Posts by lifelong humanist

4

How Many Humanists in your country?

by lifelong humanist in

jw
friends

many on this forum already know that i'm a member of the humanist society scotland.. at our annual conference last month, i was happy to collect a bumper sticker that had been produced for a special capaign earlier this year to raise awareness of humanism issues within scotland.

our population is very small - just over 5 million people, so the simple message was bound to create quite a stir:.

two million scots are good without god.

lifelong humanist

alanv

Interested in reading about your family's humanist links - thanks for responding. My mum (93 years old) had a humanist funeral earlier this year - she didn't believe in god any longer and asked me if she could have a non-religious funeral, which I was happy to arrange via The Humanist Society Scotland's website of celebrants. Almost all of my family commented favourably on how sensitive and personal the celebration of my mum's life turned out. Quite a few of my cousins commented that they'd prefer a non-religious send-off when their turn comes. My mum's younger brother (93, also) has his funeral this Friday - his family have arranged for a high-profile Church of Scotland service of remembrance. I'll be going along with my still-in JW wife.

wobble

Thanks for your comments - my new car is a new Mazda MX-5. I'm still considering sticking it on the rear windscrren, regardless of how my wife will feel. She doesn't approve of my choice of motor! Maybe once she drives it she'll see just how dynamic this car is, though. She's finally agreed that she doesn't want to relocate to Turkey or Italy - so that's why I decided to buy a rather impractical, but huge fun car to cheer myself up!

lifelong humanist

90

Did you Fade Gradually or Stop Attending Meetings Quickly ? Reasons ?

by flipper in

jw
friends

been thinking about this and curious about what makes us all come to the decisions we came to in our fade/exiting the jw organization.. i think for myself having been born-in & raised a jw my doubts about the generation doctrine had simmered for years within me quietly and by the time i finally left in 2003 i had reached my breaking point.

also seeing unjust treatment of rank & file witness ( myself included ) just propelled me into my decision even quicker.

so - one day after meeting with 3 elders in a back room before a meeting and seeing their judgmental aggression towards me - i just told myself " enough is enough ".

lifelong humanist

flipper

Another interesting thread, as usual from your own good self.

Like you, 2003 was a special year for me - the year I suddenly resigned as an elder and quit the cult. I simply wrote a leter to the local elders and told them that I wanted to DA myself as I no longer believed in any god, far less the WatchTower god, and no longer wanted to be known as one of their cult followers.

Coming to this conclusion was quite a quick process only after I started to use the critical thinking facility that I'd learned during my MBA university degree course in the mid 90's - I never read any of Hassan's or Ray Franz's books or looked online around this time. Looking back now, I just wish that I'd started out discovering how life began, how 'holy books' and religions were invented, etc., a whole lot sooner.

I then realized that I was just a Humanist at heart. It was a difficult time for me, a real challenge - I was a third generation born-in JW. For over 20 years I tried to be an understanding, liberal, approachable elder. What a total waste of time and effort that was!

I now know now that I'd possibly have been smarter just to fade - an elder friend and now ex-JW kindly took the time to try and persuade me to simply fade. Indeed, this would have been easier for my still-in JW wife (I mistakenly thought that she'd join me and do the same). My JW in-laws would still be speaking with me, and former acquaintances and the few friends I had at the KH would probably still speak with me and not do the unnatural strange shunning stuff. However, that would have been against my own principles and open honesty - fading would have been a 'cowards' way out. I can understand why many opt for the fade, though, and don't belittle their decision in any way.

Now, having read Hassan's books and bits of Franz's story I'm better prepared to continue to help free my wife from the clutches of the cult. Seven years and counting...

Here in Scotland winter's now here, with sub-zero temperatures and snow on the hills - how I envy you and Mrs Flipper in sunny California!

lifelong humanist

4

How Many Humanists in your country?

by lifelong humanist in

jw
friends

many on this forum already know that i'm a member of the humanist society scotland.. at our annual conference last month, i was happy to collect a bumper sticker that had been produced for a special capaign earlier this year to raise awareness of humanism issues within scotland.

our population is very small - just over 5 million people, so the simple message was bound to create quite a stir:.

two million scots are good without god.

lifelong humanist

Many on this forum already know that I'm a member of the Humanist Society Scotland.

At our annual conference last month, I was happy to collect a bumper sticker that had been produced for a special capaign earlier this year to raise awareness of Humanism issues within Scotland. Our population is very small - just over 5 million people, so the simple message was bound to create quite a stir:

TWO MILLION SCOTS ARE GOOD WITHOUT GOD

How many people, or what percentage of people in your country do you think have quite openly gone on record as stating that they don't believe in any god? I'd be very interested to hear from any posters on this.

I haven't had the guts to stick the sticker on my car yet, as I don't think my still-in JW wife would want to be seen either in it as a passenger or driving it with such a message proudly being displayed. I can just imagine the outrage from other cult members in the KH car park!

lifelong humanist

40

Ex JW, Fader and 'Conscious Class' Map

by Mickey mouse in

jw
friends

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=utf8&msa=0&msid=116388890922269468211.0004938b3329a3f3d0927&ll=54.876607,1.538086&spn=13.940068,39.506836&z=5.

i've created a map in google maps for people to mark their location, you don't have to put your real identity if you don't want to.. you need to sign in with a google account, click the 'edit' button and then drop a marker on your location.

add a photo if you like!.

lifelong humanist

Mickey mouse

I'm now on the map! This is a good idea - well done you!

lifelong humanist

35

Things That Matter and Things That Don't

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

being a jehovah's witness at any time and at any level is a major head f*ck.

the reason is that it obscures what is important and causes you to focus on what doesn't matter.. i've moved on from my jw experience.

it's a shame that i found myself a born in, taught to focus on things that don't matter.

lifelong humanist

AllTimeJeff

I always read and enjoy your posts. when I look in on the forum. For me, your insightful take on things 'JW related' are well reasoned and politely, yet strongly put. One day I hope my JW wife will read comments like yours and accept the fundamental truth that they contain - that really 'matters' to me!

I'm glad that you've been able to post again after an absence of some time.

Off to Italy tomorrow for 8 days holiday and house hunting.

lifelong humanist

12

Some respite from the usual subjects hammered out on the forum

by THE GLADIATOR in

jw
friends

i no longer send postcards when i go on holiday.

i wait until i am home and write a satirical account of the holiday.

this is emailed to my friends.

lifelong humanist

THE GLADIATOR

Enjoyed your holiday comments!

Did you omit to remove your wife's name everywhere it occurs? Who's Esther?!

lifelong humanist

8

Another successful ex

by behemot in

jw
friends

jonathan saunders thanks his upbringingfashion designer jonathan saunders thanks his jehovah's witness upbringing for his successful career.

fashion designer jonathan saunders says his jehovah's witness upbringing pushed him to succeed in the clothing industry.. the scottish-born designer - who wowed critics with his floral designs for spring/summer 2011 at london fashion week - admitted he hasn't spoken to his religious parents since he left home at the age of 16 to pursue a career in fashion.. jonathan - who is renowned for his edgy geometric designs - said: "you have to go without something to really want it.

i'm quite thankful for my upbringing because of that.

lifelong humanist

behemot

Thank you very much for posting this information.

I'm almost certain that this man is the son of Keith Saunders, who, I was attached to the Rutherglen congragation (Glasgow). I knew him and his wife Pamela - he was quite a liberal JW as I recall, much more caring than your average JW elder. I can only vauely remember their son, Jonathan, though.

I was also at the Glasgow School of Art, back in 1968/9. I was severely counselled about it from those in charge of the Cathcart congregation (Glasgow) at the time.

If Jonathan reads here, best of luck to you with your already outstanding career achievements! If your parents are still alive, I'm sure that they are very proud of you.

lifelong humanist

45

Any 'Humanists' here?

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

care to share your particular weltanschauung ?.

how do you approach life in general?

how do you convey to others your opines on life, love and laughter?.

lifelong humanist

AK -Jeff

I'm proud to be member no. 5330 of the Scottish Humanist Society. Just wished that I quit the JW WT religion earlier than 2003, as I realized that I was no longer the least bit religious but was truly just a humanist at heart.

lifelong humanist

38

What's Your Biggest Issue In Life?

by minimus in

jw
friends

my health is good but i do worry about how the economy affects my income.

you just never know if $$$ comes in or if business is slow.. what's your biggest worry in your life?.

lifelong humanist

minimus

Contrary to most posters, the biggest issue in my life is trying to free my JW wife from the WT cult. I'm becoming a bit less optimistic as each year goes by. However, I remain undeterred in my efforts!

lifelong humanist

10

Saying 'grace' at meal times

by lifelong humanist in

jw
friends

long before i dad myself in 2003, i used to feel really bad offering up 'grace' prior to eating a meal with family and/or friends.

it felt totally weird.

i never quite understood the concept.

lifelong humanist

Long before I DAd myself in 2003, I used to feel really bad offering up 'grace' prior to eating a meal with family and/or friends. It felt totally weird. I never quite understood the concept. Whenever my 4 sons were old enough, I'd ask one of them to do it. I guess that this was when I stopped believing that there was a god and praying to such an entity.

In our household, then and now, I usually do the cooking - my wife reckons that I'm better at it then she is. I'd work hard to earn the money, plan the menu, shop for the ingredients, buy an appropriate wine, cook the meal, set the table, light the candles and ask everyone present to sit down and then go through the 'prayer' bit to thank god for what we were about to eat/drink before tucking in. I absolutely hated this 'grace' as I reasoned that why would a god want me to thank this god for the food that we were about to enjoy? What of the countless millions that had nothing to eat? What of those barely surviving on an inadequate meagre diet? If they were praying to a god for even subsistance basic food items, why were their prayers not being answered? Why were they starving to death through no fault of their own?

Have you also felt this way?