Thank you SunnyGal41 - that is a perfect example of how we allow the media to play with our minds. We have become a society of doomsday seekers. It appears that many have become Chicken Little hearlding the demise of this world regardless of their religion.
looking_glass
JoinedPosts by looking_glass
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5
How Headlines Drive Our Fears
by Sunnygal41 inhow headlines drive our fears
by charles downey
if you watch the news, you're probably afraid of being shot by another driver in a burst of road rage or of your children being gunned down in school.
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How do you feel now that you've left the Watchtower?
by Honesty indo you have any regrets that you have turned your back on joe hoba by your departure?.
i bet you are shaking in your socks when you reflect on the following spiritual food dispensed by those loving brothers in new york:.
it is vital that we appreciate this fact and respond to the directions of the "slave" as we would to the voice of god, because it is his provision.
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looking_glass
When I first left in 1999, I was confliced like many people. But I changed a number of things in my life at that time, so it at times was overwhelming because I realize that I was doing too much too soon. But I plugged along and eventually everything came together.
I did a lot of research regarding many, many fundamentalist religions and I realized that in the US fundamentalist religions have a strangle hold on thousands of people. That allowed me to see that I was not put upon by the WTBTS. There are many people who also when they leave a ridge religion they go same through the same withdrawls - can I still be a good christian if I leave this religion; am I evil for questioning things; is there a happy medium between all or nothing.
I am very content now in my resolve to not be a JW. I am not angry or bitter about the time I spent in the religion or the fact that many of my family members and even some of my friends are strong JWs. To each their own. I feel that because I know who I am, I am content in who I am, NO ONE ELSE can ever make me feel any lesser then I let them make me feel.
I am a work in progress and continue to learn new things. From my experience it seems that those who have been in the JW religion for a while feel it is necessary to do is to continue to preach, but in their own way. As if it is necessary to live life. That is the one thing that I have worked hard on breaking. To share a story is very different then to preach to someone. I can tell my story and go from there. But why quote from the WT to try and disprove something. I don't care enough to waste my time to try and prove or disporve anything.
I am an avid reader and do my best to make up my own opinion. Why would I ever state something so concertely to another human being as if my word is God's. It is my opinion and if you want it I will give it, otherwise I will stay quiet on the matter. What I have found is that as a person I have a tendence to comingle my experience with my understanding so what I see is usually in a vacuum, so it is a false truth. I have also noticed a pattern of this in other people.
I am now very happy I was raised the way I was. I don't think I would be the person I am today with being raised a JW. Without the bad how can there be good. What does not destroy me makes me stronger .... and all that rot.
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The death of the Watchtower pre-study
by slimboyfat inwho is old enough to remember when witnesses used eagerly to meet on a friday or saturday night to "pre-study" the watchtower in groups: reading paragraphs, underlining, reading scriptures (sometimes)?.
what happened to that, does anyone still do it anywhere?
i think witnesses are just not as enthusiastic about the "truth" as they used to be.
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looking_glass
Can you tell I am tired. I am not drinking but based on my errors, you would think so. Or maybe I am feeling for the guy for feel that you have to study the WT for 4 hours so I am temporarily blind. Sorry for all the errors. I hope it makes sense.
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The death of the Watchtower pre-study
by slimboyfat inwho is old enough to remember when witnesses used eagerly to meet on a friday or saturday night to "pre-study" the watchtower in groups: reading paragraphs, underlining, reading scriptures (sometimes)?.
what happened to that, does anyone still do it anywhere?
i think witnesses are just not as enthusiastic about the "truth" as they used to be.
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looking_glass
The pre-study for the cong I use to go to stopped because it was a bunch of women who were getting together and the elder who stopped it said it was because they were taking the lead in teaching. LOL If they only knew that these women just go together quickly breezed thru the mag (some times one person already studied and they would just answer all the questions without any readying anything) and then drink heavily. It was a party more then a pre-study. And I have to say it was D*MN fun. They were a blast.
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"Shouldn't they have known better?"
by scout575 in"over the years i have come to know and know of many ex-christians, most of whom were well-churched, their numbers including former ministers, apologists, missionaries, theologians etc.
why should such people leave christianity?
these people are the best versed in christianity and yet leave despite so much personal and professional investment in their religion, enjoyment of their time as believing christians and social pressures to stay.
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looking_glass
Why do so many sincere Christians leave Christianity?
You would have to ask each person. You cannot assume they all leave for the same reason. My question to you is do they leave Christianity or do they leave organized religion? It may be that they still have a belief system in place but they are unwilling to follow any MAN, WOMAN, CHILD, BEAST blindly. Organized religion has been caused much hurt and pain to many people through out the ages.
JWs are not the only ones that suffer consequences of leaving, other fundamentalist religions have strict rules and enforce them. You can find sites for LDS, Adventists, Judisim (sorry I know I am spelling that wrong, but I am blanking on the spelling) and other non-mainstream and/or fundamentalist religions.
I know a guy who was a JW and became a LDS to marry a chick in the temple. Initially his family was devistated when he was DF'd and they shunned him. But later they softened and tried to get back together with him, but he turned the tables and shunned them because of his beliefs (he is part of the stricter branches that is pretty black and white about their beliefs) they were devistated again. I guess turn about was not fair play in their minds. He has cut everyone out of his life, no one sees or hears from him even those of us who were no longer active JWs. So it goes both ways with this kooky religions. JWs are the only knuckleheads out there.
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Since your spouse is going to die at Armageddon, can we agree to date?
by free2beme inmy sister was always married to a nonbeliever as a witness, which means that her husband would die at armageddon and she would need to look into another mate.
so when thinking about this, i remember a few in the kingdom hall that were attractive males and females, that had spouses that would die at armageddon for being nonbelievers.
so wouldn't it make sense, since we did believe this, to court these ones and explain that after their spouse gets the holy crap beat out of them for their lack of faith, that we would like to be first in line for some possible dating in the new system.
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looking_glass
Free2beme -
That was hysterical!!!! It is a new JW pick up line heard through out the assembly halls around the world.
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If you came into the truth, were you able to make friends easily?
by truthseeker inif you came into the truth within the last ten years, did you find it hard or easy to make friends?.
were you able to cut through the bullsh*t and see you were being love bombed?
did it make you feel special, that you had found the true religion?.
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looking_glass
People were very nice to me and I still have a lot of the same friends, some still JWs and some that are inactive, DF'd or DA'd. I love the fact that I can say that my BF is someone I have know since I was a baby, because we were babies together and raised together. I would say that of my friends 50% are still associated with JWs in some fashion. I like JWs (except the overly preachy ones ... hmmm, so that might exclude a few). I pretty much like everyone, unless they are mean. Shame on mean people.
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Need an answer...
by exJW_2004 inhopefully someone will be able to help answer this... .
my friend is still a jw, but she hasn't been going to the meetings regularly and she hasn't been out in service in ages, so i guess she's inactive.
a "friend" of hers ratted her out to the elders for something and they now want to meet with her.
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looking_glass
Yeah denial works - it worked for my best friend's husband who we just could not prove was having an affair. He told her he was and later denied it and there was no way to prove it. The guy later left the state. After some time, a pi was hired to track the chick down and sure enough he was guilty of what he admitted to her about. But again because the woman would surely not come forward, not that we asked, my BF was out of luck. The guy later moved away and reinvented himself to a whole new group of people who believed his schtik.
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Whats the dumbest reason youve been counseled?
by avishai inmy friend was counseled for having a bad attitude because he wore white socks w/ his suit.
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looking_glass
Come one it's not sad, it is funny. Like having a job where you are surrounded by freaks.
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Welcome !
by Simon inwelcome to the newest jehovah's witness discussion forum on the net.. please register so that you can post to the forum and turn this into a welcoming place for other brothers and sisters online
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looking_glass
Thank you Simon for your story. It has answered a lot. You story is similar to many here and I am sure it is comforting to people as well. Also, it answered many of my questions about how this forum came about. I hope your family is doing well in all respects.