Posts by Mum

Even before I was a dub, I was brought up by very religious fundamentalist Christian grandparents. What struck me about TV at that time was that nobody ever went to church or even talked about Jesus. The committed "sins" (e.g., going to movies, ball games, drinking alcoholic beverages, wearing make-up, etc.) but nobody ever said anything to them about it. In fact, everybody did those things. They all had nice houses, nice cars, stylish decor, and all the amenities of modern life and seemed to do anything they liked.

66

So apparently I'm now a Secular Humanist

by Oubliette in

jw
friends

i was doing some research on the subject of beliefs and belief systems when i came across an on-line survey/test that supposedly helps you determine which religion or philosophy is most like your current beliefs.

if you're curious, you can take the quiz here: belief system selector quizafter answering the 20 questions the results were spit out!

tada!!!.

Mum

I'm a secular humanist, too. Unitarian Universalist second. On another test, I was Unitarian Universalist.

Of all the religions on the list, the one that appeals to me the most is Taoism, but I scored 64%, so maybe I'm not as Taoist as I would like to believe. To me, the Tao is about reality and acceptance.

I scored pretty high on Quakerism, too. I've been reading Chesapeake by James Michener, which gives some good info about Quakers in colonial America. They were ahead of their time for sure. They were the first (not sure about that) to object to slavery and the first to free their slaves. Even when they had slaves, they taught them to read, and tried to accept them as full human beings, teaching them to read and caring about their families.

If you have not read the Tao Te-Ching, I strongly recommend it. It makes me feel centered and at peace.

42

Can you help me encourage Reopened mind.

by TotallyADD in

jw
friends

as most of you know we got a very angry letter from our oldest son.

it hurt her very much.

i feel so bad for her because he attacked her for what i feel was very unfair.

Mum

When it's your own child, it's so heartbreaking. Children, even as adults, do not understand what parents go through for them.

Just before I left the JW's for good, I read Dr. Wayne Dyer's book, Your Erroneous Zones. It's about dealing with negative emotions and putting things into perspective. He talks about how people feel when their mother does not love them. He makes the point that it is no reflection on you, and it's better to forgive and accept what is. No, it is not easy.

What is called for now is patience. Just be there for your son. He does understand that you are there if he ever needs you, right? That's really all you have the power to do.

Go out there and make a great life for yourself, and one day, out of the blue, he is likely to show up because no one else can take the place of Mom.

35

Have You Given Up on JW Friends or Family Ever Seeing The Light And Getting Out?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i'm always hopeful but mostly doubtful that they will get out of her..

Mum

Fortunately, I do not come from a JW family. I was the first convert in my family, and few others followed. I have a couple of distant cousins who are still dubs. I am not in regular contact with them, so I don't know what might happen. One of them is 80ish, so she's probably not going anywhere. The other is 60ish and delayed becoming a JW because she wanted to have fun in her youth. I would never give up on anyone, but I'm not optimistic.

What I am thankful for is that my daughter never bought into the dub life, even though she was born in. Did I mention that my daughter is a flippin' genius!? I am also grateful that my granddaughter was never indoctrinated. My granddaughter went to one meeting with a JW relative in her childhood, and she still describes it as "the longest two hours" or her life. She hated it! My 4-month-old great granddaughter will not be exposed to JWdom at all, I hope.

There are plenty of cults besides JW's to look out for. I want my descendants to have happy, fulfilling lives so they do not feel vulnerable and are not easy prey for all of the cult vultures out there.

My granddaughter told us the other day that a JW came to her door. She told him a lot of things she has done that JW's are not allowed to do. She reminded him that she can do these things and not worry about called into a kangaroo court, i.e., JC. She said he seemed amused. Cute!

19

Moving out, away and starting a new post JW life

by OneDayillBeFree in

recently at my last meeting, an older brother "in good standing" got disfellowshipped.. sitting only two seats away from him, i saw as he burst into tears as lifelong friends and family began their shunning and immediate gossip in the form of whispers came up from above the brothers and sisters in the kingdom hall.

i felt like giving him a hug and telling him that it was going to be okay and that whatever the reason for his disfellowshipment was, it didnt matter and that god still loved him but before i could muscle up enough courage to do so, he stood up in tears and left.. i shed a few silent tears for him.

i didn't see anyone else do the same.. it was at that moment that i realized without a doubt that living this way is just not worth it at all.. so i've thought about it long and hard and now i just want to move far away and just start new again.

Mum

Many years ago, I moved from the east to the west, over 2,000 miles. I had a relative in the place I was going to, so I had a support system. I had a job in two days. No JW's knew me there. One day as I was walking home from work, I realized that I was on my way home to relax, read, enjoy my time, with no pressure to do anything I did not want to do. The longer I was away, the more I enjoyed it.

Don't get me wrong: it was not all roses. There were plenty of thorns. Nevertheless, I could decide for myself how to handle obstacles and did not have to worry about "stumbling" anyone or whether anyone would approve or disapprove.

That was about 35 years ago, and I know my life has been infinitely better than it would have been if I had remained a dub drudge.

76

Do You Believe Gods name is Jehovah and why?

by sarahsmile in

many internet sites claiming that god's names is jehovah.. do you believe it is the name of god?.

Mum

To give something a name diminishes it. I love the Tao te-Ching, which starts out like this:

The name that can be named is not the eternal name

The nameless is the origin of heaven and earth

4

New Light its an illusion...

by new hope and happiness in

jw
friends

maybe the people who discover new light are just having fun?

they sit there in brooklyn and say too each other " overlapping generation yea thats hilarious".

well if thats the case i hope people are wakeing up to the joke.. g.b reply " but you have to understand our audience, you see its made up of many people who want to hear our brand of comedy and not think about anything".

Mum

They are like French nobles in the salon sharing the verse they've written. They have nothing else to do, so they sit around making up fanciful stories and eschewing reality.

39

Allow Me My Dreams

by compound complex in

jw
friends

today, today, as with all those new days before, .

i awoke from the sweet dreams of nocturnal .

flights of fancy, and that they should take .

Mum

CoCo ne tombe pas. Il est averti, c'est tout. Il doit poursuivre son reve.

53

Why elders' wives are such gossipers...

by Calebs Airplane in

i have a theory as to why elders' wives gossip so much.

i believe a big part of it has to do with the conversation running dry (between themselves and their elder husbands) after so many years of marriage.

since they don't get to spend too much "quality time" together (because of the elder husband's hamster wheel schedule), when they do have some intimate time alone, the elder's wives will invaribly attempt to engage their husbands in any kind of interchange.

Mum

There was always some very dramatic event in my last congregation. It would have been hard to ignore them all and just go on as if everything was all sweetness and light, as we were supposed to. These are all true, but you guys probably won't be shocked. After all, you've been dubs, too.

An elder's son fell in love with the wife who was half of a couple who just moved to our congregation. Eventually, she divorced her new husband and married the elder's son.

At an assembly at a school, a couple of adolescents went into a closet and closed the door, locking themselves in. I think a school official had to be called to find a solution and set them free.

A sister's (unbelieving) husband had an affair with her (fleshly and "spiritual") sister while his wife was in the hospital having a baby.

The wife of a "Jonadab" left him because, allegedly, he wouldn't buy furniture and other household necessities.

A brother was asked by a householder if he would like something to drink. He asked for a beer.

A family who was not approved for baptism because, apparently, they could not answer the baptismal questions, moved to another state and notified the congregation that they had been baptized in a regular church.

A congregation couple's pregnant non-JW daughter who had been living in another state moved back in with her parents. A pioneer brother fell in love with her and married her.

I could go on, but you get the picture.