Posts by OnTheWayOut

133

Why Are You Here?

by Believer in

i'm wondering why believers remain members of this forum which is clearly hostile to believers.

as one member said, nonbelievers pounce on any semblance of belief like piranhas on prey.

as former jws we should have had our fill of judgmental know-it-alls, but here we are.

OnTheWayOut

I'm wondering why believers remain members of this forum which is clearly hostile to believers.

Once again, I find one of these threads when there's just so many pages. So I will just go right to answering the first post.

If you keep your penis in your pants, nobody is "hostile" to you. If you take it out in public and wave it around, the reaction you receive will seem "hostile" to you. That's what many believers do with their beliefs- take it out in public and wave it around, then act surprised when people react negatively to their beliefs.

Let me answer for Perry, clearly a believer. He posts stuff here about his undying devotion to Christianity and he scoffs at evolution and science. His main reason is not to convert us, but for us to convert him. He knows he went so far in getting out of the Jehovah's Witnesses and their false beliefs, but that he stops short of fully waking up to the facts about the Bible and Christianity. So he provokes arguments in the hopes that someone will finally say something to allow him to shake his faith. (Faith being defined as pretending to know something that you really don't know)

I am confident that this will prove to be true with "Believer" also.

18

What to say? I Don't want to go to meetings anymore?

by Drifting Away in

jw
friends

so it has been a couple of months since me and my family have attended a meeting.

we have received a few calls and visits.

but what do you say when people ask "where have you been"?

OnTheWayOut

To "drift away" you still have to make some kind of statements here and there. You can say "I don't wish to discuss it." You can say "Thanks for your encouragement." You can give the impression that you will be back soon (and then don't be back soon) or give the impression that you will not be back soon.

I pushed back a bit more and said "I have doubts I need to work out." I scared the body of elders enough with that type of talk that they wanted to avoid me. That won't typically work for others. But you never know. Now, you can say how you read about the Australian Royal Commission or that you have to meditate upon overlapping generations or even how the Governing Body asks us to obey directions without questioning them. You can say you have been disturbed ever since "they" took congregation funds away yet ceased the worldwide building.

Many who fade away simply say "We are fine, we know how to reach you if we need to." That's a non-answer that indicates you probably won't be back soon.

35

Born Twice - Die Once .... Born Once - Die Twice

by Perry in

jesus taught that we must die unto ourselves, and allow the holy spirit to take up residence within us.

some people get saved by simply inviting jesus into their hearts, to be the lord of their life.

this serves as a countering force within the born-again christian to counterbalance the will of the flesh, which is still unsaved in this life and destined for destruction in imitation of our lord himself.. attempting to live the christian life without having this spirit within you is a waste of time at the minimum, and dangerous on the downside.

OnTheWayOut

An interpretation of the fictional account of Jesus says that he "taught that we must die unto ourselves, and allow the Holy Spirit to take up residence within us."
People fool themselves into believing that they "get saved by simply inviting Jesus into their hearts, to be the lord of their life." They allow ancient fiction to dictate their morality as they think obedience to ancient fiction is "a countering force within" them "to counterbalance the will of the flesh." You know- normal desires of normal people.

To ensure that Christian churches maintain membership and monetary gain, the churches of various beliefs have this in common- They teach that:

Attempting to live the Christian life without having this spirit within you is a waste of time at the minimum, and dangerous on the downside.

Most folks would agree that the New Testament claims that the resurrection of Jesus is "a well attested fact of history," and that most Christians accept it without a shred of proof.

240

Introduction - Any Believers?

by Believer in

i’ve been reading it for a few of years off and on, but have been a little too ... maybe ... timid to join.

i left the watchtower organization almost 20 years ago but never abandoned my faith and belief in god.

i knew the gb/organization didn’t represent god, so when i lost my faith in them, i managed to keep my faith in an all wise benevolent creator.

OnTheWayOut

I have only read the opening post, so I don't know how this thread has probably morphed into some kind of huge argument about beliefs and logic and all that.

I will say that the reason "the Watchtower organization simply churns out atheists" is that so many start proper research into the flawed doctrine and keep going beyond dismissing Watchtower. They get to a point where they can, just as a JW dismisses Islam or Buddhism, dismiss the flood and the young earth and, somehow they discover that science is more correct than blind faith.

I must say that even if you are sure that a "God" is "the only logical explanation for why we are here," have you defaulted to the "God" of Christianity? Why? Why do you say "He" is "an all wise benevolent Creator" ? Are you ready to defend that in the face of birth defects, tsunamis, earthquakes, mass killings?

And I believe in God because God is the only concept that opens the possibility of more life after our physical bodies no longer work for us. I can’t subscribe to the idea that this life is all there is.

I just want to say on that subject, the truth is the truth no matter what we can or cannot subscribe to. The limitations or hopes of your beliefs does not dictate what reality really is. No more on that.

So as a believer, is the Bible literal? Did we evolve or were we created in the Garden? Was there a flood so many thousands of years ago despite science screaming how many ways that it could not have been?

106

Walking a thin line - Resigning Elder

by Sanchy in

jw
friends

warning of a long boring post ahead.

i feel like i need to vent my story out, as i feel quite helpless at the moment.. i'm 31 year old, married, father of toddler with another one on the way, due later this month.

i've been serving as elder for about 4 years now in a south florida congregation.

OnTheWayOut

I saw this thread and had to click, hoping for a new update.

Sanchy is still posting. So whazzup with your family?

13

My False Accusation Story

by Iamallcool in

some years ago, i was dating a jw girl for a short time.

i was ms back then and she was a regular pioneer.

after we broke up, little more than few months later she dated a guy from the navy and she got pregnant.

OnTheWayOut

I hope you put this behind you by now. I don't care if some elders believe me or not. I know you want the girl and people involved to believe you, but even the polygraph might not change that.

I have to imagine it's someone who was sure you would get the blame who wrote the letter. That would make more sense than many other possibilities. Could be the Navy guy or someone who has you on their hate list. Or it could be another lady, jealous and would've like to marry an elder, who can't believe she gets to live such a past and still be married to an elder, happily ever after.

21

Intro

by Exjwme in

jw
friends

you can all call me jess, i guess you can say i'm a "refugee" from jwr.

i'm going to try and keep this short for now, i'm in my early 20s, i was born in but never baptized, i've been mentally out for 7 years and fully out for about 5ish.

despite never having been baptized my fading took quite a bit of time and work.

OnTheWayOut

It sounds like you can be a great help to those looking for coping advice. Welcome.

41

JWR Alumni

by marlborobarbie in

jw
friends

hey y'all.

i just wanted to officially make my debut on https://www.jehovahs-witness.com and introduce myself.

i'm an old jwrer, and it looks like i'll be dropping in on here now for cult updates and friendly conversation.. a little about myself:.

OnTheWayOut

We always have room for more guitar playing potty-mouthed singers. The rest is good too. Welcome.

12

My 1,000th Post! =)

by Divergent in

jw
friends

after 2 years on the forum, i've finally reached my 1,000th post!.

post #1,000 is dedicated to everyone who i have communicated with & the friends i've made here.

also, to simon who is the reason why we are all here in the first place - thank you for your hard work in making this site what it is.

OnTheWayOut

Excellent. You should be able to see the secret forum section now.

Landy, what's the first rule about secret forum section?

So glad to read how quickly you found out TTATT. Way to go.

63

Just found out their about to baptise my 14 year old boy.

by Crazyguy in

there doing this right under my nose but i just found out.

not sure what to do but would like your help on getting me wt information on my headship role and how they shouldn't be doing this with out my permission.

also would like some help on showing my son the ramifications on what happens to someone when they get baptized and how they'll expect him to treat me.

OnTheWayOut

Crazy Guy, that's awesome!