Posts by luna2

41

Fear of the big "A"

by Chia in

jw
friends

i went to a friend's house last night.

i was talking with him about religious issues.

i told him i no longer feel that the witnesses have the truth.

I've been living my life with "death at Armageddon" hanging over my head for the past three years or so...I still believed that the JW's had the truth or part of it or....something. However, I didn't feel like going back because I knew that God knew that my heart wasn't in it, so what was the point? The scripture about "probably" being concealed would run through my head constantly, and I was sure that just going through the motions would not be enough.

After finally doing some research on the history of this organization, really looking at what they teach and what "fruits" they produce, I've put those fears behind me. The WTS is no more Jehovah's true organization than I am the Queen of England. The truth, the real truth, does set you free.

I still have some work to do on getting all of their foolishness out of my brain, though. I've become an extremely passive person who is always waiting. You get so used to thinking of this life as nothing, just something you have to endure in order to move on to your "real" life in paradise. Got to learn to grab on to the life I have now and actually live it. LOL

3

Chicken or Egg?

by ljwtiamb in

this is one of those 'which came first' kinda questions:.

did wts exploit personality characteristics (strengths or weaknesses) that already existed in you?.

did your personality eventually disintegrate into the familiar jw mold?.

luna2

I've been thinking a lot about this. I think that they exploited personality characteristics that I already had and it was slow go on forcing me into their mold on the things I wasn't in lockstep with.

I already had low self esteem, didn't even want to date (bad marriage), believed strongly in telling the truth, didn't smoke or drink to excess, and loved to read and study, so in those areas I didn't have to change much.

I had trouble with meeting attendance, field service, giving up movies that I liked (no matter what their rating) and reading what I liked. I tried hard to push myself into the mold in those areas, but was never completely successful.

18

Where else will you find such true friends?

by sass_my_frass in

jw
friends

it always bugged me when i would hear or read that the only true friends you would find would be those you made in the organisation - nobody else will really stand by you when you need them.

it used to puzzle me when (prior to being disfellowshipped...) my true friends and my close loving family didn't make contact with me for years, right when i was very deeply depressed and i needed them.

certainly i could have put myself in their lives more pro-actively, but, it's a very effective control tool to tell people not to bother befriending a non-witness; even if they don't damage you spiritually, they will never be as loyal to you as your brothers and sisters.

luna2

I only made a couple of what I would consider true friends while I was a JW. With the rest I always felt it was conditional. How can you be true friends with someone when you know they'd turn you in to the elders in a heartbeat if you did something "wrong" or if you had to be careful of every word that came out of your mouth?

43

Your Struggle in the Truth.......

by ScoobySnax in

jw
friends

mine was being gay.....and it was a huge load to carry...... (another story).

what was your struggle?.

scoob

luna2

My struggle was that I'm not hugely social and I hated d2d too, just like DanTheMan. I'm also no salesperson.

I've never enjoyed attending meetings of any kind, and it was very difficult to make all of them required as a JW, especially once I started working full-time. I can count on one hand the months I didn't miss at least once.

Field service was very difficult too. What was I doing trying to tell other people that their religion was "wrong" and that they should listen to me? I kept telling myself that it wasn't my views that I was pushing but Jehovah's...didn't help. I never kept good records, had trouble going back and doing those return visits, had trouble starting studies. Ugh.

62

All voices raised in song please ///78 today

by mouthy in

i expect at least 1 good wishes...please!!!!

!

luna2

Happy Birthday, Mouthy! Hope you have a lovely day.

27

Kingdom Halls for sale!

by morning glory in

this is my first post.

a week back,gary buss started a post on the gb's claim to assembly halls and kh's in the new org.

book.i find this interesting because the kh in the city i reside in has been up for sale for the past year.

luna2

Kind of makes you sick, doesn't it?

Okay, so who benefits from all of this money being funneled into the WTS? I know Rutherford had some pretty nice perks, but do any now seem to take advantage?

24

When do you tell them------------

by vitty in

jw
friends

ive been fading for a year, we moved, so i am starting to make new friends (still feels a bit strange) anyway, when or if do you tell them you belonged to a religious cult, in my case over 20 years.

should i bother, is it more important to me than them.

will they think im wierd if i do tell them, or if ive been friends for a long time, will they think it strange i never mentioned it.

luna2

I've told my non-JW friends, all of them....but that was mostly because I was still in to the extent that I didn't celebrate holidays or birthdays and wanted them to know why. With any new friends I make post-renunciation, it will be on the basis of whether it comes up naturally or not.

What I'm having trouble with right now is deciding what to tell my parents, who were never JW. I'm resistant to informing them that I now truly believe it's a bogus cult because I'm sure that they will forever question my judgment. I feel like I have enough to cope with learning to trust myself as it is. I may leave it that I've just gotten tired of the constant guilt-trip. I'm not sure they ever understood how deep my commitment was in the first place.

48

The Burka ....

by El blanko in

jw
friends

.

http://www.savethemales.ca/180902.html

quite taken by this guys writing and agree with pretty much he has to say.

luna2

I was having trouble getting through that article. I find the burka ideal indefensible. I'm a product of my environment and cannot imagine living that way, even if my husband under such a system was a good man, and many are not. Like CountryWoman said, women are property, so much so that they have to wear a shroud in public. ::shivers::

While I deplore the fact that this society puts so much emphasis on physical beauty and sex, I like that both men and women have the right to make their own choices in how they wish to conduct their lives.

I think one of the reasons I never had an interest in finding a JW husband was because of the headship thing. I didn't want to be forced to do things because my husband told me I must, (with the full backing of the Tower) so that my compliance or not would be tied into "proper" worship. I felt it gave the guys way too much power and control over their wives.

149

Do you hate the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses?

by logansrun in

jw
friends

.

a simple question: do you hate the religion of jehovah's witnesses?

feel free to elaborate on your answer.. b.

luna2

I don't hate them, but then I didn't have anything truly heinous happen to me or my kids. I also wasn't married (nor did I ever want to be married) to a JW. I would probably have more hate in my heart if either I or my boys had been abused or if I'd been hitched to some creepy brother. As it is, I'm angry at the WTS for the lies and deceit, and myself for not being more clear-headed...at least doing some research before diving head first into the murky, polluted water that is Dubville.

41

Movies that were supposed to suck but you thought were good...

by FMZ in

thanks for the idea dan :p. gia with angelina jolie.

an amazingly well acted movie.

loved it, everyone else seemed to hate it though..

luna2

I love Joe vs The Volcano too! I don't think Troy got rave reviews, but I thought the eyecandy more than made up for any dificiencies in the movie. I skipped Alexander, though. I couldn't take Colin Farrel with long blonde hair and a toga.