This was a question that bothered me greatly as a JW. When the then new brochure entitled, "What is the Purpose of Life?" came out, I couldn't wait to read it. When I finished reading it I thought, "That's God's purpose, not mine!"
Sail Away
JoinedPosts by Sail Away
-
583
What is the purpose of life?
by slimboyfat inwhile reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.
because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".
i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.
-
-
-
12
I'm Going to Break Up with My Boyfriend Today
by LaurenM inso like the title suggests, i'm going to break up with my boyfriend today.
it's for several reasons, but mostly because i'm not prepared for a relationship.
i need to grow and learn what it's like to be me now that i'm not a jw and learn how to love myself so i don't make the person i am with miserable.
-
-
Sail Away
Lauren, I think you are doing well to give yourself some breathing space. As new boy said, better now than later. I didn’t leave until age 52. Starting over was brutal. I am marred to my ex-JW husband and have two adult children and one grandchild. It has taken me five years to rebuild my life, and it was so worth it!
Diane
-
30
After 52 years a Watchtower slave 9/11 gave me the push I needed to get out.
by new boy ini turned in my letter of disassociation on september 18, 2001 but it was 9/11 that showed me what the witnesses really feel about human lives and the future wished for.. i was in limbo after my wife of 27 years left me on july 30, 2001. she knew i wasn't buying the jw program anymore.
she told me she come back to me when "i got my head straighten out about god and the church".. so for 40 days i was in limbo.
i stopped going to meetings.
-
-
Sail Away
I won't say that 9-11 was my tipping point, but the reaction of local dubs just seemed cruel and inhumane to me. They bordered on giddy with anticipation and excitement. The weight of the event and it's aftermath-- the fear, sadness, loss and grief seemed palpable to me.
I went to a 9-11 Memorial yesterday. It hit me how disrespectful I had been as a JW of these first responders who have sworn to serve and protect, never acknowledging their sacrifice and that of their families. Looking into their eyes, shaking their hands and thanking each of them was a very moving experience. Many were tearing up. The sense of community fostered by ceremonies such as these is a beautiful thing. The cult steals this from its members.
We can only hope that the inhumanity of this organization mascarading as a religion wakes up many more. Thank you for your post, new boy.
-
9
September Is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
by azor inplease donate.
whether it's your time, money, or influence.
the donation box at mcdonalds does go to an amazing charity.
-
-
Sail Away
Thank you, dear Millie.
-
9
September Is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
by azor inplease donate.
whether it's your time, money, or influence.
the donation box at mcdonalds does go to an amazing charity.
-
-
Sail Away
Azor, thank you for posting. My DIL died from myofibroblastic sarcoma. She fought three cancers in her short life time and taught me the absolute beauty of living in the moment. RIP Gina xoxo -
18
VERTIGO: 'My head is moving through space where, in reality, it is not.'
by compound complex ingreetings, fellow posters:.
wishing you well and offering my sympathy if you've ever experienced vertigo.
my neighbor is a physical therapist and told me about the epley maneuver, which i am now researching.. have you ever been through this hell of total incapacitation?.
-
-
Sail Away
CoCo, I'm happy to hear you are improving! I had vertigo back in the day when I was pioneering. My doctor said it was a virus. I was able to drive, but laying down and walking were intolerable. Maybe it's like sailing-- good to go as long as you are looking at the horizon?
-
44
Why Do People Become Jehovah's Witnesses?
by minimus inbesides being raised in the religion , why do people become jws?
.
-
-
Sail Away
Mr. Sail Away and I just visited his only living relative other than his JW parents, his maternal Uncle Ed. Ed was never a JW. He is a retired university professor of Philosophy. Ed and my husband had not seen one another for over 50 years. Ed provided some much needed insight! Apparently, my FIL studied with the Witnesses on the advice of his father who was familiar with them, but was not a Witness himself. He advised his son to become a JW to avoid being drafted into the Korean War. Dad didn't expect it to take. It was just a ploy. He was mistaken. His son became a believer.
My husband and two children were born ins. As a pre-teen I was in desperate need of family and stability. I thought the Witnesses would provide that. Maybe they did for a while, but in the end they tried to destroy my own marriage and family. I reached my tipping point and walked away. My husband and children left before I did, so the next generation is cult free!
-
13
We all "shun."
by stillin inan old friend of mine committed suicide this week.
he was a great guy; pleasant to be around, a hard worker, kind.
everybody at work liked him.. then something changed.
-
-
Sail Away
Stillin, I'm terribly sorry for the loss of your friend, first to addiction and then to suicide. As you said, sometimes the only thing we can do is distance ourselves from toxic behaviors. I struggle with this in my family of origin. When I left the organization, I tried to re-establish communication and build relationships in my non-JW family. It just wasn't possible. There was a reason I chose a cult over family in my early teens, and nothing has changed. Please don't blame yourself.
-
6
DNS Issue (Problem Accessing Site)
by Simon inif anyone had any issues accessing the site over the last 24 hours or so, i finally tracked it down to a dns issue that was affecting users of google dns in certain zones.
the issue was caused by a rouge dnssec entry left by the registrar (godaddy) when they did an update which caused some dns lookups to fail.. hopefully it should be fixed now but may take a while to ripple through to everyone due to caching..
-
-
Sail Away
Now able to log in from Connecticut, USA. Thanks, Simon!
-
9
Just deleted all elders phone numbers
by Chook inflying blind on the incoming calls but i am not fearfully looking around and will approach any religious zealots like a warrior.
there nothing like the unpredictable, because these men it's all about the prediction..
-
-
Sail Away
I deleted all JW contact info and blocked them all from my Facebook account. I just didn't want to see their names anymore. I've never regretted it for a second.