after being a long time fader and lurking here for a few years i finally had the courage to speak to my wife the other day
she was complaining about how we never get invited back to other jw's houses despite being fairly hospitable ourselves and how she's made some new worldly friends that werre non-judgemental and just nice people.
she also mentioned her mum (also jw but weak - split up from her jw husband) was struggling with the routine and had lots of nice friends out of the kh.
Congrats Besty! As Moshe said it's best if you can leave together. My employer's wife had questions and doubts for years that were never taken seriously by her elder husband. Finally she said, "Unless I get answers to these questions I'm not going back". He started researching and in no time he said, "we're outta here!". They left together and are the happiest people I know. In fact he is now pastor of a local community church.
Skeptic1914
at my wedding -- june 30th-- i will have a few x-jws and even one maybe two real jws there.
the wedding is in a church .. .
and i was thinking of having "marriage is god's arrangement" played just for kicks with even a soloist there to sing it.
Renee, congrats on your marriage. I still have a fond place in my heart for many of the "Kingdom" songs. In fact I was singing/humming a couple of them today. I think many reflect fine, Scripturally correct thoughts. No need to attach the negatives to them. JMO
Skeptic1914
just saying hi to all here in the forum.
im 26yrs old as of today!
so happy b-day to me.
Ditto
Skeptic1914
so.... mom calls me saturday to see if my 12 year old son wants to go to the memorial.
she left voicemail, so i managed to ignore the call until monday was safely past.
then, when i talk to her, she mentioned how many people were there, how nice it was, the nice elders in her kh.
How on earth can you go with a straight face and peddle literature that you know is lies and try to bring people into an org you know is WRONG? I don't get it.....
I don't get it either
Skeptic1914
i didnt!
but again i was quite young.. i know this stuff has been posted in the past.....but for the heck of it, i wanted to see what others believe cults consist of.....so i googled this.
http://www.americanreligion.org/cultwtch/whatis.html.
9. Cult members are isolated from the outside world and any reality testing it could provide. This one, unfortunately, I don't think is true at all.I don't agree. The problem is that the JW interpret EVERYTHING about the outside world thru the FDS/GB provided "lens". So they thet "see" the outside world and those in it only as they are taught to. This blocks out the possibility of incorporating new and potentially useful info from the "outside" because "the world is ruled by Satan". What kind of meaningful intellectual/rational exchange can be had with a "worldly person"?
Skeptic1914
for the first time in a year i set foot on a kh.
the memorial to me is still somewhat sacred so i decided to attend.
i thought i would feel different, in the sense that maybe i would miss meetings, but i was wrong.
I went also, although this is the first year I probably would NOT have gone, yet like TD:
I go every year out of respect for my wife, her beliefs, her family, etc.
I listen with a critical ear at ANY JW mtg. What struck me was the continued insistence on a literal 144,000, the obvious misapplication of Jesus ref to "other sheep" to an earthly class of Christians and (did anybody else catch this or was it just this speaker) the reference to the apostle Paul being a member of the "1st-century Christian Governing Body" ( in explaining why we were referencing 1st Corinthians instead of the Gospel accounts regarding the procedure to follow). Completely BOGUS since Paul was directly chosen by Christ.
Skeptic1914
ok so i've been reading thru the posts here for the last week or so since i found it.
and i just am amazed i think or i don't know...i feel something that i can't quite put my finger on.
i was raised in 'the truth' as many here were.
Welcome, Rosiegurl. Like you raised "in the truth" but now,
I'm seeing witnesses in a different light now....like not all of them are 100% dedicated
I went to the Memorial last night and I still go to the occasional Sunday mtg w/my wife. But I feel like a complete outsider, a foreigner and I do believe there are others that may feel the same way but who can be brutally honest in this environment? Well, you can be, but not w/o consequence. Your father may be more open-minded than you know.
Skeptic1914
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/7/129473/1.ashx.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/7/129553/1.ashx.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/7/129647/1.ashx.
Thanks TSOF. Keep it coming. Glad to hear you are living life.
IMHO it seems that, of the ones "raised in the truth", the most damaged ones are those with fanatical, over-zealous parents. I've known several and have read of others. What's you're take on this?
Skeptic1914
i believe the moment's right to discuss a very serious matter............................................................beer.
what do you like?
let's edumicate one another!
Nvr, I was going to PM you about this, then I saw the thread is still hot.
Has anyone mentioned BALTIKA #9. It's a russian beer that unfortunately has been only sporadically available at my local beer distrib. I used to buy it by the case. 8% alcohol, smooth. Good all-around beer.
Also, last time I stopped in, my distrib had just gotten in beers from the Left Hand Brewing Co., Colorado. They have a porter, a "milk" stout, a brown ale and something they call sawtooth ale. Not bad.
Skeptic1914
i will be "studying" the chapter about the memorial with my local witness contacts.
as a christian, i find their teachings on christ to be nauseating.. i am looking for a chance to bring out the old russell books and ask them to clear up my confusion about a number of previous teachings.
if anyone thinks of me, and is so inclined, send up a prayer on my behalf for wisdom, clear thinking, and above all that the true love of jesus will shine through me and the spirit will open up some darkened hearts.. ts.
TS, I applaud your courage to sit through a 2 hr discussion like that. You're right, though, you never know where it might lead. It's like planting seeds.
This reminds me of a phone conversation I had 9 years ago. I called someone I thought was a long-time JW. Turns out she was out and "head over heels in love" with Jesus. It's a long story but the point is I did not hang up once I realized she was an xjw. I listened. I evaluated what she had to say and although I intellectually dismissed most of it at the time, seeds WERE planted.
I believe that experience helped me to consider/listen/evaluate what people much closer to me had to say when they started to have doubts about what the WT teaches. Today I see this org for what it is. God bless your efforts.
Skeptic1914
