sorry no raised-a-dub responses here!
just ex-jw who joined as adults.
on another thread i pointed out the idea that most jw who join as adults, do so out of a need to compensate for or as a reaction to some bad experiences such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, a time of upheaval, or just a plain old poorly developed sense of self.
About 15 years into our JW aberration, the continual schizophrenic writings in the WTBTS literature was very obvious and we had had enough.
Can you point to an external source of your own personal growth of conscience? Was there something outside that helped you to stand on your own? To not fear the world? To not need the security of a group with all the answers?
is it possible that just about everything we say about the jw's on this forum is true, but on the other hand they would be the only true religion that god approves, even though they are imperfect and make errors?
Could they still be God's organization... sure I guess. My point is that it isn't the job of anybody here on earth to bestow that honour...
...least of all the person(s) supposedly receiving such an honor!
I still never understood how anybody could think it credible that a person(s) comes up with a scriptural proof that just so happens to bestow divine glory on the person(s) who just happen to be presenting the proof.
Conflict of interest? Impossible to be objective about such a thing?
Let me try this out.
I am a sex researcher. I am an expert because I say so. I have determined that it is the deepest desire of every woman to sleep with me. Accept this info, and if you refuse to you will be unhappy and unfulfilled. Get in line ladies. The slave (me) will take care of all who are worthy (hot). If it isn't the greatest experience of your life, it is your fault.
Does anyone think I might have a slight credibility problem making the above claim?
i asked a dub this question, and have heard similar things in the past.
if i asked a dub why they believe in the divine appointment of the watchtower as jehovah's one and only organization i think they would answer in the following way.. 1. because of the success of the org, and all the info they put out, and the preaching work.
it has to be divinely directed, there is no other explanation.. 2. because of how well what the org teaches matches up with the bible.. 3. there has to be one true religion!
1 Are we created or not --------------Yes2 Is God the God of the bible .........Yes
3 Is he Jehovah------------Yes
4 Who today worships Jehovah------------The witness`s
5 Who else teaches about Jehovah--------No one----------Bingo...um they must be the only true religion
That is cool. Did anyone else have a checklist like this? Care to share?
sorry no raised-a-dub responses here!
just ex-jw who joined as adults.
on another thread i pointed out the idea that most jw who join as adults, do so out of a need to compensate for or as a reaction to some bad experiences such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, a time of upheaval, or just a plain old poorly developed sense of self.
I believe I had grown as a person enough by then to stand on my own
Were there specific outside circumstances that led to this growth and faith in your own conscience? Or do you think you just grew up like anybody else, and when this hit you were just mature enough to call a spade a spade?
sorry no raised-a-dub responses here!
just ex-jw who joined as adults.
on another thread i pointed out the idea that most jw who join as adults, do so out of a need to compensate for or as a reaction to some bad experiences such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, a time of upheaval, or just a plain old poorly developed sense of self.
Any thoughts on the first question? Had you grown as a person such that you didn't need the security of the org so much anymore? Then when the bad experience hit, you were able to see it for what it was?
sorry no raised-a-dub responses here!
just ex-jw who joined as adults.
on another thread i pointed out the idea that most jw who join as adults, do so out of a need to compensate for or as a reaction to some bad experiences such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, a time of upheaval, or just a plain old poorly developed sense of self.
Tough questions for a Monday?
i asked a dub this question, and have heard similar things in the past.
if i asked a dub why they believe in the divine appointment of the watchtower as jehovah's one and only organization i think they would answer in the following way.. 1. because of the success of the org, and all the info they put out, and the preaching work.
it has to be divinely directed, there is no other explanation.. 2. because of how well what the org teaches matches up with the bible.. 3. there has to be one true religion!
Ok, I mean it more like, "what would you have said when you were a dub"
i asked a dub this question, and have heard similar things in the past.
if i asked a dub why they believe in the divine appointment of the watchtower as jehovah's one and only organization i think they would answer in the following way.. 1. because of the success of the org, and all the info they put out, and the preaching work.
it has to be divinely directed, there is no other explanation.. 2. because of how well what the org teaches matches up with the bible.. 3. there has to be one true religion!
I asked a dub this question, and have heard similar things in the past. If I asked a dub why they believe in the divine appointment of the watchtower as Jehovah's one and only organization I think they would answer in the following way.
1. Because of the success of the org, and all the info they put out, and the preaching work. It has to be divinely directed, there is no other explanation.
2. Because of how well what the org teaches matches up with the Bible.
3. There has to be one true religion! If it is not the jw, then who is it? Nobody even comes close to showing the traits we should look for in Jehovah's one true organization.
4. Because the jw is the only religion that preaches the good news of the kingdom, which is a real government.
Any others?
sorry no raised-a-dub responses here!
just ex-jw who joined as adults.
on another thread i pointed out the idea that most jw who join as adults, do so out of a need to compensate for or as a reaction to some bad experiences such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, a time of upheaval, or just a plain old poorly developed sense of self.
Sorry no raised-a-dub responses here! Just ex-jw who joined as adults.
ON another thread I pointed out the idea that most jw who join as adults, do so out of a need to compensate for or as a reaction to some bad experiences such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, a time of upheaval, or just a plain old poorly developed sense of self. This in turn led to the need for the security offered by a group that has all the answers.
Did you leave because you grew as a person, and no longer needed that security offered by a group with all the answers?
Or did you leave because you had a bad experience that caused you to doubt the claim of divine appointment of the org as God's visible organization? Why did it open you eyes and not other dubs?
How long did it take you open your eyes?
Did anyone actively, and effectively work to influence or facilitate your departure?
Thanks!
i know many women who joined as adults who were victims of physical abuse or some sort of sexual assault.
i know many men who join because their wives do.. i think generally to join the dubs as an adult, you have to be looking for some sort of security.
the world probably hasn't been very nice to you.
Guys, this is getting just a tad insulting. Sure some of us who became dubs as adults may have had a history of mental difficulty or a background of abuse, but not all of us. Perhaps we were naive or were in a difficult time in our lives when recruited, but who doesn't have some personality flaws or difficult times? I beat myself up enough over the choices I've made in my life. Guess I don't care to have my faced rubbed in it here.I suppose all those who were super duper enough to avoid getting sucked in to something like Jehovah's Witnesses can congratulate themselves that they are a smarter, better brand of human being.
Dan,
I am sorry if this question in any way seemed insulting to ex-jw who joined as adults. That certainly wasn't my intention. If anything, I deserve just as much derision (were it justified in being given out) as anyone who joined. My family got sucked into it under my watch. The only thing that probably kept me out were my experiences with indoctrination, my own experiences of having a worldview completely shattered, and my own experiences with thinking I have truth and having it proven wrong.
I think some things are objectively stupid. Joining the JW is one of those things. I just figured that was something we all agreed on. That is not to say you or any other jw are stupid.
If we had a website just dedicated to dumb things in general, I would be the poster-boy.
I just wanted to do some analysis so we could benefit from your mistakes.
CYP
