i've always been a "spiritual" person.
i've been an avid bible reader since as early as i can remember.
i read the bible cover to cover for the first time when i was about 17 years old and have read it at least twice more since then.
It's a dilemma, one we all have faced. No one can make that decision for you, each person and their circumstances are different. There is a price to be paid no matter what you do, it's hard living a lie, it takes its toll. It's also hard to lose family and friends, the harsh disfellowshiping policies are there to keep people from leaving, being shunned is very painful.
I am glad I left, I would never go back, but that doesn't work for everyone.
i don't know where to start.
i got married a year and half ago.
some months into the marriage things where discovered.
i don't know where to start.
i got married a year and half ago.
some months into the marriage things where discovered.
do you get confused sometimes whether this site is a discussion forum or a debating forum ?.
just asking.
whats your thoughts.. smiddy.
this is how robert ingersoll responded to a fundamentalist's question, 'what if it's the truth?
' back in the 19th century.
"why," they say to me, "suppose all this should turn out to be true, and you should come to the day of judgement and find all these things to be true.
You could ask yourself what if Martians land on the earth, or what if pigs fly, or any of a thousand other improbable "what ifs". The question is not "what if it's the truth" but why would it be?
You just have to use common sense and reason, and the possibility that some almighty creator made humans and then sat idly by while his creation killed each other in a million cruel ways seems quite remote to me.
I go with the odds.
i am not a jw ...however i began having bible studies (i d call them watchtower studies).
i was beginning to get lured in and brainwashed into accepting the religion as the true religion...but something inside of me told me there was something odd.
some time passes and i was invited to a meeting and i accepted.
Why would you want someone who feels guilty about being with you? You will probably not be able to convince him that this religion is not "the truth", and he would always feel guilty that he was weak and resent the fact that you seduced him. Does that sound like a good way to start a relationship to you?
Walk away from this.
hi all.. i have noticed that many of our forum members have sought professional help from counsellors who deal with ones like us who have broken free from high control groups or "cults".. my self esteem has been rocked by recent events in the cong, and while i know ttatt it still has taken my joy in life away quite a bit.. as you all know, mentally i broke free from the org several years ago, but now that i am trying to start making the physical break, i feel really unsettled and nervous.. i wonder if a good counsellor could assist in helping me clarify and sort my feelings and emotions , and provide help to take practical steps to cut all ties with the org?.
if anyone can provide ideas of good counsellors, it would be appreciated.. thanks everyone!.
Definitely get counseling if you can, or at least try and find a support group. Knowing ttatt does not mean it hurts any less when you lose your friends, it's still painful. Don't set any expectations about how long it will take to feel normal, it takes as long as it takes. Be kind to yourself.
I highly recommend meditation, it costs nothing and takes only a little time. It has been life changing for me. I sometimes have high blood pressure, 140 or more, after meditating more the last few weeks it is down to 117, probably better than meds could do.
today is my first post on jwd, i was one of jehovahs witness for almost 50 years of my life, i was born into the religion.
i was baptized at a young age and once i got married i was a very spiritual woman as they would call me.
my husband and i served as full time pioneers, we traveled abroad and went to international conventions, did some special pioneer service in other states in the us.
Welcome, very good story, I am so glad you found the truth after many years of "The Lie".
if you do believe in the bible's message, do you believe society has gotten better, worse, or has remained the same?.
if you don't believe in the bible's message, do you believe society has gotten better, worse, or has remained the same?.
on a personal note, there are many things that i can't help but notice that coincide with what the apostle paul wrote to timothy in his second letter chapter 3 regarding tough times:.
The words of Paul resonate with me when statistically speaking, the wars that Jesus describes in the gospels, the violence that is so prevalent today as opposed to 50 years ago.
Your sentence makes no sense, but I am guessing you mean that there is more violence today than fifty years ago. Of course the population has increased dramatically, but do you have statistics that prove you are more likely to be the victim of violence today as opposed to fifty years ago?
Most kids growing up today are much more independent and rebellious with parents.
Society has changed, people are not raising their children as they did in the fifties. I think that in some ways that is a good thing, we need people who can think independently to solve the problems in the world. I think in some ways we have become too permissive, but I don't want to go back to the conformist fifties either, which wasn't as carefree as some would like to believe. I think we need to improve, but it's not hopeless by any means.
Corporate greed has skyrocketed
Really? Corporations weren't greedy 100 years ago, when children worked in coal mines ? Corporations have always been greedy, but we have more laws now to keep them in check.
and while many third world countries have improved dramatically, there are still millions of people who live in poverty and die hungry.
Yes, we should do something about that. As Jesus said, the poor will always be with us, so how is that a sign of anything?
It's the nature of people to focus on bad news and to think things are some much worse now. And if you are invested in believing that we are in the last days, then you will more likely to focus on the bad in the world. I think that is a mistake, because you miss all the good there is and you don't do anything to improve the world, because you think it's hopeless.
People have been speculating that the end is near since the time of Jesus. The founder of the JWs was convinced he was in the last days and the end would come in 1914. He based much of it on others who wrongly predicted other dates. The fact is every generation had some who thought things were so bad it must be the last days. These beliefs are based more on perception than fact.
as a jehovah's witness you know you can never do enough without hearing stories of another witness doing twice what your doing and living off half the money your living on because they give all their time and money to the watchtower.
this is totally bunk, reading romans 7:21-24 paul knew his condition was hopeless without the free gift from god.
paul put all his emphasis on jesus christ, not some self-appointed apostles whose proof offered up is over 150 years of failed prophecy!
The last circuit convention had a talk that was one of the things that helped me wake up. The speaker asked "Are you a regular publisher? If not, why not? If you are a regular publisher, can you auxiliary pioneer? If not, why not? If you are an auxiliary pioneer, can you regular pioneer? If not, why not? If you are a regular pioneer, can you special pioneer? If not, why not?"
All I could think was, what do they say to the special pioneers to make them feel guilty? I could see that guilt was the end goal, not the preaching work, which was ineffective and pointless, more about counting time than any thing else.
Guilt is useful to keep people enslaved to the organization, if you are busy either counting time or feeling guilty because you are not counting time, then you aren't thinking about how futile it all is.
