The group photographs taken at the hall would seem to indicate through the years that the percentage of people who stay longer than say, 10 years, for our hall anyway, was quite low. There were standbys that were "lifers" for what I could see, with those found in the door-to-door work especially prone to the revolving door. I posed the question to an elder once, 'from the time you have been here how many people have come and gone' and he told me we would have enough to make two more congregations. This is the one figure the society doesn't offer in the year-end reports. I wonder how many have left since the beginning?
Numinous
JoinedPosts by Numinous
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12
JW converts - what percentage fall away?
by Double Edge ini got into a discussion today at lunch with someone who years ago 'flirted' with becoming a jw (then 1975 came and went).
i've never been a dub, but what i've gather from this board there are those raised in the religion who after 30-40 years leave for whatever reason.
what percentage of those not raised in the religion, but are converted, become disillusioned and finally leave?
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"Religions tell us we have to give up this life for another ...
by serenitynow ingive up our desire, passions, pleasures ... what type of comfort is that?
'die while you are alive so you can be alive when you are dead?'".
this was a thought-provoking quote i read on the weekend from a french philosopher michael onfray, particularly when we know how much one gives up for life as a dub.
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Numinous
Even if we go by the "heavenly Father" scenario, what kind of father would want you to live a life of misery to prove to him that you love him? Right before I left the WT there were many in the hall who contacted me to tell me the REAL circumstances in their life, how very difficult and truely unhappy they were. They did this to try to help me realize that I wasn't alone, but it only solidified my feelings that, for me, enough was enough. I had already given 20 years and I was in a circumstance that I would never have thought I would be able to bear. It was the religion of suffering. God wants us to LIVE and be HAPPY! Could God fault a soul for wanting this?
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Have you ever had a really bad haircut? (rant)
by restrangled inwent to a salon today with picture in hand.
i spent 2/1/2 hours suffering in the chair, (foiling and cut).
i wound up with about 6 to 7 inches lopped off and came out looking like a big haired, bubble headed 80's special.
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Numinous
It could be that they figure they aren't giving you your money's worth if they just trim it. Restrangled, have you thought about a hat, a wig maybe? Einstein would just take all his hair, pile it on top his head, pull it, and cut it with a pair of scissors. Brilliant. I have yet to be so intelligent that I don't care about my hair. I have long curly hair that takes twice the normal time to grow. Nobody touches it but me, and, YES, I think hair is a big deal, I am really feeling for you.
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Is a lurker a secret apostate?
by aquagirl injust wondering..when i was in the dubs,even looking at a site such as this would be considered apostacy and grounds for disipline.do they now allow it?
or maybe even,wonder of wonders,encourage weighing the options?and if you are a lurker,i give you credit.it must take guts or curiosity or intelligence to start looking outside the borg..maybe all three..
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Numinous
If I were still involved with the witnesses, with my own computer, it would be extremely difficult, once I found this site, to not be addicted to it. This site really has it all, and to have a hidden source of information that nobody else has...a soft place to fall if you have a problem...wow. That's something every J-Ho wants pretty badly. But hiding it would be top priority as I can't imagine it would ever be approved.
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America's divorce rate falls to lowest level since 1970 - bad luck WT
by truthseeker inthe watchtower is always lamenting "ever increasing levels of divorce" etc, especially when they have wt articles about the family.. this article presents some refreshing views that not every married couple is getting divorced.. perhaps the rate of divorce among jehovah's witnesses is the highest since 1970 as it's becoming more and more common to hear about jw spouses breaking up or having affairs.. .
u.s. divorce rate falls to lowest level since 1970some suggest more couples are living together long-term without marryinghttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18600304/?gt1=9951.
new york - by the numbers, divorce just isnt what it used to be.. despite the common notion that america remains plagued by a divorce epidemic, the national per capita divorce rate has declined steadily since its peak in 1981 and is now at its lowest level since 1970.. yet americans arent necessarily making better choices about their long-term relationships.
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Numinous
Agree with Greendawn on the "come into our world and you will be secure" song we all heard. I asked an elder's wife out in service once if there were no penalties to divorce in the organization, what is the percentage that would do so. Without a pause she stated 50 percent. I was one of the first, believe it or not, in my congregation to divorce...they made a big deal out of it at first, then as the months went by nobody cared. I asked the question "So the congregation will help me out if he hits his head and I am stuck with medical, apartment rent, utility bills..." Seven months later, an elder casually asked, "So, how's that divorce coming?" No surprise when I told him it happened a long time ago. This tactic can also work with the "quit your job and pioneer" question that comes up. My prediction: In 20 years everyone will have figured out that God doesn't care about the marriage license records at the local courthouse.
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Near death experience
by Frequent_Fader_Miles inany one out there ever had a nde (near death experience)?
what was it like?
did you see the white light at the end of a tunnel, with your loved ones standing near the end?.
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Numinous
P.M.H. Atwater put out the complete idiot's guide to near-death experiences. It's a winner that I lapped up soon after I left. Between that one, and another idiot's guide on reincarnation I had some great food for thought. To me, experience trumps belief.
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UFOs what do you think?
by MariAruet inok, i know this is a taboo but could it all be just a product of imagination?.
i wached something tonight on tv then went to internet and found this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqgfalftl4u.
what do you think?.
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Numinous
Absolutely. I used to tell people out in service JC died for this planet, but "once for all time"...which would negate his having to sacrifice for all planets, or that that sacrifice covered all planets. I tried to research UFOs in WT literature, and they avoid the subject like crazy with an Awake article that simply excuses the entire situation with the idea of demons diverting our attention away from the earth.
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Wife finally sees truth about "the truth"
by jakes inwell it has finally happened.my wife is not going back to the meetings again.as you would probably read in my previous posts, i have written a book about my experience in the watchtower organisation which is on the verge of being published.she still tried to cling to what little belief she had in the borg and did not want to read my manuscript.we discussed many of the issues and concerns i had about the watchtower but most of the times it ended in a heated argument.. i was quite surprised when she approached me about two weeks ago and asked to read my manuscript.after reading it she handed it back to me and said she fully supports me in publishing this book.her eyes have been opened to the deception and lies.i think she and a friend had a bad experience calling on one of her so-called jw friends.furthermore, she did not attend this past weekends circuit assembly..
hooray!!!.
all i have to do now is to introduce her to all you wonderful people here on jwd.. jakes.
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Numinous
You are living the dream come true for most JW Jakes...so very happy for you!
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What "Type" of "Apostate" Are You? Conservative, Liberal or In The Center?
by minimus insome are very much out there in trying to bring the watchtower down.
some will go to extreme measures to see to it that everyone knows how wrong the witnesses are.
others are less demonstrative and more liberal as to their approach and of course there are certain ones that are pretty much in the middle...... where are you??
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Numinous
I don't like to go along with a word that the WT has designated for those who leave them, after all, THEY are apostates acording to the rest of the world. I don't want to fight with either those who are in or who have never been in. I most certainly don't believe in anything that they believe anymore, but won't go out of my way to raise a ruckus. We are all on our own path, but I think we get into the religion in order to get out.
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Has Your Personality Or Mindset Changed Since Leaving The Organization?
by The wanderer in<!-- .style2 { font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; color: #000099; } .style3 { font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; } --> has your personality or mindset changed since leaving the organization?the watchtower tried to instruct individuals to adopt the sheep .
like personality or christ like personality.
personally, i still try to .
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Numinous
Ditto nvrgnbk...Mom asks me today if I want to go to a USO concert. I see the ad in the paper. A bunch of old ladies dressed up like old New England singing..." lets all do the national anthem now...sing songs about how this country is better than anyone elses"...like a Lawence Welk tribute. I figure 20 years times the service I put in, meetings I went to, just plain being where I didn't want to be trying to make the best of it and I told her no. Every day, every hour COUNTS now and I will be living my life the way I want to no matter whose feelings get in the way. I feel like Black gave birth to White somehow. I can't imagine asking someone who has been through thousands of hours of boredom to take on a little more...so...to answer the question of how I have changed, I have much less tolerance to the idea of wasting my time. I studied hard to get out of the J-Hos, I can't be an exit counselor in an office, but I do know that everyone on here, newbys included, are exit counselors, and I can't imagine a better use of an hour a day.