Posts by sickandtired

39

My first own thread on here. Woken up and still in :(

by Gefangene in

jw
friends

i have been around in this forum a lot but haven't written much yet.. also i had a more or less rude awakening when i realized that the religion i grew up with, the religion i sacrificed a lot for and considered to be the 'truth' is nothing but mere bs.

it's quite a brick to digest.. my parents both are jws, elder and pioneer.

very good people but also very brainwashed.

sickandtired

Welcome!

52

Do You Ever Doubt Your Efforts Are Futile?

by Elephant in

...hello folks.... ...i've read countless of posts, ideas, opinions, etc here and i'm interested in your response.... ...there is a whole gamut of feelings here from individuals that are simply annoyed with the wt organization, to those that come off as hellbent on putting the org out of comission.... ...others yet seem to have made it their mission in life to eradicate the concept of god himself.... ...to any of these, what is your motivation?

and do you ever doubt that these efforts are futile?

do you feel that you posses the power/ability/means to change the convictions/faiths of the masses?

sickandtired

I know I come here because I need to reaffirm I'm not crazy when I have a WTF?! moment at something said at the Hall or written in one of the WT publications. I can't tell my husband or Witness friends and family my concerns. Tried that with my husband and it started out with him saying, "It's okay to ask questions. There are no secrets in this organization." to "You're not going to get all the answers to your questions. Only Jehovah knows. Wait on him." to "Why are you so negative and so cynical?". That effectively ended my voicing anymore concerns about Witness beliefs or the Bible itself. Coming here is where I find that I'm not alone. There are others like me. That is a relief and helps me not go crazy. I probably would go crazy too since I'm so isolated from the real world and have very little contact with "unbelievers".

This whole organization is living in a fantasy world of their own making. I can't take how everyone is so smug about their possession of truth and how the whole world is in darkness. Witnesses act like they have all the answers. It's easy to have all the answers when the questions are asked for you. Once anyone starts asking questions outside of the usual, you stop getting answers and Witnesses start getting dismissive and accusatory (Who are you to question God?! You should be more humble!).

Why would God give us a book that is supposed to be so essential to follow and not make it more clear, more concise and more direct as what is required? JWs would have you believe that the Bible is clear. Sure, it's clear on some things. Don't murder and steal, etc. But if there was supposed to be a group of people living on a paradise earth forever, you'd think that Jesus would've expounded on that a little more than he did.

Sorry for going on and on. I just get so frustrated. End of rant.

19

Captain America and The Avengers!

by Cold Steel in

does the wts oppose movies such as thor, captain america, and the avengers on the basis of thor/loki's godhood and captain america's patriotic bent?

or do they let artistic license slide for such movies?.

how about super hero movies in general?.

sickandtired

That part was absolutely hilarious!

19

Captain America and The Avengers!

by Cold Steel in

does the wts oppose movies such as thor, captain america, and the avengers on the basis of thor/loki's godhood and captain america's patriotic bent?

or do they let artistic license slide for such movies?.

how about super hero movies in general?.

sickandtired

Actually, we read the Hunger Games sequel books as well

19

Captain America and The Avengers!

by Cold Steel in

does the wts oppose movies such as thor, captain america, and the avengers on the basis of thor/loki's godhood and captain america's patriotic bent?

or do they let artistic license slide for such movies?.

how about super hero movies in general?.

sickandtired

My husband and I took our children (preteen/teenage) to see The Avengers. We all LOVED it. I heard of other elders seeing it and liking the movie as well. We also own it now.

The Hunger Games we saw as well. Not only that, but I, as well as my husband, read the book. There's been talk against it (don't know if that is an official WT stance or some brothers injecting their own opinion of it) and my husband and I had to keep it hush, hush that we watched and read the movie and book (and enjoyed them a lot)! We discussed them a lot as well. My husband said they just misunderstood the premise of the story.

10

Does anyone have official confirmation of new GB member?

by Open mind in

jw
friends

about a month ago on this jwn thread,.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/235284/1/new-gb-member-mark-sanderson.

the news of a new gb member, douglas mark sanderson was announced.

sickandtired

LOL, Tylinbrando! It would be a dream come true if that were the case! He's still very much under the spell of 'JW's have the Truth' and 'where else is there to go?' !

10

Does anyone have official confirmation of new GB member?

by Open mind in

jw
friends

about a month ago on this jwn thread,.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/235284/1/new-gb-member-mark-sanderson.

the news of a new gb member, douglas mark sanderson was announced.

sickandtired

Interestingly, I found a copy of a picture of the GB in my husband's folder (he's an elder) with the newbie GB member on it. My husband hasn't told me about it yet. I don't know whether it's because he doesn't think it's common knowledge yet, because they haven't announced it at the hall OR he doesn't want to tell me yet because he's afraid of what I'd say about Sanderson's young age. Or maybe it isn't important to him.

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

sickandtired

Winston, your story is awesome and I am so glad you've got your wife with you on your journey! I am very much alone in my family in my realization that JWs don't have "the Truth". I've really appreciated you writing your story. Please keep it up! :)

I noticed too the reference to the scripture in this week's WT study article about their being one hope. I wanted to mention it to my husband but he's ultra sensitive to any apostate leanings I have and will overreact lately to the smallest things. I have to take it a lot more slowly nowadays. It's amazing the stuff you notice when you are no longer in a Watchtower-induced fog!

51

What's The Worst Thing About Being A Jehovah's Witness?

by minimus in

jw
friends

for me, i think it's that the witnesses teach they are god's spokesman.

they represent his "faithful & discreet slave"....and that they alone are expounders of the only truth and that if you disagree with anything they teach, you are considered worse than vomit.. it's unbelievable because these people are wrong so many times, it cannot be excused!.

as a witness, you must accept every viewpoint and if you (and your family) do not accept it all, hook, line and sinker, you are "apostates"!!!.

sickandtired

I hate the putting off of enjoying things now because, "Hey, you'll have all the time in the world in paradise!" I have not one hobby and neither does my husband. You're not encouraged to pursue any talents you might have because it's all vanity and it might 'draw you away from Jehovah'. I would even feel guilt for reading a novel because it wasn't the Bible or one of the Society's publications.

Also, as a Witness, you never really feel that close to your family who are not Witnesses. My mom distanced herself from her unbelieving family after she came in the "truth." I remember as a kid having a family reunion with my mom's side of the family. I loved every minute of it and sobbed when they boarded the plane to go home. I didn't understand at the time my reaction to that. I wasn't an emotional kid. I've been thinking about it lately and realized that I'd never had the opportunity to get to know them before and I hated seeing it come to an end. Also, part of me feared that I'd never see them again after that because they'd be destroyed in Armageddon. It makes me sad just thinking about it.

68

They STILL might be DFing me soon for apostasy...

by RayPublisher in

big news - i met with the elders last night.

they were not arrogant and they were not mean spirited, but of course we all know they also would not budge from the jw brainwashed beliefs they are sworn to uphold.

i let my light shine, and within two minutes of sitting down with them was no longer nervous.. .

sickandtired

RayP, how you handled that JC was a beautiful thing to see. I cannot believe how calm and composed you were! I hope that you find happiness and closure. I'm sorry for all of your turmoil and heartache you've had along the way.

I see the bureaucratic, legalistic way the organization is run. It's more like a business than a religion in a lot of ways. That's a lot of what helped me to wake up. If my husband had never become an elder and I may have never woken up. Funny thing is, he never divulged confidential information to me, but he would complain about how things were done sometimes. I could see his frustration after elders' meetings a lot of times.

Recently, my hubby told me sometimes he wonders if it's all worth it..I tried to be cool. I wanted to say, "NO, IT'S NOT!!!!" I think every once and a while he starts to question things, but stuffs it down (I did that for YEARS). One day, I hope he gets tired of it and starts asking the right questions. Until then, I remain in this religion. I'm not willing to give up on him.

Thank you for your courage, RayP. I wish I had half of it.