Posts by littlebird

28

I Don't Have to Be "RIGHT" Anymore.

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

for the record, i don't believe in the god of the bible, and i find it hard to believe in the god of any religion on earth.

i am closest to atheist in my beliefs if you want a traditional title, but i prefer "rationalist.

" i will do god's will for me when he directly tells me what it is.

littlebird

Thanks so much for posting this thread.

It was quite a struggle for me when I left the Jw's. I had over emphasis on who is right? what is right? etc, etc. It drove me crazy. Its taken me over a year to get this stuff out of my head. I just finally decided "Clean Slate" For example: Im not going to worry about holidays and how they got started, but Im going to look at things from the way they are perceived today. I don't worry about what other people are doing anymore either.

I am a christian, but I don't feel the need to be "right" all the time. I love not having to have all the answers to everything. I like some things to be a mystery.

It feels great to just start over.

28

I Don't Have to Be "RIGHT" Anymore.

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

for the record, i don't believe in the god of the bible, and i find it hard to believe in the god of any religion on earth.

i am closest to atheist in my beliefs if you want a traditional title, but i prefer "rationalist.

" i will do god's will for me when he directly tells me what it is.

littlebird

OOPs!

48

Did being JW help you cope with death?

by KDubbz in

jw
friends

i was thinking about this today.

i remember when i attended meetings and conventions with my parents when i was growing up, i would run into some jws who said they were able to cope with death of their loved ones better due to the fact that they will be resurrected in the "new world" which gave them hope.

i find this partially true because they were given a false hope of being in the "new world" and seeing their loved ones again.

littlebird

I actually think it made me numb to death. I never cried at any funeral while I was a jw. I don't know why. I know I hated the services because they were just about preaching their doctrine vs. a minute or two about the life of the person.

After I left the jw's my sister in law died and I cried like a baby.

I think outlaw is right on about jws avoiding death. My husband turns 52 in October and he literally cant believe it! He says he never thought he'd get old in this system.

15

Stretching Pierced Ear Holes

by White Dove in

jw
friends

i saw three of my friends with extra thick earrings, like the spiral kind that get bigger as they go around, and have since wanted to do my own.

i got 10g tiny but thicker hoops and have just shoved them through enough to put the little doughnut shaped back on.

ouch.

littlebird

My Son started piercing himself after he left the jw's. 4 on his lip, 3 in his nose and his ears are HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGe. I think a 1.5. Its hard to look at. I love him and wish he wouldn't do this to himself. I quit saying anything about it. It seems like everytime his dad mentions it, the boy runs out and puts in another one.

27

Were You Always Feeling Guilty As A Witness?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think the religion works on guilt.

everyone is made to feel they're not good enough some how or perhaps they practice a "secret sin" and it gnaws at them.

so they decide to pioneer or "do more", recognizing they can never really make up for whatever shortcomings they have.. were you a guilt ridden jw?

littlebird

Yes, I felt guilty about everything. Especially, "conscience" matters, because really, nothing is up to your conscience because there is always someone there to tell you how spiritually weak you are if you do something that is supposedly up to your conscience. It got so bad that I was diagnosed as having "borderline personality disorder". A symptom of this is the inability to see things in a "gray area" , all choices are black or white.

Funny, I don't seem to have it anymore since I left the jws.

51

Our "Bible Study" with the Jehovah's Witnesses

by garyneal in

my wife and i had a "bible study" with an elder and his wife yesterday (9-11-09) and the topic was marraige.

the book we covered was "keeping yourself in god's love.

" this particular "bible study" was based primarily on the topic we covered in the book and, of course, there was a lot of "hop scotching" of the bible.

littlebird

If my wife happens to be attending a church with me, she is quick to point out their errors from scripture and exhalt the Kingdom Halls as "the closest thing to the truth" that she has experienced. (Yet of course, she is clearly blind to errors I see in the Watchtower theology.)

What is nice though, about most churches, is that you can disagree with the pastor explanation of scripture and not be disfellowshipped or cut off from the congregation for having a different viewpoint. You can't say that for the watchtower.

161

FlyingHighNow Needs Our Love & Support

by snowbird in

jw
friends

her son, jesse, is in serious condition.. my son is in surgery and may lose his hand and arm.. jesse got an infection in a cut on his finger.

his finger and hand swelled to the size of an arm .. .

they have to do surgery on his hand and arm.

littlebird

I'm sending you a virtual hug and Im praying for you and your son.

33

Does everyone else get this reaction from their JW family when discussing objections to the religion?

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

when pointing out my objections to the jw religion with my wife, i have noticed a worrying trend which even after 3 or 4 years shows no sign of relenting.. after speaking calmly for an hour or so and logically pointing out my objections, my wife starts to put forward outrageous assertations about my points.

for instance, if i am refering to the fact that disfellowshipping is a form of extreem punishment & i mention the terrible effects that being d/f'd can have on people, she will eventually retort with something like "so what you are saying is that we should tolerate paedophiles, rapists & thieves in the organisation then?".

of course, i've never at any point said anything of the sort.. or if i have been overly critical of the amount of control the society wants over peoples lives, she would reply "so what you are saying is that we should all just go out & do what we want, get drunk & live an immoral life?

littlebird

I get the same type of reactions from my husband, He usually interupts before I get a complete sentence out, though. He will immediately turn my objections into being "persecuted" for his beliefs. I never do that , he can believe whatever he chooses.

Its been a struggle, but Im trying to remember that he is programmed to be defensive. So Im learning that when he brings up why I left, I just try be kind explaining just 1 point at a time. You have to remember that in their minds, we are going to die in armegedon if we don't come back and they are under constant pressure to try to win us back.

46

Do mixed marriages work? What about kids?

by greenie in

i'm new and have posted something along these lines recently on another thread, but i'm wondering, do marriages between non-jws and jws work?

by "work" i mean can they be loving and happy?

and what about kids?

littlebird

Oops, posted at same time, lol

11

where do you draw the line ?

by lancelink in

jw
friends

last night i was talking to my son (24 years old) and he was telling me about his life growing up as a jw, .

very frustrating for him, he couldn't have friends from school over, no joining clubs, sports, etc - etc.. but a very interesting point was made, and i never thought about it and it has been rolling around all day.

as morphius said.

littlebird

Oh darn, I was going to tan tonight!