Welcome El_Guapo! I just saw this thread and wanted to jump in and say hello. Sounds like you handled the stepping aside thing really well. Just remmeber the advice you've been given. I remember the lightened load offer as well. And the 2 elder grill session. I made it through without raising suspicions and just slowly faded into the night.
Best of luck El_Guapo! Remember there are a plethora of things to do with your time once you're out.
feels real strange typing this.
i was what you all call born in.
i was happy growing up.
Welcome Comatose! Glad you posted. Hang in there and remember what others have said - you are not as alone as you probably feel. There are many here who were born in and served in various capacities. Keep listening, learning and making good friends.
after several months of leaving the meetings as soon as they ended or only staying for "the first meeting" then leaving the "second part", the elders finally cornered me at last night's meeting.. they said they were concerned about me and that being that i am a young brother in a recently divided congregation they saw so much potential in me to help out the congregation and become a ms.. i told them i was thankful for their thinking of me to help the congregation but that at the moment i could not due to my job.
then the began asking personal questions that got on my nerves.. they asked where i worked and how much i made.
they asked if i was going to college and what i was studying and for how long.
If you're fading and want to keep it that way I suggest being as nice as pie and letting them know how much stress you are under at work and that it can tend to make you depressed. But, that you are doing the best you can and really appreciate the love of the congregation and that you always feel better after a meeting.
Fading means playing a game in which they make all the rules. It's like survivor but instead of prize money it's the relationship with our families that we win. Kinda sucks really.
Of course we don't want to follow their rules and give them power but by fading we sort of sign up for that.
Fading takes time and patience. I wish you the best of luck.
hi redhorsewoman,.
i doubt you still log on here but i wanted to try.
i just wanted to thank you for arguing with me all those years ago on beliefnet.
Wow! I remember you DrivesLikeJehu and RedHorseWoman. Your arguments and those of others profoundly affected me as I was wrestling with my own spirituality. I couldn't wait to read the latest Pro-JW and Anti-JW discussions at Beliefnet and Touchstone Forum.
Does anyone remember AdamN from Beliefnet? The 607 arguments between AdamN and others really opened my eyes and were one of the main catalysts for me studying deeper and eventually finding freedom.
i notice in ray's books he has a disdain for the more vocal dissidents of the watchtower organization.
with this being said, did ray franz go on shows like merv griffen, oprah and other "talk mediums" to attack the watchtower society?
i remember as a kid my mother running up and turning off shows apostates were to appear on, and i can't remember if ray was one of the 'bashers'?
Mouthy,
I have a question. When Ray first started to "wake up", how did Cynthia react? Was she a staunch witness for a time or a long time? I have always wondered if Ray knew what it was like to be the UBM.
folks, i am beside myself!.
mrs. called the jws a cult!
i, for certain, couldnt believe my ears at first.. quick background info first: mrs. is a second generation successfully faded jw.
That is really fantastic news! It definitely gives me hope that one day my wife will one day wake up as well. It would be nice not to be the scapegoat for every issue in her life and family. You know it's the old "if you hadn't left the truth....[enter current situation here]"
TL
i'm sure this has been discussed in depth before by the scholarly minded on here.
i'd be interested in seeing any former threads.. what are we to make of greg stafford's theory (and the watchtower society's) that the hellenized philosophy of the early nt copyists caused them to remove the divine name (tetragrammaton or variants of) from the nt writings?
have any scholars offered a rebuttal?.
Does a complete translation of the NT by Trobisch exist? Is it electronic? If so, we could see for certain where he decided to use and not use the name Jehovah.
not on a specific subject, just in general.
history is my favourite subject and i'd like to maybe try something i wouldn't normally pick up.
has anyone read any really good history books recently they would recommend?.
Slimboyfat,
You have a PM
if any of you have worked in the mail department or are familiar with how mail is handled.
two questions.
1. if a letter is sent to the main bethel address and the name is "the governing body of jehovah's witnesses", will that letter reach them or is it opened and read by an underling who decides if it works it's way to them.
Remember the great Rap purge of the late '80s? I remember a Family Study (bethel family WT on Monday night) where the conductor went off on Slayer and other demon bands.
if any of you have worked in the mail department or are familiar with how mail is handled.
two questions.
1. if a letter is sent to the main bethel address and the name is "the governing body of jehovah's witnesses", will that letter reach them or is it opened and read by an underling who decides if it works it's way to them.
Couch and his "homo" comments are legendary. He even talked about how bethelites would visit the Manhattan nighclub CBGBs and could turn "homo" by touching the door handle. He was insane in the membrane.
