February, 1982 for me. It took a while for it all to sink in, although as someone else said on this thread, it was anticlimactic when it did. I've never come at it as intellectually or intelligently as you Cofty, which makes me appreciate all the more the information you share with us. I am sad that this is the only life, sometimes, but wishing doesn't change anything. Facing that truth does make me try to slow down and get the most out of the moments I have.
Hortensia
JoinedPosts by Hortensia
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18
I Let Go Of Faith Ten years Ago Today
by cofty inafter more than 30 years as a jw and 9 as a born-again christian i finally let go of faith 10 years ago today.... it was on boxing day 2004 that news of the asian tsunami put the final nail in the coffin of my relationship with god.
since that time i have listened attentively to every possible argument in defense of faith; there has never been a single moment that i have felt any discomfort with my decision.. life without god has been liberating.
no longer do i have to defend the indefensible.
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Merry Whatever lights up your winter
by Hortensia ini hope you get to enjoy the lights and sounds and food of winter.
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Hortensia
I hope you get to enjoy the lights and sounds and food of winter. -
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Hortensia
My Toshiba laptop. I've had several, they last a long time and don't cost much, esp. on sale. Also, very seldom have any problems with them.
Wool sweaters.
Cast iron pans and pots. I buy grungy ones at yard sales and put them in my oven. Run it on self-clean and every bit of grunge comes off. Then I reseal them and they're like new.
Electric tooth brush.
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New forum 'parousia' is upon us! (software version)
by Simon inthe time has nearly come to switch over to the new forum software.
of course it's not completely finished yet (and never will be) but i think it's good enough to go live with and probably already better than the current one.
i'll give you a quick overview of what to expect and post more detail about the changeover process later.. cloud platform.
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Hortensia
What about deleting old private messages? Would love to be able to do that.
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Joe Cocker RIP
by NewYork44M inwho can forget the opening credit to the wonder years.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ob59hsrafu.
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Hortensia
My favorite . . .
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life after the wtbts
by Hortensia inyou can't move forward to a new, more interesting, possibly much happier life, if you're still looking behind at the former life.. there is so much obsession on here about what the wtbts is doing, and discussing all the forms of injustice and bullshit in the wtbts, or how to bring down the wtbts.
yes, their doctrines are crazy and they are a cult and cruel to boot.
move on.
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Hortensia
I guess I wrote this because of a creepy experience I had this weekend. Possibly over-reacting. I hang out here because I'm interested in what people do nowadays, because we have a shared experience in the past, and maybe to find someone I used to know that has escaped also. But I don't really understand the fascination with WT doctrine. Why care? And the desire to bring the WT down? I don't get it. Another one will pop up in its place. There are more dangerous religions on earth right now than the WT.
Not apologizing, just attempting to explain.
Maybe time to say so long? It's just that I like most of the folks here and really respect the intellect of some of you, too. I'm always curious. What's cofty going to say next? Or fulltimestudent? There's a lot of interesting conversation that goes on here. I just don't get the obsession with doctrine, or trying to sabotage the wtbts. I'm still a bit creeped out, I guess.
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life after the wtbts
by Hortensia inyou can't move forward to a new, more interesting, possibly much happier life, if you're still looking behind at the former life.. there is so much obsession on here about what the wtbts is doing, and discussing all the forms of injustice and bullshit in the wtbts, or how to bring down the wtbts.
yes, their doctrines are crazy and they are a cult and cruel to boot.
move on.
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Hortensia
Well, I guess I came across as unloving. Sorry about that. But it's so sad to see people still wrapped up in the wtbts years and years after they've physically left it. I didn't find this site until many years after I left the wtbts, and I hang out to see what people are doing, hear some stories about personal achievements like Sooner becoming a nurse, that sort of thing. Plus, we all understand each other in a way that people who have never been JWs can't understand.
I left behind family, friends, everyone I had known for my entire life, all in one fell swoop. Worked out for me in the long run to just turn my back on it all, and on everyone who was still in. It was frightening, but necessary.
Ah, I guess I'm just an asshole sometimes.
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Want to hear something funny ?
by troubled mind inmy husband just won the city wide holiday light display for christmas i am so proud .
just a few short years ago i was the one that put a strand of white lights around the porch railing ,and a couple of lighted deer in the yard ....that brought the elders around real quick (after three years of silence ) at that time my husband was still holding onto the notion his faith was not bond to a cult .
it didn't take long after the 'loving sheparding call' for him to see things in another light.
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Hortensia
Very pretty -- tell him I'm impressed!
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Court Bars Kids From Jehovah's Witness Activities
by Bangalore incourt bars kids from jehovah's witness activities.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/64209712/court-bars-kids-from-jehovahs-witness-activitieshttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11375208bangalore.
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Hortensia
That's pretty interesting. I'm glad he wants to "dilute" their exposure to the wt crap. However, JWs can be devious and the poor kids are brainwashed already.
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life after the wtbts
by Hortensia inyou can't move forward to a new, more interesting, possibly much happier life, if you're still looking behind at the former life.. there is so much obsession on here about what the wtbts is doing, and discussing all the forms of injustice and bullshit in the wtbts, or how to bring down the wtbts.
yes, their doctrines are crazy and they are a cult and cruel to boot.
move on.
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Hortensia
You can't move forward to a new, more interesting, possibly much happier life, if you're still looking behind at the former life.
There is so much obsession on here about what the wtbts is doing, and discussing all the forms of injustice and bullshit in the wtbts, or how to bring down the wtbts. Yes, their doctrines are crazy and they are a cult and cruel to boot. Move on. Learn some new stuff, stuff that is true and useful and interesting. Get some new friends. Get out in the world and experience what it has to offer. If you haven't already, start making plans for the future. Not just retirement. How are you going to really get the most from being alive? Certainly not by clinging with all your might to the past. Maybe you'll have to take that trip forward alone, without your friends or family. I understand the pain of that. But living inauthentically is also painful and a sad waste of a short life.
OK, opinion expressed. Feel free to disagree, call me names, whatever. I'm speaking from the advantage of 33 years out of the wtbts, and years of observing what ex-JWs do in their lives. You aren't really an EX-jw if you're still obsessed with their world.
Sharing my opinion is meant kindly, however you may take it.