I have to think of it as similar to this scenario: I was in prison for 30 years. Then one day the warden came up to me and said I could be released under the condition that I would never be permitted to return to the prison to visit my former cellmates. I might miss them but it's much better to be free.
paul from cleveland
JoinedPosts by paul from cleveland
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21
How do you overcome SHUNNING after leaving the organization and move on?
by suavojr init amazes me how many of you have left it all behind, including family, brothers and sisters, friends and a full network of people.
i for one cannot find the courage to breakaway, and this causes me great anxiety and stress.
it eats me alive to think that if i open my mouth everyone i know will simply turn their back on me.
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How do you overcome SHUNNING after leaving the organization and move on?
by suavojr init amazes me how many of you have left it all behind, including family, brothers and sisters, friends and a full network of people.
i for one cannot find the courage to breakaway, and this causes me great anxiety and stress.
it eats me alive to think that if i open my mouth everyone i know will simply turn their back on me.
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paul from cleveland
Shunning is very dehumanizing. It's been 22 years and I haven't overcome it.
However now I have real friends. People that I know will never leave me.
You do realize that you don't have any true friends in the organization don't you? All of those relationships are entirely conditional. They'll all abandon you in a heartbeat without even knowing the reason if they disfellowship you. It usually happens at the time you need friends the most.
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Why do people just give their money to the Watchtower?
by WireRider inwhat do they contribute to humanity?
what do they contribute to any part of society?.
why are people paying for a scam?.
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paul from cleveland
I donated because I thought it was the true religion at the time. What kind of answer are you looking for? -
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Awesome New Books on JW's, MUST READ!
by johnny depp inhey, i just thought i let you guys know about these two books i read:jehovah's witnesses, what lies behind the truththe watchtower society, organizational misbehaviorboth books by gabriel h ibarra.
awesome!
awesome!
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paul from cleveland
Gabriel, I highly doubt you'll sell many of these books at $50 a copy. It's not a good price point. Lulu charges you just $7.85 for a 6x9 330 page book. A good starting point would be to triple your cost of production and make the price around $25 or less. It would add a lot to your credibility as well. -
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"Why don't you just call yourself an atheist?"
by slimboyfat inthe best answer to this question ever.
i don't tire listening to it.
"i am not, i am not simply the one who says 'i'" .
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paul from cleveland
I'd like to try to understand this philosopher but this time I had to google Derrida for Dummies
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converting to catholic
by SloppyMcFloppy inhello i was wondering if any ex jw have converted to catholic?
i have been tossing the idea around a bit and wondering if it was woth it from personal experience?
thoughts?
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paul from cleveland
My mother was raised Catholic, converted and was baptized into the Watchtower as an adult, then left the Witnesses after 30 years and returned to the Catholic Church. She spent the last 20 years as a Catholic. She so regretted ever becoming a JW.
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paul from cleveland
Poopie asked if Jehovah's Witnesses use psychological terrorism. Of course it's not the same as physical terrorism. It's creating a state of terror within in the mind without actually using bombs. But is it any less terrifying because it's happening invisibly? I say they're achieving the same results, manipulating through fear, just using another technique. It's even more sinister in some respects because they're doing it while not drawing attention to themselves. No bad press. -
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paul from cleveland
Absolutely. That's exactly what they do. I'm going to use that expression.
Anyone who has awoken in the middle of the night, drenched in a cold sweat, in the midst of a panic attack, knows they are psychological terrorists.
It took decades to overcome the terror embedded in my mind. I guess you never fully overcome the brain damage.
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2015 Regional Convention Anthony Morris Governing Body encourages coerced baptism of unwilling children ...again
by Watchtower-Free inthis is from the last talk of the convention ......... clip 1:30 minutes longhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrej8tlyiso&feature=youtu.be.
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paul from cleveland
At the "Children of the KIng" St. Louis convention in 1941, over 1300 children were baptized. Some were as young as six years of age.
I just met someone who was baptized as a child at this convention. She was 10 years old. She remembers all the children being gathered in front of the stage and being asked if they'd like to be baptized. She told me she said to herself "I don't know! I haven't made up my mind yet". However, she did get baptized because it wasn't an option not to. She was just herded along with all the others and baptized against her will. Now in her 80's, she is still suffering the fallout from this.
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Passionless loveless JW.ORG. How? Why? My experience with these Pharasees.
by Witness 007 inso i studied with this guy who is now an elder in my moms hall.
she has cancer and is black and blue from it.
we are like real family so i invite him over for drinks and pizza.
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paul from cleveland
Every business knows it costs many times more to attract new customers than to retain existing ones. I'm surprised Watchtower doesn't encourage this.