Posts by Retrovirus

24

Like you, I've never been a jw. My former SIL is, and over the years has made many attempts to convert me. More importantly, her religion was the major factor in wrecking their marriage, although both tried their hardest to stay together for the children.

The trouble is that compromise with jws is never an option. They have the "truth" ( ) and we worldlies do not. And they are trained to put compliance with their elders well ahead of family ties.

Is your husband completely certain that it is not "the truth"? If he has the least uncertainty, you'll be recommended excellent books here, including those of Ray Franz. I'll just recommend that you both thoroughly check out jwfacts.

You can best protect your family by limiting involvement with your in-laws, and ensuring that your husband is not vulnerable to the attempts to get him back in.

And very well done for standing up for your child!

Keep reading and posting, Retro

9

Looking for some help

by manda-xo in

jw
friends

hey all :) i'm new to this website, just happened to of stumbled across it and learning lots from all of your posts!

i just need a bit of guidance, not for my self but for my boyfriend.

i myself have never been a jw but he has grown up in "the truth" and recently realized the real truth ;) both his mom, his dad, his step mom, and step dad are all witnesses and try to bring him back continuously, even though he has only gone to the odd meeting or 2 in the past 3 years.

Retrovirus

Hi and welcome, manda-xo!

I'm a non-jw with some friends and family in, and cannot even maintain regular contact with my two jw "friends", so don't know how helpful I can be.

I'd say whether your BF can maintain contact with his jw family will depend mostly on how hardline they are, rather than on him. This religion is quite effective at breaking up families, unfortunately!

Perhaps geographic distance could help; if his family doesn't constantly see him living a non-jw life it might be less of an irritant.

Most importantly, if you plan a future together, make sure he is really free of jw thinking and there is no danger of him reverting to the religion he grew up in. Keep reading here and you'll see exactly why. It's important that you understand the issues also.

Best wishes, and hope you stay around, Retro

34

Oh the weirdness: Observations from a study

by howdidtihappen in

i started studying jw with a work friend because she used to keep me at arms length and i knew it was because of her religion.

she and her family are such lovely people so i thought maybe there was something to it, how bad can it be, etc.

i was enticed by this girls friendship as she has been spending more time with me but continues to say "you're not one of us yet" which continually freaks me out.

Retrovirus

Hi and welcome, Howdidithappen!

I also "studied" and "failed to progress". Thank goodness!

What do i say to my study person (there has to be a term for that but i dont know it) who says "I know it's the truth because i've just been so blessed. I was down to my last dollar and pioneering and Jehovah blessed me with a part time job..."

Depends if you're trying to back out! My jw study conductor also had a fine repertoire of "Jehovah blessed me" stories and believed them implicitly.

With hindsight I can see what bothered her was that I lost my job, travelled, gained new friends and then a fantastic new job while she and her husband struggled with work and health issues. With their strange, literal religious perspective, jws are not pleased when things go well for worldlies! The only help God "should" give them is to bring the jws to their door. . .

Retro

35

What Is It That Really Troubles the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses?

by orangefatcat in

well i think what worries them the most is that more and more witnesses are becoming free thinkers and that is troubling them, it worries them that thinking freely will cause them to seek answers elsewhere and that is the last thing the gb wants.

they have pulled the reins so tight now how much tighter can they pull before many witnesss crack under their yokes.

what is your thoughts on this matter.. .

Retrovirus

I wonder if they fear the massive exodus of young people, especially those raised in? Or the lack of men willing to "reach out"?

Because as the jw population grays and Armageddon delays, these will translate into income drying up!

57

Aug. 15th WT - WT Society Dissing Internet Again - All JW's Beware !

by flipper in

jw
friends

we always know when the gb or wt leaders are nervous and worried about potential alleged " threats " to jehovah's witnesses - because they repetitively keep mentioning these perceived " threats " in talks at assemblies or in wt articles constantly.. the " witness only " august 15th wt is no different.

in a non-study article entitled " the internet - making wise use of a global tool " once again the wt society instills doubt and fear into witnesses by " warning " them about use of the internet.

3 " while the internet can provide valuable information, save us time, and serve a useful function, it can also misinform us, consune an inordinate amount of our time, and corrupt us morally.

Retrovirus

I found it interesting that pornography is no longer featured as the main "danger". It's almost an admission that what the wt really fears is information availability.

91

VERY depressed

by youngbro in

jw
friends

i have severe clinical depression and right now, for whatever reason it is really acting up....

Retrovirus

PM sent, Retro

9

I'm spiritually refreshed, can I borrow $ 7,000 ?

by man in black in

we know an out of state couple, (early 40's) who have been jw's for most of their lives.

i'll call them dave and kathy.. when they got married 15 years ago, kathy was a hard worker who did this religion mainly to keep her parents happy ( dad was the po).. dave was starting his own business, he never held a real job in his life, and he was pretty zealous for the jw way of life.. over the years they had their ups and downs, but around 5 years ago they both stopped attending the meetings, and were doing a textbook "fade".

we would hear from them about every 2-3 months, and his business seemed to be doing well, kathy was a stay at home wife who worked pt at home doing computer work.

Retrovirus

Poor "Kathy"!

And even for "Dave", it must be a big stretch to believe that "Jehovah providing" means that you have to leech off friends and acquaintances.

91

VERY depressed

by youngbro in

jw
friends

i have severe clinical depression and right now, for whatever reason it is really acting up....

Retrovirus

Youngbro, I can't chat as I'm at work but happy to send you my email if you'd like it.

Trust what the other posters have siad it will get better!

Retro

7

how do you help a JW get out?

by visitor 525 in

jw
friends

a little background info.

i have never been a jw always felt the "cult" was not something i wanted to get involved in.

anyway i hired a young man about a year ago to do a little remodel on my house i found out later he was a jw.

Retrovirus

Hi and welcome, Visitor!

I'm another non-jw, and would dearly like to get my SIL and a couple of others out. Unfortunately it is very difficult to do.

As you've found, everything has to be done the jw way. Of course this young man will arrive in a suit and "study" the "Bible" with you; that is, he'll bring a book called "What does the Bible really Teach" and that's what you'll study.

Then he can count time.

If you are not amenable to this, you are under Satanic influence and not good association. He will be fearful of contamination and being seen to be "weak" and willing to associate with "Worldlies". Cannot count time, so he's not keen on this.

Sending books (they call it "apostate literature"!) will probably make him even more wary; now you are trying to convert him! He'll avoid you like the plague.

Bottom line is, unless he's willing to spend time with you you have little chance. And if he is, simply encourage him to relax and have a good time. Talk about sport or cars or something. Any mention of religious stuff and all the warning bells go off.

Can I , why is it important to you what he believes? And does it relate to your own beliefs or spirituality?

Retro

40

Telling a Depressed Person It's Demons!

by NewChapter in

jw
friends

when a person is depressed, their cognitive abilities are depleted.

they are processing reality through a very negative filter and need help getting balanced.

they often experience fear, guilt, hopelessness and anxiety.

Retrovirus

((((NC))))