I tried my damnedest to "convert" people I was close to at the time.
- Fortunately, they saw through it for what it is.
More remarkably now, these same people still count me as a friend - even though at the time, they must have thought that I had short-circuited a few brain cells!
So, yes, my tally is zero.
Reefton Jack
JoinedPosts by Reefton Jack
-
34
How many people did you "bring into the truth"?
by song19 ini am happy to say that i wasn't great with rvs and i never had a study.
hopefully me fluffing my way through presentations didn't plant any seeds that got watered and grew.
.
-
-
Reefton Jack
-
43
sex before marriage in the borg
by heyfea in(i don't know if i posted this already, since i got errors every time i tried) .
do you think that a lot of engaged jws have sex before getting married?
i think so, only a few fall into the guilt trip after they're married, and ultimately confess.
-
-
Reefton Jack
After reading through this post, I would have to conclude that all the JWs that I knew where either straight-laced or boring.
(Liars ------ maybe. But if so, they must have been bloody good at hiding things - enough to qualify for the Invisible Man award!)
In all seriousness, I can't recall a single instance in my 28 years involvement with the Borg.
(Even myself - came perilously close, but the brakes locked on at the right moment!)
Jack. -
47
Looking Back, Was Being A Witness A Worthless Experience To You?
by minimus inwas there anything positive about being a jehovah's witness?
-
-
Reefton Jack
I am hard-put to find any benefits from ever having been a JW.
For a time, I was considered to be a good public speaker - courtesy of the Ministry School, but I would be well out of practice now (a case of "use it or lose it.")
Even then, as I have said on previous posts about this subject,it proved to be a bloody expensive course in public speaking:
- the human, as well as the monetary cost.
When I was at my most fanatical, I was an ardent believer in the idea the the "Truth" was keeping me out of trouble. What it actually did was create a time bomb - that went off later on.
I don't have much difficulty in coming to the conclusion that I would have been better off if I had never heard of the JWs - to the extent that I regard them as a hazard in the community.
Jack. -
38
Any actually embarrased to admit they were Witnesses?
by Robert7 inwhen i was active, i was always (usually) proud to talk about being a jw, our faith, reasons for our stupid beliefs on birthdays, x-mas, etc.
now with everything i'm going through, given how much of an impact this is to my life, i want to talk to others about it, like coworkers, and other friends.
but thinking about how i would explain how it's a mind-controlling cult, i feel stupid for falling for it.
-
-
Reefton Jack
I don't exactly broadcast the fact that I was once one of Them!
- it is a phase of my life that I would rather forget about.
I have told this to very few people who did not know me while I was a JW.
As for the ones who knew me when I was, I am very quick to point out that I no longer in "That Religion."
Jack. -
81
Ever have a paranormal event in your life, please share?
by free2beme ini am one who believes strongly in the spirit realm, paranormal activity, etc.
even with such a strong belief, i am often told by skeptics that such things are foolish and nonsense.
while i accept people have the right to feel however they want, i have often shared stories with people that are hard to explain with logic and find others have events like this too.
-
-
Reefton Jack
During my 17 years working in Papua New Guinea, I saw numerous events that could not be explained by science.
These mainly had to do with the uncanny ability of many Papua New Guineans to find items that had been misplaced.
The most notable incident happened one Friday afternoon, when I discovered that my set of keys was missing.
A security guard at one of the power stations instantly knew where my set of keys was
- the moment he heard the message over the radio telephone, that I was coming back looking for a set of keys.
As soon as I drove into the parking lot at the power station, he immediately opened a back door of the vehicle and recovered my keys - from underneath the back seat, where they had become lodged.
I hardly knew where to start looking (I could have lost the things just about anywhere!)
Yet, this person knew where to find them, the moment he heard that they were missing.
There were many other similar occurrences during that 17 year period. -
-
-
Reefton Jack
I am happy to be able to say that it is now that long ago, that I cannot remember!
Jack. -
55
Did you find worldly people as bad as the JW's made them out to be??
by karter inas a jw we were always told worldly people were bad always out for what they could get out of you.
as for me iv'e made some good friends not anything as bad as the jw's said they woul'd be.
what about you ?????????
-
-
Reefton Jack
In a word, no.
While not born into the religion, I was introduced to "The Truth" at an impressionable age, and consequently relied on the WTS view to form an opinion on most things.
- and of course, that view was inevitably a distorted one.
(I always say that I am well qualified to be awarded a Diploma of Idiocy, after having once been such an avid reader of everything the WTS printed!)
Something that continues to impress me is how I am now received by many of the people that knew me before the WT madness took hold.
As a good JW, I did my best to convert them; and at the time, they must have thought that I had taken leave of my senses.
This was when the 1975 hype was in full swing, and I did rather give it to them with both barrels (maybe even the whole gun!)
Now, these same people don't seem to hold that against me.
Apart from the odd reference about how they wondered why I fell for "that religion", it is like nothing has ever changed.
That drove home to me that I previously knew a lot of good "Worldly" people - and that they are still there.
So,no - the "World is all evil" line is just yet another instance in which the WTS is talking crap.
Jack. -
20
What positive aspects do you find about being a JW in the past?
by tooktheredpill ina couple of days ago, i posted a comment for a newbie like me (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/145459/2623555/post.ashx#2623555), and i told him this:.
i try to focus in the few positive aspects of being a jw, and how that can help me to improve myself.
i like to help people too, and that is something that i really enjoy.
-
-
-
20
What positive aspects do you find about being a JW in the past?
by tooktheredpill ina couple of days ago, i posted a comment for a newbie like me (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/145459/2623555/post.ashx#2623555), and i told him this:.
i try to focus in the few positive aspects of being a jw, and how that can help me to improve myself.
i like to help people too, and that is something that i really enjoy.
-
-
Reefton Jack
The one and only benefit I gained from the JWs still has a caveat attached to it:
- it did prove to be a bloody expensive course in public speaking! -
42
How do you fell when you look back at your time as a JW ??
by karter into me not all bad taught me some good life skills howerever 38 years i could have done alot with that time...............karter
-
-
Reefton Jack
Public speaking experience? What, for 5 minutes every 2 months? I didn't learn a thing! I saw plenty of others up there a lot more than that, though.
It actually worked for me (believe it or not!)
- just the same, it was experience not worth the 28 years of my life that it ended up costing.
(No #*@^ing way!)
Jack.