Posts by AllTimeJeff

167

I am amazed at the ignorance............

by Night Owl in

jw
friends

i read with great interest the evil spirits thread, amazed at the ignorance on this forum concerning the occult.. if you do not believe in the spirit world, you are certainly akin to toothless hillbillies.

good for moonshine making, cousin marrying and not much else.. both the usa and the russians continue to pursue the occult, following in the foorsteps of nazi germany.

they are not ignorant people, such as yourselves.. hopefully, you non-believers will slowly breed yourselves out of the population, since you are the ones holding back progress, with your precious "science" which is really bullshit in disguise.. so tell me, what separates you "intellectuals" from those so called ancient ignorants?

AllTimeJeff

Is this about how demons are real?

15

We NEED Positive Things and Positive Focus

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

howdy all.

just a small commentary for those so inclined to read on what i think is a very important factor to successfully leaving jw's and moving on with your life.. it is understandable to leave at a bad/low point in your life.

jehovahs witnesses are a cult, and whether they force you out, or you choose to leave on your own, its still on their terms.

AllTimeJeff

Uh oh. The year of THE Poopsie. I wish you both great knees in 2012.

15

We NEED Positive Things and Positive Focus

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

howdy all.

just a small commentary for those so inclined to read on what i think is a very important factor to successfully leaving jw's and moving on with your life.. it is understandable to leave at a bad/low point in your life.

jehovahs witnesses are a cult, and whether they force you out, or you choose to leave on your own, its still on their terms.

AllTimeJeff

It will always mean different things to different people (being a former JW)

The most important thing isn't the label that you give yourself. The most important thing in my opinion is making your life a happy one of your choosing. (and being willing to accept that others will choose differently and be happy too)

For those who stay on this forum, I am still here too. I did write this for myself, no doubt about it. I got tired of looking for the next arguement to participate in on this forum.

It isn't my place here to revisit everything JW's did wrong, or had wrong. Most people know they are wrong, and that is why most people who get a knock on the door or a WT sort of ignore it. But I do sense in others, like i have in myself, that we can linger in the past unproductively.

Like I said, I am still here. I wouldn't be talking about this if I hadn't gone through my own shit too. And yeah, it is helpful for me to write this stuff about being positive. That's the whole key to "beating" JW's.

Do you know the biggest lie that JW's teach to scare you to stay in? That YOU are nothing without THEM.

Prove them wrong!

15

We NEED Positive Things and Positive Focus

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

howdy all.

just a small commentary for those so inclined to read on what i think is a very important factor to successfully leaving jw's and moving on with your life.. it is understandable to leave at a bad/low point in your life.

jehovahs witnesses are a cult, and whether they force you out, or you choose to leave on your own, its still on their terms.

AllTimeJeff

Hey Beks! I didn't take what you said too seriously. Remember, I only take myself too seriously. ;-P

Hope all is well with you! :)

15

We NEED Positive Things and Positive Focus

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

howdy all.

just a small commentary for those so inclined to read on what i think is a very important factor to successfully leaving jw's and moving on with your life.. it is understandable to leave at a bad/low point in your life.

jehovahs witnesses are a cult, and whether they force you out, or you choose to leave on your own, its still on their terms.

AllTimeJeff

Lol. I don't care if you like what I have to say, it is, uh... true! (I was going to say 'the truth' but I am pretty sure we all are pretty sick of that)

Nothing wrong with being negative. It's an ok place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

I wouldn't want my life to be defined by a group that I no longer associate with or believe in.

15

We NEED Positive Things and Positive Focus

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

howdy all.

just a small commentary for those so inclined to read on what i think is a very important factor to successfully leaving jw's and moving on with your life.. it is understandable to leave at a bad/low point in your life.

jehovahs witnesses are a cult, and whether they force you out, or you choose to leave on your own, its still on their terms.

AllTimeJeff

BTTT to juxtapose againt Rick Fearon and his latest crap.

You can try to bring down JW's. You can try to get back at them, even under the cover of "helping" other's who may not be wary.

But honestly, you left because 1) You were disfellowshipped 2) Horribly mistreaed, or 3) You figured it out on your own, as circumstances helped make the truth about 'da troof' apparant to you.

Oh yeah, you were at last sort of ready to admit it to yourself.

Rather than trying to bring down JW's (which from the GB's point of view, sort of proves their point about 'apostates'), be what scares the borg the most, your own person. An individual. An individual with something POSITIVE to contribute to life.

And here's the cool thing, you dont' need to be anything but yourself. Don't buy into a philosophy if you don't want to.

I didn't write this particular opinion piece to get anyone to do anything other than to think, and be positive. And to be yourself.

The best thing a former JW can do to 'bring down' JW's is to simply live life as a happy, learned individual. JW's simply have no antidote for that.

I don't care if you agree or disagree with what I wrote. All I care about honestly is that you just be yourself and be happy. If you work to accomplish that, YOU WIN!!!

161

Theological Arguments, Human Realities

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

as i have sunken to a new low in condescending posts (according to botchtowersociety, who truthfully is an expert on all things bullshit), it did occur to me that discussions, debates, and mud slinging insult matches on this board often have a common root.. let me put out there that i am not an atheist, nor an agnostic.

frankly, i respect your right to believe that god is a trinity.

that he is jesus.

AllTimeJeff

This is an apology to Sulla.

I got my say in, and Sulla disagreed with me, which I took way too personally.

I still think poorly of Sulla, but that is my perrogative, and it has nothing to do with Sulla's personal beliefs. Sulla you are entitled to your opinions.

So, I apologize to you Sulla that I reacted in kind, because I was a bit of an asshole here and on other related threads. I could have said what I should have said then: "That is your opinion, and we have had our say. I am through debating."

I happily do not apologize for any of the beliefs I expressed, only that this discussion turned into an insult match of sorts between two people who use passive aggressive arguments as skilled weapons.

Back to real life!

15

We NEED Positive Things and Positive Focus

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

howdy all.

just a small commentary for those so inclined to read on what i think is a very important factor to successfully leaving jw's and moving on with your life.. it is understandable to leave at a bad/low point in your life.

jehovahs witnesses are a cult, and whether they force you out, or you choose to leave on your own, its still on their terms.

AllTimeJeff

Howdy all. Just a small commentary for those so inclined to read on what I think is a very important factor to successfully leaving JW's and moving on with your life.

It is understandable to leave at a bad/low point in your life. Jehovah’s Witnesses are a cult, and whether they force you out, or you choose to leave on your own, it’s still on their terms. I think we all get mad that they got to dictate the terms for us. I can’t talk to my friends… still. Why not? Because they won’t let my friends talk to me. Ridiculous!

Maybe they still are dictating terms. Maybe you have family members who have made the unconscious decision to support the Governing Body instead of your family. That sucks, and frankly, there isn’t a whole lot we can do. I mean, if we could, we would close it down, picket, you know, think of things that have never been tried before.

I joke of course, this forum frequently discusses how to bring down JW’s. Nothing better then revenge. Nothing more noble than saving the unwary from this one predatory group (out of many predatory groups that exist honestly.)

I say all of this because there will always be something negative to focus on, whether it be our past with JW’s, or even what they currently keep us from, such as believing family still stuck inside.

Still, we all have something even more important than that where we have the greatest control; our own lives, and our own potential happiness to pursue. At some point, we all have to ask ourselves “How much of the rest of my life am I going to dedicate in attention and energy to a group I no longer associate with or believe in?”

First of all, I have ZERO problems with you being depressed and in a negative state of mind. Anyone who is happy and has zero problems after leaving JW’s probably wears rose colored glasses all the time.

But at some point, if you believe that life is to be lived in a happy state, it’s at that point you have a decision to make. What will you focus on? The negative of the past? The positive you have now, and the potential future you have to look forward too?

Too often, we think of life as what we don’t have, without realizing what we do. I don’t know what you have, but I bet you have something that’s really cool, starting with the person starting back at you in the mirror.

It is important to realize that the glass is both half empty and half full. There is no need to ignore the bad, or pretend that the scar isn’t there. What it does mean is that there is good also, and that scars do heal, esp if you don’t pick at them all the time while they heal.

I am convinced, after 5 years out, that you taking your recovery personally and seriously, through reading, through learning, and through an effort to be positive will be one of the best gifts you can give yourself.

Notice that I am not talking about any path, any group, any philosophy. You can believe in god or not, have money or not, be a jerk or be a saint, but no matter what you are, none of that will make you happy unless you focus on the positive and decide to make your future positive.

Beware of spending too much time here. After a while, you will probably realize that you start repeating yourself. Sometimes, misery really does love company. Your life can be spent here daily rehashing the past as another day goes by. But let’s face it, your time today is the most expensive thing you could have spent on anything. There will never be another December 28, 2011 again. How did you spend this expensive day? Did it propel you where you want to go, or keep you where you are at?

Stay focused on the positive. One of the best lessons I can ever hope to learn. :)

81

WT Mar 15th 2012 - 144,000 no longer a literal number?

by dozy in

reading idly through this magazine , i read the study article "rejoicing in our hope" which discusses the two "hopes" according to the wtbts ie heaven & earth.. a couple of points were of interest:.

(1) absolutely no mention at all of the 144,000 or rev 14. usually an article like this would be filled with references , but it isn't even mentioned.

it does discuss the "limited number" , but only in contrast with the "no man can number" great crowd.. (2) a much more laid back attitude towards the two hopes.

AllTimeJeff

History is our greatest teacher on anything. What is the JW pattern? What is always their escape hatch/trap door?

New light!

The new light (or CYA understanding) could include how to view the heavenly hope. I am not sure what that will mean.

On the other hand, the WT has learned not to over-explain their beliefs, esp if it is the pubic edition of the WT. So I don't take the mere absence of the doctrine being explained as evidence they are changing. They probably are just spoon feeding it whenever they can.

Still, an interesting theory, esp since partakers are going up.

31

A Small Gift To You. (I hope...)

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

i was an ex jw.

first lesson: be happy.

read books.

AllTimeJeff

Hi everyone. In the over 5 years I have been out of this sickness, I have been mostly focused on the negative. I have tried at times to be positive, but wasn't able to pull it off. I feel I have turned a corner, so I don't mind sharing some of the lessons I learned along the way with you.

There isn't a lot to like in life after JW's, unless you embrace change. I wish I had reached out when I first left. Trying to go it alone wasn't wisdom, but I didn't possess the ability to trust. I have expanded my inner circle, and it has really helped.

While anger at JW's is understandable, you can't stay there.

Experiencing failure as you start over is inevitable. Expect it and embrace it.

If you want to be happy again (or for the first time ever) don't hang around angry or bitter people. Acknowledge where you are. Look for happy people. Try to make them your friends. Learn from them.

It isn't as easy as reading this. It's taken me 5 years or so to get to this point. So don't give up. But don't just exist.

READ!! PLEASE READ SOME GOOD POSITIVE BOOKS!! EDUCATE YOURSELF!!!

Ok? Then it isn't AllTimeJeff, some anonymous poster on JWN telling you this. Believe me, you can help yourself. You can be yourself and you can discover yourself. Don't spend so much time rehashing and reliving your JW past that you miss the opportunity you have to grow and move forward and move on.

Other than all that?? I just wanted to say hi. :)

Happy Holidays!