This is like asking Mary Todd (Mrs. Abraham) Lincoln why she hated the play. There's so much to choose from and the answer will depend on your frame of reference and your own circumstances.
There's the cross/stake issue, great crowd and other sheep, mediator for only the 144k and whether that is a literal number. But to go to the roots- selecting and insisting that Jehovah is God's name according to the English version of the Bible and inserting it into the Greek Scriptures. That is the biggest one.
OnTheWayOut
JoinedPosts by OnTheWayOut
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39
What is the biggest doctrinal mistake made by the Watchtower /JWorg. ?
by Finkelstein inpersonally i think it is 1914 and the following " this generation " doctrine.. this particular doctrine went right against jesus's own words of " no one knows of the time not even he " .
he also admonished his true followers to not set a time upon god's own sacred time .. the leaders of the wts even back to the late 1800's set a time calculated on their own theology 1874 being the first time set and proclaimed by c t russell, also proclaiming 1914 would likely be the year of the final day of judgment armageddon.
all throughout the 20th century the wts held to this doctrine but was eventually revised of course when it was realized this generation had passed away who saw the events of 1914. .
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OnTheWayOut
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OnTheWayOut
Maxwell Smart Publisher: You need to come back to the truth because the entire world is lying in the power of the wicked one and Jehovah is going to end this system any day now?
Me: I find that hard to believe.
Maxwell Smart Publisher: Would you believe you need to come back because the entire world is indifferent to Jehovah and Jehovah is upset about that and the end may come eventually?Me: Not much different. I still find that hard to believe.
Maxwell Smart Publisher: Would you believe you need to come back because the Governing Body tells us to shun you and Jehovah is a real jerk and the time of the Biblical Armageddon is anyone's guess?
Me: Well, maybe. Except for the need to come back.
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Something I just realized!
by Nikki collins innow that i'm out if i ever do find someone and settle down and start a family, my parents wont be a part of it.
my dad wont walk me down the isle if i get married, if i have kids they wont know their grandparents.
oh and by the way i had my freaking tubes tied so as not to have kids in this system.
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OnTheWayOut
A big platonic hug to you, Nikki.
I have family in the JW's, my wife and my mother and my in-law family. But I realize that my particular situation has enabled me to avoid family shunning. I have no kids that are torn between the world and the religion of my wife. So I am plenty depressed at times about what I am dealing with, but I recognize that some have it worse.We have former JW's that don't get to see their grandchildren or whose entire family shuns them.
All I can say is that if I had to go through some or all of that kind of stuff, I would rather do that rather than quietly go back to the Kingdom Hall and live PIMO (physically IN, mentally OUT). If I did have little kids, I would get DF'ed because I would want to offer them a real life with extracurricular activities, holidays, birthdays, dating, music, fun. I wouldn't want to skirt the issues to keep peace in the family and let the kids suffer.
And in many ways, I do that for myself. I don't skirt the issues to keep peace in the family. I tell the family to avoid discussion of the religion and so will I. That's peace enough. I lost my JW friends but not the family. I got new friends who are way better now anyway. And if I had to lose the relatives, my good friends are up to taking their place.
You do need to slow down, but not stop living a regular life. You can pursue a love interest. Just know that you might need to find yourself more than find someone else. But no harm in doing both. "Road to nowhere" above said it beautifully. My half-brother is so much younger than me and we don't really know each other. I have reached out, but his family situation is really damaged by his circumstances. I don't know how it's working out, but he married a lady with kids and who was tight with her family. He embraced her family because they were what he needed. I hope he's happy. I hope you find what you need and embrace it. -
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Would You Be Afraid To Visit The Dominican Republic?
by minimus ina lot of bad things are happening there lately.
people on vacation are mysteriously dying or getting violently ill. i’ve been there three times in the past.
the first time it was great!
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OnTheWayOut
I was leery about visiting the Dominican Republic before any of this latest stuff happened.
So yeah!!!! -
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my story...
by Nikki collins inmany of you have asked about my story, so here it is.
it's a bit long lol.
however i still loved jeremy but because he wasn’t a witness i knew i could never be with him and have my family.
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OnTheWayOut
Nikki, that is a compact story- WOW! I mean, it seems like you said your whole life in a few long paragraphs.
I hope that sharing it has helped you.I am going to recommend that you start a healing process. Currently, some of the very best books for self-therapy (which is free except for the cost of the books) can be found in the writings of Bonnie Zieman- a former JW turned therapist.
Start here- https://www.amazon.com/EXiting-JW-Cult-Handbook-Witnesses/dp/1508477132/ref=asc_df_1508477132/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312129792228&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8695491500288780152&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021728&hvtargid=pla-448551095427&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=60258872617&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312129792228&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8695491500288780152&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021728&hvtargid=pla-448551095427
Beyond that, I must say you need to be careful with using real names, regardless of the fact that you are never going back.
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The Truth about the bible
by TTWSYF init really is common sense, but nobody here seems to recognize or acknowledge this blatant and obvious truth.. the holy bible is the result of the catholic liturgy.
they used these scriptures in their religious practices and confirmed which books would and would not be part of their cannon.
they picked, preserved and promoted these books and gave 'the word of god' to the world.. i know that pisses off some folks, but it is the truth [not the 'truth'tm].
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OnTheWayOut
Jehovah's Witnesses are Unitarians with a Protestant Bible Canon.
Take that.
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Those that need to see a Therapist / and those that don`t is there a correlation of the two ?
by smiddy3 inthere have been a number of threads / posts here over the years about ex jw`s needing to see therapists for what they are going through , and i can appreciate that.. obviously there are many ex jw`s on here that haven`t ever felt the need to see a therapist ,and i`m just wondering why not ?.
why does one feel the need and another does not ?.
is it to do with born ins as against those who were converts ?
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OnTheWayOut
there are many ex JW`s on here that haven`t ever felt the need to see a therapist ,and I`m just wondering why not ?
No great mystery.
This is true in life outside of JW's, this is true of life inside JW's.
And just because someone doesn't "feel the need," it doesn't mean they should not see a therapist. I work with a bunch of people that deny that their problems with life are getting to them. A bunch of people in my family deny that they have any weaknesses or problems that they would like to share with a therapist.
But even short of that, maybe some just haven't had it bad enough that they cannot find the help they need without professional help.
If Joe and Geena Publisher leave the organization together, having no living parents in the JW organization and no kids being shunned by family, they might not carry a heavy load that they cannot console each other with.
If Jenny leaves and her husband doesn't, or her mother shuns her, or her own adult children limit her contact with her grandchildren who are being raised in that cult, I think you know she might need a little help with the burden put upon her by others trying to tell her the problem is with her and not with them.
As some mentioned, some gave their all- hopes, dreams, goals, their entire way of thinking over to the Watchtower. Others may have casually been JW's, because it really wasn't for them but they were born into it. When they leave, the first group might have more reason to need counsel. -
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If You Could Tell A Prospective Jehovah’s Witness Something What Would It Be?
by minimus inany words of wisdom?
?.
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OnTheWayOut
"Should a prospective Mormon avoid asking former Mormons or outside sources what's wrong with becoming a Mormon, or should he just read Mormon-approved materials and trust that they have 'the truth'?"
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Were You A Gullible JW?
by minimus ini think every congregation has their group that sees everything as a sign that they are god’s chosen people.
if a witness didn’t go to a meeting and a storm came and destroyed their house and killed them, and only the kingdom hall was saved, that was a sign that we should be in jehovah’s house.
if russia persecuted jws , it’s proof we are living in the last days.
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OnTheWayOut
I became a JW as an adult (with much exposure as a kid).
I needed to latch onto something in my life, so I suppose I was a bit gullible for awhile.
But a couple years into the religion, I pretty much figured out that good times and bad times and natural disasters and political changes and war and peace and changes in the doctrine- ALL INDICATED TO MANY JW's THAT THE END WAS IMMINENT! -
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Amber Scorah is on the Daily Show tonight.
by I quit! injust wanted to let everyone know that ex-jw amber scorch is on the daily show on comedy central tonight.
it should very good.
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OnTheWayOut
May Amber be to Watchtower what Leah Remini is to Scientology.
(Okay, a bit lofty goal- but you never know)
I ordered the book. Will read it during my trip to Tahoe Apostafest.Her webpage says "Immersion in a foreign language and culture--and a whole new way of thinking--turned her world upside down, and eventually led her to lose all that she had been sure was true." I relate because moving to a foreign language congregation was like that for me.