Posts by MegaDude

44

Well its over....

by kerj2leev in

jw
friends

after 13years of marriage, today it finally came to an end!.

it felt very strange as i entered into the court room, my attorney on the right and hers on the left.

we were the first group of 15 or 16 case to be heard today.

MegaDude

Been there.

Done that.

Got the t-shirt.

--------------------------------

It does get better. And I'm sure there was no other way.

28

OJ's BOOK & TV INTERVIEW CANCELLED

by Mary in

that piece of human filth, oj simpson, had the rug pulled out from under him as both his book deal and the interview with him has been cancelled, due to public outrage:.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061120/ap_on_en_tv/tv_simpson_interview.

poor oj......looks like he won't be able to cash in on this one.

Do you need God?

by daystar in

when i first left the witnesses 15 years ago, i still believed in the jw god, jehovah, as the real and only "true" god and that all the others were not real.

they were real in that people worshipped them and as a distraction from "true worship", but to me, they were simply imaginary entities.. no other gods actually existed.

there was jehovah, satan, and the angels and demons.

MegaDude

If there is a God, He's not talking much to me.

I'm not making the argument in this post that there is a god. But supposing there was and he was a loving being trying to help you to your highest and best good, and he wanted to make contact, I would assume he would reveal himself slowly to you. Human beings as a whole do not adjust to sudden change in life conditions or life philosophies easily. They find it upsetting and stressful. (Case in point, consider your personal exit from the JWs) If Paul's experience is any clue, a sudden dramatic experience with God where it is irrefutable that he is real could be temporarily incapacitating because of its intensity.

I read a pile o' books that would stretch from the floor to the ceiling. I was a spiritual tourist in a few denominations. I talked to people from Southern Baptists, charismatics, Buddhists, Atheists, Agnostics and Satanists. I learned a lot, but I came to a point of frustration that I still had no substantial proof I could hang my hat on and say with confidence, there is a god, there isn't a god. I just got tired of all the massive research and work. I felt there was no way of solving the question so I quit everything I was doing and took a long break. I was burned out.

It occurred to me eventually that perhaps my approach was wrong. Then I decided to do a little experiment. I would just ask God to make contact if he was there and reveal himself to me. He would have to come to me. I didn't see how I could be any more sincere than that as someone who wasn't sure of anything anymore. If nothing happened I decided I could dump all my God beliefs and walk away from them with a clean conscience and be free of them. Whatever was going to happen or not happen, would happen. Either conclusion held positive appeal. Truth is what I wanted, whatever that would turn out to be.

33

Repulsed by the thought

by serendipity in

jw
friends

yesterday, i was cleaning out the dark recesses of my purse and found the blood card.

i was going to throw it away but stopped.

after doing some research on blood in the bible, i no longer believe in the jw blood doctrine.

MegaDude

Have any of you felt that way? Were you able to overcome the feelings? How?

Yes. Ingrained fear from repeated servings of blood transfusion horror stories from the JWs year after year. It's just old mental tapes playing.

Overcame the feelings with time and information. The person at the WTS who introduced this idiot doctrine is well known for his kooky articles and ideas. He even wanted to stop using the common names for the months and days of the week because they are named after pagan gods. He devised a JW calendar with different names. Rutherford nixed that idea.

Just repeating the obvious and what you already know, but you've been conditioned to have the response you have. It's not based on truth or the Bible or common sense. Just conditioning. Some of this conditioning takes time for it to lessen its hold on you. Reframing the issue purposefully can help.

What is the truth about blood? Can it be the gift of life and love to someone? Sometimes a blood transfusion is the only thing that could save you. Wouldn't you be glad if someone took the time to donate blood if it saved your life or the life of a loved one? Would you donate blood to your child if she needed it? Wouldn't that be a loving thing to do?

There is a very unpleasant story in Ray Franz's book "In Search of Christian Freedom" about a JW who refused a blood transfusion and died unnecessarily. She was in a hospital and on the emergency table. Without enough red blood cells she couldn't get enough oxygen. The doctors were honoring her wishes not to receive a life-saving blood transfusion. She was conscious and breathing faster and faster, but without enough red blood cells she was slowly suffocating her body. She was hooked up to oxygen, JW sisters coaching her at her bedside, until she began the agonizing process of dying from a heart attack caused by lack of oxygen. The means of saving her was seconds away if she hadn't been conditioned to believe a false doctrine. That's what I found repulsive. Like Six of Nine, it was the straw that broke the camel's proverbial back and led to my leaving the JWs.

21

The Best movie I have seen this year "The Sercet"

by new boy in

jw
friends

only that i have seen it 4 times!--------------check out the trailer at whatisthesecret.tv/.

my second choice is steven simon's (the guy who did "what dreams my come") movie about neale walsh .

"conversations with god" it is in the theaters now.. .

MegaDude

Is the real secret of The Secret that you put the word "secret" in whatever you're plugging so people will feel enticed to buy it?

I watched this movie for the first time yesterday. It makes sense, but doesn't take into consideration the projected realities of the people around you. It is a fact that some people really want to be able to harm others or really get satisfaction from controlling and demonstrating power over others, these people attract into their life what it is they really want, too. Sometimes what they want can have a devastating impact on others, particularly others who are not yet choosing what to attract into their own lives.

Exactly.

23

Chernobyl Legacy. (Mature Content)

by Sparkplug in

no i was not there, but i always have to watch this intro and then the actual document over and over in my dreams at night.

i have a hard time believing how horrible we humans can be.

doing something for the sake of seeing if we can do it and never stoping to think that maybe we should not be doing it.

MegaDude

Powerful. And powerfully sad.

21

The Best movie I have seen this year "The Sercet"

by new boy in

jw
friends

only that i have seen it 4 times!--------------check out the trailer at whatisthesecret.tv/.

my second choice is steven simon's (the guy who did "what dreams my come") movie about neale walsh .

"conversations with god" it is in the theaters now.. .

MegaDude

I agree that positive thinking works or helps. You can read the biographies of many a famous person who became successful in whatever they were reaching for, and their focus and positive can-do attitude was a defining characterisic in why they accomplished what they set out to do.

But what about when bad things happen? Did you really attract that? If someone decides to get drunk and crashes into your car, did you attract that? Or are you just the unfortunate victim of somebody else's attraction to drinking and driving?

21

The Best movie I have seen this year "The Sercet"

by new boy in

jw
friends

only that i have seen it 4 times!--------------check out the trailer at whatisthesecret.tv/.

my second choice is steven simon's (the guy who did "what dreams my come") movie about neale walsh .

"conversations with god" it is in the theaters now.. .

MegaDude

"The Secret" sounds similar to the message delivered in the film "What the Bleep Do We Know." The argument is we create our own reality, the bad and the good. The fact that is not discussed by these purveyors of positivity is that OTHER people can create your reality for you. For example, did the Jews create the reality of the Nazi concentration camps? You'd be surprised at the answers you get to that question when you ask New Agers.

22

What were you praying about before you left the JWs?

by MegaDude in

jw
friends

i was earnestly praying to serve jehovah and give him my all.. in short order i found i was heading toward the unthinkable.

i was on my way out of the watchtower and the only life i had ever known.

pretty ironic.

MegaDude

I was always praying to Jehovah to help me to get my spiritual life together. I could never keep up with all the studying, service, and meeting attendance. I felt guilty all the time because I was just not measuring up.

It was a punishing schedule, unrelenting. It was really something to stop my activities as a JW which amounted to quitting a second part-time job. So much more time.

I was asking "Jehovah" if this was indeed, his organization, if shunning was right, for him to please, please show me HOW it was right... and asking him if he was as sickened by it as I was. I wanted a sign to stay.

I did not want to have to leave. I was comfortable and enjoyed the JWs. I guess if you've always worn a strait-jacket you can get comfortable or used to anything. What I was dreading was the losing of close relationships that were precious to me. I remember thinking perhaps I ought to remain silent about what I knew and blow it off and maintain the relationships. It only lasted about three days.

I was constantly praying to keep my mind clean and not have "gay" thoughts. i guess i just loved females too much. i was praying for him to take away my feelings for a certain female....the same female i ended up spending these last two and a half years with and going strong still

They say the Lord works in mysterious ways!

I remember sitting at an assembly and praying to just feel something. I felt totally unmoved by the "spiritual food" and kinda dead inside. I wasn't getting any encouragement and somehow thought it was my fault. I wasn't doing anything wrong and met all their "requirements", but I felt totally numb. Now I know why the spirit never helped me -it wasn't there.

When my marriage was falling apart, when the friends were gone and family members shunning me, I was devastated and had days where I felt like this.

Shortly before I left (first in my mind) I was increasingly fascinated by the "God is love" motto and prayed to live by love.

I can't imagine a better motto to live by, Narkissos.

I prayed for him to show me that the WTS was the truth, and if it was not, to show me that it wasn't. Some would say he answered that prayer.

I had the same feeling, Mulan.

I was praying to know if this was the truth or not, and to work things out with the father of my child. I am now married to him, and have not been to a meeting in 2 years. I think I finally had some answered prayers.

That's great. However, I've heard of people who prayed for relationships to come together that didn't, and were later very glad they didn't. Sort of a thank god for unanswered prayers.

"Heavenly Father, please show me the acceptable way to serve you."

And now you're the semi-official greeter of new folks on JWD and the Gabbly chat monitor. (j/k)

I was praying primarily for two things: The first is that God help get me and my family out of the WT. And the second was that he direct me to the "real" truth. He answered both prayers. He helped me out of the WT first and the rest of the family followed within 3 months. And he directed me through his spirit to his word the bible, which was a testament to his son Christ Jesus - the real truth.

I did also. However, the people I was the very closest too did not come out.

My constant mantra, over and over, was "I want to see things as they really are."

So you're a red pill kinda guy, Chris.

Fascinating topic. I haven't fully left physically; but I'm out mentally. Many nights I would lie awake in bed, weeping, praying what was found at Mark 9:23,24:
"'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
Or, as the Society likes to put it, "Help me out where I need faith."
There was no answer.
I haven't prayed since.

In what form could the answer have taken?

87

What if she never leaves JWs? (The interminable waiting period...)

by AuldSoul in

jw
friends

this has nothing to do with whether i love my wife.

i always will.. pragmatically, i have come to the devastating conclusion that i don't want to be married to a jw.

any jw.. she asked me last night, "so, do you believe in santa clause, now?

MegaDude

I just got tired of being a prisoner in my own home. I was trying to avoid being DF'd or being forced to DA. I didn't want to lose my JW family members. I was putting my wife through college and doing a good job of supporting us. I agreed to be "turned in" to the elders once. The elders came to my house and I told them everything: that I had talked to Ray Franz, that I read anti-Watchtower books, and that I planned to start visiting churches to see how the other half lived. The PO was a teddy bear of a man. He had more affection for people than just being an enforcer of the rules. He even hugged me when he left. He declined to do anything despite my "apostate" confession. But then the wife switched congregations. I started getting up early on Sunday mornings and visiting churches which angered her. I only considered myself a spiritual tourist but the wife knew I wasn't coming back to the JWs and she said she was going to turn me in again. She did. I met with the elders and was told I had to be completely silent on my disagreements with WT doctrine. So I hastily wrote out a DA letter in two lines and handed it to them. I refused to be silenced. They were really shocked. Overnight my JW siblings dumped me, the in-laws called and said goodbye and that they were not going to have anything to do with me anymore. Then I asked my wife to leave. She went home to her JW parents. After a few years of trying to work it out, we divorced. She dated a "worldly" guy and converted him to the JWs and married him.

Perhaps a lot of it depends on how much pain tolerance and patience you have. She may come out later, but maybe she never will. What does your gut tell you? Also, can you hang in there and still love her? Are you debating the Watchtower and having heated arguments about your divided religious views a lot of the time?

There are some JW men who have figured out the WT is a scam but patiently and gently kept going to meetings with their spouse and sharing tidbits of vital info with their wife and family until the light clicked on for them. This has really worked before. I wasn't the type of person who could this but I wish I had given it a try. I couldn't tolerate being in the kingdom hall when I knew it was a scam. I wanted to tell everybody there what I knew and wake them up.