one of my jw sons seems to be putting pressure on his non-jw brother apparently to scare him into accepting the troof and start coming to meetings.
wild statements like our topic title, which i know are not supported at jw dot org, have been made to my non-jw son several times over the past year or so.
while i haven't been privy to the actual phone conversations i tend to believe that the jw son is being pressured by the local elders to cut ties with the non-jw since their conversations seem to degrade into arguments -- therefore tending to weaken the jws faith in wt teachings.. either my jw son is lying about what i would call rogue teachings (and this would disappoint me greatly) or he is in some close knit clique in his congregation which has secretly chosen to go rogue on certain wt issues.. based on many of the recent posts here about drastic money and wt organization problems this could be a sign of pending splits of certain congregation members.. what do you think?
Wild statements like our topic title, which I know are not supported at JW dot ORG, have been made to my non-JW son several times over the past year or so.
If the organization was backing it up, they couldn't shame the "brothers" for "getting ahead of Jehovah" after another 50 years go by and there is no Armageddon. This way they get the action they want out of the rank and file without taking any flack for riling them up.
Edit: I see I'm not the first to imply this. LOL
hi friends .
i don't believe in jw doctrines anymore but because of family i have to be a jw for now.. i am not regular to meetings, and don't answer in meeting, but i report some hours so i remain as active jw now.. .
congregation knows that i am not spiritual and i don't talk to people and i don't care what they think about me.. now, i believe it's important to observe lord's supper as a christian as per john 6:53, so in the coming memorial if i attend i want to partake in the communion,.. i believe it is a sin to pass the bread and wine inspite of knowing it's flesh and blood of jesus.. it's like rejecting jesus.. so i want to partake.. but i dont consider i am anointed etc.
The only reason to partake at the memorial is to cause a scene. If that is what you wish to do, then do it. It is never a sin to be respectful and loving toward your family.
If you want to participate in communion and enjoy some kind of spiritual experience, find a church that does that and find out how to join the process.
Think about your intentions and then make your choice.
please don't hate on me.. im a 30 something blind woman, who has been aware of the witnesses a while.
after my dad died five years ago - i questioned my own faith - christian (anglican).
tried everything - the occult, new churches etc.. 3 years ago i was suggested to have a study by a good friend who is jw.
You say you've tried other religions and the occult after questioning your Anglican faith. What specifically were you looking for? Community? Answers to questions about life? Relationship with God?
Is your study with the witnesses satisfying? Do you believe in their teachings enough to go convert other people? Are you more attached to your new friends than to the actual teachings?
To be a JW, you must be willing to adjust your life around your religion. There is no half way.
Think about these questions and put the skills you learned in college to good use while you find your answers. This is something you must do for yourself because everyone is different. Perhaps your journey to find your faith isn't finished and this was just a step along the way.
Good luck.
havent had an encounter with a witness in a while, almost 10 years, though at this point i could run circles around them in the scriptures, this encounter was very strange.
was eating with my son at a coffee shop, guy comes up using it as an opening.
i'm use to this because people find my son beautiful so i was open to him.
I remember as a pioneer I was expected to be able to explain our beliefs with only the bible (even the householder's version) including how to arrive at the year 1914. And we were supposed to get the hh involved in a conversation and show them (cherry picked) scriptures to get them to trust our knowledge enough to accept a study.
Of course once the organization started flip flopping on those beliefs, the back and forth made it impossible to keep up with the "truth" of the moment.
This new version of witnessing that involves handing out flyers and directing people to the website keeps the witnesses less involved. This makes it easier to sneak changes in. They don't even trust the elders to give the most important talks anymore, but play videos instead.
thank you to all of you who commented yesterday.
no doubt you gave me an accurate description of what to expect.
when i first walked in, i was greeted by the jw who calls on my house.
Interesting observation.
The meetings are like children's movies (i.e. Shrek); there is superficial content meant for non-jws (like the kid's content in the movie) and there is a deeper layer of content made for the jws (like the adult humor in the movie) that goes over the first audience's head.
You heard a lot of buzz words and key phrases that most likely made no impression on you because you have no context for it. Any of us, who were in the org for a while and have the teachings burned into our brains, would have an immediate reaction to those words. In jws who are still in, it is a comforting feeling because it is a reinforcement of what they already believe and it causes them to relax and drift in what they feel is an escape from Satan's influence in the world. For us that have left, it can be extremely uncomfortable (in fact, it makes me physically ill) to hear those phrases and words.
I hope you found what you were looking for in the experience, but be aware that there is an undercurrent at every meeting that is not felt by casual visitors.
recently there have been a few threads where claims have been made alledging personal negative effects in 'real life' following internet activity on jwn and other ex-jw related sites.
discussion then ensues, aspects of which may include 3rd parties either disputing the truth or affirming the likelihood of the claim.
questions are asked.
Besty: Do I understand your question correctly? Are you asking what is needed as proof of personal experiences people post about on this forum?
So, for example, say I came on here and wrote a long, sad story about how the wt ruined my life and how I'm trying to leave and have included emails from my family and things said by elders to me to back up my assertion. How do you know if what I say is true? What proof should I provide?
If this is what you mean, I would say that my word is enough.
We all know there have been posters that have gone on and on with unbelievable stories looking for sympathy and attention. If I feel someone is being dishonest about how they are being treated, I just don't respond to them. I don't waste energy trying to pick apart their story because it doesn't matter. If they break forum rules and ask for money, Simon & Co usually put a stop to it fairly quickly.
If you are talking about posters accusing other posters of misdeeds, it can get a lot messier. But I think that, unless there is something against forum rules, it is just out there and you have to ignore it. I believe that calling out another poster in a topic is against the rules, so report it and get on with your life.
We are all here to heal, or help others heal. We can't demand proof. We just have to decide what action we will take. You can believe what they say and try to help them out in whatever way you find best. You can respond and accuse, which only reinforces the "victim" complex and rallies those who believe the person to defend them. Or, you can ignore them and hope that the lack of attention moves the post into oblivion. At the end of the day, you have to decide if it is really worth your time and energy to force honesty from an anonymous person you met online. Hint: It isn't...
Just my 2 cents...
i believe most witnesses believe that there is nothing new in their religion....would you agree with them?.
I see a huge difference!!
I was baptized in September of 1993, when I was 13. I spent the next 5 years as a regular pioneer (1000 hrs/yr) and I could quote out-of-context scripture from memory at the door and work my way through the 1914 doctrine with one arm tied behind my back. So could the other 12-14 young pioneers in my age group. Of course, we were heavily trained by two older lifelong pioneers who would even bust down on the young men (haha) and just laugh at the elders when counselled to treat these young brothers with respect. I look back at my arrogance and just cringe.
Everyone in that group have left (faded, da'ed, df'ed) their respective congregations (5 in our city) with only a few that returned. According to my mom, we were the last "zealous" young pioneer group.
I am 33 now and when I look at the 25 and younger crowd in my folks' cong, I see a lot of "spiritual inactivity" and more focus on their families and social aspects. They all have small children and spend a lot of time outside of meetings, fs, etc. with each other camping, playing volleyball, skiing, etc. I saw a service group last Saturday with two vans full of 6 adults and a herd of children stop at the park in my neighborhood. Two of the men knocked on maybe 3 doors while the others set up a big blanket on the ground and pulled out a picnic. They were there from @9:30am until after I left my house at 12:30.
This would not have been possible 15-20 years ago...
I was happy to see kids playing and not being forced to sell the "truth" door to door. I hope that in time, this dangerous controlling group mellows out into a more mainstream religious group. It will take at least another 50 years, I think. But, at least in this congregation, it seems to be going that way.
This could be why the ever changing doctrines do not bother the JWs. They simply didn't know or care about the old ones to see that they are different now.
so we know all the things the wts prevents us from doing, but that's much, much different than the stuff we've grown accustomed to.. for those who have been out for a number of years, what kind of things would end up being abandoned if you suddenly started going back to the kingdom hall?
you know, stuff that you now do on the nights you used to attend meetings, the things you own, the things you wear, etc..
myself...
And just when I was starting to like that bitch :)
hi, i've been lurking on this site for quite a while after recently having doubts about the "truth".
i've read a lot of posts about problems with the doctrines, mind control, the beliefs, brainwashing that jehovah's witnesses and their literature, as well as their history.
now only being a sixteen year old born in who isn't baptized or unbaptized, i've come to find all this information incredibly overwhelming.
I am glad you decided to post!
Since you have not been manhandled into getting baptized yet, it seems unlikely that it will happen now. Generally, the parents who are hardcore about pushing baptism start at 11 or 12. I believe that you will be able to avoid it now fairly easily. If anyone asks why you haven't done it, just be honest and say you aren't ready to take such a big step.
Lots of young people attend churches with their parents, with no intention of being an active participant. I know that it is different at the KH because of the way the information is given, but you still have the option to check out in your head during the talks. Just sail through the next two years; focus on school, make new friends on the outside, obey your parents' rules, and just relax.
You won't have the traditional high school experience, with dances or athletics, but you can make up for that a hundred times in college. If you take the route of passive resistance, you will maintain a relationship with your family and in the years ahead you will be glad that you did.
Post here when you have to blow off steam, there are a lot of people who can help you keep your cool and maneuver through your fade.
Good luck!
so i've been reading many posts and threads of people's experiences leaving the jw fold.
i get the impression that many here were df'd or da'd due to apostasy.
is there anyone here that found out ttat after being df'd for a reason other than apostasy?
I left (not df'ed) when I was 18 because of the abuses of power among the elders. I heard one of them talking about my brother as if he were an animal right after he was disfellowshipped. I immediately told the service overseer that I couldn't pioneer any longer (reg pioneer for 5 years), told the school overseer that I couldn't make it to give my next talk, and left my key to the hall on the literature counter. I walked out and didn't return except for a few times with my mom years later.
I didn't start to question until I was 25ish. My research kept me from returning.
