Posts by hemp lover

41

Who else, besides me?

by AK - Jeff in

over the years on jwn i have often found myself hunting through posts of newcomers, hoping against hope i suppose, that the newbie would be one of my former friends in the local congregation down the street.. i just find it hard to imagine that not a soul among these people has taken the courage to investigate their religion and leave like my wife and i have done.. as the local 'active apostate', i also supposed that at any moment some of the 'brothers' would come covertly to my home, knock and say something like " i am out - please let's talk about it, why i left, why you left.

but, none of the above has ever happened.

i did come across a local former jw here, from another congregation, and we have become good friends over the past few years.

hemp lover

Diest: " Most JWs who leave dont ever research it. It took me 7 years into my fade before I looked something up."

That's so true. I was challenged by my ex-husband who was a moderator on this board when it was in its infancy. Two years after I left (he was still in at the time or so I thought), he came over and told me all this stuff about 607, etc., and said he wasn't going to be a JW anymore. I felt so icky and confused while he was relaying all this information. Even though I had no immediate intention of going back, I still believed it was the truth and that I was just a bad person.

After he left, I called my best friend who had left at the same time I did, and said, "You're not going to believe this! M--- is an apostate!" And then we were shocked and appalled together. LOL at myself. What he said to me about 607 caused me to do some research and I joined this board soon after.

41

Who else, besides me?

by AK - Jeff in

over the years on jwn i have often found myself hunting through posts of newcomers, hoping against hope i suppose, that the newbie would be one of my former friends in the local congregation down the street.. i just find it hard to imagine that not a soul among these people has taken the courage to investigate their religion and leave like my wife and i have done.. as the local 'active apostate', i also supposed that at any moment some of the 'brothers' would come covertly to my home, knock and say something like " i am out - please let's talk about it, why i left, why you left.

but, none of the above has ever happened.

i did come across a local former jw here, from another congregation, and we have become good friends over the past few years.

hemp lover

AK-Jeff: " I think it is true that many people just leave and never do a moment's research on doctrine. etc. My sister left many years before I did - and she is like that."

So is my brother. I didn't even know he was out until I saw him on facebook four years after he was df'ed and since he had nipple rings, I figured it was safe to message him ;-) That hurt, but we've worked through it. He still has no interest in discussing religion with me and I really fear that he might try to go back someday simply because he just doesn't get that it's not the truth.

Talking to him has helped me to understand that some people, like the friend I mentioned earlier, just don't have intellectual curiosity. My brother never completely understood the doctrines while he was in, so it's proven pointless to try to explain them now that he's out. He was just doing what our father told him to do and since he still thinks our dad is a pretty smart guy, he's vulnerable.

25

Horrific Violence in Today's Movies.

by ohiocowboy in

i found an article today that discusses the new batman movie.

growing up, i remember the batman and robin tv show from the 1960's, and i assumed that the dark knight movies would be along the same lines.

boy, was i wrong!!!

hemp lover

Loved Cabin in the Woods! And no, it didn't make me want to (pick horrible way to die) anyone.

Diest: " It is all economics. You can be terribly violent and get a PG-13 rating. If you have a breast showing for too long or female orgasm you get an R rating. PG-13 movies can be viewed by many more people and are way more profitable than an R rated movie."

Let's not even get started on male vs. female nudity. (Ewan McGregor and Michael Fassbender ftw!)

28

Tour de France: Go Bradley Wiggins!!

by Open mind in

jw
friends

congrats to bradley wiggins and to all the brits on the board!.

i'm rooting for three riders this year.

2 have a very realistic chance.

hemp lover

Yes, I'm curious about the tacks as well. I feel like that should have been accounted for in the standings. Or perhaps it was?

The local sports radio station I listen to gives daily updates and they discuss things like race etiquette, which is fascinating to me, as someone who is not completely familiar with how this sport works.

For example, when the tacks incident happened, it sounded like it would be bad form for someone who was farther back in the pack and whose tires didn't get punctured, to take the lead, even though that was a possibility. Is a racer supposed to hold back in a circumstance like this and not take advantage?

28

JWs at My Door - and the Answer to a Prayer

by hemp lover in

this happened almost three years ago, but since i always enjoy reading about other people's jw encounters, i thought i'd finally share one of my own.. i lived in an apartment for four years following my disfellowshipping and no one had ever come to my door, not even so much as a shepherding visit.

(yeah, right.

) i had lurked on this board for a while, but was put off by the anger and negativity of some people and so i didn't stay long.

hemp lover

Agreed

You know what else struck me when I reread this thread today, seven years later? The incident in the OP is the last time I prayed. That was a turning point for me in opening my mind to the possibility of the nonexistence of a god. I capitalized "Him"! I'm still open to evidence, but I don't need to pretend I'm talking to him (lower case) anymore.

41

Who else, besides me?

by AK - Jeff in

over the years on jwn i have often found myself hunting through posts of newcomers, hoping against hope i suppose, that the newbie would be one of my former friends in the local congregation down the street.. i just find it hard to imagine that not a soul among these people has taken the courage to investigate their religion and leave like my wife and i have done.. as the local 'active apostate', i also supposed that at any moment some of the 'brothers' would come covertly to my home, knock and say something like " i am out - please let's talk about it, why i left, why you left.

but, none of the above has ever happened.

i did come across a local former jw here, from another congregation, and we have become good friends over the past few years.

hemp lover

Talesin: " A few years back, I belonged to a private club, and two of the other members were ex-JWs. They were best friends, and a bit younger, nice guys."

Oh, wow. You just made me remember two more people I met randomly after I was df'ed. I got into the local Dallas music scene, because my roommate was the lead singer in a band. (Rock on, Sissy Spaceship!) The drummer and his bff were raised JW and I actually recognized the bff from assemblies (red-headed son of a prominent elder - hard to stay incognito). We shared some laughs and some stories, but then lost track of each other when the band broke up.

Funny story: their car broke down on the way to a gig in Oklahoma and so they called me to rescue them. When we went to put their equipment in my trunk, I remembered that my pet tumbleweed was still in there and I wasn't ready to let it go yet. (It blew up next to me when I was leaving the Aardvark in Ft. Worth one night [Rock on, Baboon! I miss you.] and I stuffed it in my trunk, because I felt we were made for each other.) Anyway we fit all their amps and such into my trunk and then I crammed my pet tumbleweed in on top and their equipment smelled like rosemary forever after.

41

Who else, besides me?

by AK - Jeff in

over the years on jwn i have often found myself hunting through posts of newcomers, hoping against hope i suppose, that the newbie would be one of my former friends in the local congregation down the street.. i just find it hard to imagine that not a soul among these people has taken the courage to investigate their religion and leave like my wife and i have done.. as the local 'active apostate', i also supposed that at any moment some of the 'brothers' would come covertly to my home, knock and say something like " i am out - please let's talk about it, why i left, why you left.

but, none of the above has ever happened.

i did come across a local former jw here, from another congregation, and we have become good friends over the past few years.

hemp lover

AK-Jeff: " Still, sometimes I wish a car would pull into the drive and a familliar face would emerge looking nervous, waliking swiftly toward my door....."

Me, too! And i don't even have a driveway ;-)

Here's something to consider. I think there are a lot of ex-JWs who leave and for whatever reason, never do any research or even really seem to care why the religion is wrong. They just don't want to do it anymore and so they don't. The reason I think there may be a lot of people like that is that two of my best friends fit into that category. One I reconnected with simply because I found her number online years ago and picked up the phone and called her. She has zero curiosity about inaccurate doctrines, etc. She just didn't want to be a JW anymore.

Anyway... I hope my theory is correct, because if it is, it means there are so many more people out there who have left than who have ever ended up on a forum like this.

22

Awkward, but kinda funny encounter with JWs today

by hemp lover in

jw
friends

i live in a majority-minority neighborhood, so i get the double witness whammy of my street being worked by both spanish- and english-speaking congregations.

jws come to my door about four times a year, but i stopped answering years ago.

what's interesting is that about two years ago, they stopped knocking on my door or ringing the doorbell.

hemp lover

boc and 00dad: I get that and agree, but does it ever stop? Will I ever be able to have a conversation with "these people" who keep knocking at my door without experiencing shake voice? lol

It struck me when I reread the other thread I started years ago that I bumped to the top today, that I said the exact same thing about my hands shaking and that was seven years ago! These are the only times in my life when my hands have ever shaken, except for car accidents and bar fights (witness, not participant).

Well, maybe I just answered my own question. It's an adrenaline rush, isn't it?

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/85257/1/JWs-at-My-Door-and-the-Answer-to-a-Prayer

18

"Queen of Soul Food" Sylvia Woods dies.

by ohiocowboy in

the owner of sylvia's restaurant in harlem has died.

she was very famous for her restaurant.

the last time i was in new york, i had the treat of eating food from there through a recommendation of one of the locals.

hemp lover

I always plan to eat there when I'm in New York, but I haven't made it yet. Maybe some day.

That's an interesting obit of a great American success story. Thanks for posting, OC.

8

Meal with my father

by Gorbatchov in

today i had a nice experience: an evening meal with my father, a former elder and secretary.

he stepped down a few years ago but remained a "stable" congregational member, and performing the ministerial servent job.. tonight the conversation went on the candace conti cage.

we are north western europeans but he read about it in a newspaper.

hemp lover

Well done.