Good for you! I think lots of JW's lead double lives. After all the "ideal" JW life is impossible anyway.
Best wishes! Welcome to freedom!
just wanted to introduce myself.
i've made a few comments here and there on the lovely jwn i started to wake up to ttatt this year.
basically, i'm a born in jw and was baptized at 16. lived a double life until i wa 25 and beat myself up about it constantly.
Good for you! I think lots of JW's lead double lives. After all the "ideal" JW life is impossible anyway.
Best wishes! Welcome to freedom!
actually, in my experience, i have not found them to be tighter or more generous with money.
i've found them to be about the same with handling money as non-jws, though less likely to invest their money, but unlikely to waste it on cigarettes, pubs/clubs and gambling like many non-jws do.
i certainly don't find them tighter or stingier than normal people though, and slightly more honest.. what are your experiences with jws and money compared to non-jws and money?.
Apparently, some years ago ('50's or early '60's) the JW's had a convention in New York. In one of the local newspapers, it reported something to the effect that "they came into town with the 10 commandments and a 10-dollar bill, and didn't break either of them." This is hearsay on my part, but I have no reason not to believe it.
Once my JW ex-husband and I and an older sister ate at a local restaurant. The waitress was having a bad day, and the older sister said, "Don't leave her a sign of a tip!" I told him that waitresses are poor and may have children at home. Then I asked him, "Would you like it if you had to live on handouts from your customers? Don't you have a bad day sometimes?"
My experience with American JW's is that they are more tight-fisted with money than most other people.
not because i agree with him.
because i do not want the divorce.
but because i love him and i want to respect him.
losingit: cog_survivor reminded me of some things. Your local DA's office or City Attorney's office may well have victim advocates to help you through this episode in your life. I worked in domestic violence for a time and learned a lot. There may be a way for you to get money for education or job training (get it from your ex if you can get your attorney to persuade the judge that you need it).
Your children are likely to do what you do. They see what we do much more than they listen to what we say. Think of them when you are behaving in such a submissive and passive manner. Is that what you want them to do? What kind of life do you want for them? The kind you have?
Find out about all the resources there may be available to someone in your situation. Use them to improve your life.
Best wishes,
Mum
funny story: back in march i was talking with mom on the phone.
the topic of how great the nwt was, compared to other bibles.
thanks to jwn, i said "o wouldn't be surprised if we had a new bible by this time next year.
Funny!
My ex-husband, my daughter's father, told my daughter last week that I was "being used by Satan and the demons." I don't know what they've got me doing because my life is one of the dullest on the planet.
my dear granny hasn't been feeling well for some time and has had a problem keeping anything down.
she had lost a lot of weight and gone for many tests.
those tests came back and on friday we were told she has cancer of the pancreas.
My sympathy. Losing a beloved granny is one of the hardest things to face. I'm glad you get to be with her.
i think the real reason is that many when they are in their teens and able to start thinking for themselves end up leaving by the time they get out of home, never baptized, and still continuing assocation with their family.
the wt doesn't like this loophole, so they are hoping to get them baptised before their teen years so that if they wake up and decide to leave, they will be dfed.
hoping to keep them trapped and be trapped before they understand the religion.
Sometimes I think they just want to DF everybody, shut down the org, and split the money they've taken in and go to Singapore. The baptism of unwitting children can only strengthen the possibility of working out this scenario. The Shakers disbanded, and all of the property they owned fell into the hands of a few.
If there were no borg, there would be no more pedophile lawsuits, no more tedious, mind-numbing meetings to prepare for, no more literature to publish, and no preposterous efforts to convert the world. No work and instant money must be a great temptation to the bigwigs in New York. I can't help wondering about their real motives. All of the cracking down on inactive and DA'd and DF'd ones is not encouraging staying with the borg, but should drive people away.
They are engaging in self-sabotage, and one must wonder why.
as i was leaving the kh where i watched the meeting, i overheard several conversations, all to the effect that"what a great bunch of guys the gb is.
" the sense of humor among them, the naturalness and ease they had while speaking, etc.. for that matter, i too, was impressed at how like able they seem to be and, believe it or not, the 3 1/2 hours went by fairly quickly, thank god!
but as i think about it, i'm concluding that that was the main goal of the wide viewing of this event: to assure the rank and file that the gb, the men who are in charge of god's household, are a great bunch of guys.
I have dealt with narcissists in the past, one of them being a parent. They are the most suave and charming people imaginable if it serves their purpose. All of my cousins think my narcissistic parent was a saint! In fact, he was a pedophile manipulator master ass-kisser.
When people are too suave and charming, it raises a red flag and a loud alarm in my head. These guys have instructed the flock to obey them, even if it's against their better judgment. The poor, deluded flock are being charmed into doing just that. Scary!
do you think this could have been an experiment to see how smoothly these events can be processed, and what the reaction is from the rank and file?
it would sure save a lot of money if events like this could replace at least the one day circuit assemblies.
there has to be some recognition that the "flock" is becoming weary and they don't have the funds to be travelling to these events.
Oh, my! This could lead to electronic shunning (which, apparently, exists already to some degree)!
How will disfellowshipped people be relegated to "the back of the bus" status?
What about "associating?" Hebrews 10:25, I think.
Can Kool Aid be prepared in cyberspace?
How will they spy on one another?
Will there be cyber JC meetings?
So many things to work out!
it occurred to me the other day that i am beginning to forget the tunes to all the old kingdom songs i once knew by heart.
so i have started recording myself singing a few of my favourites from the old song book and uploading them to youtube.
and it struck me as i was singing them how many of the old songs have a military theme running through them, with references to warfare, soldiers, weapons and so on.
"It had a savage, barking rhythm that could not exactly be called music." - George Orwell, 1984
the audio file is 1 hour 28 minutes in total.
the first hour is the panel speaking, and the remaining 28 minutes is the questions from journalists.. here is the link.... http://192.185.44.220/media/13austin/podcast/06%20precon_%20the%20continuing%20story%20pf%20clergy%20abuse%20beyond%20roman%20catholics.mp3.
candace conti in particular did an amazing job, and the comments from the journalists show how appreciative they were of her bravery in speaking out on such a personal issue.. bill was also informative with some of the firsthand accounts he was able to give.. .
Phizzy, I'm not a legal expert, but I thought that if a person were subpoenaed to appear in court, and failed to appear, that a bench warrant would be issued, that person would be held in contempt, and subject to arrest and jail time. I don't think appearing is optional if one is served with a subpoena.