Posts by passwordprotected

any jw would have to admit that if the "faithful slave" came to a new understanding on anything, it would just be blindly accepted as "the light is getting brighter".

questioning is not allowed, obviously, unless one doesn't fear being ostracized!

As part of our exit from the WTS I've been, quite boldly actually, showing family verses in the Bible which directly contradict WTS teaching. Their response is a singular, "Yes, but that's not what the verse meant." Logic means nothing to the brainwashed.

44

Personal Update

by passwordprotected in

for those who haven't read 'my story' thus far, here are the links;.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/159554/1.ashx.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/159683/1.ashx.

passwordprotected

@carla "How wonderful you were able to leave with your wife and kids! I'm so happy for you. Sorry for what will be ahead of you re: other family members and 'friends'. I find this quite interesting- "she's become a Christian "- I have seen that with other ex jw's who research and come to understand the need for Christ rather than the org, I find it interesting because jw's claim they are Christian when speaking to non dubs. What an odd disconnect for jw's, to claim Christ yet they may hear of an 'apostate' who has now become a Christian. Maybe one day you may feel comfortable enough to give some sort of informal talk with the church members about jw's and what life in the borg really means in daily life and for one's spiritual life."

Yes, it is interesting that there's a disconnect between being a JW and being a Christian. Let's face it, asides from the 'anointed', JWs do not;
- have Christ as their mediator
- belong to the new covenant via his blood
- partake of the communion

Couple that to the fact that Jesus said in Acts 1:8 that his followers (ie. Christians) would be witnesses of him, not Jehovah. All of that essentially means that JWs aren't Christians.

Just look at the new tract the Dubs have to distribute. The Truth is in Christ, he said so himself. Yet this tract makes no mention of this. Rather than leading people to Christ, within whom there is life and truth and the way to God, the Dubs lead people to their books and by extension, to their organisation.

As for speaking to Christians re. JW teachings etc, that's my goal. I've already been asked to speak to a local Church group, although I can't manage the night they meet. I think it's important that Christians realise that there's no point in trying to go toe-to-toe with JWs re. their beliefs. You'll never win. But there are subtle things they can say or show them in the NWT that may sow a seed of doubt re. their beliefs.

11

cheating elder's wife

by asilentone in

i am wondering if an elder's wife cheated on him, is it possible that he can remain as an elder?

passwordprotected

I personally know of a case in Berkshire, England, where the elder's wife cheated with a MS in the congregation. Both parties were disfellowshipped, the elder divorced his wife and he remained on as an elder.

44

Personal Update

by passwordprotected in

for those who haven't read 'my story' thus far, here are the links;.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/159554/1.ashx.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/159683/1.ashx.

passwordprotected

For those who haven't read 'my story' thus far, here are the links;
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/159554/1.ashx
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/159683/1.ashx
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/160124/1.ashx
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/160351/1.ashx

Since my first post here back in June 2008, things have moved very quickly for my wife and I.

As I've previously mentioned, I'm very lucky in that my wife shared my doubts and we're both completely on the same page as to our beliefs and our faith (more on that in a bit).

I resigned as an elder in July and immediately ceased attending meetings. I hoped, at the time, to be able to duck out of making a public statement to that effect, but it just wasn't possible. It was either make it obvious through, not just my actions - ie. not going to the meetings - or come out and say "I won't be back."

Due to 'concerned' phone calls from other elders, I decided to come out and say "I won't be back." This, of course, caused a flurry of activity, including a couple of visits from concerned JW friends who were very emotional and virtually begged me to change my mind. It was really painful to see them upset over my actions, but I was already decided; I was never returning to the WTS. Since then only 2 brothers out of the dozens and dozens of local JWs, including the many I've known and been friendly with since childhood, have had any contact with me. My wife's oldest and longest friendships have died, all because she doesn't go to their meetings anymore. But we knew this would happen.

Telling family about my choice wasn't easy, but that goes without saying. My wife, at first, was also not going to return to the meetings, but she changed her mind and did go to 2 or 3 more meetings. She went on her own, she didn't take the children. She found it hard when bros and sis were commending her for still attending when she knew that she had the same issues as me! She felt a fake. It also bugged her that I was being written off as 'spiritually sick' when she knew that we were both studying the Bible daily.

While this was going on I got a nice email from the PO who said that if we wanted to talk about our 'doubts' he'd be happy to come and talk to us. I was going to let that slide, but already there were rumours of 'serious wrongdoing' going around, which really irked us. So, I emailed ALL of the elders back and gave them the skinny on our 'doubts', letting them know that we weren't involved in ANY wrong doing, but had legitimate issues with the date-setting the WTS is famous for.

We agreed to let two elders visit us. They were very, very kind and didn't push the point with us on anything. They left and we haven't heard from them since.

Throughout all of this my wife and I kept reading the Bible. We started to see the importance of Christ in everything the 1st C Christians did and taught. So, while we left the Org due to them being false prophets, we now see their teachings as fundamentally un-Biblical and that they don't give Christ the honour he deserves.

Back in July my wife looked into going to the Alpha Course. She signed up to attend a local church who were running the course and she's been thoroughly enjoying it. We both attended local church services recently. I even took communion. I started the Alpha Course last night. Obviously, when we explain our JW backgrounds, people are floored!

We're now on the verge of DAing ourselves. We want to move on with our lives without looking over our shoulders, or waiting for one of the kids to blab that they now go to church and then be dreading a phone call inviting us to a JC.

My wife has sat down with her mother and explained that she's likely to DA herself soon, that she's become a Christian and that she goes to church. I've also been seeding that information into the minds of my parents, although a sit-down discussion with them is on the horizon.

We both personally strongly object to the name Jehovah's Witness as there is no basis in the New Testament to drop the name Christ or Christian and take up the name of 'another god'.

We've started making new friends locally with Christians; turns out there are Christians everywhere, and guess what, they're not judgmental or conditional in their friendships!

We've had great help and listening ears from Besty, Sweet Pea, IT Support and others who've both reached out to us and been there for us to vent our frustrations and hurt feelings on.

I've had some great PMs from other JWD user that have been a comfort.

For the first time in our lives we feel at peace. We feel contentment. We feel we can be comfortable in our own skins. We're not anxious about the future. We know we're not being judged and measured by imperfect men.

Looking back to when I first posted here in June, I can't believe how much my life has changed for the better. Back then I was scared and wrought with absolute anxiety. So, to anyone in the position of having doubts about the WTS and believing there's no way out or there's no where else to go, please believe me that there is a happy, contented, peaceful life away from the WTS.

Don't be afraid to let go.