TTATT has made it impossible for me to ever consider returning to the WTS, and I have people still trapped there whom I love and miss terribly. Nevertheless, I know I am better off on the outside looking in than on the inside looking out.
Quendi
Posts by Quendi
-
69What would it take for YOU to come back?
by noonehome in[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng /> </o:officedocumentsettings> </xml><!
[endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:trackmoves> <w:trackformatting /> <w:punctuationkerning /> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:drawinggridverticalspacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery> <w:validateagainstschemas /> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:saveifxmlinvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:ignoremixedcontent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:dontgrowautofit /> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables /> <w:dontvertalignintxbx /> </w:compatibility> </w:worddocument> </xml><!
[endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:latentstyles> </xml><!
-
-
-
67
Another Suicide
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite inthere wouldn't have been any good way to hear the news i suppose.
it's just so strange to recall the conversation yesterday.
my "still in" parents are with me and my inactive sister having a pleasant conversation.
-
-
Quendi
I am greatly distressed to learn about the pain you are suffering, Billy, as a result of your friend’s untimely death. I lost my best friend, a Witness, to suicide as well many years ago. You have my deepest sympathy and I can only add that I hope you can find some solace in the good memories you undoubtedly have of him.
Quendi
-
38
Are you thankful to know TTAT or not?
by laverite ini am so thankful that i was able to learn the truth about the truthtm (ttatt).
i owe everything in my life to having left watchtower corp: my education, my position as a college professor, being able to write and publish, travel, family life, my beautiful children, being able to be openly gay -- and happy.
unlike those closeted homosexuals in the truthtm, i do not have to be afraid to be who i am.
-
-
Quendi
I have no regrets about leaving the cult and only wish I had done so sooner. But I still have feelings for many of those whom I left behind and would do anything to get them out. But I also realize this is something they must do for themselves.
Since leaving, I have begun a new spiritual journey that is proving to be most beneficial. It is wonderful to know that I need no man or group of men to represent me before my Maker. At the same time, I have found a spiritual community in which I can be free to be myself as well as to really contribute something positive and worthwhile without having to meet other persons’ approval of my character. Furthermore, I am rediscovering my gifts and abilities and putting them to good use. Under the circumstances, I value my new-found freedom to much to ever entertain the remotest wish to be a Witness again.
Quendi
-
38
Are you thankful to know TTAT or not?
by laverite ini am so thankful that i was able to learn the truth about the truthtm (ttatt).
i owe everything in my life to having left watchtower corp: my education, my position as a college professor, being able to write and publish, travel, family life, my beautiful children, being able to be openly gay -- and happy.
unlike those closeted homosexuals in the truthtm, i do not have to be afraid to be who i am.
-
-
Quendi
I’m still awaiting that PM reply from you, laverité. I’m looking forward to reading more about your experiences.
Quendi
-
52
Intro - First time Post- Ventilation (it's a good read actually)
by BLWashington incurrently from houston, tx, but spent most of my life in chicago.
i've never had an opportunity to just get this out... so i apologize for the long-windedness in advance... .
i spent the first 17 years of my life in a jw home, then the real world caught up to me.
-
-
Quendi
Welcome and thanks so much for sharing your story with us. I found it inspiring and strengthening.
Quendi
-
20
GUESS What I Can Enjoy Now, That Being In WT Kept Me From?
by Iown Mylife inbarbershop harmony singing groups!
i've enjoyed that type of music since i first heard it as a kid.
just today ran onto a local group that welcomes visitors.
-
-
Quendi
I have returned to my hobby of landscape photography and am enjoying it immensely. The hobby has taken me back to some of my favorite places in Colorado and is opening opportunities to visit some I’ve never seen. I am also writing my science-fantasy novel which is proving to be quite the project.
My partner and I have plans to see some of Denver’s many attractions as well. Museums, art galleries, the zoo and the performing arts are on the agenda as well as expanding our social circle. I am so pleased to be involved in things other than boring, pointless meetings and the empty door-to-door canvassing routine.
I have plans to expand my horizons as well. Getting back to my study of the classical guitar and learning cinematography are on my to-do list. It just feels so good to be doing something constructive and enriching. But I’m not simply thinking of hobbies for myself. I want to do some volunteer work with my spiritual community here in Denver because I firmly believe in giving something back. I know there would be neither time nor opportunity for any of this had I remained a Witness.
Quendi
-
22
Do you think that "Born Agains" will eventually abandon the "Hellfire" doctrine?
by booker-t ini have talked to christians for years on this subject and they all seem more confused then ever.
some born agains have a hard time reconciling hellfire damnation with jehovah's loving personality.
the two just can't mix.
-
-
Quendi
I took some relatives to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs last week. While there we encountered a fundamentalist preaching to tourists. He talked a lot about the forgiveness of sins and faith in Jesus, but he also railed on about everlasting torment in hellfire for non-believers. So the hellfire doctrine is still very real to some.
Quendi
-
8
The Pope and the 8 members of the faithful and discreet slave.
by Crazyguy ini'm not sure what the pope represents to the catholics, if they consider him god, gods channel,vicor or what.
so those of you who know, could it not be said that the jw's have the same in their leaders?
is the 8 men of the gb now the 8 popes of the jw's or as a collective body 1 pope of the jw's or is there a difference between what the pope is to catholics and what these 8 men think they now are?.
-
-
Quendi
I believe the analogy which sir82 has drawn between the structure of the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy and that of the WTS is not entirely correct. Cardinals,. Archbishops and bishops exercise far more power and authority in the RCC than district and circuit overseers do in the WTS. The structures are alike only in their hierarchical nature and not at all in the power of the respective offices.
That being said, WTS officers do have some freedom of action. They can have a say in local congregation and circuit matters. They also report their findings to the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Catholic clergy, on the other hand, have far greater authority over their flocks than WTS officers do. Where the comparison sir82 makes between the two organizations holds water is that of the Pope and the Governing Body. For all intents and purposes, the Governing Body is a collective papacy, exercising all the powers and privileges the Pope does. The Pope is considered “the Vicar of Christ” and has the last word on Church teaching and dogma. Through pastoral letters, encyclicals and other writings, he lays out what the Church teaches and the faithful must believe. When he speaks on matters of faith and morals, his word is both incontrovertible and infallible. That has been true since the First Vatican Council of 1870.
The WTS Governing Body now occupies the same position over its cult. Its declarations through the pages of The Watchtower and other printed organs are the last word for all Jehovah’s Witnesses. That word cannot be challenged. Any who do so are labeled as apostates and subsequently disfellowshipped. This position has been strengthened with the Governing Body’s declaration that it alone is the “faithful and discreet slave” charged with spiritually feeding the faithful by direct appointment of Christ himself.
The Catholic Church has endured for some 1,700 years. That is far longer than any of its political and religious rivals. I doubt the WTS, with its paltry 130 years of life, can hold a candle to the Church’s staying power. One reason is the quality of the leadership of the two religions. Even at its worst, the Church has always had men and women of keen intellect and deep education directing its affaairs. Comparing their training, learning and experience to that possessed by the WTS leadership is like comparing a battleship to a canoe. The only quality both vessels have in common is the ability to float, and it is the low quality of WTS leadership that will be among the factors that will eventually destroy both it and the cult it leads.
Quendi
-
33
Who still goes to meetings and out in field service?
by SloppyJoe injust curious as to who on here still regularly attends meetings and goes out in service?
as i sit at the district convention i can't help but think who else out in the crowd is just like me.
doesn't believe what they hear, but are still here..
-
-
Quendi
Reading the experiences of those who are fading on this thread has given me much to think about. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to remain with this cult when you know you can no longer support any of its practices and teachings. The additional pressure that you must feel from other family members must be very difficult to endure. I am glad that I got out when I did. I was disfellowshipped and finally abandoned all efforts to be reinstated after five years of trying. The day I finally turned my back on Jehovah’s Witnesses was a very happy one for me.
Still, I can’t completely understand how a man can serve as an elder in this execrable organization. How can you serve on a judicial committee in good conscience? What do you say to someone asking for counsel and expecting it to be given in Witness-speak? How can you give public talks defending the basic teachings of the WTS? I for one couldn’t do anything of this nature and would have to ask for my deletion from the BOE. I understand how the expectations of family members may play a part in the decision to be an elder, but this is your life we’re talking about and not somebody else’s. Staying on as an elder would not lead a man to happiness if he no longer believes in the cult.
I don’t mean to be hyper-critical of those who are fading because each one of us must find his own way out if that is his wish. And some stay on precisely to help their family members whom they love dearly and deeply. But it seems to me that it is one thing to stay in for family or fade quietly and quite another to serve as an officer for this cult, either as a ministerial servant, an elder or some other capacity. How long can you do so before being asked to do something or take part in an action that you should have nothing to do with?
Quendi
-
18
Connection Between Captives of a Concept and the Governing Bodys New Light?
by Cameron_Don insome have wondered if captives of a concept had anything to do with why the governing body changed their interpretation of the most important scripture in their theology - matthew 24:45-47. of course there is no way of knowing.
but since some of the changes deal with matters that are brought out in the book, it does seem fair to wonder.
the book makes the major point that according to their former interpretation the only way the society could be gods faithful and discreet slave organization today is if they had received jesus belongings appointment in 1919. .
-
-
Quendi
I also believe that Don Cameron’sCaptives of a Concept has had a significant impact on the current Governing Body. So, like the British Monarchy, they have adapted in order to survive. Like the British royal family, that adaptation has also included a shrewd element of calculation. I agree with OnTheWayOut that we are going to see more doctrinal changes in the coming months and years. I strongly expect that the WTS will say that the number 144,000 in the book of Revelation is symbolic, not literal and not just because of the increasing number of Memorial partakers. Doing so will enable the Governing Body to expand its membership beyond the current eight and bring in younger and newer blood (which it is already doing). The organization has decided that, finding itself unexpectedly and unwillingly in the twenty-first century, it must accept these circumstances and carry on.
Quendi