after clerical sex abuse scandals / 'slave labour' at magdalene laundries (nun-controlled laundries) ?
and they're shocked?.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/irish-have-become-pagan-some-catholic-bishops-believe-1.1440835.
Catholics and Protestants in Ireland are so un-Christian in their hatred for each other that I would much rather be pagan if I lived in that country. I like fakesmile's assessment of it as religious McCarthyism. Maybe they'll bring back the Inquisition so they can absolve all the pagans, then kill them while they're still in a state of grace.
My daughter saw a bumper sticker once that sums up the attitude of some of us. It said, "Dear God, please save me from your followers."
i know there are so many heartbreaking stories on here where people have suffered at the hands of tyrant elders.
i have my own stories too.
now looking back i realize that those type of elders probably had authentic assclown personality syndrome to begin with and being in a position of leadership just made it worse.. .
You were blessed to have that kind of support. I'm happy for you that it helped lead you into a better life.
former jehovah's witnesses talk about the painful process of adapting to secular life.
http://vueweekly.com/front/story/walking_out_of_the_kingdom_hall/.
bangalore.
I wish that article could be published in every newspaper and magazine in the world. It is clear, well researched, and well written.
Blondie
my husband will be going (unless he has to work) to his jw aunt's funeral this coming saturday (6-29-13).
he will be riding up with one of his other aunts (not a witness).
i refuse to go because i just hate those people that much, that if it were my mom's funeral i still would not go.
I have been to one JW funeral in my post-JW life, my mom's. My mom waited to become a JW until she was too old and sickly to participate. But she had great social skills, and, to her credit, she did not shun me. Some of the JW's were friendly to me. I was with my non-JW cousin Connie, and one of the JW's recognized her from where she worked. The JW spoke to Connie and did not entirely ignore me. I was shunned by one JW who I had known for many years. I said something to the effect that her heart certainly must be full of Jesus (after the funeral), and my non-JW niece laughed. Word must have gotten back to her because she did not shun me on another occasion after that. After all, two of her children had been DF'd.
The above-stated scenario is not typical!
i was a born-in, and in for over five decades.
in the comparatively short time since leaving the wt for good, for good in both senses !
, i feel i have become a very different person, in quite radical ways.. how do you feel you have changed ?.
In many ways I am 180° from the person I was as a child and young adult. I am no longer withdrawn and can talk to almost anyone about almost anything. I have stood up to bullies. I have read a lot of self-help books. I had a roommate once who said to me, "Mum, there's nothing wrong with you. You're fine. Get rid of all of these self-help books. You don't need them." I disagreed and still do. There's always room for improvement.
My second husband helped me finish college and get a bachelor's degree. I am still in love with learning, and love being open-minded. I accept other people as they are, whether they be gay, religious, or whatever. I don't try to change what is normal for them, but I can go all "Dr. Laura" if I think they're doing something harmful to themselves or others. I know that I have a lot to learn from others regardless of their station in life.
Sometimes I have insights and/or premonitions because my mind is now relaxed and I don't fight hunches. I am far less emotional or prone to worry than I was before.
I have learned to like myself and see myself as a good person.
for years i have been told different scenarios from different christian groups about who the antichrist will be.
some born agains have told me that the antichrist will be satan the devil stripped of all his powers and trapped in a human body on earth.
he will still have the same attitude and try to get people to worship him instead of jehovah and jesus.
Apparently, Obama is the Anti-Christ. I have never heard that it is Satan, although that's as good a theory as any. It could be any politician or political enemy that we hate, which makes it different for everybody.
My grandmother used to say that the "mark of the beast" is a Social Security card, although she had one. I, however, believe it is Microsoft.
however- many jw's who have come into the jw organization from like 1985 forward virtually may have no knowledge of the wt society's 1975 debacle and false predictions of the end times or armageddon predictions.
just like in in the book 1984 by george orwell the wt society has a way of not only erasing it's history so no newer witnesses will be aware of their false predictions, but also they are re-writing their history as if those false predictions never happened.. so for those of you here who may have never read or heard of how whipped up into an emotional frenzy witnesses were in the years just before 1975 by the wt society claiming the end was any day now- this threads for you.
to see the pressure that was put on jw's by the wt society to get rid of everything before " armageddon " .
One of my nieces was born in 1975. She became a dub in her youth, but I am happy to report that she is now free. Some years ago, I told her about the 1975 nonsense, and she told me that individual witnesses ran ahead and made it up. She did not believe me.
Worf: I don't theink we've heard from you for some time! Welcome back. I met you at the Silentlambs march.
i am not sure if anyone cares, but the drama with my mother and me leaving the org continues.. apparently after todays craptower she goes on a spastic rant that because of my decision i am slowly killing her and my father.
the funny thing is i do not feel bad over this... i can't.. i have children and a wife of my own that i need to be happy for.
i love them - but as they get older and closer to death i realize that a new season is coming and imust care for my family the best way i can... the same way they thought they were doing.
Another point from Dr. Dyer: You are not responsible for your mother's feelings. She chooses to feel the way she does because of what she tells herself about you, attaching significance to things that are simply matters of personal choice. You should not take it upon yourself to feel responsible for her neurosis. Her neurotic thinking comes from being a slave to what the GB tells her. She has the power to free herself, but the brainwashing has taken. Saying or doing what you can to help her feel better is fine, but do not accept responsibility for her feelings.
i am not sure if anyone cares, but the drama with my mother and me leaving the org continues.. apparently after todays craptower she goes on a spastic rant that because of my decision i am slowly killing her and my father.
the funny thing is i do not feel bad over this... i can't.. i have children and a wife of my own that i need to be happy for.
i love them - but as they get older and closer to death i realize that a new season is coming and imust care for my family the best way i can... the same way they thought they were doing.
sosoconfused: Your mom is a master manipulator, or so it seems. Dr. Wayne Dyer talks about parents like this in his first book, Your Erroneous Zones. Reading that book was very liberating for me in that it dealt with how to overcome, or at least contain, negative emotions. Dr. Dyer talks about how little it matters whether or not your mother loves you, as you are the same worthwhile person whether or not she does, which is really what matters. He says that if you have to worry, give yourself 10 minutes each morning and 10 minutes each evening, and give in to the worry, then drop it and go on with your real life.
Your mom thinks she is "helping" you. If you need to do something to calm her, go ahead and do it, but understand that the world won't end because of her anxieties.
Best wishes in coping with this situation.
