this is a sensitive topic for many of us i know, but i am wondering how many here actually gave up the idea of having a family "in this system" for the sake of "kingdom activity or service"??.
start the count here with my wife and i.
I was postponing both marriage and children until after the big A.
Little did I realize that "the big A" would be Apostasy!
So now I have to get serious and figure out if I've really got myself together and want to marry. Someone my age with or without children? Someone younger and start a family?
Since much of my family is similarly childless and painfully aware of the mistake of not having kids, seeing new growth on this aging family tree would be very, very interesting.
i have always been a very rational and thoughtful person.
there where always questions i had growing up regarding things i was taught.
of course asking questions while being a jw is a big no no!
Here's some alternative answers to VI's
Why are we not allowed to have beards?
Because Santa has a beard.
Why no tattoos is mosaic law is over?
Because those tattoos are going to look terribly faded and saggy as you grow old and wrinkly waiting your entire life for armageddon to get here.
If god is love, why does he allow so much suffering? From what I remember their main answer was that it started in Eden when Satan challenged Gods right to rule. However, I refuse to believe that a God of Love would let billions thru history suffer and die just to prove a point!
It wasn't just about Satan. There was the naked lady, fruit, and a talking snake. Maybe you would understand the issue if a naked lady ate your lunch and told you that a talking snake told her to eat it!
Why no birthdays? (their explanations are super shaky)
Remember that Jehovah gets really jealous. This isn't just about him getting torqued off because you have a special day. He gets torqued off because GOD DOESN'T HAVE A BIRTHDAY! Since he's from everlasting to everlasting, he's never had a birthday party, no birthday cake or presents for God. So it makes him sad when people have birthday parties and he'll never, ever, never, never, ever know that joy. So we need to be polite and not have birthday parties for ourselves or our friends.
Is earth is 6k years old, whats up with Dinosaurs? Cavemen?
Those are all things that Satan has stuck in the dirt to deceive you.
i've been lurking for about 3 months now and thought i'd better finally sign up.
you have all been an immense help to me as i have come to realize that this isn't the truth so i want to say a great big thank you!
what a crazy, emotional ride it is to finally face the truth about the doubts that i have carried for many years.
Welcome!
So, you prayed for a sign to show you whether to stay with WT? ... Why settle for one sign, here's two that are answers to that prayer:
fellow witnesses - do you think the kingdom hall belongs to you, just because you all paid for it and personally finance its maintenance?
think again, sheep!
the "shepherds" have announced the fleecing in black & white for you, in case you decide to question them!.
Therefore, it cannot rightly be said to belong to any individual or congregation
Then whoever it belongs to should pay the utilities, take care of the maintenance, cleaning, supplies, etc. If I claim that a house belongs to me, I would be paying the mortgage, utilities, and responsible for all those things. If someone came to visit me at my house as an invited guest, I wouldn't make them take care of all my responsibilities as a homeowner.
Could you imagine a wealthy friend inviting you to his house for dinner, and then as you're eating he reads an "accounts report" that there is a budget deficit and are informed that you need to pay his light and cable bill?
we all know the wts abandons and invents beliefs faster than apple can churn out new shiny stuff.
but have they ever abandoned a belief and later picked it up again?.
i remember many years ago we had one of those post-district-assembly review parts (part of the service meeting) where they were discussing some "new light".. there was some confusion about which was the "new" and which was the "old" and a semi-discussion ensued with people commenting.
They've gone back and forth about whether the anointed would all go to heaven before armageddon or whether some would still be on earth afterward. I think that was most often flip-flopped with studies of the Revelation--It's Bland Climax Still Ain't Happening book.
Back in the 80s, I think there were other debates about the sequence of events that would lead up to the panda-petting paradise. Since the 80s were Reagan, pope JP, and the Soviet Union, there was lots of excitement about how all those nutty prophecies would be fulfilled with the cry of peace and security, the king of the north, the destruction of babylon the great, etc.
ok, so if you haven't as yet watched the new cartoon clip on the website, be prepared to throw up!.
it is called "jehovah loves all sorts of people", and features an awful song about how "jehovah loves everyone" even "different colors", etc....yep...they actually say that!.
huh??????.
so tomorrow is going to be my last encounter with a jw friend of mine for various reasons on her side.
(long story).
i have spent a lot of time discussing various concerns about the jw teachings, but havent been able to make any progress in helping her to question or doubt the teachings.
It's hard to know what, if anything, will get through to any one JW. Since you've already unsuccessfully tried to reason on JW history, doctrine, and false prophecies, those probably won't be any more successful in your next conversation.
I've never knowingly gone into a "last chance" conversation like you've described. But theoretically, the closest I've been, I would try to make the conversation as positive, true, personal as possible... and rather distanced from anything JW. If, for example, it were my cousin:
"We've certainly been through a lot together. We spent a lot of time together as kids. Remember when you asked me to explain to you what 'f**k' means? [other reminiscing goes here] Later we went in different directions. You moved away. I moved away to bethel. But whenever we got together, it was like we picked up where we left off. We're family, the ties that bind... and gag. LOL.
"One of my regrets is that I wasn't good about keeping in touch with you or most of the important people from my younger days while I was in bethel. When I finally left bethel, I tried to make the best of what my life had become. But I wasn't happy. And the harder I tried to be happy, the unhappier I became. I've told you enough of the reasons I wasn't happy and why my life had taken the direction that it has. Unfortunately, I now understand that those reasons that I mentioned to you, have made you unhappy and uncomfortable with me. I want you to be happy. So if that means that you will be happier by not talking to me and not seeing me, so be it. It doesn't make me happy to not be a part of your life, but I can't go back to living in the miserable shroud of unhappiness that I used to live in"
I'd have much more to say, of course, but I'm thinking I'd go for the non-cult persona if it's still alive in there somewhere to get them to laugh and cry. If they want to talk about beliefs, okay, I might go there, but not far. I already know what JWs believe and that they're programmed to question and attack what I would present as my beliefs. So I'd be more concerned about just trying to keep things open for future contact.
Not sure if that's any help, Anon. But good luck!
i have thought about how ttatt came full circle for me.
how the connecting the dots was simple and just made sense,.
how silos of information are literally at our fingertips today.. why is it that the ones we love cannot get ttatt?.
ok, so if you haven't as yet watched the new cartoon clip on the website, be prepared to throw up!.
it is called "jehovah loves all sorts of people", and features an awful song about how "jehovah loves everyone" even "different colors", etc....yep...they actually say that!.
huh??????.
i have thought about how ttatt came full circle for me.
how the connecting the dots was simple and just made sense,.
how silos of information are literally at our fingertips today.. why is it that the ones we love cannot get ttatt?.
Here's a picture of me from about 12 years ago...
