I think Ada's right. My brother has maintained some friendshipes with JWs, but these are people who are considered "spiritually weak." It depends more on the kind of friends you had among the JWs than the kind of person you are.
bluecanary
JoinedPosts by bluecanary
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18
Do nice people who leave the truth have more friends?
by wouldacouldashoulda inhi posters.
something has really been bothering me a lot lately.
in a nutshell i faded about 4 years ago.
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JanesyHull
by jookbeard inare you popping in tonight, wondering if we could continue our little chat from friday night?.
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bluecanary
While it pains me to post on this thread, I just popped in to say, Lilith you are awesome. I hope your kids do turn out just like you. The world could use more fun/intelligent people.
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Do nice people who leave the truth have more friends?
by wouldacouldashoulda inhi posters.
something has really been bothering me a lot lately.
in a nutshell i faded about 4 years ago.
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bluecanary
Have you read the millions of comments from people whose friends and families totally shun them? I have no friends among the JWs any longer.
I empathize on the difficulty of making new friends. It's good that you're getting out and doing things with new people. Hopefully you'll find a few that you can forge a bond with.
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NATIONAL BIBLICAL LITERACY SURVEY 2009
by badboy in62% didn't know parable of the prodigal son.. 60% didn't know a thing about the good samaritian.. 40% didn't know origin of giving xmas gits.
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bluecanary
WHY IS EVERYONE SHOUTING?
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My sister died in a head on collision last night
by Bumble Bee ini still can't believe it.
she was here for the bbq, we had an awesome time, laughing, her telling stories from our childhoods.
i gave her a hug and told her i loved her before she left.
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bluecanary
Lots of love.
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Im new....posting hesitantly :)
by wantstoleave inhi everyone...i have a confession to make, i actually joined 5mths ago, but never came back to the site.
ive had doubt for a few years now.. my parents came into the truth when i was a toddler.
no other family members are witnesses.
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bluecanary
Somewhere down the line you will meet a great guy that will rock your world ...... I did
I second this!
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The Evil Eye!
by tigeress inas you may know i live in the med.
here they are obessed with the evil eye, and everyone wears these blue glass charms with a black dot in the middle that is meant to repel the evil eye.
i have had proffesional, highly educated, inteligent people swear by these charms and tell me that they "really do work!".
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bluecanary
I have a little statue of the buddha because I like the ambiance, not because I think it brings luck. But I also do not mind being identified with Buddhists, because I do believe what they teach to a pretty good extent. I wouldn't want someone to mistakenly think I'm Christian, not because I have anything against being Christian, just because I am not. For that reason I probably wouldn't wear a cross, even though I've seen some very pretty ones. But it's up to you. If you like it, you can wear it. Just be prepared to correct people if they assume something about it that isn't so.
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Baptised and on this or other apostate sites - DF'ing Offense???
by cognac injust wondering if you can be in a jc for being on apostate sites.
i'm not talking about if you clicked on something by mistake.
does it say it in the elders book?.
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bluecanary
Cognac do you mind if we hijack a little bit?
WTL, I was one of those people that became agnostic upon leaving the JWs. I did start celebrating holidays right away, not because I believe in any religious ideas associated with them, but because it's a fun way to connect with friends and family who aren't JWs.
I have never felt bad about anything since leaving because I am firmly convinced that what JWs teach is NOT the truth. That is the difference between moving on to a happy and fulfilling life, or forever feeling guilt over not living up to what you think God expects of you. Definitely do research on the validity of their teachings.
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Help - am I on the fence??
by wantstoleave inplease bear with me, newbie here :).
i have had doubts for a few years now.
i was raised in the truth, baptised at 16, married at 24...the usual stuff.
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bluecanary
WTL, you'll find that when people leave the JWs there is not a single destination that they all go to. Some become Christian (of a variety of denominations) some become atheist, agnostic or deist. Some explore eastern religions or pagan religions. The idea that there is one organization that's supposed to lead you to God is not Biblical. Keep doing research and you'll see why I say that.
What you choose to believe is up to you. Use both your brain (what makes sense) and your intuition (what feels right). I'll give you an example of what makes sense: You love your kids. You want them to succeed. Would you, then, make it difficult, close to impossible even, for them to please you? Why would God feel any different about his children? If a particular teaching violates either of these senses, don't ignore it. You should be really satisfied about any teaching you're expected to put into practice in your life.
Take some time to explore different religious concepts. What are the odds that anyone has been born into the correct religion? There's no harm in learning what other religions teach to determine whether you believe them or not.
If you want to know how God got here, I don't know if there's anybody who even claims to have an answer to that. That sort of question has led to some believing that God does not exist. If that's the route you go, that's fine, too. I think that God-focused relgions do require a suspension of disbelief, otherwise referred to as faith, on issues like that.
Personally, I have come to the conclusion that the Bible is a human book rather than a divine one. But I really enjoy discussing it and hearing interpretations of scriptures that differ from what I was taught as a JW.
Go ahead and enjoy this period of spiritual exploration without feeling that you must immediately conform to whichever teaching is The Truth. With so many different teachings on the earth, how would God expect you to know what's true without first examining them?
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Baptised and on this or other apostate sites - DF'ing Offense???
by cognac injust wondering if you can be in a jc for being on apostate sites.
i'm not talking about if you clicked on something by mistake.
does it say it in the elders book?.
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bluecanary
WTL, what do you think apostate means? Dictionary defined: a person who forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.
Everyone who changes religions is apostate. The apostle Paul was an apostate Jew. My mother switched from Catholic to JW, which makes her an apostate Catholic. People who cease to become JWs are apostates of JWism whether they have formally disassociated, had their baptism revoked or just informally left (faded). Apostacy is about no longer identifying as a member of a religion, not about actively trying to destroy a religion (although some apostates will try to do that). Many people here who have left the JWs have not left God or Christ. The Watchtower Society (WTS) wants you to believe that leaving them is the same as leaving God. Not true at all.