Posts by Retrovirus

58

So why

by bushido8000 in

it has become very apparent to me very quickly that this forum is dominated by ex-jws.

i have many questions and topics to present but i first want to know who i am presenting these questions and topics to so i have 2 questions that i would like as many of yall to answer as possible.. .

question 1: did you leave the organization out of the blue or were you first disfellowshipped?.

Retrovirus

Hi,

My situation is that I studied but never joined.

I'll interpret Q2 as "why didn't I 'progress'"? Because the literature presented as "Truth" wasn't true. For example quoting Francis Hitching; even citing him as an authority. He has a basic science degree and has never worked as a scientist; the simplest Google search establishes this. And pointing this and other concerns out got me labelled "opposer". Any information that didn't fit was managed by bad-naming the source; a simple logical fallacy.

I do feel some bitterness as I saw my brothers' marriage to a jw struggle and finally break, and what their children went through. I saw that both parents tried their hardest to maintain the marriage but the jw religion doesn't allow compromise.

28

A Letter to My Sons ... A Request for Help

by 00DAD in

jw
friends

it has now been over two years since i was df'd.

in that time i have had limited contact with my 17 year old son, the younger, and almost no contact with my 20 year old.

the older boy was baptized 5 years ago and sadly the younger just recently took the plunge into the "pool-aid".

Retrovirus

00Dad,

have you considered keeping a diary? It could form the basis of your message to your sons, or just help you keep track of things you'd like them to know. And if they have the least interest (I'm sure they do!), they'll read it, whether or not you're still here.

Best wishes for your efforts to stay in touch.

Retro

18

My trouble

by bushido8000 in

jw
friends

i have been facing a small dilemma for some years now.

i have been in the truth since i was 5 years old.

after experiencing some troubles with man-made rules (non-scriptural, told me that i absolutely could not join my small school's football team) in the kingdom hall when i was about 16, i stopped going to take a step back and look at what was going on.

Retrovirus

Hello and a belated welcome, Bushido8000!

I'm a non-jw who "studied" with two kind jw ladies for about six months. I'm still sorting out my own beliefs, so have nothing to convert you to or from.

What I'm sure of, is that we need to keep learning until we find what we need. Once you've started to do this, following along and suppressing doubts gets harder every day.

Even the Bible tells us to do this. I cannot imagine a loving Father who would forbid it.

Best wishes on your search!

12

Celebrate Good Times: Come On!

by headisspinning in

jw
friends

today marks our two years free.

my now husband was df'd on september 13, 2009 and i was officially canned on september 15, 2009!.

it has been a long road and if any of you remember, we initially came on this board looking for help to get reinstated.that is a huge laugh now, hey!

Retrovirus

Congratulations, Julia

49

What Turns The Average "Worldly" Person Away From The Witnesses?

by minimus in

jw
friends

is it their door-to-door incessant preaching?

is it their view on blood?

is it that the religion itself is simply often misunderstood?.

Retrovirus

In my case, the "literature". I actually liked the people themselves. But couldn't imagine saying that a world wide flood did happen and evolution was a ruse of Satan. . with a straight face.

Trouble with the "ministery" is, most "worldly" parents have no problem with education and/or intelligent use of the internet. They are even proud if their children occaisionally win an argument with logic! And once something is understood, as many have siad here, it can't be forgotten.

47

Well I have a choice to make

by Igot2bme in

jw
friends

the elders came today without any notice and visited with me.

they told me that my mother in law said i didn't want to have anything to do with the witnesses anymore.

i said yes i did say that and then i laid it all out for them why i felt that jehovah god wasn't with them.

Retrovirus

Igot2bme, two things stood out here

They told me that my mother in law said I didn't want to have anything to do with the witnesses anymore

and

The one elders sister came to my house 2 weeks not to come see me but to see my daughter and recruit her

Congratulations on your great response to the elders, and with an org like that, what do you have to lose?

All the best in your free life, Retro

23

Parodying Theocratic words!

by TimothyT in

many posts here often include parodies of theocratic words.

below are some examples:.

borganisation - organisation!.

Retrovirus

Pious-sneer!

138

My Father passed away during the night

by jwfacts in

dad was a great man, great, despite the religion.

he was powerful, tall and intelligent, yet humble and kind.

he was an introvert, and a circuit overseer.

Retrovirus

JWfacts, my deep sympathy for your loss.

As others have said, it seems that you and your father have much in common. The main thing being, that you both helped people cope. it would be hard to overestimate the benefits of your website.

I profoundly hope that the funeral helps you, your family and the congregation.

Retro

11

Has anyone on here ever taken a hot air ballon ride?

by Joliette in

jw
friends

i've always wanted to go on a hot air ballon ride but i'm soooooooooo scared to do it.. has anyone on here ever done it.

how much does it cost?.

Retrovirus

Hi, I did 10 years ago in Alice Springs, Central Australia. Getting up in the middle of the night was hard - it gets freakin cold up there - but entirely worth it.
The ascent was magic, almost like dreaming, no engine noise or tiliting or anything. Not at all scary. And you get a completely different perception of the country.

We did have a bit of wind on the descent, and were crouched in the basket as it whipped through a bit of scrub.

Overall, I want to do it again!

10

One scripture that got me thinking on my way to leaving...

by MrFreeze in

when i was still in, i read a scripture that i think got me started on my route to leaving and not buying into the bs anymore.. for the longest time (ever since i was baptized) i wasn't exactly the beacon of a model brother in what i was really doing.

you could say i was leading a "double life".

my jw persona was holier than thou.

Retrovirus

MrFreeze, in Punk's post the elder misquoted John 6:68 which should be "to whom will we go?". My "Bible study" conductor misquoted this too; perhaps it's in the wt literature somewhere?