OnTheWayout:-
from your name you now sound well and truly out. Glad you got through " the rough period". Glad we both got out of what I now see as a dictatorship.
The Rebel.
well it seems for many on this board the time came to leave the w.t and cross the bridge in to a real world.
speaking for myself l feel i did not enter the cold and lonely world i was lead to believe i was entering.
rather i have discovered it was no great loss leaving a world that had protected me with false, dreams, fantazy and false promises.. but what have i really achieved by my leaving that i value?.
OnTheWayout:-
from your name you now sound well and truly out. Glad you got through " the rough period". Glad we both got out of what I now see as a dictatorship.
The Rebel.
now that i have been a born again christian for 10 years, i see things that just boggles my mind.
like this: we all spent untold hours in the field service telling people (mostly christians) about the paradise earth.
that was the reason we were at their door.
SecretSlaveClass:-
If as you say the heart has " no emotional feelings like love" then my answer will be answered with out hysterical reaction:-
In my figurative heart, and not simply the muscle pumping blood, I can still laugh and cry.
further analyze,my heat is a private and personal, personality, even if you think mine belongs in the mental asylum.
The Rebel.
now that i have been a born again christian for 10 years, i see things that just boggles my mind.
like this: we all spent untold hours in the field service telling people (mostly christians) about the paradise earth.
that was the reason we were at their door.
To answer your post " SecretSlaveClass"
We can all confuse as Perry says " feelings with perception". We can all trust a church, think we know everything about those that run it.
Perry:- " And making decisions based strictly on feelings is unwise. As humans, limited in our perceptions we can EXPECT to be deceived, especially in our feelings"
My answer "Perry &SecretSlaveClass" in my opinion the " heart talks" and feelings are made on an emotional level so that people can leave a discusting place. Why else would they leave? And I believe iam not deceived in my feeling and not deceived by leaving organised religion.
The Rebel
now that i have been a born again christian for 10 years, i see things that just boggles my mind.
like this: we all spent untold hours in the field service telling people (mostly christians) about the paradise earth.
that was the reason we were at their door.
To answer Vinman:-
I agree, In my world " the heart can talk"
When the heart talks, flowers can outlive this Autumn. That is evidence we should not put down the toilet.
The Rebel.
now that i have been a born again christian for 10 years, i see things that just boggles my mind.
like this: we all spent untold hours in the field service telling people (mostly christians) about the paradise earth.
that was the reason we were at their door.
SecretSlaveClass:-
Say you believed photography is magic and has nothing to do with light? Say the photographer can make everybody see things his way?
Isn't that what we believed as Witnesses? That the G.B were the special developers?And did we not trust the exact exposure of their eyes?
Now we have our own lenses, but how often can we trust what our eyes see? ( I was just watching a lady I thought was talking to herself, then moments later I saw she was in fact talking to someone)
What is my point?
A poor person can be fooled and happy as much as a rich person can be in unfooled and unhappy.
The Rebel.
now that i have been a born again christian for 10 years, i see things that just boggles my mind.
like this: we all spent untold hours in the field service telling people (mostly christians) about the paradise earth.
that was the reason we were at their door.
When Dawkins was asked " what if you are wrong? " he replied in his high voice " Well, I mean what if you're wrong?"
My point is what is so special about anyone of our opinions? we can all be wrong? why should we conclude how the many billion of Christians are wrong?
As you say we may all be wrong.
Truth is an asset we all want to process, it is also a question that has no answer.
The Rebel.
now that i have been a born again christian for 10 years, i see things that just boggles my mind.
like this: we all spent untold hours in the field service telling people (mostly christians) about the paradise earth.
that was the reason we were at their door.
Perry, many on this board as former witnesses feel our God and " church"abandoned us.
I am glad in spite of everything God and your " new" church live on inside your human heart.
The Rebel.
well it seems for many on this board the time came to leave the w.t and cross the bridge in to a real world.
speaking for myself l feel i did not enter the cold and lonely world i was lead to believe i was entering.
rather i have discovered it was no great loss leaving a world that had protected me with false, dreams, fantazy and false promises.. but what have i really achieved by my leaving that i value?.
Well it seems for many on this board the time came to leave the W.T and cross the bridge in to a real world. Speaking for myself l feel I did not enter the cold and lonely world I was lead to believe I was entering. Rather i have discovered it was no great loss leaving a world that had protected me with false, dreams, fantazy and false promises.
But what have I really achieved by my leaving that I value?
I would answer I am now able to define my very own realistic goals and live for them.
I have concluded to much thinking is shit. So questions like:-
What is the Universe? Who made it? How did it come about? no longer interest me. Everything has a beginning a middle and end, and I am just happy to be apart of that.
The witnesses are correct there will be wars and calamities, but also closer to home senseless tragic that will befall all of us. ( Which often they are responsible for) Yet the world itself and our personal life's can and should still make us glow inside. Ok I live in a land that owes something to a refugee, and everybody always has money for ice cream. But that doesn't make it as the W.T says a totally selfish land. Instead it makes me realise how fortunate I am. And I truly believe that the banality of life has a purpose- even if we may be as mortal as trees, grass, and leaves.
My conclusion- I am alive, I have my painting and my painting allows me to see more of the world my way. I am alive and when I am hungry I can eat sausage drink beer. I am alive and I left the W.T voluntarily.I am alive and I will not allow those still in ( even family) to make my life a lesser place.
I appreciate many are more sensitive and carry justified hurt inside them, but I would like this thread to highlight the good that has come from leaving the W.T. There must be at least a little good in everyone's experience?
The Rebel.
yesterday a witness friend asks why i don't attend the k.h anymore.. me:- " i don't say this often but your j.ws opinion is wrong" .
the end.. my reasons for this simple reply were:-.
a) i have grown tied of reading j.w crap.
Sabin " if you were happy with your response then it was a great response"
Agreed but on the other side imagine a man of about 50, with a wife and three kids between eight and fifteen. Should I give this man such a "vague" answer and leave, when I have facts and proof to help him and his family out of a cult?
The "confused" Rebel.
i remember seeing the ex-jws parading around outside the assembly like lepers holding placards of hate.
we were the righteous and enlightened ones... and they were lost in outer darkness.
just dont look at them was the standard response to their unwelcome presence..
TTWSYF:-
You were never a J.W so I hope I get and understand your anger. I think I understand how you can blame the W.T for taking your brother and extended family from you.
As you say J.Ws don't celebrate Xmas.I think I can imagine how you wished for Christmas with your now converted brother and extended family. But each year when it doesn't happen and he and his extended family aren't there for the good food and wine, should you blame the W.T?
Is that fair?
Your brother obviously had his reasons to join the W.T. ( I respectively say this because maybe if it wasn't the W.T it would be something else.)
What is my point? My guess is that people who are converted to become J.Ws have reasons why they want to believe what they believe. Maybe they need be isolated from the world? Maybe they are idealists,? maybe they have a spiritual need? What ever the reason, my guess is if it wasn't the W.T it would have been something else.
Sorry if my post appears harsh and insensitive?
Please don't loose courage today as the sunsets your brother may be awakening.When that sunrise happens ( and it will, if not today,another morning) you will have that great Xmas.
The Rebel.