Posts by Searril

13

JW dating sites

by Formerbrother in

jw
friends

my marriage is ending.

its been over for a long time to tell the truth.. im not completely out of the borg and dont want to be dfed.. i want to keep contact with fam and friends, but im very lonely now.. which are the best jw dating sites which have free options?.

im not going to pay a lot, just want to meet some single sisters or ex sisters.. any help would be much appreciated..

Searril

Not trying to be a jerk here, and I know it's off topic, but reading this:

"Still Trying to find an alternative to JW's. After many years, I still can not find any other option that comes as close to ALL the Bible as JWs do. If there is an option that I have missed please tell me here, I would like to look into it deeply."

Tells me that you haven't really spent much time at all researching Watchtower teachings, because they unravel very quickly once examined with scriptures in context without Watchtower spin. So, if you're looking for a Christian association, which I support, I would suggest doing some real research on, dare I say it, what the bible really teaches, before trying to figure out WHERE the thing you're looking for exists.

31

What is this "religion"?

by Kom 197 in

jw
friends

for a long time, i was convinced jehovah witnesses were just people preaching the word of god in a different way than other christians.

i was shown the real truth over the past few months.

i've been friends with this guy for over 5 years.

Searril

I knew he was a Jehovah witness when I agreed to be his girlfriend

As soon as I read this line I knew pretty much how the rest of the story would go. That's not an insult to you, it's just that those of us who've had personal experience with this religion know how these things work.

Unfortunately, you didn't know, and so you got hurt. You were collateral damage in the Watchtower's war against anyone who refuses to bow to its leaders.

I know your feelings are raw right now, you're confused, and you're frustrated. You have every right to feel this way. But there are a couple things you need to know.

This may sound odd to hear it, but in all honesty you don't want him to just up today and decide to quit the religion and be with you. The problem with this cult, or any cult, is the indoctrination runs deep. And if he quits "for you" he WILL end up holding it against you in his mind somewhere, and it WILL come to the surface at some point and cause problems. If he is to leave, it absolutely must be because he has come to terms with the true sadistic, nefarious, damaging, and insidious nature of this religion and has made up his own mind that he must leave.

Unfortunately there is no way to predict whether that will be soon, years from now, or never. Depending on how closed-minded he is it may be possible at some point to share information you have learned, but only if he's able to hear and never being pushy. If you attempt to push it will backfire. Period. It absolutely will backfire.

It would be difficult for you, but your only real option (if you want a relationship of any kind with him) at this point is to make sure he understands you are available as a friend. Be someone who is a safe place for him to talk to. Listen if he expresses doubts and support him in researching those doubts. But refrain from "putting your two cents in". Just be the safe place where his mind knows it can try to crunch through the things that deep in his psyche he knows are wrong but his religion has trained him to suppress. In time he may wake up.

But you may very well never be together as a couple again, and if you're going to go through with all this then you need to be ok with that or you're only setting yourself up for more hurt.

If you're not ok with that, then you should cut your losses and move on with life.

My intention is not to be harsh, but to just be realistic with you.

40

After leaving the JWs - Has anyone stayed with Christianity?

by rulehayl in

i recently made the decision to stop studying with my study conductor, due to a situation i found myself in that led to a high possibility of my unbaptized publisher "rights" being taken away from me.

i have since told my study conductor i have joined a new church (to which she dropped me like a hot rock, of course).... last time i posted on here, i was progressing nicely towards baptism, and was well into it.anyhoo, i like my new church, very hillsong-esqe.

so just wondering if anyone else has stayed the course of christianity after leaving the jws, and if so - where did you go?

Searril

I was completely away from religion for the better part of two decades, but have been now attending church since 2011.

9

Once bitten, twice shy

by UnshackleTheChains in

ok. having experienced the jdubs over 27 years.

i have come to the conclusion that sincere people have been 'conned' into the troof, into a 'system' of beliefs that immerses them into an organisation that holds them captive ie no honourble way out without being shunned by friends and family.. having gone through this horrible experience, many are afraid to join another christian group.

it's a bit like someone who trusted someone most of their life only to find that person was a devious lying individual.

Searril

As someone who firmly believes in God and Christ, I am now cautious. I love God's word, I love God, I love the Messiah.......but am extra careful who and what I believe.
Is this something you personally feel?

I had no use for the bible or anything relating to God for many years after leaving the Watchtower cult. I've mentioned to others that the Watchtower does an amazing job of creating atheists.

I did consider atheism for a time, but I found it to be too irrational. I'm not interested in arguing about it with anyone, but after a lot of reading and thinking that was the conclusion I came to. I do 100% believe in evolution, fyi.

But back to your question, in time I decided I wanted to look into a couple churches, and although it was a nervous experience at first it did not take long at all to find out that a real Christian church is NOTHING like the Watchtower claims. My closest friends in the entire world are a few people I met at church. Like, the kind of friends I could literally tell them anything and know that they wouldn't condemn me and wouldn't go spreading it. There is seriously no comparison between a good Christian church and the Watchtower Kingdom of Hell garbage.

Interestingly enough, another thing that made the entire experience easier was that I actually started studying the New Testament, both on my own and in various classes at the church. It did not take long at all to start noticing that the Watchtower churches are not even vaguely similar to how the NT churches operated.

I would say I had some lingering issues about whether or not the Watchtower was "the truth" for many years, but once I started to actually read in context and do serious study it became apparent very quickly that the Watchtower was nothing but a purveyor of insidious lies.

But the key really is to be willing to try different churches until you find one that feels right, because there are definitely churches out there that are unwelcoming and stuffy. If by some bit of odd luck you happen to be near north central Ohio you could come visit mine :)

22

Disfellowshipped/disassociated – How did your parents handle it?

by Richard_I in

to those who were disfellowshipped/disassociated – how did your still-in parents handle it?.

i don’t want to fade, so i am thinking about disassociating soon – i don’t care if i’m playing by the org’s rules, i just want out.. however, i am concerned about how my parents will react.

i don’t want them to become super depressed or whatever due to me leaving the org.. i don’t want them to be hurt by my decision to leave the org, but i feel like there is no way of avoiding this..

Searril

I don’t want to fade, so I am thinking about disassociating soon – I don’t care if I’m playing by the org’s rules, I just want out.

I don't understand why you necessarily have to do either. I don't know anything about your parents, but what would happen if you just stopped going and if an elder asks you said "I find myself suffering from extreme depression when I attend meetings or go out in field service"?

I'm not minimizing your issues, so don't think that way. I'm just speaking from personal experience. I just stopped going (although I did end up moving about a half a year later, but not because of elders tracking me down).

8

Idiotic Thread On A Cult Site

by FedUpJW in

so as is my habit when i need a good laugh at stupid chat forum threads i popped in to the jay double u talk site and happened on this hilarious thread.

of course i have not read the whole thing, it was just too mentally painful to read those nitwits "reasoning"about "music".. why jehovah's witnesses do not use drums.... .

Searril

The Babylon Bee is a satire site run by Christians.

122

CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE

by Newly Enlightened in

https://youtu.be/dpq7j8lkc98.

Searril

As someone who had never even heard of CoC or ISoCF until a few years ago, I am one of the ones who read an improper pdf version that I found on the internet. I'm not bragging about it as I know it wasn't a great thing to do, but I had given up on being able to find a legitimate copy for a reasonable price. The third hand reseller prices were exorbitant. I'm not making excuses for myself, just admitting what I did and explaining why.

All that said, however, I am very happy to hear that a new edition is being published and I absolutely intend on purchasing a legitimate copy.

56

PORTUGAL: Petition to terminate the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness gets national news coverage

by EdenOne in

the petition is now going on 537 signatures.. today the newspaper "diário de notícias", the leading non-tabloid newspaper in the country, gave the story front page coverage and a full page to the article inside.. here are the links to the pictures of the pages:.

front page:.

page 6 and article: .

Searril

Thank you for the explanation. I'm not completely sure of my opinion on this yet. I'll need to think on it. I will be interested in finding out if this goes anywhere though.

56

PORTUGAL: Petition to terminate the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness gets national news coverage

by EdenOne in

the petition is now going on 537 signatures.. today the newspaper "diário de notícias", the leading non-tabloid newspaper in the country, gave the story front page coverage and a full page to the article inside.. here are the links to the pictures of the pages:.

front page:.

page 6 and article: .

Searril

I clicked a couple links but none were translated. Can someone give me a brief synopsis of the justification being presented?

It's not my country so I don't really have a say, but even with my personal loathing of the Watchtower this kind of stuff bothers me. I'm a big free speech guy and it would be hard for me to personally support something that goes against that.

Again, I know it's not my country and I have no voice there, but I just think education and spreading awareness are the ways you really stamp out evil hate-cults like the Watchtower.

Maybe I just don't understand the nature of the petition so someone please correct me if so.

27

Have you ever "partaken" at the memorial

by NikL in

jw
friends

it's that time of year again.. trying to decide if i should or shouldn't.

:-).

Searril

The problem I have ...among a ton of others, is that I can't find any scripture that says ONLY 144,000 are supposed to partake.
If it's NOT in the bible and people pass on the emblems, are they symbolicly rejecting Jesus sacrifice?

Yes