ABibleStudent

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Posts by ABibleStudent

• 
  6

  I know this is late but I'm happy to announce that this year I finally celebrated my first thanksgiving!!!

  by OneDayillBeFree in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it was truly great!

  it was work related so a lot of people from work were there but i had a great time!

  almost everybody brought some kind of food and we ate at my friends a coworker's house!

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  ABibleStudent

  Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas OneDayillBeFree!! I hope and pray that you can successfully fade and start enjoying life.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
• 
  15

  Do you get constant "digs" by JWs that still talk with you?

  by skeeter1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my personal story: i grew up as a jw, left, went to college, and have a career.

  i have a spouse, married for many moons, wonderful kids, normal house, cute dog, and newer cars.

  the "american dream".

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  ABibleStudent

  Hi skeeter1. How about ask them, "Is that what you believe is important in life: a big house, new car, etc.?", pause, "I value love, friendship, compassion, a loving wife and family, etc. I am glad that (whoever) is doing well, and I wish you were doing as well instead of still living with your parents."

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
• 
  22

  Help! My brother wants to hate me.

  by strymeckirules in

  1. social
  2. family

  tonight i tried to contact my blood brother.

  i am 32 he is 30.. he was baptised at 10 and df'd at 12, 22 and now he would have been again but he walked away.. i made no progress with our reunite.

  he's hating on me for leaving the family.

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  ABibleStudent

  Hi strymeckirules. If you are well to do, visit Steve Hassan's website www.freedomofmind.com and ask a professional for advice, or at least read Steve Hassan's books Combatting Cult Mind Control and Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves. It sounds like the WTBTS did a lot to mess with your brother's and your life. There is not much that you can do besides sending emails/text messages with lots of pictures of you and your family having fun. I would recommend that you do not enable your brother to be a victum be giving him ahything but a shoulder to vent on.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
• 
  25

  Are the GB/their suck-ups doing it on purpose as some have intimated?

  by punkofnice in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  we've all see the disgusting statements the gb are unleashing on the jdubs by way of their rags.

  usually the 'in house' watchtower where we've seen 'mentally diseased apostates' and 'jehu' slaughtering 'apostates'.. .

  then we see a battered wife staying with her husband (if the story can be believed), for 17 years before 'steve' gets assimilated into the borg.. .

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  ABibleStudent

  punkofnice - Is it all a set up so that the JWs think persecution at the hands of 'apostates' is a sign that the big 'A' will be soon and thus keep them locked into the cult believeing the GB are protecting them? Are the GB printing vitriol as a plot to get a reaction that will make the JWs think they're being persecuted?

  Considering that the WTBTS believes in spreading fear, follows a game plan of trying to alienating JWs from "Worldly" people, and tries to sell the WTBTS as a religion, your idea is plausible. It would not surprize me. If ex JWs adher to a philosophy of love and believing that JWs are victums of a cult, It doesn't really matter whether the WTBTS is intentionally trying to whip up a backlash of persecution on JWs or not. Times have changed so let the WTBTS follow their 1940/1950's rule books, while exJWs should become more creative to educate news organizations, politicians, and the general public about the dangers of thought reform and cults like the WTBTS and how to effectively respond to them.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
• 
  14

  Thankful for finding this site & all of you!!!

  by discreetslave in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  at this time last year i was in another deep depression feeling alone & hopeless despite being surrounded by people who said they cared and belonging to a religion that said it could offer mankind the only real hope in life.

  it's ironic that i now have more online friends than physical friendships, am no longer a part of that religion & i feel happier than i have in many years.

  i'm thankful to have found this website & feeling validated.

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  ABibleStudent

  Happy Thanksgiving discreetslave and everyone else. I hope that everyone is able to spend time with friends and family.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
• 
  9

  My experience has been completely different!

  by Silent_Scream in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i read a lot on threads where people are feeling like a lot of you feel like many are waking up to this garbage and starting to think.

  let me give three examples:.

  1) knowing the bible speaks of not saying a greeting to the anti-christ, wts applies that to all df'd people.

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  ABibleStudent

  Hi Silent_Scream. Thought reform is a lot more insidious than many people are aware. I know an exJW who has been Df'ed for 20 years, doesn't believe that the Bible is God's word, probably doesn't believe in God, and believes that the WTBTS is teaching the "Truth" if there is a God. Go figure.

  Besides reading Combatting Cult Mind Control, you shouldl also read Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves to help you communicate with JW family and friends after you fade. You may not help other JWs to awaken, but you can help yourself to have a happier and more fulfilling life. Good-Luck!!

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
• 
  54

  The Ideas Thread - all are welcome!

  by cedars in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  sorry it's been a while since i posted anything.

  i've kind of had my hands full of late.

  there are some things i want to say, but i am saving some of it for a more appropriate time.. i thought i would start a simple "ideas thread" as a thread on which we can, well, share our ideas!

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  ABibleStudent

  The following ideas are more about changes to JWN that might help exJWs and JWs than ideas that exJWs could do:

  • Create a forum for storing WTBTS literature or for catagorizing links so that WTBTS literature can be researched on-line.
  • Create a forum for storing ideas such as this thread to empower JWs to promote change in the WTBTS.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
• 
  38

  I was counselled regarding my prayer-ridiculous,

  by iclone in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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  ABibleStudent

  Welcome iclone to JWN and congratulations on putting the pompous elder down.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
• 
  26

  Occupy Watchtower

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i stole the idea from a fb friend.

  just like occupy wallstreet (and the spread to various cities), imagine people without a single voice picketing wt at brooklyn and having warming barrels loaded with burning watchtower literature.

  if you did, what would your sign say?

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  ABibleStudent

  I would participate if the protest(s) was peaceful, legal, all protesters were unified by the same objectives, and all signs of protest showed love for JWs. What would be the objectives and goals for the protest? What would be acceptable signs for the protest?

  To me signs like "Down with the Watchtower" or "The GB are False Teachers" would be counter productive. I feel that signs like "I love and miss my parents", "Empower JWs", "Follow Jesus Christ", etc. would be signs with a positive message.

  To me a worthwhile objective would be to gain national media attention so that more people would learn that the WTBTS is a dangerous cult that enslaves JWs to work harder for the WTBTS leadership.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
• 
  26

  Had a Frustrating Discussion with Mom...

  by tenyearsafter in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my 80 something year old mom is a die hard jw, but to her credit, she has not shunned me.

  as would be expected, she is always "praying" that i return to jah and get reinstated.

  is consistent...every time my wife and i see her, she always tries to steer the conversation to "how bad the world" has become.. today, she escalated the "theocratic attack" by coming out directly and asking me what i thought of world conditions.

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  ABibleStudent

  Hi tenyearsafter, good logical presentations to your mother. I'm sorry that you feel frustrated by your mother's cult persona, but at least she is not shunning you. You should feel encouraged that she still associates with you. If you get frustrated talking with your mother in the future, you could always read her the 07/15/2011 Watchtower Study Edition article about shunning your relatives and ask her how the Watchtower's advice will make her life better?

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert