Welcome!
"In Search Of Christian Freedom" by Ray Franz discusses your question at length in one or two chapters. I highly reccommend you give it a read. Also, leavingwt suggests two great books!
dontplaceliterature
JoinedPosts by dontplaceliterature
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20
How would you refute . . . ?
by leaving_quietly ini have an issue with preaching.
specifically, going door to door, talking to people who, for the most part, have no desire whatsoever to hear what i have to say.
more specifically, being required to do so as a means of salvation.
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Mad Sweeney checking in
by Mad Sweeney init's been many months since i've been here.
missed the place and wanted to stop by and check in.. i have a ton of crap going on in my personal life right now.
if you're a fb friend you probably know the story already.. anyway, wanted to say hi and hope to be around a bit this summer..
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dontplaceliterature
Hey Mad Sweeney! Glad you're back! Best wishes with your present circumstances!
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Do the Governing Body members ever go Door-to-Door?
by 00DAD inin his book, in search of christian freedom, ray franz wrote that that gb members for the most part never participated in door-to-door work.
they were "too busy with more important things.
" (gee, how come that excuse wouldn't work for the rest of us?
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dontplaceliterature
Scott77, I have met him face to face and I would not say so.
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"We miss you."
by dontplaceliterature init's beginning to annoy me when people send me text messages and e-mails of this sort.
it's even more annoying when it comes from people who i primarily associated with while i was still active, but who i haven't heard a word from since i quit going to meetings a couple months ago.
most of these people live less than five minutes from me and would be welcome at my house anytime.
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dontplaceliterature
Good idea, 00DAD. But, really, I don't enjoy spending time with these people anymore. So, I doubt I will do such a thing. I usually leave the encounter more frustrated and angry. It's a reminder that people I care about can be so "dead" mentally, and that's tough to be confronted with on a regular basis.
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Introduction
by dontplaceliterature inbefore i begin my introductory post, i would like to mention that a number of my initial comments here may be viewed by several of you as watchtower apologist or as sympathetic to the views of the jehovahs witnesses.
the last thing i want to do is incite a flame war regarding my legitimacy or intentions in joining this forum.
mostly, i would describe myself as on the fence.
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dontplaceliterature
Good for you, breakfast. Keep it up, man! You're right, again, here. It does take some serious guts to makes decisions and live with the consequences. Jehovah's Witnesses are used to not having to do this, at least not regarding important decisions. They need only consult the WTLB CDROM or talk to a local Elder to find out what they should do next. Then, if it doesn't pan out, it's not their fault, they just did what the GB told them, so Jehovah will reward them for being loyal. Crazy.
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"We miss you."
by dontplaceliterature init's beginning to annoy me when people send me text messages and e-mails of this sort.
it's even more annoying when it comes from people who i primarily associated with while i was still active, but who i haven't heard a word from since i quit going to meetings a couple months ago.
most of these people live less than five minutes from me and would be welcome at my house anytime.
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dontplaceliterature
I think you're right, breakfast. They are confused and are looking to resolve their mental conflict by getting a negative or a positive response to that sort of weak admonishment.
Also, I remember when I was deep in feeling disdain for people who were irregular attenders. It wasn't that I disrespected them because of their weak faith, it was that I disrespected them because they weren't doing as much as I was. They weren't "earning it." I understood why someone would have weak faith. After all, I didn't buy a lot of things even when I was a shining star in the congregation.
So, I imagine this is the way some feel about me. It doesn't have anything to do with my beliefs. They don't even know that I don't believe. They think I'm lazy, and so they avoid me because they have negative or hateful feelings toward me even though they have no idea why I'm not there. It doesn't matter to them why I'm not there, it only matters that I'm not and they hate me for it.
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"We miss you."
by dontplaceliterature init's beginning to annoy me when people send me text messages and e-mails of this sort.
it's even more annoying when it comes from people who i primarily associated with while i was still active, but who i haven't heard a word from since i quit going to meetings a couple months ago.
most of these people live less than five minutes from me and would be welcome at my house anytime.
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dontplaceliterature
It's beginning to annoy me when people send me text messages and e-mails of this sort. It's even more annoying when it comes from people who I primarily associated with while I was still active, but who I haven't heard a word from since I quit going to meetings a couple months ago.
Most of these people live less than five minutes from me and would be welcome at my house anytime.
Individually and with my family I have spent countless evenings mid-week and on the weekend, formal and informal with these people. I would accept an invitation to coffee, dinner, a bar, anything...and yet, none have come. These people have absolutely no idea why I'm not at the hall, but I am already being shunned by them, aside from a few lazy, distant text messages which directly or indirectly are targeted at encouraging me to go to the Kingdom Hall and have nothing to do with showing me real compassion, love, and friendship.
This was all expected, but it's still painful.
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Introduction
by dontplaceliterature inbefore i begin my introductory post, i would like to mention that a number of my initial comments here may be viewed by several of you as watchtower apologist or as sympathetic to the views of the jehovahs witnesses.
the last thing i want to do is incite a flame war regarding my legitimacy or intentions in joining this forum.
mostly, i would describe myself as on the fence.
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dontplaceliterature
Thanks jwfacts.
I am working on just that in some very specific ways already, but she doesn't seem interested in getting involved at this point. We'll see what happens.
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This Weeks Watchtower Lesson- Approaching your spouse
by stuckinamovement inscene: a man and his wife talking before they prepare their watchtower study together.
me: sweetheart, i love you so much.
let me ask you something though.. her: ok sure babe.. me: hypothetically say i was an abusive husband..... her: your not though.. me: i know, but just hypothetically if i was an abusive husband and i hit you what would you do?.
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dontplaceliterature
Great post, SIAM!
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Introduction
by dontplaceliterature inbefore i begin my introductory post, i would like to mention that a number of my initial comments here may be viewed by several of you as watchtower apologist or as sympathetic to the views of the jehovahs witnesses.
the last thing i want to do is incite a flame war regarding my legitimacy or intentions in joining this forum.
mostly, i would describe myself as on the fence.
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dontplaceliterature
@jemba
I'm still technically a JW, but am fully inactive. I'm happy to be moving in the right direction but am sad that I am losing friends and potentially my marriage. My family is not shunning me, since I am not disfellowshipped, but they will not discuss spiritual matters with me, and it is currently an "elephant in the room". This obviously deminishes the value of our relationship dramatically, especially that with my wife. We don't talk that much anymore. She can't handle the confrontation, and I think she is a coward. She agrees with me on a number of points that would get her disfellowshipped if she shared them with the wrong person. However, she does not wish to lose her social structure. So, it's probably only a matter of time when one of us can't take it anymore. Either she will view me as a spiritual/social threat, or I will view her as a threat to our child and an obstical to my progression outside of the organization.
However, I am making new friends, and am still young and will be able to move on. So, I'm not really depressed, I'm just trying to preserve some level of patience and balance to see where things go.
Oh, and I don't believe in God. I'm still getting over the emotion of Him not existing, but from a scholastic standpoint, He doesn't exist for me anymore. The emotion is quickly fading.
Thanks for asking!