snare&racket

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Posts by snare&racket

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  45

  CO visits me today

  by Chook in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'm at home and hear knock on door , i sneak and look i see two men and recognise one voice and go back into lonunge and ask wife ( who is inactive believer) does she want to speak to elders ,she says no ,then literally 3 minutes has pasted another knock the 3 minutes seemed like an eternity.

  so brave heart me think fuck it i'll answer ,i invite them in for coffee, i recognise one older man he is a unique elder who i genuinely was fond of when i was in his name is andrew ,the other guy i didn't recognise we will call harry ( not real name australia doesn't have that many cos with his same name).

  so i think to myself i will tread lightly and not cause to much of a fuss for the wife's sake, but my personality is very the opposite of treading lightly ,as you read my threads you will realise i'm not timid.

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  snare&racket

  I like your thinking....

  i don't remember the prodigal son requiring reinstatement.

  Would being disfellowhsipped from his family help or hinder the prodigal son?
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  113

  I am deeply ashamed that I didn't accept evolution until a few years ago...

  by ILoveTTATT2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so... i live in mexico and i am helping with an esl class (english as a second language).

  actually, i am helping with two classes.

  i get two days a week in which i just stand there and have a debate with the class, encouraging as many as possible to just talk... in english.. anyways, i like talking about subjects that generate debate.

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  snare&racket

  I remember being in college and it dawning on me....

  "Oh ...this is why nobody was interested!"

  As for feeling shame, nobody is born with knowledge and you were fed lies. Don't be too hard on yourself.
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  41

  I don't think I will be able to escape the JWs ...

  by nevaagain in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know i will get a lot of backslash on this forum for saying this, but as it looks like, i won't ever be able to escape the jws.

  i have been a born in, third generation jw and awoken in one way or another (i joined this forum 15 years ago) for a very long time.

  but i have adapted to the jw lifestyle to a point where it does not bother me anymore.

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  snare&racket

  OP

  Imget where you are coming from, the desicion about leaving comes down to choosing comfort or truth. If you are happier not leaving despite not believing that's your right. Never knowing how happy you would feel free and living honestly is a calculated desicion we all have to make.

  It's not easy..l.l living with family missing and all the JW's abandoning you and looking at you like your a devil, for simply being honest about what you believe. Starting from scratch and starting over, alone. But for me, it is 100% better than living a lie.......

  I sincerely have zero regret and would advocate living honestly to anyone.
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  114

  Jehovah's Witnesses ARE Christians, why do so many ex JW's deny this?

  by nicolaou in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jehovah's witnesses accept jesus as christ, the son of god.

  they try, in their own way, to live by his teachings and imitate him.

  they pray, read the bible and meet together regularly for worship.. i won't minimise any of the harm and damage they cause but for the life of me, i can't see how anyone can credibly deny that they are christians.. why do so many former jws have a problem with this?

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  snare&racket

  O/P

  some ex-JW's become religious in another faith, some become agnostic or atheistic.

  Those that become religious hold onto the delicious to move from one belief system to another by explaining that they are now true Christians and as a JW never was I.e. The two are worlds apart.

  I have noted many evangelical belief systems go out their way to define any belief system not their own as being non-Christian and to not know christ, because they believe they hold true beliefs and therefore are the only christians.

  When I have discussed scripture, theology, conflicting verses, questionable acts of 'god' or questionable morals of 'god' with many of these believers.... they have used the line that I was never a true Christian and therefore not qualified to really discuss it or have legitimate questions.

  What makes all this worse is that JW's have two characters Jehovah and Jesus, most christians have Jesus who was also God. This JW theology leads many to state that they have diluted the role of Jesus and therefore not Christian. Of course the JW's say the same of them.

  Put simply it's ...."we are right you are wrong".......a stance everyone has, despite conflicting beliefs.
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  22

  Feeling very lonely

  by BlackWolf in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the past few months i've been feeling really depressed and kind of hopeless.

  the few people that actually were a little bit friendly to me at the hall recently moved away, and i'm feeling like more of an outcast than i already was.

  every meeting i just stand by myself by the wall and nobody cares, i feel really lonely and unloved.

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  snare&racket

  Maybe go and talk to your doctor, because as a human being the stress of being in a cult and untangling the brainwashing and fears/pressures/consequences can be too much to handle. We are largely adults here with broad shoulders (.we have survived a cult after all) .....and we all know too well how hard this is.

  Maybe go and talk to someone, you have no idea how unique you are. It's so rare to untangle and see a high control group for the reality of what it is and it's difficult to weigh up standing by reality and the consequences of it or living a lie.

  You are incredibly smart and brave to have even get this far. You have us guys and you can talk to us if you need support, but maybe you need an unbiased professional at your side too.

  have a think about it 😉
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  41

  Convention Weirdness

  by BlackWolf in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well i just got back from 3 days in hell, and geez was this convention strange or what?

  im sure someone's probably made a topic about this already but i can't believe that there weren't any new releases besides the movies.

  has that ever happened before?

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  snare&racket

  I remember a memorable stage in leaving the JW's....

  i went to a circuit assembly, one where I had given talks in the past, had been baptised in front of all the hundreds of people still around me then, that I considered friends, almost family. I had help refurbish the very building I was in, I painted the ceiling above me gold.

  i looked around and for the first time felt like I simply didn't belong. It was like I was watching it all go on from afar, the spell had broken and I no longer believed any of it and it was a very surreal experience.

  Everyone around me was in a zombie like state listening to .....pure gibberish, a hard sell, a world view that now seemed so foreign and bizzare despite me being a very involved JW pioneer, bethelite, RBC construction volunteer not that long ago.

  That was 10 years ago. The beliefs held by JW's now seem so foreign and frankly bananas.... I can't believe I was ever one,
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  31

  Welcome to all the Newbies in the last six months

  by smiddy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i think all of us on this forum would like to welcome all the newbies that have joined in the last six months or so ,if i`m not mistaken there seems to be an influx lately.. elders , ms ,and sisters.

  speak up and make a comment , are you happy you came here ?.

  we`d love to here from you.. smiddy.

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  snare&racket

  Every person that leaves makes us happy, not because we are evil and it's the truth... that's not how humans work despite the JW bedtime story villain perspective the JW's have of the real world.....

  we are just happy to see people emotionally, mentally and spiritually free.....
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  28

  I don't like the person i am becoming...

  by SpunkedTeen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have not been active here lately just lurking mostly but i have no one to talk to and i need some help i guess.i started working out and became friends with my personal trainer(we went to school together).i started going out with him(lying to my mother about what i was doing,another thing to add to the list of lies,it's becoming too easy!

  ) and i notice i'm slowly becoming the worldy people that the jw's described.i've become very selfish and rude and very apathetic towards everything and everyone.i always thought the values that jw's taught were really good.if i cut ties with the only friend i have now , i would probably slip into a deep depression and i that is something that i want to avoid at all costs.i start university in january and my plan was to stick it out in the organisation until i got my degree and became fully independant but as of late a elder told me i am being considered to become a m.s and told me what i need to work on and since then the other elders have been nagging me to work on the same things.i'm trying to rid my self of my 'priveleges' in the cong but nothings working...if anyone has experienced a similar situation what advice would you give?

  , oh and my mom was always super into the religion having been a pioneer and bethel worker for years but we went to the regional convention two weeks ago and now she is even more exasperating (for example a sister asked my why i was 19 years old and not a ms or serving at bethel yet, which is fine i've learnt how to deal with these questions but when i told my mother whom has always been content with me just being in the religion and never pushed me towards anything asked me if i was happy with what i was and if i would not be happier at bethel or regular pioneering.

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  snare&racket

  You have been brainwashed to dislike what is normal, it takes time to readjust.

  Trust me, in ten years time you will realise how judgmental and weird the JW view of normal people is and how odd JW's can be,

  love yourself and make yourself happy....its totally cool to do that
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  54

  According to one JW there can only be 1 of 3 reasons why you left.

  by Bonsai in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i asked an old jw friend of mine why so many baptized individuals leave the jw religion.

  "did it ever occur to you, old friend, that maybe they know something that you don't know and have valid reasons for leaving?

  ", i asked.. his response set me back for an answer.

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  snare&racket

  It is impossible, literally impossible for them to include legitimate reasons for leaving as they believe it's the truth,

  The easiest approach I found is read Deut 18: 20-22 (a false prophet is one that makes predictions that don't come true) then list as many predictions they have gotten wrong as you know and say... who is responsible for the people that leave for,following that verse?

  But remember.....if you could reason with such believers, there wouldn't be any believers to try to reason with.
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  62

  ls homosexuality really normal?

  by atomant in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  l know animals do it but their animals.they dont live by a moral code.the thought of 2 men going for it is not normal.what are your thoughts?.

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  snare&racket

  😮

  that is all......