lifelong humanist
JoinedPosts by lifelong humanist
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140
The Probabilty of there being an Intelligent Designer
by cantleave ini have been thinking a great deal about where i stand at this moment in time in terms of a belief in a creator verses a belief in an evolutionary process.
i think the best way to describe it is an exploratory path.
i look at what is around me and i acknowledge it is remarkable.
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55
Another Scotsman reporting for duty :)
by cofty inhi all, its time i stopped lurking around here.
i've been posting at jws for just over a year, i know a few names here and it looks like there is lots of good banter going on.. i am a second generation, born-in who grew up in west-central scotland.
i pioneered in edinburgh and later married and settled in berwick just south of the border.
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lifelong humanist
cofty
Yet another Scot from Glasgow, moved to Crieff, in Perthshire in 1979. Third generation JW. Quit after 51 years in the JWs - many years working hard as a 'liberal' elder, pioneer, etc. After much soul-searching, came to the conclusion that there 'probably is no God' - DAd in 2003 and managed to get all 4 'boys' out. Now a fully paid up, card-carrying, Scottish Humanist.
My wife, Joy, is still 'in'. She's still very much a 'work in progress', as I really want to assist free her from the tentacles of the nasty JW cult.
I look forward to hearing more about you in your next few posts.
lifelong humanist
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116
To Ex-JWs: Do You Regret Learning it Was a Lie?
by leavingwt inthis question was inspired by a question on another thread.
to the ex-jw community here,.
do any of you regret learning that wt is not god's organization?
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lifelong humanist
leavingwt
Being raised as a 3rd generation JW put me at a serious disadvantage in learning 'how' and 'what' to think. Doing my MBA in 1994/5 taught me how to think and reason. Soon, my JW belief system crumbled. I started reading about alternative views as to how humans originated. I examined the premise of religious belief and the book they base their beliefs upon. I was shocked with the facts that I discovered. Once I was able to contemplate that there 'probably is no God', things began falling into place. What I'd been brought up to believe was just one big lie after another. I was delighted to be able to break free from the mind-controlling WT organization that sapped me of any free thought.
It wasn't until 2003 that I DAd myself as I couldn't live a lie and remain a JW. Since then, I've realized that I'm really a Humanist, and am happy to be a member of the Scottish Humanist Society. I've met quite a few members that have impressed me with their humility and openness. I particularly enjoy their non-judgemental attitude to other points of view on all subjects. This is such a refreshing, different take on the WT indoctrination programme.
My brother, sister and our 4 sons are all JW free. I'm still trying to free my JW wife from the cult, assisted by some of the methods described by Steven Hassan. This is still 'work in progress'!
lifelong humanist
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Jw`s and Charities
by zzaphod inhi all, i left the wts in the late `80s, i`ve not really given them a thought, until one sleepless night recently i was trawling the `tinterweb, and came across various videos on youtube.
anyway`s, the reasons i left were many and varied, and one day i`ll sit down and relate them, but two things have always stuck in my mind, once i was asked "if someone could convince you that without a doubt "the truth" was wrong, would you believe them?
", to which i answered "of course i would", - that was me marked.
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lifelong humanist
Good first post, zzaphod, and welcome to the board.
Living in Scotland, with many miles of coastline, and lots of dangerous stretches of water, the RNLI are a vital resource. They certainly have my support in what they tirelessly do. I believe that almost all members are unpaid volunteers.
I've known a few JWs to donate to their charity, although those that do are usually small day-boat or cruise boat sailors with some understanding of the dangers of the sea. Most JWs that I knew 'prided themselves' in not giving one penny to any 'worldly' charity. That used to embarrass me quite a lot when I was 'in'.
This is the only charity that I've ever known that receives any support from JWs - no money ever for Amnesty International, Salvation Army, Christian Aid, etc. My wife, who's still a JW, refuses to even answer the door when a friendly neighbour calls by to collect for Christian Aid, so I open the door and contribute. The fact that I'm an atheist doesn't mean that I can ignore any of the good work this charity does worldwide.
When I was in the cult, I remember a brother being counselled by an over zealous elder and told to remove a car sticker saying 'support the lifeboats' from his car window as it 'conveyed the wrong message' for an active JW! I just hope that he never requires to be rescued at sea by a volunteer in a RNLI lifeboat...
Nasty cult! I escaped in 2003, and am still trying to get over the whole, sad, depressing experience.
lifelong humanist
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Do you find it difficult to remain ethical?
by lifelong humanist ini'm about to embark on a new sales career in 2010, working in sales of renewable energy products - wind turbines, heat pumps, solar panels and solar pv electricity.
i've been in sales for almost 40 years, and enjoy the buzz sales can bring.
i shall be self-employed, and have to supply my own vehicle and surveying equipment - there's no basic wage, or expenses - just a fairly high sales commission on 'closed' deals.
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lifelong humanist
I'm about to embark on a new sales career in 2010, working in sales of renewable energy products - Wind Turbines, Heat Pumps, Solar Panels and Solar PV Electricity. I've been in sales for almost 40 years, and enjoy the buzz sales can bring. I shall be self-employed, and have to supply my own vehicle and surveying equipment - there's no basic wage, or expenses - just a fairly high sales commission on 'closed' deals. I've been self-employed before, but prefer an employed contract. In the current economic climate, emplyed sales positions are few and far between. I have no direct experience in selling renewables, but have a lot of experience in the thermal insulation business as a way to reduce heating bills - hence my desire to get into renewables.
I've always tried hard to maintain an ethical approach to sales, however, many colleagues think this is a waste of time and results in making fewer sales. In the short-term, they may well be right. Needless to say, I disagree with their philosophy.
It was as a result of my 'ethical' approach that I DAd myself from JWs back in 2003, as I could no longer believe in any god or religion, and couldn't in all conscience remain any part of the 'JW brand'.
Are there any salespeople on the board that can relate to what I'm trying to describe? How do you maintain high standards of customer care and avoid 'trying to make a quick sale' just to pay the bills? Here, in Scotland, the recession is still deep and money is tight for many people - myself included.
Any comments, as always, will be warmly appreciated...
lifelong humanist
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Faded 10 years ago, now considering DA'ing!
by NutFlush inlong-time occasional lurker, first-time poster.
cliffs notes version: i'm thinking of da'ing in order to shake my family up a bit, even though i haven't been involved with jws in more than 10 years.
longer version: i was raised as a jw but never got baptized.
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lifelong humanist
NutFlush
An interesting first post - and a warm welcome to the board.
I can't think of any tangible benefit that you, or your JW family, could possibly derive were you even to be in a position to DA yourself (as other posters have commented, this is not an option for you to consider, as you never made the mistake of becoming a baptized JW).
Surely, the best good could come out of just striking up conversations with your JW relatives and expressing to them a bit more about the history of your doubts? That way, it might be possible to alert other loved ones to the dangers posed by the cult - a noble motive, but one that seldom achieves the desired effect. But who knows, you know your family and hearing your expressions might just be the tipping point for some of them to escape?
Steven Hassan's books are well worth close scrutiny - some of his suggestions could be skillfully woven into your family discussions.
Please be aware, though, that this could all go horribly wrong, your family may treat you as a DAd member, and you may never be able to interact with your family again! That might well be a price not worth paying just for some possible 'closure'.
Sometimes, the status quo is a fine place to be...good luck with whatever course you decide to take
lifelong humanist
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The Resurection Hope Was Comforting....What Comfort Do You Now Have?
by minimus inwe believed we'd see our dear loved ones back on paradise earth.
now, we don't accept this.
so what hope do you have?
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lifelong humanist
minimus
As I no longer believe in any god, I no longer believe in any resurection theories.
My JW wife probably still does. When we lost our first child (aged 4) back in 1975, I started to question god's existence and the JW teachings about resurrection.
As for me, I'm quite happy to have known our daughter for 4+ years.
As far as I'm concerned, the 'resurrection hope' is probably one of the strongest reasons why JWs stay in the cult - the prospect of not 'proving faithful' and 'being there' for their resurrected ones in the 'new system' is just too difficult to accept!
lifelong humanist
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Holiday time were you sent to the library or not?
by restrangled inthere are many generations of xjws here.
i'm curious as to what happened to you in school.. were you sent to the library during festivities, allowed to stay home, or allowed to participate?
enter the years if you can and the number of jw's with you.. mine: mid 1960's to mid 70's.
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lifelong humanist
restrangled
Sorry, I forgot to indicate the timeline - Primary in the late 50's and early 60's, Secondary in the late 60's to mid-70's.
Lifelong humanist
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44
Holiday time were you sent to the library or not?
by restrangled inthere are many generations of xjws here.
i'm curious as to what happened to you in school.. were you sent to the library during festivities, allowed to stay home, or allowed to participate?
enter the years if you can and the number of jw's with you.. mine: mid 1960's to mid 70's.
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lifelong humanist
restrangled
Primary School
Here in Scotland, my older brother and I, and eventually my younger sister, too, were all told to leave the classroom during religious education, whenever there was a church service (even if it involved the annual prize giving, when we were given our prizes at another time) or when the rest of the class were making Christmas decorations, Easter cards, Halloween costumes, or attending the Christmas parties. We usually were sent to the gym hall, and were free to play about. Our family were the only JWs in the school. There were 2 or 3 Jewish kids also that didn't take part in anything 'not approved' by their religion. I found it more difficult to stand out as being different in the junior school.
Secondary School
We were usually sent to another classroom, and were unsupervised! We didn't need to do anything specific. In the room were all the others that were 'excised' from RE, church services, etc. In my particular year there were 3 or 4 Jewish kids, 2 muslims, plus the son of an atheist who asked that his son not participate, plus 2 'communist' kids. It wasn't too embarrassing - quite a few of those that did go were a bit jealous of all of us that didn't have to go, and wished that their parents would write a note to have them excused als! In my final years, I was 'allowed' by my dad to go to the church service to collect my prizes, but only after the service had ended - this was quite awkward as everyone saw me come into the church building and hang around at the back until my name was called out to go forward and collect my prize. Still not allowed to go to the school dances, though!
When our 4 kids were growing up we excluded tham from anything religious, although we never stopped them attending the church service on prize giving days at the end of term. It was only when I DAd myself over 6 years ago that our youngest son no longer had to be the 'odd one out' - he really enjoyed being free from the shackles of the JW cult!
If only I'd quit the cult sooner. If only I'd not been raised as a third generation JW!
lifelong humanist
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43
Maybe being a Witness wasnt so bad?
by acolytes inbefore i became a witness i was a shallow egotistcal happy go lucky married man.
i owned 2 houses which were rented out.i lived rent free in london working for a rich arab-.
due to being a witness i quit a job and a lifestyle i will never have again.. i now live in sweden with the same wife and have a kid- i can think critically.my good friends are those i met on the ministry (but never converted)-i have good friends from my congregation in england.
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lifelong humanist
acolytes
Interesting post.
The only positive thing that came from my being a JW was meeting my wife who was also raised in the cult - that was 40 years ago (38th wedding anniversary is this Friday, 11th). I'm still hoping that Joy (my wife) will wake up and realize that JWs have conned her for all these years and quit the cult like I did almost 7 years ago now. None of our 4 children have any involvement with JWs, I'm pleased to report.
lifelong humanist