NEJ, I also remember a gap, but in my case it was more noticeable in the 30-40 age group rather than the 20-30. Actually, I could see an overall gap in the 20-40 range. This particular range is pivotal for born-ins. It is where they are exposed to the world around them on their own terms. They get married and start a family in their 20s, and the connection between them and their parents forms a glue that keeps them around even when they're mentally missing. Once they reach their 30s, issues that have troubled them for many years begin to affect them and they look into them. This is the beginning of the end. The only reason it takes a few years from this period is the familial ties that are used as a threat slowing their exit, but not completely stopping it.
FreeAtLast1914
JoinedPosts by FreeAtLast1914
-
25
CONVENTION PHOTO !!
by elder-schmelder ini found this picture on facebook.. but i wanted to ask everyone a question.
how many people here remember a moment in their young adult life at the conventions like this?.
[picture removed - it's unclear if this is publicly available or copied without permission - simon].
-
-
-
43
1975 All Over Again
by Sour Grapes inthe talk that brother morris is giving at the one day.
assemblies is really getting the witnesses all worked.
i heard his talk last last month and he really.
-
-
FreeAtLast1914
I was born into this cult and I've heard this "end is near" my entire life. Nothing new at all. Though it seems every decade or so it goes through another phase of the Jihadist JWs getting louder, calling today "the last of the last days" or the "very end of the end of the last days." How many "end of the ends" can they put into one statement without the word "end" losing all significance?
The '90s generation change was a biggy and now I think we're witnessing the beginnings of the Society reeling out of control. The "love of the greater number is cooling off" as JWs by the thousands leave their cult of birth. The Memorial partakers continue to rise, and it's only a matter of time before that number reaches embarrassing levels. I mean, come on, after 2000 years of gathering Christ's (literal, of course) 144,000 brothers there are still better than 10,000 left alive!!! And the GB's fear of control loss is motivating them to print WT after WT filled to the brim with fear-mongering against independent study and rational thinking, using phrases like "God is only using us, not you" and "We are the light" and "Don't read the Bible, it's a dangerous thing, read our books instead" and "If you question us, you're questioning God, and you'll die at the big A for that."
This cult can't die quick enough...
-
41
Honesty in Field Service Reports....This week's CBS topic (among others)
by Open mind inthis week's congregation "bible" study.
the drone running the show asked an auxiliary question (tm):.
"so, what could be some of the consequences if people weren't honest in reporting their field service?".
-
-
FreeAtLast1914
I've seen many methods of counting time. Mine was to start the moment I woke up on Saturday. Just thinking about going through neighborhoods bugging people was "work". So I counted it. And I didn't stop until I got back home, even if we ate lunch on the way. If I had to dress up, I was darn sure going to get credit for it. I figure there are as many methods of time counting as there are publishers.
-
12
"Melita deleted"?
by Chalam inhi jwners,.
if you didn't see the posts in the last hour or two you might wonder what i am referring too.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/186375/1/have-a-very-nasty-krist-mas.
whilst it is up to the board owners and moderators what they do on the board, i cannot understand the logic of deleting this members post's or account.. .
-
-
FreeAtLast1914
As an escapee from the WT, I'm all about freedom of speech and thought. But every civilized society realizes you can't yell "Fire" in a crowded movie theater (unless there really is a fire, that is). With freedom comes responsibility.
-
3
Missing District Conventions
by FreeAtLast1914 inin my case, even after i stopped attending meetings, my family still had contact with me, though it became stranger and more awkward as the months went by.
but it all fell apart rapidly after i missed the dc and my wife went without me (to appease her parents who were in attendance).
she was seriously love-bombed, but it didn't work because the "friends" had already shown their true colors and she was beginning to see there was no real love there.. i didn't use the excuse of work or anxiety.
-
-
FreeAtLast1914
In my case, even after I stopped attending meetings, my family still had contact with me, though it became stranger and more awkward as the months went by. But it all fell apart rapidly after I missed the DC and my wife went without me (to appease her parents who were in attendance). She was seriously love-bombed, but it didn't work because the "friends" had already shown their true colors and she was beginning to see there was no real love there.
I didn't use the excuse of work or anxiety. I simple refused to go. This was the turning point in my familial contact. All but a couple began shunning me, even threatening to walk out of the room if I were to show up at family events. Mind you, I have yet to be DF'd, DA'd, or even before a committee. They seem to have taken it on themselves to act this way.
The funny part is that I had already (at that time) stopped going to meetings for three years! But the final straw was to miss the DC?
My question: Is there something mystical about the importance of District Conventions to JWs?
-
37
I overheard a nauseating conversation . . .
by 144001 ini was in the produce section of a local market, when i happened to overhear the following comment: "we celebrate christ's birth every day of the year, not just on christmas!
" i turned and knew the nature of the source of the comment immediately, judging by the polyester pantsuit and delusional "deer in headlights" look on her face.
her companion replied, "but i like celebrating christmas and don't see anything wrong with it.
-
-
FreeAtLast1914
If the elders knew she was celebrating Christ's birth every day, she'd be in a committee by now.
-
18
an exchange today...something that tore at my heart.
by restrangled ini pulled up into my drive with a trunk full of groceries....hoping to avoid the jw's next door.
too late, as i popped my trunk i hear behind me hello.. in general, i try to be nice, i let them introduce themselves and then let them know my mom is a current witness, i was raised one and i am out.. they dropped the witness stuff, and we introduced ourselves.
i always shake hands....as a woman shaking hands i can always tell a sincere man.
-
-
FreeAtLast1914
Yep. I'd say it's family. The pull can be incredible. But I'm with CL. How could you ever go back to that life?
-
7
See You All Again Soon...
by Lillith26 injust thought i'd start a thread for anyone who is going offline over the holidays- as a place just say goodbyes for now.... .
i'll see you all in few days, when the maddness is over.. take care everyone- i hope you all have a safe and merry christmas... .
.
-
-
FreeAtLast1914
Merry Christmas!
-
126
Is the Bible Really Scientifically Accurate?
by FreeAtLast1914 inthe society (and others) love to quote job 26:7 where it says that "[god] suspends the earth over nothing" and isaiah 40:22, where it speaks of "the circle of the earth".
they use these scriptures to boast about the incredible scientific accuracy of the bible, proving god had a direct hand in everything written in it.. the trouble is that elsewhere in the scriptures, opposing views are put forth explaining then-unexplainable physics and geographical notions.
one is job 26:11: "the pillars of heaven tremble.
-
-
FreeAtLast1914
This has been an interesting debate. I've enjoyed following its evolution (pun intended). But I feel the need to disclose my current take on the Holy Book. I do not think it is scientifically accurate. It was never intended to be. I think it is a book of stories told by believers about how they viewed their God. Nothing more. So much of it fable and myth, yet its overarching message (especially the New Testament) is love and peace and goodness to one's neighbor. (Of course you have to read the portions about the Jewish slaughter of innocent women and children with a grain of salt)
Still, even if very little of what is written in the Bible ever happened, it is still a book that contains lessons and encouragement to do good. Even fairy tales strive to teach morals...
-
28
"Obeying The Slave"----Only In Watchtower Land Could A "Slave" Have More Prominence
by minimus inthink about what slaves do.
they work for the master and they humbly work hard and if they don't they'll get punished.
a slave is lower in rank than any others.
-
-
FreeAtLast1914
Minimus, this was a great point. How it eluded me I don't know, but you can bet the next time I get into a conversation about the "slave" that is so worshipped by the Dubs, I'll be sure to throw this into the ring and watch their expressions while they try to come up with another WTism to explain it.
I can't wait!