Look around at the Kingdom Hall, does it really look like those people are living the best life possible? Maybe things have changed since I left, bit I don't remember a more joyless group of people.
LisaRose
JoinedPosts by LisaRose
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63
"Even if this wasn't the truth, I would still stay. This is the best life to live..."
by HereIgo ini was recently told this by a jw family member when trying to get through to them.
does this quote indicate that maybe such ones have considered that the jw's may not have the truth after all?
or is that just my wishful thinking?
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54
JW Kids Bullying My Daughter
by pale.emperor intrying not to type swearwords as i write this so bare with me.. my little 3yo attends meetings with her jw mum (who doesn't believe watchtower anymore but is stuck in because she relies on her family for help).
my mum (the one who tells people im dead) had a party for her grandchildren.
that's my 4 nieces and 1 nephew aged from 3yo-11yo.
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LisaRose
Yikes, what a horrible thing for your daughter, those people should be ashamed, but of course JWs have no shame as they are incapable of seeing anything other than their own twisted viewpoint.
Just tell her that grandma is sick in the head, and leave it at that.
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29
What religions/organizations aren't a cult?
by Jules Saturn inso we've already established that most religions can be classified as high control groups, we can name the wbts, church of scientology, lds, etc.
the list goes on and on.
but are there any religions or organizations that aren't classified as a high control group or aren't as bad as the ones i've just mentioned?
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LisaRose
I don't agree that most religions are cults. Cults use deception, control the time of their believers, claim to be the sole source of salvation, use fear and intimidation and do many other things that most mainstream religions do not do.
If you are looking for a specific religion that is as far from a cult as a religion can be, I was favorably impressed with United Church of Christ. I attend occasionally as my in laws belong. They are a very welcoming group that doesn't espouse any particular doctrine, it's more about mutual support and charitable works, sort of religion light, they have great music also. I considered joining, as they were even OK with my being an Atheist, but after thinking about it I decided not to, it ultimately seemed pointless.
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51
What are your beliefs now, religious/non religious?
by Jules Saturn inwhat are your convictions now that you are no longer one of jehovah's witnesses?
are you a born again christian?
have you joined another denomination of christianity?
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LisaRose
I am not against religion in general, I think it fills a need for some people, but I see no evidence of a creator, so I am not religious myself.
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12
Cognitive dissonance and mental gymnastics in social media!
by stuckinarut2 inso over the last few years, the witnesses i know (who were close friends in the past) who follow me on instagram social media have been steadily dropping off and blocking me..... but there are a small number who are still friends.. i have noticed one sad situation for one friend who is clearly battling cognitive dissonance.
if she posts a picture and i leave a nice comment on it, my comment quickly disappears.
(she must delete it i guess) but then soon after she sends a nice private message asking how we are, or commenting on the post or activity.
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LisaRose
It's called hypocrisy.
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12
Cognitive dissonance and mental gymnastics in social media!
by stuckinarut2 inso over the last few years, the witnesses i know (who were close friends in the past) who follow me on instagram social media have been steadily dropping off and blocking me..... but there are a small number who are still friends.. i have noticed one sad situation for one friend who is clearly battling cognitive dissonance.
if she posts a picture and i leave a nice comment on it, my comment quickly disappears.
(she must delete it i guess) but then soon after she sends a nice private message asking how we are, or commenting on the post or activity.
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LisaRose
It's called hypocrisy.
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12
so confused!!
by whatisthis12 inis it possible to keep a somewhat relationship with your family if they are witnesses and have a "worldly" girlfriend?
i just posted a post, and found this site to be very helpful.
sorry to repost but my other thread brought up some other questions.
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LisaRose
Is it possible to keep a somewhat relationship with your family if they are witnesses and have a "worldly" girlfriend?
It's depends on the parents, but it's very unlikely. Most parents do not want to loose a relationship with their adult children, but the religion teaches the shunning is for their own good. They believe that everyone who isn't a JW is going to die at Armageddon, which is any day now (and has been for more that a hundred years ). This is what you are up against, it is a cult and they don't play fair.
That he is going to the convention is not a good sign that he has not actually broken free of the mind control. If you try to talk to your love about these things I can pretty much guarantee his conditioned fear will come up and his mind will shut down to you. I left this religion, knew it wasn't "the truth" but didn't seek out any information about it on the internet for eight years. It took that long for the fear of "apostates" to go away. It was only then I realized how I had been deceived. If what the Watchtower taught was "The Truth" why were they so afraid of outside information? Real truth stands up to scrutiny, it's only lies that do not.
Please inform yourself about cults and how they work, it will give you an idea of what you are up against. We get people on this discussion board all the time who are in this exact same situation, they usually end up with a broken heart, sad to say.
I would recommend reading Steve Hassan's book, Combatting Cult Mind Control. If you don't want to invest in a book, a brief explanation of cults is at howcultswork.com.
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28
My Boyfriend is a recent Ex Jehovah Witness
by whatisthis12 ini have been dating my boyfriend for almost a year now.
when i met him i had no idea that he was a jehovah witness.
we took a vacation and he lied to his parents about who he was with, and they ended up finding out not only that he way lying, but who i was.
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LisaRose
It's a very difficult situation, both for you and him. You need to determine if he still believes, deep in his heart, that the Jehovah's Witnesses are the only true religion. If he does, then the outcome may not be what you want. Either he will stay with you and feel guilty, or he will go back to the religion. If he goes back and you two are married, he will not have to leave you, but being a non JW married to an active Jehovah's Witness is not conducive to a great marriage. How would you raise your children? He would feel obligated to try and teach them about his religion. How would you handle holidays and birthdays? It's a lot for you to take on. If he goes back before you get married, he will be pressured to leave you, they discourage marriage to unbelievers (non JW).
If he isn't sure or doesn't believe this is the only true religion then you might have hope. Encourage him to learn about the organization, there is a lot about their history and practices that they don't tell their members. They also tell them not to trust any information not put out by the Watchtower, so it's sometimes hard for JW's that leave, they are conditioned to fear information from former members, they call them apostates. If he is open to outside information, have him look at JWfacts.com.
Good luck
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51
I was impressed by part of today's symposium entitled ' Safeguard your children from what is evil'
by UnshackleTheChains inwell i have to give credit where credit is due.
it was the part of today's symposium - build a house that will endure.
the part i was most impressed with was 'safeguard your children from "what is evil".
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LisaRose
This would mean something if they actually admitted how much child abuse takes place within the organization. Are they going to publish statistics? Admit how many have been accused or admitted to this? Admitted how many are elders? Admitted the secret existence of a database of the accused that they maintain? Admitted that for years they swept things under the rug and went easy on abusers? Admitted that they have settled many lawsuits? Have they even acknowledged the findings of the Australian Royal Commission?
Unless they are going to be completely honest, these warnings means nothing. Most Jehovah's Witnesses are naive and think that things are different in their little "spiritual paradise" and the danger is from worldly people, as the Watchtower continues to maintain the fiction that this is rare within the organization.
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53
JW renaming things: "It's Not this, it's ....."
by Muddy Waters inthis was brought up in another thread, but i thought it should have its own thread.
feel free to add your own observations and experience.
the jws are so duplicit, and they rename things to somehow justify their own irrationalities.
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LisaRose
Using special terms for things is a kind a exclusivism, it binds a group together and sets them apart from non members. They also like to change the special terms for things, I have been out so long I doubt I could even speak the language anymore.
They used to call return visits back calls.
Conventions used to be called assemblies