I'd say that shunning is pretty consistent, though nothing is 100%, and should always be expected. It's the rules for good JWs and is the baseline. Anything you receive beyond that is weakness in your JW relatives where their humanity hasn't been quite squashed out yet. It is both good and bad. Often JWs that make their own rules are more permissive but that also makes it all more bearable for them. Those that are more all or nothing tend to go more toward the nothing side if they can't do it all. But shunning is what they are supposed to do. The inconsistency comes from individuals doing their own thing despite the cult, but that still seems like the minority overall.
dubstepped
JoinedPosts by dubstepped
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23
Shunning Hath Begunith
by Solzhenitsyn inmy spouse assumed that being honest would feel liberating.
appointments were made with pimi parents to let them know of the decision to no longer be a jw.
before the tall nonfat latte at starbucks was half drunk and after her parents asked several direct questions, they stood up, hugged her and said "well this is goodbye, return to jehovah and we'll pick up right where we left off, we love you," and walked out the door.
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Daily Text - 1/30/19
by Jidders inthe love of the greater number will grow cold.—matt.
24:12. i read the daily text today, thoughts on a scripture that does seem to be somewhat fulfilled with the increase in atheism and alternative religions?
it had definitely been going on back then but is it a general assumption?.
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dubstepped
Ah, the cherry picking of scriptures and the fitting of them to any circumstance in a bout of confirmation bias.
Jehovah's Witnesses know all about a lack of natural affection or love cooling off as they shun their family members. Let's not act like humans haven't been tribal for millennia or that atheists haven't existed or whatever. Playing these games with scripture is so futile. Everyone has been doing this for centuries, saying the same thing about their eras. -
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Shunning Hath Begunith
by Solzhenitsyn inmy spouse assumed that being honest would feel liberating.
appointments were made with pimi parents to let them know of the decision to no longer be a jw.
before the tall nonfat latte at starbucks was half drunk and after her parents asked several direct questions, they stood up, hugged her and said "well this is goodbye, return to jehovah and we'll pick up right where we left off, we love you," and walked out the door.
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dubstepped
I'm so sorry man. My wife's family caught wind that we traveled to see my disfellowshipped brother one time and she never heard from them again. Her sister told her she was an apostate, spread the word, and it was over in a night. No closure, no discussion, we were still in.
The only way around is through. She will have to learn the concept of acceptance. She will have to make new friends who love her for who she is. It will take time. Friends are tougher to make as you get older. Maybe she can reconnect with people from her past that were shunned.
My wife has made some good friends. She didn't really have much from her past so her roots were almost totally severed and it has been much tougher for her than for me.
I wish you both happiness and peace. Time truly does heal if we put in the work, but she's going to likely have a tough time, at least for a while. You need to let her be, let her deal with her feelings, and not try to fix things. Be a good support and listen and empathize. She'll find her way.
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Jehovah's Witnesses Called At My Door
by Roger Kirkpatrick inlast saturday morning, i answered a knock at my door to see a man standing next to a young boy who handed me a pamphlet posing the question, "how do you view the bible?
would you say it is (1) a book of human wisdom?
(2) a book of myths and legends?
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dubstepped
Nice work! I too am surprised that they would engage that long.
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Random Musings of an ex-JW Closing a Chapter
by StarTrekAngel inas you all may recall, i made it public a few months back that i was moving away from my former neighboorhood.
well, we moved into our new place during the christmas/new year week, and it has been an awesome decision.
more on that later.naturally, after having hauled all our "material possessions" to our new place, we embarked on the process of giving our old home a touch of paint, etc.
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dubstepped
Lol @ Simon's post. I will now think of that myself.
Great story OP! So many of us have dealt with the physical fallout of cult life in some form or fashion. I love that you went and finished that job up yourself. It has to give you a type of closure. What a wonderful thing to do for yourself.
Go live that new life in that new place and be happy!
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The Life of an Ex Jehovah's Witness: Kicked out at 16, a Telltale Atheist Video
by Wakanda intears welled up a couple times... telltale is amazing.
simply amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9yuwezmx0q.
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dubstepped
A podcast is like internet talk radio that you can download and take with you on your phone or whatever and listen to on the go. Or you can just listen to it online if you want. If you get into listening to podcasts there is so much good content out there on just about any subject you want. You just need a podcast app like Apple Podcasts or Podbean or (the one I use) Podcast Republic. You search for the podcast, subscribe to the podcast, it is downloaded each time a new one comes out, and you can listen on the go or at home. You can also just download individual episodes to try them out. Some popular traditional radio shows also put out podcasts so that people can listen when they have time on their own.
I did one called This JW Life where I told my story as a JW and the process of leaving. Now I do one called Shunned (which I announce on here when I put out a new episode) where I help others to tell their stories of leaving the JWs (along with other cults). Apparently telltale does one called "telltale" (just look for his symbol that he uses on here to post). There are other exjw podcasts like Critical Thinker, JW Community, JW podcast, and occasionally another new one will pop up here or there.
I also like true crime shows, business and entrepreneurial podcasts, lots of story podcasts where people tell real life stories, financial podcasts, etc. -
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The Life of an Ex Jehovah's Witness: Kicked out at 16, a Telltale Atheist Video
by Wakanda intears welled up a couple times... telltale is amazing.
simply amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9yuwezmx0q.
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dubstepped
How have I never heard of your podcast? I just looked it up and subscribed. I don't get into Youtube much other than my own channel where I upload my own podcasts to but I had no clue that you existed until recently and apparently you've had a podcast for some time. Podcasts are what I listen to all day every day at work and I love this stuff. Can't wait to start listening.
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dubstepped
I love this stuff. I always thought that even if the rest of the Bible was mess, surely the Gospels weren't. I mean Jesus kind of loses me once he starts talking about the flood in Noah's day and that alone got me thinking, but the side by side comparison of the Gospels are messy too.
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Something I had never thought about re: the Borg's nonprofit status
by dubstepped ini am actually looking into the possibility of starting my own nonprofit for ex-jws with specific goals and i've learned more about the process.
i was interviewing someone for the podcast that is familiar with nonprofits and she told me something that i had never considered.
maybe everyone else has but i don't remember seeing anything about it here.
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dubstepped
I haven't seen specifically where it doesn't count toward nonprofit status in any way, and it makes some sense, but I see where it does appear that merely being counted as a "church" and meeting that criteria may be enough for automatic nonprofit status.
I have always known that it was a measuring stick for dedication and "spirituality" (how gullible and obedient one is) but thought this was an interesting discussion based on information that I was given. -
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Reinstatement
by Pinky inwhat questions do the elders ask you when you are in your meeting requesting to get reinstated ?.
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dubstepped
May I ask why you want to go back? Or is this not about you?