that the paradise may or may not be real?
that the things you have been taught for many years from the jehovah's witnesses may not really be as they say?
has it really ever really hit you with that "pow" of reality ever?
Yes almost like real scales or curtains that I blinked away ...most amazing feeling & realizations.
If you have ever removed moss from a roof, it felt like that, like a pressure hose removing chunks of moss until it is gone. As each awful belief was loosened & removed it was like waking-up from a bad dream.
clarity
i've just spent a big part of today watching interviews, debates etc with richard dawkins.
when i was a jw i used to hate this man with all my energy, i looked on him as the devil's offspring, he represented an idea that totally terrified me.
today i found myself saying i love the man.
When I finally 'found' Hitchens I was blown away by his mind. Nothing much stopped him. Loved his arrogance and cried when he died.
Yes you have stepped over the line Marv......but in a good way!
clarity
"don't be dismayed by good-byes.
a farewell is necessary before you can meet again.
and meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.
Who the heck is Vivianne ....don't remember her/him!
Have a wonderful life Eden .....that is the goal after all.
when i left the watchtower i realised it was best to put friendships on hold.
however i mentioned to my best friend that i didn't agree with how they handled child abuse issues and that was one of the reasons i left.. anyway as i am fortunate and own two rental apartments and he is a plumber so we have kept in contact, in that i email him when i require his services and he sends me the invoice.
anyway i am now dissociated, but yesterday i emailed him about a pluming problem, and he replied.. " sorry we missed going to the indian ( this was a comment made about us having a meal together about 9 months ago, which i backed out of because i felt he was too indoctrinated and i had not disassociated myself) anyway his email continued:-.
Not sure if you are male or female Rebel .... but if male, by all means meet-up, good friends are gold. If you are female .... I smell a rat!
listening to clips of the latest manipulative video from the watchtower i realised how much i detest that word - jehovah.. sometimes i have thought it would be interesting to observe a meeting or part of a convention.
every time i heard that word i would be unable to stay in my seat.. i have a visceral reaction every time i hear it.
it stands for so much that i have contempt for.
Not only saying it but I hate typing it! Or even worse typing Joooooo's Wooooooos! aaaaahhhh
i know we are all anonymous for our own personal reasons, so i understand if you would rather not say.
but if you don't mind sharing that would be cool.
i currently live in georgia, usa.
Anyone remember a year or so ago, when Simon suggested having 'our' flag beside our names/avatar to show the country we were from?
I would love to see that happen.
clarity
i know we are all anonymous for our own personal reasons, so i understand if you would rather not say.
but if you don't mind sharing that would be cool.
i currently live in georgia, usa.
Wow no wonder you Brits have a lot of meet-ups!
A few from the beautiful West Coast of BC........ including me!
clarity.
i joined the forum yesterday and made 2 angry posts which received encouraging replies.
i spent a good chunk of time today browsing various posts, and i can't get enough!
i'm doing things backwards now and taking a moment to introduce myself.
Shattered ....a quick hello & big welcome. You are so young, start living your life & drop the guilt & fear.....you don't owe those men anything. The only power they have is when a fool does what they say.
All the best
clarity
the following is a paragraph from the new february study watchtower article "learn from jehovah's loyal servants.".
7 a conflict of loyalties may arise when a close relative is disfellowshipped.
for example, a sister named anne [1] received a telephone call from her disfellowshipped mother.
Cofty .......thanks for your come back ......a keeper!
"
Anne wrote and kindly reminded her mother that she had cut herself off from the family
Imagine an abusive husband who told his wife that if she left him he would hunt her down and kill her. She leaves and he carries out his threat.
In court the husband's defense is that the wife chose the outcome.
This is the twisted logic of shunning.
clarity
i was invited to a small get-together by a long time friend.
we both served as elders for years.
he is in his late 70s.
"My friend made it very plain when he invited me, that if I didn’t believe in the Bible and its promise of a New Earth, then this meeting wasn’t for me and I should look elsewhere."
I am getting the feeling that us oldies with a renegade spirit would fit much better in the younger groups, because if I had to believe in the bible & paradise, with or without the GB at the helm ...I would be out of there!
Thanks for putting this topic up John....very interesting.
Magnum are you in the UK ? I am in Canada.
clarity
