I left and had to. I just couldn't go when I realized the whole thing was rotten from the head down. It had made me sick, too. The shunning didn't matter one way or the other. But looking back and knowing that my best friend and I said good-by because she knew they would Df me if I disassociated--well, it is revolting to have not seen the sickness of it before.
humbled
JoinedPosts by humbled
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Do You Honestly Believe That You Would Have Officially Left The JW Religion If They Didn't Shun You?
by minimus ini left as an inactive person.
i pretty much have been left alone by the elders and witnesses, as far as being hounded.. i know of many that either disassociated or got disfellowshipped.. i'm wondering if you think you would have remained a jw, in name only, if the religion (cult) didn't shun and penalize as they do..
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Please write: show but not tell.
by compound complex ingreetings, fellow posters!.
movies can easily show emotion on an actor's face, or depict what he's thinking by his actions.
not so easily in writng.
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humbled
she is a vision of peace--other-worldly.
or magical realisism.
lovely
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Life for me as a jw (not really) teenager
by DuvanMuvan inhey i joined this thread recently and thought this was a good way to introduce myself.
i am 15, still going to school and i live in the uk.
a good chunk of my mum's side of the family are jws.
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humbled
Great clear thinking.
Do not waver. You have good reasons not to join up. You won't miss a beat in getting on in life as long as you steer clear of a religion that will not respect your thinking and your conscience.
Hang on to your convictions, DuvanMuvan.
I had 7 children and the ones who stood up to me and the Witnesses about the "Truth" are the happiest--Now ALL of them are out and so am I. They are all out and doing fine.
Maeve
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Another new member here to share her experience
by One Last Kiss inim a long-time lurker turned member, finally felt the need to share my experience with people who know where im coming from.
will try to be as succinct as possible!.
am from the uk and was born in as 3rd generation.
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humbled
OLK, Welcome.
I really hope your Mom will think how beautiful her toleration is and how void the WTBTS is.
Your post was a delight of clear thinking, marching out one thought following another--to action.
Maeve
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My DA from the WBT$ 'membership'.
by punkofnice ini posted this on the private board 2 years ago but now don't care who sees this as i'm no longer in hiding from the wbt$ cult members.. these are transcripts of the 2 letters i recieved leading up to my being da'd (not df'd), for apostacy(tm).
dear punk.
i am aware that you have requested that there be no contact from the congregation, but there is an outstanding matter that needs to be resolved, and we would like to have your co-operation in resolving it.. .
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humbled
Punk,
Is this like a "break-up" letter where he/she can see the marriage is obviously in the crapper and doesn't want to hear the reasons why it is? This is so obviously a one-sided matter, only one side's interest of concern. It reflects a lack of appreciation for the psycological suffering that has to be felt by the one who has been going down.
Why do these elders have to make themselves so emotionally dead?
When the Org. does this it corrupts the congregations. IF they would be open to talk how different things would be! But this way they are clean, pure and holy--my way or the hiway. The elders have to have new hearts to do this work-- the hearts of butchers.
We who are expelled at least have a chance to recover. They do not.
I forgot--have they been worried about you since? (Mine haven't looked me up)
anyhow, take care
Maeve
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My First Special Pioneer Assignment
by fulltimestudent inmy first special pioneer assignment.- part 1.. in australia, western civilization is a thin strip of land, that hugs the coast.
all the major cities are on the coast.
i grew up on the east coast of australia where the great dividing range, as its called, runs parallel to the coast, and limits the extension of cities like sydney and brisbane.
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humbled
FTS,
That is a great story and well told.
You may have referenced this in another thread, namely the absolute reason(s) you scuttled the "Truth".
I myself have lived much of my married life in situations as you describe and found some of the exhortations and examples in the literature to be unrealistic. No plumbing, many children and no gas money and chores at home a-plenty. Yet I found the "Jesus teachings" to be invaluable in living with neighbors of all sorts.
I told the elders one time that my own experience was like "Legion" in the gospels. Healed of spirit, not allowed to go with the other disciples---and yet given the commission to go about telling others of the good things he had received at Jesus' hand.
The futility of trying to conform to the requirements of the WT program made me think a lot about what was in the bible and and what was not--so as to find where I and others like me could be a good witness to God even if we were "bad" J-Witness.
That helped me to leave when trouble came later.
I say again, Good story. I doo hope you will tell more of the struggles you saw in the community you were assigned to serve. Life being a struggle, I am sure some of those salty folks had some comments on the kind of spiritual needs they felt and the menu the WTBTS offered.
Thanks for your posts.
Maeve
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An Anti-Witnessing Campaign, Please Join Me!
by What Now? inin the past few weeks, the shunning issue has become a very personal one for me, and i have begun to realize that it is not just enough for me and my family to fade out.
after some recent events, i am motivated to start some anti-watchtower activism of my own.. i, like many others, have hoped that there would be a scandal of epic proportions within the organization, something that would wake others up and trigger a mass exodus.. while i am still hopeful that this may happen, it seems that the organization is too good at damage control, and heightening the paranoia surrounding apostates.. but what if the ex-witness community tried a different approach?.
what if, to borrow a hockey term, a sort of shut out situation was created?.
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humbled
I occasionally see religious fliers on car windshields or in laundromats, but they can be tedious. With a few illustration-comic book style--it would be read by most who see them.
Your post makes me think.
We used to go door to door with a "Life-saving message" as JWs. Maybe this message of Anti-witnessing would really be lifesaving.
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The Watchtower: Does This Game Of Jenga Ever End?
by metatron inthere are a great many fine posts here - and some from 8 years back - detailing how apathetic and perfunctory the organization has become.. and yet, it still stands, doesn't it?.
is there any point to be reached in this apparent 'experiment in sociology' in which they wake up and say 'screw this?
' if they crammed 10 congregations into one hall and stole the money, would any witnesses wake up?
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humbled
The
The WT has a feature that makes it certain that there will always be some faithful adherents. What other religion has completely segregated the cult object from the common worshipper?
God and Jesus are made remote and unknowable by design. And though some of us had doubts and left there will be others for whom here is no way to know or not-know God unless they are tuned in to the "Channel". These are so indoctrinated that they will never be able to examine their own experience and thoughts of whether God even exists or examine the scriptures with honesty.
They will die as martyrs by slow suffocation.
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Drinking and JWN
by BU2B ini am drinking a japanese beer called kirin ichiban right now exploring the wonderful threads of the past here on jwn.
i love this forum so much.. how many here enjoy an adult beverage while browsing jwn?
i love all of you guys :).
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humbled
I am a lousy typist so I can't drink my beer and type at the same time.
Which is a drag--because I at least fancy I can think when I'm drinking--something that I doubt otherwise.
Maeve-who-loves-her-beer
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Pioneering: How the GB shamelessly capitalizes on members' worldly desire for prominence.
by Island Man inthe bible likens the preaching work to a sacrifice of praise - praise to god.
pioneering is also a sacrifice that involves praise.
it's the sacrifice of a specified number of hours that wins you the praise of men.. when you really analyze the psychology of pioneering it is apparent that the praise of men or prominence before men is at the heart of it.
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humbled
Good point, quelly. Anonymous like donations. Why not?