Saw this on a bumper sticker today. Somewhat descriptive of what happens when JWs leave the org.
parakeet
JoinedPosts by parakeet
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My karma ran over my dogma
by parakeet insaw this on a bumper sticker today.
somewhat descriptive of what happens when jws leave the org.
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Empty Nest Survival tips?
by serendipity inmy daughter is 17 and it's occurred to me the chick will be leaving the nest in a few short years.
since i'm single, she's the sole focus of my attention at home, and it's hard to deal with her growing up.
it's so hard, that i get teary-eyed just thinking about it, and i'm not generally a weepy woman.. for those of you who have lived through this, how did you cope?
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parakeet
when she does leave, make it easy for her to keep in tough with you. Text messaging by cell phone works well because it doesn't take much time for her to respond and won't interrupt what she's doing. Ditto with e-mail. Send little "care" packages with goodies/small gifts from time to time (if she moves out of your area). These things worked well with my son because they didn't take up much of his time yet he still feels that Mom and Dad care.
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How old were you when you were baptized?
by moomanchu in.
reading hellriders topic made me wonder about this.. i waited till i was 21 because i was drinking alcohol as a youth and didn't want to get baptized while breaking the law.
man that is screwed up, seemed reasonable at the time.
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parakeet
I was 18. All my friends were getting baptized and my parents were giving me the hairy eyeball, so I thought, what the heck.
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Does items considered part of the "Occult" still scare you?
by free2beme inif i met you and you saw that i wear a pentagram and often speak about tarot and rune, and mention how i do magick and you saw that i have a wiccan calender on my wall and there are statues around my house of gargoyles, dragons, and other things no good witness would be caught dead with.
would you be okay with this or does your mind still see these items as demons?
i a an adult, i can accept people being judgemental of these items and i do come to expect it, especially with my own personal background in the religion.
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parakeet
If I saw someone wearing a pentacle, I'd just say, "Blessed Be" and wish them a nice day. Occult items and beliefs have been squashed and vilified by Christianity for centuries in order to stamp out the few remaining fragments of pre-Christian belief. The victor--Christianity in this case--always gets to rewrite history, and the order of the day was to vilify anything that would compete with their own beliefs. An interesting book, Pagans & Christians, by Gus DiZerega, Ph.D., explains the relationship between the two and why they are not necessarily opposed.
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parakeet
If there are any children accompanying the adults, I give them pitying looks and then tell the JWs I'm not interested.
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Is there anything good about having been a JW?
by parakeet ini've been lurking for a few weeks and decided to throw my hat into the ring a few days ago.
i've been out of the org for almost 30 years (a long, dreary story for another post).
i wanted to ask those who have been out of the org for a while if they have discovered anything beneficial that has resulted from having been a jw.
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parakeet
Sorry that there are 2 posts about the same thing. I didn't think the first got posted so I wrote another. Just pick one and ignore the other. Thanks!
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Is there anything good about having been a JW?
by parakeet ini've been a lurker for a few weeks and finally threw my hat into the ring a few days ago.
i've been out of the org for almost 30 years.
the whys and wherefores can wait for another time.
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parakeet
Sorry that there are 2 posts about the same thing. I didn't think the first got posted so I wrote another. Just pick one and ignore the other. Thanks!
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"Unevenly Yolked"
by pooka ini've posted before about seeing a jw and i am catholic.
right now we are having the "unevenly yolk" conseveration.
can anyone tell me what percentage of jw's are married to non jw?
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parakeet
Hi, Pooka. I'm one of those rarities -- a JW (then) who dated and then married an "unbeliever." And yes, I caught A LOT of flak for it. The worst was when I was asked to stand up in front of the congregation; I did so, unsuspectingly. Then the PO started reading scriptures about being unevenly yoked with unbelievers and that "bad" associations spoil useful habits. I was so humiliated that spots swam in front of my eyes and I nearly fainted. My parents also put a lot of pressure on me at home. But I married him anyway. I left the "truth" not long after that. BTW, we've been happily married more than 30 years! The reason JWs don't want their followers marrying outsiders is that the "unbelieving" mate tends not to actively support the JW mate in going to meetings, FS, and all the other myriad obligations the JW org demands of his followers. And if there are children, the unbeliever may object to the child's being raised a JW. The Society is well aware that an unbelieving mate would also provide a link to the world outside the JWs, and they consider this a danger. One aspect of cults is that they want to keep their followers from having any meaningful contact with the outside world. If your BF/GF does not show any signs of wanting to leave the JW org and you are not willing to give him/her up, then you must be prepared for a long and difficult road. Even though things turned out well for me, my marriage had a very "bumpy" beginning, and it could very easily have turned out much differently. Just be very aware that you may get badly burned from this experience. Best of luck to you.
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Is there anything good about having been a JW?
by parakeet ini've been lurking for a few weeks and decided to throw my hat into the ring a few days ago.
i've been out of the org for almost 30 years (a long, dreary story for another post).
i wanted to ask those who have been out of the org for a while if they have discovered anything beneficial that has resulted from having been a jw.
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parakeet
Hi, all. I've been lurking for a few weeks and decided to throw my hat into the ring a few days ago. I've been out of the org for almost 30 years (a long, dreary story for another post). I wanted to ask those who have been out of the org for a while if they have discovered anything beneficial that has resulted from having been a JW. One thing I've noticed is that it's sometimes easier for me (as opposed to someone who has never been a JW) to see through a lot of religious or poltical rhetoric. Having gone through the hell of getting out of the org seems to have heightened my "radar" for crap disguised as logical argument. Has that been true for any of you? Also, I think, or at least I hope, that I'm a more compassionate person for having come through all the injustices and cruelties that the org has thrown at me. Do any of you believe that you're now a more compassionate person as an exJW than you would have been without the JW experience? I also have developed a lively interest in studying other schools of religious thought--Judaism, Paganism, Buddhism, and Islam--not for the purpose of joining any of them, but just to see how other cultures try to explain the human condition. I'm asking these questions so that those who are still struggling with leaving will be encouraged to know that the misery they are going through now will not be totally without some lasting benefit (however small).
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Is there anything good about having been a JW?
by parakeet ini've been a lurker for a few weeks and finally threw my hat into the ring a few days ago.
i've been out of the org for almost 30 years.
the whys and wherefores can wait for another time.
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parakeet
Hi, all. I've been a lurker for a few weeks and finally threw my hat into the ring a few days ago. I've been out of the org for almost 30 years. The whys and wherefores can wait for another time. What I'd like to offer to those who are thinking about leaving or have just left and are going through a godawful time (believe me, I know what that's like), is that when the dust settles and you begin to feel somewhat normal again (and you will), you'll find that there are some benefits from having been a JW. Personally, I've found that I can see through religious and political rhetoric more easily than people who have never been in a cult. I'm not trying to be boastful here, just that after being as thoroughly taken in by the JWs as most of us have been, and the effort it takes to see through their mind-control tactics, we now tend to evaluate other ideas on a finer scale than is usual. From reading through the posts on this site, I can see that those out of the org for a few years have a more discerning (and true, sometimes a little jaundiced!) perspective about JWs and religion in general. The value of having this perspective is nothing to sneeze at. Another benefit is the development of genuine compassion for those still struggling to get out and for victims of other oppressive cults. That compassion takes different forms, but the kindness of those trying to help others on this site takes my breath away. For years, I was just as glad not to have to think about JWs again, but the people on this site have shown me I shouldn't turn my back on others that are going through our particular form of hell. One last benefit for me has been the development of a lively interest in other religions, not for the purposes of joining, but just to see how other people and cultures interpret the human condition. I've researched Judaism, Paganism, Buddhism, and Islam is next on my list. Of course, I'm not saying it's worth having been a JW just to gain some insights now; I would really rather not have been involved at all. But.....since we've all gone through it, I wanted to ask everyone if they've found any sweet in all the bitter. It might be of comfort for those still struggling with the org that there is a silver lining (even if just a small one) in the JW cloud.