energy and Jehovah's Witnesses

by Phaedra

One hot, Sunday afternoon in July 1982, I sat in an audience with over 10,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses at the Hawthorne Racetrack in Chicago, Illinois, listening to the day’s concluding talk by a Governing Body member. Suddenly, he raised a large book with a rich, red cover and gold embossed lettering. He read the title with a booming declaration: You. Can. Live. Forever. In. Paradise. On. Earth!

The full stadium erupted with joyful applause for the highly anticipated book release after the long, 4-day convention. And the title affirmed what adherents held so very near and near: that they, Jehovah’s Witnesses, would live forever on a paradise earth as a reward for their life of long-suffering, obedience, and visible works to Jehovah God in this system of things.

At 10 years old, I was fully accepting of this belief and all others taught by Jehovah's Witnesses. I trusted the adults around me and followed their lead. Being among thousands of believers in this setting was powerful, leaving no doubt in my impressionable young mind. This new red book would go on to teach me the foundations of life's "truth" and shape my worldview as it carried me to the next level of my religious devotion through my teens and 20s.

Fifty years earlier, in the 1930s, Austrian psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich had a theory about life force energy that he called orgone energy (he closely associated it with sexuality). He believed that orgone energy could be accumulated and stored, and despite being discredited and dismissed by the scientific community early on, went on to design a device called an orgone accumulator. His persistent belief in this etheric force gained so much support from his believers that he established the Orgone Institute in 1942.

You can read the fine details of Reich's story elsewhere, but both he and Jehovah’s Witnesses have this in common: the belief in an unverifiable, unseen "truth" so palpable that it takes on a life of its own, despite evidence to the contrary.

In 2014, peak membership of the Jehovah's Witness religion was 8.2 million. The vitality, or what I now call jworgone energy of Jehovah's Witnesses, comes directly from its active members through their attention, devotion, and resources in support of the movement, voluntarily coerced by the words and actions of the governing body who have positioned themselves as the mouthpiece of God. •

23

How did you feel on Christmas as a JW child?

by cookiemaster in

this is obviously a question for born-ins like me.

so, how did christmas feel to you as a child?

to me it was awful.

Phaedra

How'd I feel on Christmas day as a child? Left out. Lonely. Even when I was into the JW stuff, I couldn't wait for the day to be over because it's like the whole world is having a party that you aren't invited to.

Here's how it unfolded: I'd wake up to a barren world (everything but the movie theater is closed) with the knowledge of my worldly friends and schoolmates were having the time of their lives waking up to opening gifts and playing with new toys all day. I had 4 siblings, so the day sucked for all of us collectively.

There's a reason awesome, fun, and climatic events are referred to as "It's just like Christmas!"

It's the same now. As an adult, with JW family in, there is no celebration. No dinner together. No party and no fun on Christmas eve or the actual day. I'm alone in my mind, trying to connect with others and things that keep my mind off the isolation.

I inquired about volunteering at a church in town to help serve xmas dinner this year. They responded, "We have enough volunteers." !@#!

The plus side: Charlie Brown's Christmas was on last night. And I watch guilt-free.

Merry Christmas!

6

New Christmas Ornament this year

by myway2007 in

this year i put a new ornament up on the tree.

what makes it special is that it is a picture frame ornament.

the picture inside the frame is a recent family photo of all the people i haven't seen in years standing in front of a hall.

Phaedra

I guess it would never work.... ah well.

6

New Christmas Ornament this year

by myway2007 in

this year i put a new ornament up on the tree.

what makes it special is that it is a picture frame ornament.

the picture inside the frame is a recent family photo of all the people i haven't seen in years standing in front of a hall.

Phaedra

Ah, the irony of Jehovah's Witness Christmas ornaments.

A new product idea! Wait, I'll be right back...

17

Merry Christmas! Or merry Christmas on the sly! Ho! Ho! Ho!

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

just to say merry christmas and a happy new year!

i hope wherever you are that you have a lovely holiday, even if like me your celebrating on the sly hehe in which case happy christmas on the sly.

xxxxxxxxxx.

Phaedra

in which case happy Christmas on the sly

LOL! Happy Christmas to you, too!

56

What made you turn atheist or agnostic?

by LevelThePlayingField in

if you were a jw and are now an atheist or agnostic, what was the tipping point that made you turn to it?.

the reason i ask is i have noticed that many who leave the jw's seem to turn to atheism, versus still having some form of a faith.

have many of you given up on god first or have you had atheistic views first and then found atheism to be true.

Phaedra

I didn't intentionally "turn" agnostic. It just naturally appeared after the equal sign (=) beyond a long, exhaustive, honest search encompassing nearly two decades of my life searching for the existence of God and other entities through prayer, born-again study, meditation, higher self workshops, afterlife forums, chakras, spiritualistic churches, and ghost hunting. I got nothin'.

When I first "left" JWs, I could' t NOT be a believer.

Now I can't explain why I'd be a believer.

An existential crisis encompassing more than a decade has led me to where I currently am.

The God who I believed in from age 3-40 is silent and non-existent.

Nature does what it does. Life flows and will flow without my presence. My thoughts, actions, intentions, or love doesn't change what life is programmed to do.

Despite my agony, no God has helped me to rethink it's presence. His or her presence, love, or concern for my life is non-existent. I can only conclude that my being here doesn't matter.

Exiting early has been my plan for many years. For the last decade, there has been no interference, besides my own procrastination. I have double checked on this.

I have begged for validation from anyone out there. It remains zero. My life, in the big picture, is irrelevant.

I am on my own. Whether I'll stay or not until my natural demise.... don't know. What's the point? None that I know of.