Posts by FollowedMyHeart

THE DIFFERENCE IS THIS: "New light" in science emerges from man's research into subjects that he is learning about. Being human, he can only know what he has observed. Known dots are connected by unknown hypothesis. As his learning increases the unknown hypothesis may (and often do) change due to this "new light."

Whereas "new light" in religion refers to new understanding of Bible (for sake of argument) "truths". The understanding of the Bible is claimed to be from God. God is all-knowing, it is His book after all. He should know from the beginning what he meant.

Issue is taken with religious "new light" because it is supposed to have come from God. Science makes no such claim.

Hence, what's good for the goose in NOT good for the gander as truths/facts from man cannot be considered on the same plane as truths/facts from God.

29

Hey, Everyone! Guess What!

by FollowedMyHeart in

jw
friends

i am officially a 34-year-old college freshman!

woo hoo!!!!!.

due to my current situation, i am taking on-line classes for the summer semester.. i am finally getting this college thing going!

FollowedMyHeart

Thanks, everybody! And thanks for the heads-up, Nomad Soul.

J. Hofer, like unshackled said, it's never too late. You'll get there.

29

Hey, Everyone! Guess What!

by FollowedMyHeart in

jw
friends

i am officially a 34-year-old college freshman!

woo hoo!!!!!.

due to my current situation, i am taking on-line classes for the summer semester.. i am finally getting this college thing going!

FollowedMyHeart

I am officially a 34-year-old college freshman! WOO HOO!!!!!

Due to my current situation, I am taking on-line classes for the summer semester.

I am finally getting this college thing GOING! Heading for General Studies AA.

57

Has anyone left still believing it was the truth?

by FollowedMyHeart in

it seems that most xjws have left because at one point in their jw life something happened that made them start to think something wasn't right with the religion.

when i left, i still believed the jws had "the truth".

i was dying inside, trapped and unhappy (another poster's words, but describes exactly how i felt).

FollowedMyHeart

I first want to apologize for the length of this post. It's the last one I'm allowed until tomorrow and I want to get everyone in.

Thank you all for your comments! It's nice to know there are others who have experienced the same or similar things.

Found Sheep - Being a born-in and married right out of high school, I had no way of supporting myself and therefore no way of leaving on my own. A very good friend (now my husband) helped me get out. I moved in w/ him. The 1st yr out my guilt from hurting my mom, sisters, & ex-husband was terrible. I wanted to go back, thinking that would somehow fix things. My friend told me it wouldn't work. I would never be treated the same. It sounds like you experienced that. I'm glad you found your way out of the cult.

Was New Boy - "The key is listen to your heart my young friend." Thank you, WNB. I did and am happier than I've ever been!

Open mind - It's a terrible thing the WT does to people. I'm so glad your brother is out and well on his was to happiness!

Ilovebirthdays - "but didn't feel that way in my heart." Me, too. That was something I was always worried about while still in. I also was afraid of dying at Armageddon for a year or 2 after leaving. And although I did marry a JW, fortunately we did not have any kids.

WontLeave - Although not what my topic is about, I appreciate your thoughts.

LostGeneration - "Hopefully they mentally escape in time like you did." Yes, we hope they can all escape!

Ding - "They were worn out by the treadmill of meetings, field service, the constant feeling of unworthiness, guilt, etc." Looking back, I see I was feeling that way, too. I just couldn't grasp the idea that maybe it wasn't me that was wrong, but the WT. I'm glad I can see that now. "They've never really considered alternatives and they still battle the fears the WT instills with their teaching that if you leave "the truth" you end up in a life of depravity." Healing doesn't start until one can replace WT teachings w/ new ideas.

slimboyfat - Thanks, I'll do a search and see if I can find it.

HHG - Sorry to hear you've even lost your non-JW family! That is CRAZY!!!!

DagothUr - I agree that science is our only hope of learning truths.

thetrueone - As a born-in, I can attest to that! Those old beliefs have to be handled 1 at a time. Unless, of course, you're a rare exception, i.e. Nomad Soul

Nomad Soul - Glad you're feeling better, now!

GOrwell - I think a lot of people experience some sort of mental "breakage". I know I did. I don't think you're crazy. I know several people who don't want to live forever.

jiyuu2 - I admire these ones for their endurance and strong stomachs!

IsaacJ22 - Good to hear from you! What a journey! It's interesting that as soon as a tiny thread gets pulled, everything starts to unravel. I too, am more or less atheist (still have some questions to be answered). Glad you've found your way to happiness.

troubledfiancee - I appreciate your ideas. I think you make some very good points! I'd expound, but I'd just end up copying everything you said and saying, "I agree!" & if you get that magic ingredient, let me know. I have family I'd like to use it on!

DanaBug - I was df'd @ 17 for fornication. I was still at home and had to go to all the meetings. I was reinstated 6 mo later only to da 10 yrs after that. I, too, followed the freeminds, jwfacts, JWN path. "At the very least I could have talked about some of these things with some of my family and maybe they would've seen what I see, I can't do that now." I know what you mean. I have family I'd like to share things w/, too.

ProdigalSon - "I called out the PO for being an asshole" Some balls you've got there, PS! Good for you! It's true that, no matter where you go, there's a stigma that follows you. After marrying my ex, I moved to his town. I was a good JW, but the cong. never really accepted me. I just recently learned that a reg. pio. had been telling a publisher friend of mine that I was bad association! I hadn't done anything to merrit that, except for the few months I was out as a teen! A few explicatives come to mind regarding that elder's daughter, married to a MS, holier than thou, reg. pio. Ooooooo, can't you just feel the love!

Quendi - Good for you!!! " life spent in a gilded cage. It certainly looked pretty, but it was still a prison" My husband used that illustration to describe my situation in a letter he wrote to my mom shortly after I da'd. (I wonder if she ever read it?)

57

Has anyone left still believing it was the truth?

by FollowedMyHeart in

it seems that most xjws have left because at one point in their jw life something happened that made them start to think something wasn't right with the religion.

when i left, i still believed the jws had "the truth".

i was dying inside, trapped and unhappy (another poster's words, but describes exactly how i felt).

FollowedMyHeart

First, I'm only allowed 1 more post after this until tomorrow. So if a discussion is to continue, it will have to wait until then. Or in PM?

why would the prospect of the approaching paradise earth, where you can drink from life's waters free and stroke ferocious animals make you suicidal?

That's quite an assumption you've made. I don't believe I said anything of the kind. If you're using my statements of " I'm starting to realize that I was leaving my religion" & " I never connected it to the religion" to mean that, you're completely off base. The trapped, unhappy, depressed, suicidal feelings obviously didn't come from believing in a paradise. Those feelings came from the cult lifestyle created by the WT.

I already stated in the OP that I had been in an unhappy marriage. The prospect of living the entire rest of my life feeling so completely miserable just to MAYBE make it through Armageddon was not something I was willing to do.

57

Has anyone left still believing it was the truth?

by FollowedMyHeart in

it seems that most xjws have left because at one point in their jw life something happened that made them start to think something wasn't right with the religion.

when i left, i still believed the jws had "the truth".

i was dying inside, trapped and unhappy (another poster's words, but describes exactly how i felt).

FollowedMyHeart

I left because I was suicidal, & felt a whole gamut of emotions that go along with that. I never connected it to the religion. I had reached the point of choosing the life I was in or my own happiness. I chose my own happiness.

probably not going to be many hands raised on here. Yes, that's why I'm asking it. I've always know I was a minority in this. I just want to know if I'm in a small boat or a one-man raft.

57

Has anyone left still believing it was the truth?

by FollowedMyHeart in

it seems that most xjws have left because at one point in their jw life something happened that made them start to think something wasn't right with the religion.

when i left, i still believed the jws had "the truth".

i was dying inside, trapped and unhappy (another poster's words, but describes exactly how i felt).

FollowedMyHeart

It seems that most XJWs have left because at one point in their JW life something happened that made them start to think something wasn't right with the religion. When I left, I still believed the JWs had "the truth". I was dying inside, trapped and unhappy (another poster's words, but describes exactly how I felt). I HAD to get out of my current life. It was a matter of survival.

I wrote a letter to DA myself for a couple reasons. 1: I knew that leaving and how I did it would be a DFing offence. I'd already been there, done that and didn't want to mess with the whole JC thing again. 2: I removed myself from being a JW to protect Jehovah's name. I didn't want to bring reproach on the cong. for my actions. Co-workers etc. who knew I was a JW would soon find out that I had left my husband...

At the time, I was escaping my unhappy marriage and a life that was going nowhere. If I could've done that and remained a JW, I would have. For a long time after leaving I defended the JW beliefs. It's only now, 7 yrs later, that I'm starting to realize that I was leaving my religion, too. I envy those who figured out the falsities which then propelled them to leave, either physically or mentally/emotionally.

Edited: Just to avoid further comments regarding the WT having "the truth", I would like to clarify that I no longer believe it's the truth. (Does anyone on JWN?) That thought dissolved about 6 yrs ago for me. The OP refers to my mind set at the time, not now.

189

Does God speak to you? HOW?

by Quentin in

an answer to this question is subjective to the individual an a posteriori experiene.

however, can there be an a priori experence, one that is objective, outside the bounds of personel experiene, or does it remain subjective?

god speaks to me, through many venus, except audible.

FollowedMyHeart

@ whereami: Isn't using your brain and logic a good thing?

Yes, That's why I'm doing that now. I only said "what else is there?" because I didn't know how else to end it.

@ simon17: its amazing how all devout people are exactly the same in so many ways (just change the beliefs a bit). Everyone is 100% sure they are right and they all use the same feelings, proofs and rationalizations to justify their inerrant belief.

It is pretty amazing. I just finished reading The "God" Part of the Brain by Matthew Alper. It was very interesting and I learned a lot! He has an explanation for why spiritual/religious beliefs/experiences are so similar throughout the world.

189

Does God speak to you? HOW?

by Quentin in

an answer to this question is subjective to the individual an a posteriori experiene.

however, can there be an a priori experence, one that is objective, outside the bounds of personel experiene, or does it remain subjective?

god speaks to me, through many venus, except audible.

FollowedMyHeart

Aussie Oz: dying inside, trapped and unhappy. OMG, I almost started crying when I read that because that's exactly how I felt! (Although, at the time, I hadn't yet equated it with my religion.) That's why I left!

As far as God speaking to me, being a born-in I prayed for most of my life. I never "heard" or felt any kind of communication from Him. At assemblies, or being presented with something great about the brotherhood I would get a kind of excited, welling-up feeling (is that said right?). Since I had nothing else to go on, I assumed that had to be God's holy spirit over His chosen people.

After I left, I accompanied my ex-Mormon husband to his son's missionary send-off meeting in Provo. In that large room filled with well over 100 people, watching a film about their missionary service and brotherhood, I got that same excited feeling! So if what I experienced as a JW, was the HS on God's chosen JWs, why was I feeling the same thing "in Christendom"?

That told me that it wasn't the holy spirit. It was an emotional experience created by the crowd. Sort of like a mob mentality.

So I don't believe god talks to us. If a sincere girl who's desperately trying to do the right thing can't get an answer, what else is there?

edited: Great topic, BTW, as I have wondered the same thing.