IsaacJ22

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Posts by IsaacJ22

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  28

  who does the society consider as apostates?

  by booby in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  from their literature as source.

  i did some searching and was surprised that i couldn't find them referring to those who simply quit and/or speak their doubts as such..

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  IsaacJ22

  Look it up in the Insight books and you'll find almost everybody that was ever baptized, then lost faith and left, is an apostate. Lack of faith in the GB, the truth, Jehovah, all that--they're all listed as grounds for apostasy.
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  43

  Today's Watchtower Study is SO dumb!!!

  by TimothyT in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like to think of myself as an academic.

  im starting my second degree and i enjoy research.

  when i see a statement backed up by references and support from a credible source, sometimes i get excited.

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  IsaacJ22

  This is one of the realizations that finally made me realize that it was OK to just quit the WTS. Even the GB doesn't honestly know it's God's true religion or whatever. He doesn't talk to them. He doesn't even send them a postcard once a year. They're just asserting it, plain and simple. Done and done.

  Even the "tests" they claim to pass, such as qualities of the true religion mentioned in the Bible, are cherry picked. Like all denominations, they site the qualities they think they have and ignore the rest.
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  42

  Did YOU Change In Your Personality After You Left The Organization?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we knock a lot of things about the witnesses.

  i wonder if we're really all that much different in our personalities as exjws.. .

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  IsaacJ22

  I started a week before my 18th birthday. I left when I was about 24. Afterward, I mostly reverted back to my old personality, though gradually over several years. (No, I didn't return to being a 17 year old, BTW.) Atheism took almost a decade to fully sink in.

  I wanted to be a writer before I became a JW. Funny, but learning about the editorial process helped me to value things like skepticism and objectivity, which I had only applied to my life in limited ways. Afterward, when I began to dig through the literature and began reading the views of atheists, they became two of my primary values.

  Not coincidentally, they are quite useful in determining when others are telling lies, half truths, or personal truths. Or in realizing that your being brainwashed, converted, or being mistreated by others emotionally. It would be much more difficult to pull me into something like that again, which is a positive in my view.

  Being a JW did help me to become an atheist, though not in the way most people tend to assume. Since I value this about myself, I wouldn't necessarily want to undo those experiences. Yet they were thoroughly unpleasant at the same time. I still wouldn't care to repeat them.
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  7

  Quick letter to the ex for clarification...

  by DJPoetech in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i read don cameron's book and got an idea on how to word a letter to the ex when certain expressions indicate she has no clue why i left the jws.... i would suggest "captives of a concept" to all who just want a simple way to explain to a witness why we don't go... although there are a ton of reasons..... here is snip of the letter.... you mentioned me getting reinstated the other day.

  i laughed because it was so funny to me.

  it also let me know that you really don't understand why i left the witnesses.

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  IsaacJ22

  If you're really trying to reach an understanding here, I would consider leaving out or changing this line:

  I laughed because it was so funny to me.

  This could be interpreted as hostile or condescending. That's especially troubling as it's right at the start of the letter.

  Just a thought. :-)
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  51

  Suggestions for finally talking to my parents about my doubts?

  by stillstuckcruz in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'll give my story again:.

  i was raised a believing witness.

  i had a normal life and very loving parents who would do anything for me and my brother(who is 21).

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  IsaacJ22

  I would not confide in any JW about this. Even if they claim they won't hold anything you say against you, even your best friend is likely to tell the elders. They may do it because Jehovah is watching, or because it's for your own good in their eyes. Sometimes, they make promises like these without truly realizing that you might have something "apostate-like" to say. So they think they can keep the promise but can't.

  I hate to say this, because I'm not big on the idea, but you could try fading. I didn't see if you were still living with your parents or not, but obviously if you are, that will be hard to do. :-(

  I wrote a couple articles online about fading that offered tips on how to do it, but I'm sure there plenty of them available here, too. Note that my family aren't JWs (just my in-laws, who annoy me more than often than not) and even if my family were JWs, I've never been close to them. So it's easy for me to say you shouldn't fade. But maybe, in your case, you should consider it as an alternative to coming out.

  Of course, everyone will eventually realize what has happened. But at least you won't officially be DFed for fading. The length of time required varies depending on how many witch hunters you have in your KH. It could be a matter of months.
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  9

  Check out this link. Same imagery as in JW literature

  by foolsparadise in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://xfamily.org/index.php/gallery_of_posters.

  didnt realize until now how eirilyyyyyy similar jw's are to other religions.

  wow.

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  IsaacJ22

  Totally creepy. The pics at the link, I mean. The one Lunatic Faith posted was great.

  I think we're on the same side of this religious graphics war, Lunatic.
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  85

  Did Life Originate By Chance or Intelligent Design? Or is There a Third Option?

  by JimmyPage in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when discussing the argument of how life originated the wt always boils it down to being chance vs. intelligent design.. no scientist in their right mind believes it happened by chance.

  nor do most scientists believe that life is a product of god.. there is a solution that the wt completely ignores and that is... natural selection.. how many here who believe in a creator have honestly examined what natural selection really is?.

  (i've been reading "the god delusion" by richard dawkins and was very surprised when i came to the chapter that actually mentions the watchtower society's arguments for intelligent design.

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  IsaacJ22

  Actually, it's Keanu Reeves with a Frenchy mustache and Mr Fantastic hair.

  I used to write fake bios on my web site. This was a picture of Keanu that I doctored up to look mildly stupid and pretended it was me. I ended up using it for my site full time. :-) Later, I wrote bios of me as the Terminator, KITT from Knight Rider, and other absurd things. They all had one thing in common: the mustache. Even the car had one.

  Thank you, good night.
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  85

  Did Life Originate By Chance or Intelligent Design? Or is There a Third Option?

  by JimmyPage in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when discussing the argument of how life originated the wt always boils it down to being chance vs. intelligent design.. no scientist in their right mind believes it happened by chance.

  nor do most scientists believe that life is a product of god.. there is a solution that the wt completely ignores and that is... natural selection.. how many here who believe in a creator have honestly examined what natural selection really is?.

  (i've been reading "the god delusion" by richard dawkins and was very surprised when i came to the chapter that actually mentions the watchtower society's arguments for intelligent design.

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  IsaacJ22

  I have the God Delusion on audio, which is actually read by Dawkins and his wife. I was pretty surprised when I heard him talking about the Creation Book. I already knew the book was pretty awful, but just hearing Dawkins address it specifically was a big "wow" moment since I hadn't expected it. Apparently lots of people have sent him copies to try and prove creationism, so he wanted to deal with it directly.

  That's probrably my favorite book arguing for atheism so far.
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  75

  I've stopped my bible study but....

  by PenelopePaige in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the lady i studied with asked if it would be okay if she still brought the magazines by.

  i said of course because i do love the awake and watchtower.

  well, when she came by last week, she gave me the mags and then as we stood around chit-chatting, i realized we were basically still having the study, only we were standing up instead of sitting in the living room.

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  IsaacJ22

  I'm afraid I agree with what so many others have basically said: she's milking you for another Bible study and another hour or so of field service time. In effect, she's using you to make her report card look better at the end of the month. JWs are very opportunistic, which is a shame, really. But it's true of many of them.

  I would tell her--politely, if she'll let you--that you really meant what you said when you told her that you don't want to continue the study. Which is what she's tricking you into doing. But tell her you'd still like to be friends and you'd still like the mags.

  Let's see if she's still your friend after that. Odds are, she'll stop coming. At least for a while. If she runs out of Bible studies in the future, she might come back to see if you'd like to restart the study.

  If she doesn't let it go at this, you'll have to be more forceful.

  BTW, many here have a very different opinion of the literature than you seem to have. Which is fine. But that's why you're getting all these reactions. Maybe you should try fact checking the articles some time. I think you'll begin to see why we're raising our eyebrows at you if you do.

  Good luck.
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  49

  Did YOU Feel Abused By The Elders?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know some here have said they pretty much hated the elders.

  did you personally feel the elders were abusive men?.

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  IsaacJ22

  I certainly didn't like the elders at my old congregation. Most seemed to have an uncontrollable need to nitpick and, dare I say it, bully people at times. It seemed like many people at the congregation felt the same way. The KH was widely known as one particular elder's hall--he was the presiding overseer.

  There were a couple who genuinely tried to help people and who even seemed to agree that yes, most of the BOE were bullies. At least two of them were put on some sort of reproof where they weren't allowed to make comments any more during meetings because they would use this as an opportunity to speak out when they felt the needs of the congregation were ignored. They also weren't allowed to fully participate in other ways, but I'm not clear on what that was any more.

  Even the traveling overseers seemed impotent. They were publicly reprove the elders, but the same stuff went on after the overseers left.