I attended church up until I converted to the JWs at 13. My church experience was OK, but I bought all the Watchtower dogma that they were filled with hypocrites and were evil, false religion. Since I left I have attended some services at my husband's family church, United Church of Christ. It was a very positive experience, so much more warm and loving than the JWs and no particular doctrine. I thought about joining, but decided it made no sense since I am an Atheist, lol.
LisaRose
JoinedPosts by LisaRose
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6
how many non born ins ever attended a church?
by sowhatnow inim curious, how many people on here had belonged to another church, or have enough knowlege of one.
to have thought the kingdom hall was a better option?
the wt articles often in the past, critisized other churches as being full of false christains, i have one from 1955 that rips on the roman catholic church.. not that they are free of guilt, but, i thought, gee, how many of these critisizers ever went to a small church to make that judgment?.
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Religious nuttery alerts
by Simon init seems like every couple of months i notice we've acquired a new religious nut and they have been posting away, annoying everyone and filling the forum with crap.
it's disheartening to see people (even moderators!
) have been having conversations with them and there are pages and pages of insults and crap - we're going to try and avoid this in future.
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LisaRose
I will do that, I get sick of these wackos that refuse to accept that no one is interested in their paranoid fantasies.
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I need help
by tiredroadie inim new here, and dont know much about jw, other than what im reading.
i have my best friend who is having bible study in her home with 2 witnesses, and she is soaking it in.
she is very defensive and is getting more and more closed off.
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LisaRose
Learn as much as you can about the history of this religion. They have predicted the end many times, yet still pretend that Armageddon is imminent. I was told I didn't need to go to college as I would not have time for a career in this system of things, I am sixty now, yet they are still saying the same thing.
I have repeated my story many times, so I won't go into that, but there is a section here on experiences, read a few of those (click on Home, then look for that sub heading).
This religion uses mind control, it's helpful to know what that is, check out howcultswork.com. As others have stated, do not pressure your friend, she has already been told that Satan will try to stop her from studying, so that will just make her more determined to keep on.
There is no one way to wake people up, it very much depends on the circumstances and the personality of the people involved. Asking questions is better than informing, and be very careful. Potential topics to discuss:
Most JWs do not know the Watchtower has paid out millions to settle child abuse claims and currently have a few multi million dollar judgements against them.
They also don't know that Charles Russel, the founder of the WTBTS took most of his chronology from another religion, and its based on a date for the fall of Jerusalem that is not supported by any reputable bible scholar. Russel taught that based on this chronology they were in the last days and Armageddon would come in 1914. When nothing happened, they changed to teaching that Christ returned invisibly and the last days started (not ended) in 1914. They said that Armageddon would come before the generation alive and old enough to understand these things passed away. When it became obvious that that generation was passing away, they changed it to say that "a generation" could be overlapping generations. To any rational, thinking person it's obvious that they are just making things up, but such is the power of cult mind control that they accept these ridiculous explanations, because they have been trained to accept anything the governing body tells them.
This religion practices shunning and any member who leaves for any reason will be shunned by family and friends. They say they only disfellowship in cases of serious wrongdoing, but that is not the truth. A person who leaves and says they no longer want to be known as a Jehovah's Witness will he shunned. A person who just stops attending and then later celebrates Christmas (or votes, gets divorced and remarried without cause, or serves in the military, or takes a blood transfusion) will he shunned, no matter how long ago they left. A person can be disfellowshipped for just about anything three elders agree on, there is no recourse, decisions are rarely overturned.
This religion breaks up families and ruins lives. Shunning is so painful that many JWs commit suicide, I knew of six who did so. You need to do whatever you ccan to keep your friend from joining this cult, but be very careful.
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one last step..Is being mentally out the same as being emotionally out?
by MissFit inwe talk here about the importance of being mentally and physically out to be really free.. what about being emotionally free?.
i realized for me, i had to be emotionally awake first.
i had been yo-young back and forth for years.
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LisaRose
I don't know if some of us will ever be totally free of the effects of being in this religion. It's like an old injury, we may be fine one day, but then the cold weather hits and it aches all over again.
I have been out for 15 years now, but I was a JW for thirty years. Seeing my JW family in August at my brothers memorial service made me realize that I miss them. My JW family did talk to me, but there were walls up, it was hard to see them and be confronted with the fact that they think I am less than. I also know the next time I see them will be at the next funeral.
I am happy in my life and so grateful to be free of this soul sucking cult, so I try to focus on that.
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wow, shaking my head
by Hortensia inmy neighbor told me she had been talking about me recently.
"i was saying to carrie in the office i just don't see how anyone can deny the existence of a higher power.
she needed some q-tips, and found a box of them on the free table by the office.
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LisaRose
People do not like to have their superstitions challenged, They use them like a security blanket to feel comfortable.
I have to grit my teeth when people say things like....
"Everything happens for a reason" Right. What was the reason ffor the holocaust?
"God must have wanted him up in heaven" Really? What a selfish God.
"God must have been looking out for me" Then he must hate my neighbor that was in an accident last week.
"God never gives us more than we can bear". So God knows exactly how much to torture us? How strange.
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My Parents have gone FULL CULT MODE! Having a job is SATANIC!
by BU2B into give a little background, my parents are in their late 50s.
around a year ago, my elder dad got laid off from his job.
he worked as a auto mechanic making ok money.
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LisaRose
That is almost unbelievable. I can understand someone who is twenty having that kind of mindset, but come one, they are old enough to know that Jehovah doesn't always provide. I am about that age, even as a JW I knew I had to plan for retirement, I didn't want to end up in subsidized housing, living on social security. I suppose they will be looking for help from you when the inevitable happens.
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Armageddon will be here in less than 4 years!
by hoser inthat's the word according to my mil.
mrs hoser is starting a new career and the college and work training will take her four years to complete.
her mom is giving her a hard time telling her that the system will be over before she graduates.
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LisaRose
Predictions like that are useful to keep people from leaving or engaging in any kind of a life other than the Organization. People are willing to put personal desires and plans on hold since "it will only be for a few years since we are so close to the end". It works especially well when it is only hinted at, or passed through the grapevine, that way it seems more like inside information, plus no one has to take responsibility when it doesn't happen. They have been playing this game a long time, they are very good at it.
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Changing Careers: The difficult path to starting over.
by adjusted knowledge ini became employed with my current company after high school in 1995. i'm a manager and make decent income for the area i live ($65k).
it provides for the basic and some extra.
i have a wife and a daughter.
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LisaRose
I say go for nursing if that is what you really want. Yes, it's tough to get in, but you for sure won't get in if you don't try. My husband and I were invited to the RN pinning ceremony of an acquaintance, it was very impressive. It was clear these graduates worked very, very hard to get through the program and made many sacrifices, but they were happy they stuck it out. As each graduate was pinned by their family a statement from the graduate was read thanking their loved ones for their sacrifices and help. It was a very moving experience and gave me new respect for the RN program.
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900 Top Scientists Sign Statement Skeptical of Macro-Evolution
by Perry inwe are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural .
selection to account for the complexity of life.
careful examination of the .
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LisaRose
Well said Apog.
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I'm thinking of going back
by Spectre in......to see how much i get love bombed in my tight pants and bright socks.. i bet they'll totally respect my gb approved pinky ring though.. i haven't been to a meeting since 1994 so i wonder if they'll get the irony if i ask, "so what's changed?".
good effin' lord....i just realized i've been out for 20 years.. .
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LisaRose
You need to go to metrosexual.com and get one of those suits Anthony was talking about, that's what's going to really impress them down at the kingdom hall.