I think it's excellent reasoning. Unfortunately reasoning is not something Jdubs do all that well! Even if she takes no notice of what you wrote, I found it very helpful. thank you!
Poppy
PoppyR
JoinedPosts by PoppyR
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16
A little hypocrisy "Watchtower style"
by rockhound inabout 2 months ago my jw sister informed me that she had decided to disfellowship my wife and i. she used 1john 2:19 as a scriptural reference, and the sept.15,1981 watchtower article on disfellowshipping to support her charge.
my reply to her was quite lengthly, but i thought some at this site might be able to benefit from this part of my response.. in your letter to( wife) and i, you applyed 1john 2:19 to us and gave as a reference the following watchtower article to show us why you had decided that "i will treat you as a disfellowshipped persons", because "by deliberately rejecting the faith and beliefs of jehovah's witness" we are evidently guilty as paragraph 14 below of "renouncing his standing as a christian".
*** w81 9/15 p. 23 disfellowshiping?how to view it ***.
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41
I'm so Naughty! I pretended to be a JW to get a sale.
by Pioneer Spit...oh, i mean Spirit ini had customers yesterday, a couple, who said they had to get to a meeting by 7:30 last night.
(red flag!
) i asked what was the nature of this meeting, and they said it was like church, and i asked what religion, and they were hohos.
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PoppyR
Undercover, I remember a long time ago being impressed by your balanced attitude and I am once again.
Although I have to say, the car sale, doesn't offend me, he didn't hurt those people. But then my morals tend to be less black and white and judgemental nowadays.
BUT. I cannot believe the attitude that all witnesses are hateful, stupid, should have common sense and know better... come on! Surely most of us were there, some for many decades by the sound of it. Yes I had nagging doubts, but the constant brainwashing and meetings and service and association with the rest just had me towing the party line. It wasn't until I had stopped attending I ever seriously examined my doubts. And I stopped attending because I was sick of it, not because I didn't believe.
I feel very sorry for the witnesses. I was there, I TRULY believed, otherwise why the hell would anyone do it? At this point I realise it's possible my family will totally cut me off, but I understand why they feel the way they do. I dont blame them, I just hope they will see 'the light'!!
Poppy
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90
I'm new and nervous!
by kitten whiskers ini am new here and have been "lurking" for several months.
the discussions have helped me tremendously to break free from the society.
i want to thank you all for your help and heartfelt posts.
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PoppyR
Welcome! Your opening comments could have been written by me about a year ago. I still remember my heart being in my mouth when my family would talk about the end. I went over and over things in my head as to why it wasn't the truth. Looked behind me for thunderbolts etc!
Last week my mum tried to point to this thing about the Pope and say it was the start of the destruction of world religion.. and I actually just smiled and was totally calm on the inside, I realised then that I am almost over all those years of conditioning. You have been 'brainwashed' for many years and it takes a while to shake it off, but slowly reason takes over. This board, and the intelligent people on it are amazing, as you've already found!
You are very lucky to be out as a family, I hope you find here the resolve you need to complete your transformation!
Poppy x
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59
Is There Anything Positive About Being A Jehovah's Witness?
by minimus ini recently went to a wedding and the father of the bride that (re)married a (worldly) man said to me, "the only thing that i can say about raising our kids as witnesses was at least they got a good foundation.
look at our kids.
they're good kids".
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PoppyR
I try! If there is one thing that hit me really hard after leaving the org it is how SHORT life is! And I think it's such a waste to spend it in bitterness over the past.
It's much more fun spending it making up for all those years of things you couldn't do
Poppy x
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14
Big Screen TV`s
by OUTLAW ini`ve looked at them all,plasma,rear projection lcd,dlp..the nicest picture i`ve seen to date,is the 62"hitachi rear projection lcd..unfriggin believable!
!..it was beautiful..cost:$2999.99..any suggestions on big screen tv`s with a remarkable picture?...outlaw
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PoppyR
I dont know if the situation is the same in the US, but here Plasmas are rapidly becoming old technology as LCDs can match them for size and picture and are SO much lighter (which can be important if you are wall mounting) and proving to be more reliable.
Something that makes a statement to me is the extended warranty for a plasma tv is more than twice as much for an equivalent size LCD.
I've always found the Philips have awesome pictures, but just cannot hit the reliability button!
The thing that puts me off rear projection is the pure size of them! But maybe that's the Brit in me
One thing I know for sure, any model you see now will be significantly cheaper in 6 months time, things are moving so rapidly.
Poppy
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59
Is There Anything Positive About Being A Jehovah's Witness?
by minimus ini recently went to a wedding and the father of the bride that (re)married a (worldly) man said to me, "the only thing that i can say about raising our kids as witnesses was at least they got a good foundation.
look at our kids.
they're good kids".
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PoppyR
I wouldn't say it outweighs the negatives! But.. I feel I'm a very good conversationalist, I can talk to anyone anywhere about anything after years of pioneering! I've found some of my friends really struggle with people they are not 'on a level' with.
Also my kids are always getting complimented on their conversational abilities. Because they have no barriers about talking to adults.
As to the 100 dollars in a card, I wouldn't look for a bad motive, just be grateful! You would have to be a very altruistic person to give a gift and not want the person to know it was you who gave it.
Much of the time witnesses are just good, loving people, just very misled. I saw a lot of kindness in the congregation, and it's very easy to pick on things people aren't doing, rather than look at the positive, which is why this is a good thread!
Poppy
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46
What do you think the Society's future holds?
by KW13 ini get the feeling the society is gonna suffer a huge loss of number, with people who are in getting old, those 'raised' in the so called truth leaving and less and less interested ones because more people are aware.. .
it has its ups and downs but it seems the ups aren't as big as they used to, some never recovered from 1975 and others from the 1995 generation thingy.. your thoughts?.
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PoppyR
I think the internet is useful to people who are starting to look into the religion and people who have already decided there is something wrong about it. The typical active JW would not dream of looking at a website like this, and would unfortunately think it was all just 'apostate'.
Personally this website was my lifeline when I was taking my first few steps out of the org. I remember looking at it guiltily, heart in my mouth while I discovered things I thought must be lies!
As to the future of the org.. it's in decline, but it's a slow process. The main growth is still in developing lands, most places in US and Europe are now in the negatives. Which when you consider just population growth means many are 'falling away' My old cong, most are in their 50s and 60s, there are young families, but few are elders and servants and most have irregular meeting attendance to say the least!
My mum (who is one of the die hard faithful) this week shocked me to the core when discussing the popes comments, she did not even mention the impact on world religion... previously it would have been "this could be the start of the end!!" I think even she realises we've cried wolf too many times.
Poppy
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8
Do you speak to currant members of the JW's
by silversurfer1 inmany on this site have describe their exiting this group as "fading".
which i believe allows one to maintain some civil contact and or association with friends and family.
it probably helps when running into jw's in ones normal routine of life.
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PoppyR
It's weird isn't it. I have 'faded' pretty much, but some JWs cut me dead when they see me, some pretend they haven't seen me. Either is fine with me, I understand WHY they do it and unlike some here would not disrespect them by trying to make them speak to me, why bother? They will only feel more right and more self righteous. When I was a JW I did not speak to disfellowshipped ones and I thought I was totally right.
Sometimes when I see JWs I try and avoid them, sometimes I still feel guilty if I have a tattoo on show or a short skirt.. isn't it mad? I think it would be easier to move to where you did not know anyone! But for me I have been brought up in this town so most days will bump into someone. Mostly I smile and say a cheery hello, and most of them are fine too. But you know what.. I dont really mind if they do or not. My REAL friends will always be there for me. If the day comes my family cut me off, then that will be hard, but most of us have been there, most of us know it's not the way they really feel, it's a false sense of loyalty
Poppy
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10
Not DF'd or shunned?
by girasole inhas anyone else found that they were not treated as expected when they .
" i was threatened and guilted and the whole gamut but i was .
never disfellowshipped or counseled or even so much as visited by the .
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PoppyR
I did plan my fade rather well (even if I do say so myself ) But I was also prepared to be d/fed as I could not pretend to believe the lies. I initally stopped all field service, then became hit and miss at meetings, then much more miss than hit.
Finally I stopped, at this point I told the family I had not been ill, I wasn't going anymore. I also had some discussions with them about 607 and the UN, which in retrospect was stupid but I had to speak! I had one call from one elder, who asked if he could help, seemed relieved when I said I was fine and that's been it for over a year.
I recently found out that a witness saw me in a bar smoking, and told my brother (who is an elder). Nothing was ever said. Which makes me presume they are not out to try and disfellowship me and as long as I keep my head down I might complete the fade. I am also currently in the process of divorcing my JW husband and am in another relationship, my mum told me they would love to meet my now boyfriend, but cannot 'condone' it while I am still married. In some ways this still hurts, but in others is quite a relief, it means they will accept me and him, but just want things to appear 'right'.
My mum is pained by it all, and recently brought up to me that someone had said I looked much more at peace than I previously had. I said I had to be honest with her and say it was the biggest relief of my life to not go anymore and I was never going back. She is hurt, but I think she accepts my decision. I just hope beyond hope that in time I can be there if any of my family also want to leave. I know it's not the right time to be planting seeds in their minds and I have to wait for them to come to me.
poppy
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25
Describing the meetings
by slimboyfat inhas anyone ever written a thick description of a witness meeting?.
i think i am going to give it a go.
slim.
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PoppyR
its one of the few places where watching a moth bang itself to death on a lightbulb is interesting and you even envy the moth.
LMAO This is the best description by far. So many times I've watched the progress of a bee, or a spider. When i was a child I remember genuinely believing that time went more slowly in the meetings and wishing with all my heart it would go as fast as when I was playing! Sometimes now I forget what day it is, and I catch sight of the brothers in their suits and ties and my heart bleeds for them! SO good to be out. Poppy