The only way I could know that is if I'm alive in the first place. So...it sort of answers itself, in a way.
--sd-7
Posts by sd-7
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21If you knew that you might have pain, suffer disasters, certainly end up dead,-- given the choice, the power, would you have prevailed upon your parents not to have brought you into the world?
by prologos inor changed the outworkings of your ancestors' lifes to suit you?--.
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34
I feel my faith is weakening
by Brother Mike inwhen you were in the truth did you find websites like this and read what the other side has to say?
i am in that stage and i feel as if i'm seeking out the ttatt.
i feel the wt society is hiding way too much.
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sd-7
Well, when I believed it, I did actually stumble across this site when I Googled 'Jehovah's Witnesses', but I didn't read much of it at the time. I wasn't really thinking about those issues, apart from the sense that the WT wasn't telling the truth about some stuff. I buried it. What prompted me to consider the other side of things was frustration on a more personal level with rules that I knew were not scriptural. When a breaking point was reached, I suddenly recalled that the Society said not to talk to ex-JWs [insert loaded language word here if you so desire], and I asked myself, what are they so afraid of? What if these ex-JWs actually know something the WT doesn't want us to know? Something is clearly wrong, but I can't figure out what. Are our beliefs as unassailable as they appear on the surface?
1914 seemed the most obvious place to start, and the rest is history.
You're at an age where finding out something like this, like what you may learn if you continue to read and reason, can be both blessing and curse. You need to be able to support yourself and be on your own or else the pressure on you will be hard indeed.
I would advise avoiding any kind of dating stuff for the foreseeable future. What you learn could make you more vulnerable than ever to potentially irrational decisions. There is a lot of work to do in order to get your mind free enough to function in the outside world. Right now, no one can be trusted not to manipulate you in the same way JWs do. You have to be careful not to end up enslaved to someone or something else. What you learn will set you free to an extent, but for a time, you will only think you are free. You have more to learn before you can be well-rounded enough to truly be free.
So, my advice is to read as much as you can on all subjects that concern you. You'll be ready to leave, of course, long before you exhaust all the matters you might wish to learn more about. But don't be content with what you know today. Learn more about as much as you can. I'm sure anyone here could give you a good reading list as you make your decision.
You'll be fine, but you need to keep reading and find someone you can trust on the outside to talk to about it.
--sd-7
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10
Were you afraid of Armageddon on New Year's Eve 1999?
by rebel8 inobligatory false predictions link.. so were you cowering somewhere with a stash of watchtowers hidden in your bunker on 12/31/1999?.
were you excited about armageddon coming and wiping all the wicked off the planet?.
were you arrogantly bragging how much better you and your fellow bros were than the worldlies, who were out celebrating blindly, like those in noah's day?.
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sd-7
Not at all. I was worried about the power going out, maybe. But then nothing happened, and I shrugged. Then hunkered down as I thought people were shooting outside. Maybe it was just fireworks, but I figured, why take chances? There's always the rest of the year for that.
--sd-7
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42
New to JWN and excited!
by sunny23 inhave been visiting jwn for about a week now and it motivated me to join.
i look forward to meeting everyone i can and learning from their experiences and wisdom as i search for more and more reasons not to get reinstated.
here's most of my story:.
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sd-7
The second is a history of how the scrolls were selected and by who, to form the 'bible'. What was the motive, what was left out, why? Its fantastic.
I've read Bart Ehrman's 'Jesus, Interrupted' and part of his 'New Testament' textbook and I concur--the man is brilliant with the information he presents. Definitely helped educate me a LOT about the New Testament in its historical context.
Also, welcome. Nice story, there. Sad in many ways, as well. Hey, at least you're on the right track to becoming fully free. Sounds like you need no advice from me, you're well along.
--sd-7
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9
That talk at the assembly where...
by ?evrything in...someone who was disfellowshipped ended up goin to a bar getting into a fight/getting preggo or somethin of the nature and then realized how pitiful their life had become.
they then 'prayed' to jah and wala the light clicked and they came back and feel better then ever!!.
sigh.
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sd-7
I remember hearing those stories in talks--and there were innumerable iterations of them--and I'm not sure when it was that I started to question it, but it was certainly long before I started doubting things as a whole. One of the big things that educated me on the outside world was, ironically, the recruitment work. I'd go out and see the ordinary people going about their lives. I'd think, none of them look particularly unhappy. If anything, the people inside the KH look stressed and distraught. They look like the ones who are 'sighing and groaning', and not because of the outside world, either.
I used to think, well, maybe this person shouldn't have gone to that bar, you know? Maybe that wasn't the best environment for someone who knows next to nothing about the outside world. Maybe it's possible to have a gradual, peaceful transition to not being a JW. If only you just play your cards right, do it carefully.
Well, I didn't really get to see the best of what the outside world has to offer, myself. But I've made the best of the life I've ended up with. I'm still living with no more or less good or bad than would have happened anyway. If a person decides to get really drunk around total strangers or use drugs or engage in other risky behaviors, he or she assumes the risks associated and will likely find themselves in a bad situation. That is entirely unrelated to leaving a religion. That is related to making decisions that are in that person's best self-interest, or failing to do so.
--sd-7
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21
musings from a sound booth - good and bad experiences in one morning of ministry
by Captain Blithering inhowdy all , relieving the boredom at the meeting again.
yesterday on the ministry i was offering halloween mags (i know,i just dont even try anymore!
) - the lovely missus said "you cant place those" so i said half sarcastically "the truth never goes out of date or changes" .
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sd-7
the lovely missus said "you cant place those" so i said half sarcastically "the truth never goes out of date or changes" . A long moment passed then she turned to me and said "yes it does!"
Classic! Those are the moments I'll always miss because I couldn't be a good double agent. Ah, well, it's more fun out here anyway.
Doing the sound booth was pretty much as much fun as you could possibly have during a meeting, if you ask me. So how do you manage to not get caught by the bros carrying mikes? You mean they never look at you while they're standing there? Or are you like totally enclosed?
Anyway, I think the reason I can't do it is because I can't take it seriously anymore. I mean, how do you say all that stuff with a straight face now? I know I can do the satire, but...being around folks who would actually read and believe said satire as essentially the word from above, wow...ha ha ha...oh, man.
Hey, that reminds me. I think the two-day assembly is coming up for the Mrs. Hmm. Well, at least she hasn't tried to invite me or ask me to come with her.
It's got to be awful, I do remember how it was. Hang in there.
--sd-7
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116
if we don't all unite, we may win a few battles but Watchtower will win the WAR.
by excaliber into thank you for taking the time to read this, because i feel that it is extremely important.
over the years we have been waring against the watchtower, and our battle field has been the internet.and we have been very successful in establishing discussion forums and online resorces exposing false teachings and we have used youtube to further shed light on the watchtower, we have even written books to this end.. .
yes we have attacked watchtower at its weakest point, the internet and we have been able to do this as small groups and even individualy.
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sd-7
I do think you have a point there, though, ekruks. Certainly the good, verifiable, true information posted on a forum like this needs a wider audience. Especially now, with the JWs having their big displays out in public advertising their website and so on. I see those displays twice a day now, every morning. So clearly, there is a need for a more public response to the JWs. Not by way of attacking them so much as by way of informing the public of how cults work so that they can avoid being victimized by them.
--sd-7
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116
if we don't all unite, we may win a few battles but Watchtower will win the WAR.
by excaliber into thank you for taking the time to read this, because i feel that it is extremely important.
over the years we have been waring against the watchtower, and our battle field has been the internet.and we have been very successful in establishing discussion forums and online resorces exposing false teachings and we have used youtube to further shed light on the watchtower, we have even written books to this end.. .
yes we have attacked watchtower at its weakest point, the internet and we have been able to do this as small groups and even individualy.
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sd-7
Watchtower is but a drop in the ocean of problems. Defeat them entirely, and three more cults will rise to take their place. Or thirty-three. Because they are but a symptom of a larger problem--the unwillingness of the ordinary person to think, question, and reject the irrational. This is how any widespread deception is possible.
Either way, the day Watchtower is able to successfully train its members to counter things like facts, history, logic, and science, well, I know I'll impressed. There is no amount of training WT can provide that would matter, so long as they doggedly stick to their belief system.
War with a billion-dollar corporation with 7,000,000+ members is pointless. It will be in the small, quiet moments that their foundation will be whittled away, not in a large-scale battle fought by a united 'army' of sorts. For it is those small moments--the despair of an abused spouse, the frustration of a young adult trying to find his or her way, the despair of an older one who has spent decades serving and is cast aside for some arbitrary reason--those are the moments that are defeating the Watchtower. Because those moments are the ones that give people the sense that 'something is wrong' more than any amount of facts that they may encounter sooner or later.
Our strength lies in our individuality, in our strengths as individuals. It's our different approaches and worldviews and minds that make us so much stronger. I trust in that and value that the most. It's what we earned. The reality is that many of us will only be able to save ourselves. And we were lucky to do that. Only thing we can do is spread what knowledge we have as much as we can, inform people about the dangers of cults and destructive influence. To the extent that we do that, we will be doing what we can.
--sd-7
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sd-7
...And there's sd-7, holding a Darth Vader lightsaber. Two brutal years have no doubt aged me more than this photo implies. I'm no giant dinosaur or helmeted menace, but I guess this'll have to do.
--sd-7
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129
They are Definitely Attacking "Higher Education"
by XBEHERE ina friend of mine recently had his co visit and in the elders meeting the co out-right asked the question: how are the friends doing in your cong.
as regards pursuing higher education?
the co continued...you know in view of all the counsel from the slave regarding the dangers.
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sd-7
Well, they did say in this year's convention that the notions that (1) higher education will make you successful and (2) saving a lot of money for the future are both to be considered "demon-inspired propaganda". You can't get any more direct than that about the issue. Anyone who says they aren't against higher education is flat-out lying based on the DC talk I heard this year.
Of course, the key was not to directly tell people 'do not pursue higher education' by way of a command, but rather, to simply poison the well. That way, they can say, "What? We don't tell anyone not to drink the water. You're crazy," while shouting publicly, "The well is poisoned by the Devil!"
--sd-7
