so i'm having a pint and talking to the owner and his gf.. she's talking about her line of work - leads to my family history - and that my wife is in a strange religion.. the owner snorts, and says very disdainfully that his ex was a jehovah's witness.
i said bingo.. then the barmaid pipes in about her grandma and all of her aunts and uncles were witnesses, and were all out.
but the grandma has witness siblings, so went back after 20 years.
Hi berrygerry, I displayed a graph in the thread No wonder they hate apostates!! (1) - Jehovahs-Witness.Net that estimated that there were ~ 2 million exJWs world-wide in 2010. Even though ~ 2 million JWs may have left the WTBTS, there are too many who have not overcome the WTBTS's mind manipulation and still feel that the WTBTS does have the "Truth" and/or are still adversely affected by the WTBTS's mind manipulation.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
i stayed home sick from work the other day and noticed a car group pull up to my neighbor's house.
she's a stay-at-home mom.
i decided it was time to retrieve something from my truck to see if i could recognize the visiting sisters.
Hi Zoos, At the very least ask your neighbor how much she knows about the WTBTS and that www.jwfacts.com is a balanced source of information.
According to Steven Hassan, he would not have joined the Moonies if he had been told by his rabbi that the Unification Church was a dangerous cult or told the truth about the Unification Church's doctrines witin a week of being invited to a meeting.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
this is a true experience that i thought i would share, one that occurred just a few years ago in my area.
it is a real experience, nothing made up here.. a younger couple moved into our kh, into the joining congregation (so not ours, but the other one that shared our kh).
they seemed nice enough, they had one boy that was about 8, and a baby on the way.
I guess this story will never be retold at a convention. Thanks for sharing so that JW visitors will be warned about how elders will protect their children from pedophiles.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
my husband and i (both born in jws--entire extended families all still in excpet for my sister) left the church 5 years ago.
i literally woke up one day and realized it wasn't the "truth".
i did not fade, i just left and told my family i didn't believe it anymore.
Hi 2pink, Have you asked your mother, "What would cause her to believe that the WTBTS is not God's sole channel to "True Christians" and does not teach Bible truths?" Once you know what will cause your mother to critically think for herself, then help her to independently research the WTBTS and its doctrines - DO NOT do research for her.
One Bible scripture that the WTBTS misquotes and it teaches to JWs as a thought-stopping platitude is in John 6:60-70. Simon Peter's rhetorical answer to Jesus Christ's question is to lead Christians to Jesus Christ and not to a place nor an organization. Also, if Jesus Christ believed in shunning disciples who stopped following him, why didn't he tell the remaining 12 disciples to shun those disciples who left?
Have you read any information by cult-exit counselors like Steven Hassan's books (i.e., "Combatting Cult Mind Control", "Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves", and (his latest book) "Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs"), visited his website www.freedomofmind.com, and/or watched his FREE videos on his website?
Best of wishes helping your mother to critically think for herself.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
if so, i was just wondering if there are any books or steps (classes, etc) you took or recommend to really learn it.
and for what you recommend, what exactly do you do?
(long term, short, daytrade, calls, sell high buy low, buy low sell high, etc).
Hi EndofMysteries, By opening an account and depositing $500 at TDAmeritrade www.tdameritrade.com, you will be able to download ThinkorSwim software. With the ThinkorSwim software you will be able to listen to trading chats by professional traders as well as using PaperMoney and OnDemand features to practice trading with virtual money. Don't do any day trading until you have practised trading using PaperMoney or OnDemand for at least 1 year.
Best of Wishes.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
to cut my long story short, having left the religion in 2006, my marriage with 2 young kids involved went through a fairly difficult time.
for a few years.
as i rebelled against the belief system i was astonished that having pointed out reasonable & logical objections, my wife just stood by the religion.
Hi jambon1, I'm sorry about how you feel.
Since you cannot change what your wife believes, have you thought about going to a counselor to help you deal with your feeings and coping with your situation? If your wife wasn't a JW, you and your wife had major fights, and she did not want to see a counselor, what would you do? I was faced with that choice once, and I wish that I had gone to a counselor sooner. Don't waste your time being miserable.
If you changed your objective from getting your wife and family out of the WTBTS to helping your wife and family critically think for themselves, would that help you feel better? How would you feel if you could get your wife involved in fun, time-consuming, non-WTBTS activities/hobbies that you both love and would help you both to meet more non-JWs friends? Have you tried to learn how to overcome your wife using thought-stopping platitudes and cult speak? Instead of showing your wife what is wrong with the WTBTS, have you tried asking her simple questions and encouraged her to critically think for herself and do her own independent research?
Best of wishes for feeling better soon.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
i resoundingly say no they won't.
they will just worm their way out of it,.
If the majority of input the UK Tax Commission receives is from JWs and the WTBTS, then the answer would be "NO".
On the other hand if 25% of ex-JWs in the UK, wrote/called/appeared at the UK Tax Commission and related their experiences in the WTBTS, then the answer would be "YES".
What is your choice? Get involved or do nothing?
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
have you ever heard that statement?
i have heard it many times and i just don't know what to do with it.
they are chosing a to live a lie because they like the lifestyle.
I don't care if it's teachings are false, I'd never leave because it's the best way of life.
Hi 4thgen, It sounds like someone has a severe case of cognitive dissonance. They may have serious doubts, but need help realizing that they don't believe the WTBTS.
I would ask them, "What are you afraid of? . . . (pause wait for a response) . . . Are you afraid of being shunned by JW family and friends? . . . (pause wait for a response) . . . Since you don't care if the WTBTS's teachings are false, does that mean that you do not believe that Armageddon will happen? . . . (pause) . . . [Continue asking simple questions to continue the conversation.]" How is their life better? If they were not JWs what would they like to do. Get a better education? Travel? Do a fun hobby?
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
i made so many new friends on campus this week!
got my study schedule layed out, and i joined a band!
(i play guitar) it feels so good to be at a place where people aren't judgemental and fake.
Best wishes to you, Yondaime, in succeeding in your studies and guitar playing.
Why do you want to play by the WTBTS's rules by writing a DA letter to them? They will ignor what you write except for the words that you are disassociating. If you want to maintain relationships with JW family and friends, it is better to fade.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
i have been lurking and reading for a couple weeks now.
i love the topics and it has inspired me to say hello to all my fellow apostates.
i was awakened to how my family feels about me and my wife shortly after the international assembly.
Welcome SpeedRacer, Sending your mother CoC may increase her cult persona's persecution complex. I'm sorry that your family are "Spiritually Strong" (non-thinking) JWs. It will be a lot tougher to help them critically think for themselves if they blindly follow the WTBTS's doctrines of not associating with non-JWs and faded JWs.
If you want to communicate better with your JW family and friends when you get an opportunity, have you read information by cult-exit counselors like Steve Hassn's books (i.e., "Combatting Cult Mind Control", "Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves", and (his latest books) "Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs"), visited his website www.freedomofmind.com, and/or watched his FREE videos on his website?
Are you a member of Facebook? If you are, you can post pictures of your family doing fun activities and hobbies that your JW family might enjoy. It ain't much since the WTBTS is getting more controlling.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
