Posts by goldensky

i have forthrightly ridiculed you at times, but more often, i have lathered satire, or frothed sarcasm at what appeared to me to be inanely ludicrous viewpoint.. i must apologize, for i have seen the light.. i now understand that all of mankind's' plight can indeed be traced to a day in a perfect garden in iraq.

an eloquent snake overcame a naked woman with words that rang truer to her than the words of her master and god.

goldensky

Dear AK-Jeff, your post #10.847 is superb!

17

In which ways do you think this forum has helped you as a person?

by cyberjesus in

jw
friends

i came here to learn more about the jws.

i ended up leaving them.

i learned to open my mind to opposite thoughts.

goldensky

I love you too, dear Cyberjesus.

40

Mind Control

by brotherdan in

jw
friends

so i've been reading stephen hassan's book on mind control and he made an interesting point that made me think about myself.

he asks the question, "what makes some people just walk out of cults on their own, while others require much harsher measures from others to get them out?".

most of you know that i was thoroughly indoctrinated as a jw.

goldensky

Mad Sweeney, I've found your second video very interesting! How true!Thanks for posting it.

40

Mind Control

by brotherdan in

jw
friends

so i've been reading stephen hassan's book on mind control and he made an interesting point that made me think about myself.

he asks the question, "what makes some people just walk out of cults on their own, while others require much harsher measures from others to get them out?".

most of you know that i was thoroughly indoctrinated as a jw.

goldensky

Dear Ding, could it REALLY be the Holy Spirit? I wish, but I seriously doubt God's existence nowadays, or at least His interest in us humans... (Sorry if this makes you sad, since you seem to be a believer...).

I remember one of the first things that flashed through my mind one day (as I was scrubbing the kitchen floor, ha, ha!) was the absolute silliness of permitting children to be baptized at an early age. Up to that moment, I had trained my then 8 or 9 year son to devote his life to Jehovah as soon as he felt ready, but at that particular moment I realized it was at least as serious a decision as that of marrying, and would I let my child get married at 13 or 14? Then, why on earth do Witness parents like me encourage that step at such an early age? I was astounded at how illogical I had been all my life, and decided right there and then I wouldn't let him get baptized before the age of 18, and I'd even try to make him wait until he was 23 or 24. Decision made. And then I kept wondering how I could have thought differently my whole life...

Another day, I suddenly felt very angry at the Governing Body for never having apologized about the years spent in prison by many brothers when the alternative service was still not allowed. Why did I suddenly have such a "bad attitude" towards the brothers in Brooklyn if up to then I had always said Amen with gratefulness to all their directives? Next came anger at their never having recognized their mistakes in dating the end, in spite of the modifications the brothers had made in their lives due to the information issuing from them.

Then, on another occasion, as I was washing the dishes ( Spanish housewives, you know...), a bigger picture came to my mind, related to the Bible as God's inspired word: the account of Abraham came to my mind, totally out of the blue, and for the first time in my life I felt Jehovah was a psycho, testing the faith of his beloved son in such a terrible way, plus that contradicted other Bible accounts. I've never been able to think of this account in the original way. Next came Job's account along the same lines. Then the whole Old Testament itself.

Yet another day it was the ransom (if you read my intro post and a couple others there are more details): how can it be considered a proof of love and justice on the part of God for an innocent man to die on behalf of mankind (also basically innocent)?

New issues kept adding to my doubts about the Witnesses being the true religion, then the Bible being the book through which God talks to us and, finally, the existence of God Himself, who not only was not answering my prayers for faith (two years praying intensely), but, incomprehensibly, allowed terrible suffering without moving a finger...

And here I am now, still praying every day to the Great Absentee, as some poster recently called him (he made me smile, what a good description!), knowing I won't get any answers during my lifetime, but still loving Him intensely...

40

Mind Control

by brotherdan in

jw
friends

so i've been reading stephen hassan's book on mind control and he made an interesting point that made me think about myself.

he asks the question, "what makes some people just walk out of cults on their own, while others require much harsher measures from others to get them out?".

most of you know that i was thoroughly indoctrinated as a jw.

goldensky

I'm following this thread with interest, Brotherdan, because up to this day, over a year after my awakening, I still can't pinpoint what made me realize the organization has never been directed by Jehovah or Jesus Christ. I, of all Witnesses, was amongst the most unlikely to ever turn away from "the truth": I was fully devoted, not just in appearance, but with my whole heart. My love for Jehovah was the very core of my being for as long as I can remember. I just LOVED to be a Witness and for over four decades kept wondering why I, without any particularly deserving qualities, had been so privileged to be among Jehovahs's people. I really wish I knew how the impossible finally happened: I walked right out from one day to the next, leaving all the brothers who have ever known me absolutely astounded (up to this day). Why did I begin to doubt two years before my departure, if nothing new had been added to the knowledge I had been familiar with all my life? Why did I suddenly begin to have flashes of logical thinking while washing the dishes, while walking in the street, totally out of the blue? Why did those flashes keep intensifying in frequency and relevance? Why did I suddenly remember what dozens of householders (basically my exclusive outside contacts) had been telling me over those decades and it all made sense now? I keep looking for the trigger, without success. All I know is that I've been in a state of sheer euphoria ever since I made my decision on a morning like any other morning, when the whole picture shone through my mind...

13

Heartsick

by EmptyInside in

jw
friends

i'm sorry, it seems like i only post when i'm down.

so, most here probably think i'm depressed all the time,which isn't true.. but, i had a long distance romance, and now he doesn't even respond to my e-mails.

we have been talking for almost two years now.

goldensky

Dear Emptyinside, I suppose all of us have had our heart broken, and sometimes more than once during our lifetime. When it's happening you experience an unbearable feeling of longing for the person, but invariably it gets better with time and one day you discover you've somehow overcome it and are ready for a new relationship. I hope the hurt subsides as fast as possible and you meet somebody else who is able to awaken romantic feelings in your heart.