Posts by whoknows

58

Confessed my Doubts to my Wife

by cantleave in

well - i today i had the opportunity to tell my wife i no longer believe in the things that i have spent my life immersed in and that i didn't want my life run by 9 geriatrics in brooklyn.. her reaction was understandable her first questions was "what have you been reading"?.

i didn't mention this site but told her i was shocked by something i heard regarding the wts's ngo status with the un, dissapointed by the new light on the generation and disturbed by the flip flopping on blood fractions.

i explained how these things were at best hypocritical and at worst have meant some people have lost their lives unnecessarily because of the societies previous position.

whoknows

Perhaps a good subject for personal study night would be who the mediator for all of mankind is, according to the bible (not their literature). There are so many scriptures that state that there is only one mediator between god and man, that no one comes to the father except through ME (not a group of men), that there is one faith, one hope. Discuss whether Jesus ever directed his followers to look for a group of men to interpret the bible and direct them, whereas he said that where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am among you. And by the way, where did he say he is coming invisibly? He said the exact opposite, that if someone tells you I'm in the woods, or where ever (invisible), don't follow them. The parable of the FDS is just that, a parable. Hmmm, wonder why they chose that parable to apply prophetically to themselves? Might it be that it conveniently confers power to them over "all of the household"?

I dunno, just a few things that got me thinking and doubting. You can prove these point using only the bible, whereas she can't defend them using the bible.

42

DNCall Unmasked - Part 5 of 5

by DNCall in

jw
friends

startfragment.

during the appeal period of one week we sent the following letter to approximately 22 of our oldest and closest friends.

im including it here because it conveys how we feel at present, looking back over the half-century of our lives.. dear ____,.

whoknows

You all have no idea how all of the wonderful comments made here on this post have been gratifying and a true comfort to me. It is our greatest desire that reading our experience will give some lurkers (that was me) who have been long-time jws and heavily invested in the organization the courage to objectively examine this religion, its history, its teachings and its policies, against what the bible really teaches. When I first posted here two years ago I was scared to death. This forum gave me the courage to read, read, read and to find out the real "truth".

One of the first publications I read was entitled "Spiritual Food at the Proper Time" and is exclusively direct quotes about prophecies, predictions and claims from the society's literature going back to the late 1880s on through to 2000. It was compiled by an active JW in 2000, and all quotations can be verified at the KHs that might still have some of the older literature. It was extremely powerful to me. By the time I finished reading that publication, there was no doubt in my mind that this religion is just a man-made religion, worse and more dangerous than most, in my opinion. It can be obtained at the Commentary Press website. I begged two of our closest friends to read it, thinking that they would read something that was purely quotes from the society's literature, but they refused.

Anyway, thank you all for your very kind words - it has meant so much to me.

Barbara

65

Unloaded on the husband of my wife's study sister last night, how much damage did I do to myself??

by insearchoftruth in

well had a really good weekend away from home, but i guess i knew that the respite from the wts would end.

tuesdays are the day my wife has her personal bible study with the sister and she has also had the husband come over on tuesday afternoons so the son can have the pleasure of a bible study (which he loathes, he is a high school junior and has no interest in this stuff).

i get home from work late, after a fairly long day and the guy is still there.

whoknows

Excellent questions and ones that absolutely should be asked! I would do exactly the same with anyone I knew that was studying with JWs. My plan is that if any ever come to my door, I plan on engaging them briefly in a discussion and then asking " if my child decides to be baptized as a witness at, say age 15, and then changes their mind and leaves, am I allowed to have any relationship with them?" It will be fun to watch them handle that one.

This is a personal issue with me because I have seen one family, a single mom and her daughter, totally destroyed by this evil policy.

48

DNCall Unmasked - Part 4 of 5

by DNCall in

jw
friends

startfragment.

even though i didnt have the title of elder, i was still active in my work at bethel and the congregation used me as much as possible.

when the congregation recommended that i once again serve as an elder, one elder raised the objection that that barbara was a low-hour publisher.

whoknows

Quandry - I think we can really relate to each other. I loved the social part (perhaps the most) of the whole thing and to go from 90 MPH to a dead stop in a matter of weeks was quite a shock to me. It helps to understand that the cong we chose to be in had many (believe it or not) intelligent, funny, loving and tolerant people and those were our closest friends. We were having a blast there for a while. It is very difficult, if not impossible to replace these friendships of 40 years, but we are reconnecting to some who had the good sense to leave before we did and it helps ALOT. Also, as you say, more time for the beautiful aspects of life. If we are ever in Texas, we are showing up on your porch (you must have one - I don't), and the same extended to you - Santa Monica is a nice place to visit.

Love

Hi Wha-

We just got wind of this thread and I want to thank you for your kinds words about the df'd person in question (my husband). We tried to walk away quietly, haven't been to a meeting in two years and we were not in contact with anyone, yet we got the call that there was evidence of his "teaching" apostate ideas. Teaching who I wonder? We did have some private and honest conversations with close friends before we left in an effort to explain our position and possibly get them to think a little. Evidently that was enough to bring on a public execution of us very dangerous people two years later. We were kindly invited to attend a judicial committee meeting, politely declined that lovely invitation, and my husband told them "I know you will do what you are TOLD to do". The GB is terrified of people that think for themselves and vilify and demonize any "independent thinkers"! It's OK, we have moved on with our lives and our hope is that this kind of action towards us will cause some to think, but Im not holding my breath.

He was an elder for 26 years, had just about every job in the cong you can think of because he was a reliable good teacher. We had a bookstudy in our home for about 25 years. He sacrificed a lot to travel back to NY to volunteer his skills as a composer, orchestrator and arranger for the borg. He did write two songs in the old songbook, one was quite popular, but now, evidently, the message in that song is evil.

For any lurkers reading this, it is difficult and scary to walk away after 42 years, but there is a whole world of good things out there. It gets easier with time, the first year is the hardest - cliches I know, but true. We did a ton of reading and research in order to re-wire our programmed ignorant thinking. It takes time and effort, but it is well worth it.

whoknows

We are very happy to have our freedom and are enjoying our lives.

i

24

New Video on the July 2009 Awake

by rifter in

i hope this is the right section to post this!

i just finished a new video discussing the july 2009 awake article, is it wrong to change your religion?.

most of us have been pretty shocked over this one, so i think it's important to get the message out there as much as we can.

whoknows

Great video Rifter! I loved your calm manner and the quotations used. Let's hope many see it.