I'm sorry this happened to you. Hope you are soon on the mend.
Lisa 🌹
just happy to be alive....can barely move ☺.. a girl who just got her license , and a new suv....thought it might be cool to pass the person in front of her....at a curve......on a two way road!!!!!😠😠😠.
very mad puppy.
I'm sorry this happened to you. Hope you are soon on the mend.
Lisa 🌹
i didn't see an introduction forum anywhere but i thought it would be weird to start posting without first introducing myself so, here we are.
i'm 15, and i've been looking for a place to discuss my thoughts on the religion that i'm pretty much stuck in at the moment.
my mom and dad divorced over their different beliefs over a year ago (my mom is jw and my dad is an very knowledgeable apostate, so you can see how they would fight over it), and since then i've stopped believing altogether.. just thought i'd say hello.
Welcome!
I know it's hard with your mom, but she really is trying to do the right thing in raising you in a religion she believes in, so be patient and respectful.You will be an adult enough and able to live your life on your own terms.
Lisa 🌹
follow case it may change judicial comittees
this is my first post.
i really feel i need to leave the jw's rather than go along pretending everything is perfect etc.
no friends, me at work.
Welcome, I am sorry you have had to go through this. Most of us here have had similar experiences, a complete lack of love or concern by others in the congregation, especially the elders. Jesus said that the identifying mark of his disciples is that they have love among themselves. They brag about the preaching work but completely miss the one thing that would prove they follow Christ, love.
It's clear that they are not true followers of Christ.
Lisa 🌹
post on another forum prompted this one.. wt is flip-flopping on the "no marriage for you" (voice of seinfeld soup nazi) to placate the 50% of jw women who will never marry "in this system.
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20140815/jesus-sadducees-marriage-after-resurrection/.
however, we do know that wt also taught that marriage was for procreation.
I like over easy, but too often they don't cook the whites enough so I order over medium. Even then I often have to send them back because the white is undercooked. There is nothing more gross than uncooked egg white.
during our wt life we met a good number of friends involved in the circuit and district work.
i am sure that we share the same experience and that we remember fondly some that we caring, loving and generally interested in the brothers.
at the same time we might remember others that were arrogant, selfish, abusive and oppressive.
From my reading of many posts over the years, it appears that the higher up you went in the organization the more you were exposed to the scheming, cover ups and manipulations, therefore anyone that high up undoubtedly knew there were hugh problems in the organization, but chose to say nothing, instead contributing to the lies and cover-ups, simply to maintain their status in the organization. How many were unfairly disfellowshipped on their watch? How much child sexual abuse did they cover up? How much were they aware of the suicide risks? What lies did they knowingly tell?
So, no, I do not feel sorry for them.
after the worst introduction i could ever make on the forum i would like to reintroduce myself and make a fresh start on the forum and hopefully over time i will be able to redeem myself.
i have changed my user name which was over dramatic and ridiculous in the cold light of day but for transparency and to show i am not trying to hide anything i have adapted the original name and it now has a more positive feel.
after reading a lot of posts on this forum i am feeling more optimistic about my future.
It's to your credit that you took the criticism well and didn't get defensive or just give up, so good for you. I can understand why some might have been suspicious, but they went too far in my opinion. We do get some trolls and/or nutty people here, so try not to take it personally.
There is life after the Watchtower so never give up. I was 45 when I left and have been out for sixteen years now and have a great life, I am sure you will too.
i am sorry that on my first post i am asking for help and advice but i am at my wits end.
i have been brought up a witness all my life and it is all i know.
i am an ex-elder and pioneer and i don't know anybody outside of the congregation.. i have been unhappy for so long and wanted to leave.
I am sorry you are being treated like this. Its very important that you insist you are not an apostate and are not going to disassociate. You need whatever little bit of social contact you can hang onto for now. Push this back on them and tell them they are being unchristian, that having doubts does not make you bad.
Of course this is a short term solution, but if its not too late, then try. You need to start building a new life. I wont lie, its tough, but it can be done. Focus on your job situation for now, keep busy looking for new opportunities. Then you can slowly start building a social life. See if there might be ex JW meet ups in your area. If not, then seek out new friends. Maybe you can join a hiking group or some other interest you might have? There are all kind of on line type things available. You might have to try a few before you find one that works, but dont give up.
It will take time, but you will eventually carve out a new life. The JWs are so ready to throw away questioning members, as if you are disposable. Your life has value and meaning no matter what, dont forget that. You will use your experience and skills you got as a JW to make a life that has meaning and reflects your beliefs, not the forced groupthink mentality of the Watchtower.
Dont be afraid to ask for help and be willing to use whatever resources come your way. We all have been through this, you will get through it too.
Lisa
i am working, more in the planning stages, where i am going to offer a commentary on the caleb and sophia cartoons that the org puts out.
i noticed a heavily patriarchal bent to the narrative that these cartoons offer.
i would really enjoy working with someone who has an academic background in feminist philosophy, or at least someone knowledgeable.
We could easily go from here, into a discussion of male and female archetypes, and how by understanding them, we can get a deeper insight into why we think and feel the way we do. It's important to address the issues of gender inequality (and bias) across the spectrum.
Please do. I am not that familiar with the modern feminist movement. I have no doubt there are some extreme factions in it, as there are in any movement, but does that invalidate the whole movement? And I would have to see what people consider so extreme. Of course feminists were once considered extremists for wanting to vote and have equal rights, and I am so glad they didn't let that stop them.
( jw governing body members are invited to respond) .
however professional and glossy their pr makeover is, as seen on jw tv and the jw org logo... the bottom line is that 19th century religious adventist claims are no longer sexy..
to outsiders the jw org now has all the allure of a donkey wearing lipstick..
The internet is making it very difficult to attract and retain members, there is just too much disturbing information out there for people to find. As with any cult they use mind control to condition people to fear so called apostates and any information that is negative about them but its very diffult to hide things when negative information is only a click away. I think they will soon negative growth in those more developed countries. They may still see some growth in less developed countries, but those people have little money and that will not help them with cash flow.
Of course they have excuses for any negative information out there and the faithful will tend to believe whatever they say, but its going to be harder and harder to keep the faithful in the dark. They use shunning to maintain information control, but at some point people will have more family members out of the religion than end, a tipping point if you will, and that will make the threat of shunning less effective.
who else has proclaimed Jehovah's name around the world?
There may be around the world, but there are still vast populations that have never heard of them. Even in areas where they are well established most people dont know anything about what they believe, so they actually have been very ineffective in proclaiming Jehovahs name and purposes.
Who else teaches who Jesus really is, the Son of God, and how he gave himself as a ransom for mankind?
Most any Christian religion teaches that.
Who else tells people the message that Jehovah plans to restore the earth to a paradise for obedient mankind?
That is simply their interpretation, and one that can only be defended by very selective use of a few scriptures.
Who else tells the truth about what happens when you die?
Again, their interpretation. They have a right to that, but to call others unchristian for accepting another interpretation of these things is wrong. The bible is clear that it is belief in Jesus and his sacrifice that saves us, not whether we follow a particular group of men or interpretation ofvdoctrine. Early christians had disagreements on doctrine, they were not shunned or considered unchristian for it.
Who else has love among themselves and will not take arms up against each other if they happen to live on opposite sides of borders?
The Hebrew god allowed war for the nation of Israel, even promoting it at times so the bible is far from promoting pacifism. Christians were told be peaceable, but also to obey the secular authorities. The reality is that war is a necessary evil and there is a difference between defence and offense. Just as individuals have the right to defend themselves if their life is threatened, even if the attacker is a christian, countries have the right and duty to defend themselves from attack by other, more aggressive nations. You could argue that Christian countries should not be the aggressor and this is true, those Christians are in the wrong, but that some in any particular religion are wrong does not condemn that religion in general, as all men are imperfect and fall short, as the Watchtower constantly reminds us when their flaws are pointed out.
Other groups may have some of these truths or be so small they have splintered from the truth.
The Watchtower's claim of truth and purity does not hold up to scrutiny. Their claim to have been the only religilion teaching truth when the last days started cannot possibly be right, as they have changed so much from what they once believed at the time. Either they were teaching truth then and have since deviated from it, or they were not teaching the truth then. Their have tried to hide this fact, but their doctrine flip flops and bad predictions are on record.