Terry, I think you did well. You told them the truth straight from the heart, without being the rabid "apostate" they are watching out for. You gave a good witness (sorry!) to that entire car group. They are more likely to hear some of what you said, because their defenses weren't on high alert the whole time.
GLTirebiter
JoinedPosts by GLTirebiter
-
68
Car Full of JW's while I'm at the Car Wash............
by Terry ini'm sort of angry right now.. no, not angry..... i'm shaky.
at least, when i lift my cup of coffee to my lips, sitting here at starbucks, my hand is trembly.. i hate that!.
the power they have to still reach me on some hidden point that hides in the corners of my very being.... .
-
-
-
34
Red States/Blue States
by snowbird inthese designations became popular during the y2k presidential election.. my state is red.. what color is yours?.
syl.
-
-
GLTirebiter
I remember in 1992, when Ross Perot ran, they used red (Bush-Republican), white (Perot-reform) and blue (Clinton-democrat) to identify states supporting each candidate. Or they would have, if Perot had managed to carry even a single state.
I live in a blue-red congressional district of a red-blue state. Incumbents in this district must be careful, lest the second largest bloc of registered voters ("none of the above") gives them the boot!
-
125
Once again I say goodbye
by mouthy ini find the board is getting very unfriendly of late.
used to be great to be aboard.
but the snipping that so many.
-
-
GLTirebiter
Grace, I'm glad you reconsidered. Next time, just send us to our rooms, OK?
-
18
So How Much Does the New World Translation Cost?
by AllTimeJeff inyou can't make this up.
i just got back from half price books around where i live...... .
-
-
GLTirebiter
The local used book store was asking $5 for a standard-size volume of the NWT in good condition. I passed on it.
-
-
-
GLTirebiter
This is always in the back of my mind as he has a set of keys to my house, I haven't spoken to him in almost a month now and he still hasn't returned them even though he said he would.
Alarm bells are ringing! Based on his unpredictable behavior, you don't want him having access to your place. Call the locksmith and get your locks re-keyed, it's cheap insurance! If you rent, tell the landlord that you changed the key (and tell them why, so they won't let him in) and give the landlord a new key.
-
-
-
GLTirebiter
Welcome, Curious! You seem to have a good handle on this. What you describe is familar to many of us, and your assessment is a good one over-all.
could never make a decision it was always I don't know
They base all major decisions on the Watchtower doctrines. They are not encouraged to be self confident, but to avoid "independent thinking".
Was obsessed with playing poker/the dream of a poker career
That seems odd. Witnesses are discouraged from gambling, competing or seeking fame (despite Prince, the Williams sisters and other celebrity Witnesses). They are supposed to not waste time on "worldly pursuits" when they could be out in the door-to-door preaching service. This could be another source of tension that troubles him.
Would get upset easily
Personality would change , almost like he would even look like a different person.
Please read about "cult personality" vs. "authentic personality". They really can be like two different persons, one that is their own self, another that the Watchtower tells them they must be. Under stress, the conditioned reflex of the group personality takes control.
he told me his sister's friends would never come to their house
he had few friends, and most of the time they appeared to turn down his invites to his house(when he lived at home)
Witnesses are taught to not associate with "worldly" non-Witness people, but there seems to be more than just that going on. His sister's friends won't come over, his friends won't come over, and you mentioned how uncomfortable it was to visit with his parents. If even other Witnesses their age stay away, that suggests a situation where all outsiders feel uncomfortable.
He also started to lie towards the end of the relationship. I don't know if this has anything to do with JW
My opinion: Witnesses learn to lie to themselves first and foremost, while remaining unaware of doing so. That is a defense mechanism, and is how the group personality can so easily switch places with their authentic one. The same defense mechanism causes them to take refuge in the Watchtower personality when they feel threatened.
I have heard that JW can sometimes suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder. do you think that could be the case too? It seems like after he went home he wanted to end the relationship with me and he kept distancing himself, with no warning...I am doubting he went back to the church but I am wondering if his upbringing could have caused him to have problems. It just seemed so completely out of his character to suddenly leave me and I was left feeling very confused.
It's possible, but there are other possibilities too. No doubt there was much tension with his family during that month he spent working with them. You said his mother "did not seem to approve of you", and that "she wanted to help him". "Help", in her mind, means getting him back into the Kingdom Hall and away from you, the "worldly" girlfriend. Sorry to say, his ties to his mother were stronger than the ones he had to you. It's small comfort to say it's better to find that out now, instead of years later--but that's about the only comfort to find in this situation. I hope you can heal from it and find a happier life ahead.
-
3
Operation Rescue Is On...
by discreetslave inmy leaving is a big deal.
my family was considered the perfect jw family.
we had "friends" say the family on the cover of the new brochure listen to god reminds them of us.
-
-
GLTirebiter
I need to find a new group of homeschoolers to do field trips and classes with.
Look into the "virtual academies" or whatever they call them in your area. If the school district offers support for home educators, there's a good chance there is such a group where you live, and registration time is here for the fall semester. We used a K-12 online charter school with our daughter, and it worked well. It's a serious program and a full-time committment, slackers who want to ignore the school-work in favor of "service" won't like it.
Another alternative is a Christian (non-JW) home school group. I was surprised to learn that my next-door neighbor of almost 20 years is head of one of these groups. A good group will stand out by actively assisting you in exceeding state standards and coordinating the required proficiency tests, as well as handling field trips etc. The key is to locate a group that uses home schooling to provide a better education, not a group that sees it as a way to avoid it.
-
36
Bad day in Athiest/Jehovah's-Witnessville
by Nickolas inbear with me for a day or two, ok?
if i don't vent a bit i'll leave gray matter spontaneously spattered all over my office walls..
-
-
GLTirebiter
but when they arrive they are allocated separate bedrooms. It becomes the elephant in the room.
I think that the surprise factor could have a lot to do with it. Even though your wife doesn't agree with the cohabitation, considering their ages and that the situation was well know in advance, it is common courtesy to discuss it in advance--not waiting until they fly into town and arrive at your door, then dictating the rules as if they were still 16 years old. Whether you agree with their arrangement or not, they are grown ups and deserve to be respected as such. Discussing the sleeping arrangements before hand allows them a dignified way to choose, which might mean booking a hotel room or staying home.
-
7
Isaac Newton is an anointed Christian.......
by Slidin Fast instartfragment.
did anyone else pick up the wild assertions in the dc.
henry grew, george storrs and isaac newton were part of the anointed.
-
-
GLTirebiter
Surprisingly, they have some basis for saying that. There are many similarities between Newton's beliefs and what the Watchtower says. Though raised in the Anglican church, his beliefs became unorthodox. These included Arianism, that he was among the special elite who could interpret and find hidden messages in the Bible, and that God would establish his kingdom on a new Earth. He wrote religious tracts supporting literal interpretation of the Bible (his literal interpretation), and prediciated the end of the world--estimating it would be no sooner than 2060.
In one way, he proved himself smarter than the GB--by setting a date long past his own lifetime!
Yes, Newton was a brilliant mathematician and physicist. Talented though he was in the sciences, theology was not his forte.
-
-
-
