Posts by Ucantnome

33

A sucker is born every minute

by Sour Grapes in

i was an elder in the 1970's and i was not a big fan of the "stay alive until 75" dogma.

i was looked down upon by the heavy hitters on the body of elders and in time i changed my mind.

i knew of the failed prophecy of 1914 being the end of all times which was repeated for the year 1925...yet i came to believe well maybe this time they've got it right.. with every new watchtower, i combed over every word to find support for my change in my belief that the end was coming in fall of 1975. at the district assembly in 1975, everyone clung onto every word in the final talk.

Ucantnome

I think that prior to the Watchtower being published Pastor Russell believed that 1914 would be the end of the gentile times. I find that I cannot prove that from God's viewpoint this did not happen

I believe the Witnesses view 1919 as the birth of the nation and we find there are millions of JW since then and the anointed going to heaven from that time forward, I cannot prove hasn't happened.

We do find them claiming to be anointed and commissioned to engage in the witness work of the events of 1914 which they do on a worldwide scale supposedly in fulfilment of Matthew 24:14, I believe.

No doubt many realize that the king isn't wearing any clothes, but they dare not say one negative word because they would rather believe in a lie and stay in the congregation rather than believe the truth and be set free.

So although like you I was there in 1975 and our family had simplified our lives and I was pioneering and today I no longer attend the Kingdom Hall or engage in the work. I feel I am no longer convinced of the message we preached but do not feel that I can comment on whether they are anointed or were commissioned in 1919 I therefore can understand that some maybe convinced of this even though they recognize some errors of the past.

70

If you believe in nothing, then how do you know JW's are wrong?

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

many who leave the witnesses go on to affirm other recognisable sets of beliefs.

some become christians of various sorts, others tend toward patriotism as a kind of rejection of the anti-patriotic stance of the watchtower, while yet more simply affirm in general the secular values of mainstream society.

do you believe jehovah's witnesses are wrong?

Ucantnome

no looter they maybe right but I'm not convinced

46

"You will never grow old in this present system of things" -- some campaign tools

by FatFreek 2005 in

i am approaching 76 years old.

i can clearly recall that awake!

statement and similar during the pre-1975 hype -- "staying alive in '75", et al.

Ucantnome

I cry inwardly for those who bought in to that influence, giving themselves permission to take the easy way out as to advanced education.

I didn't find being a regular pioneer an easy way out

My children went to university and one has a phd and recieved an award for it being the best in the university. I know what they did and I know what I did.

70

If you believe in nothing, then how do you know JW's are wrong?

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

many who leave the witnesses go on to affirm other recognisable sets of beliefs.

some become christians of various sorts, others tend toward patriotism as a kind of rejection of the anti-patriotic stance of the watchtower, while yet more simply affirm in general the secular values of mainstream society.

do you believe jehovah's witnesses are wrong?

Ucantnome

Do you believe Jehovah's Witnesses are wrong?

for me it's more to do with being asked to join with them in the preaching and not being able to do so anymore as I cannot justify the message.

whether they are right or wrong isn't why i left.

11

Planning ahead for the desires of the flesh.

by Xanthippe in

i've just booked some cinema tickets for later today and also ordered a book i want to take on holiday.

from nowhere that scripture they were always quoting at us came to me, something about don't be planning ahead for the desires of the flesh.

you always had to be planning spiritual, theocratic stuff, entertainment and pleasure were a bit dodgy, better not tell anyone.

Ucantnome

we were just reminiscing about the years I never took a day off from work other than Christmas as I was raised with the viewpoint vacations were wrong, materialism.

29

"Inactive" non Attenders, how much power do the JW's have over YOU ?

by Phizzy in

i was thinking about this because of the constant reminders we get in posts that we inactive non attenders have to be careful what we say to jw's, and what we do that they may learn about etc, if we don't wish to be before a j.c. the power they have is limited by what we give them.

now, i do not wish to be declared df'd of da'd, it would kill my old mum i think.. but i refuse to live my life looking over my shoulder, that, in my opinion, is giving them too much power.. i openly vote, i openly donate blood, i enjoy the odd cigar etc etc.. how much power do you allow them to have over you ?.

Ucantnome

more than i like. I work at killing the emotion.

17

Not too my son...

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

will i say " orlando, your hair is too long, and needs to be cut short" and never will i say " orlando, invites to birthday parties can't be accepted".

and i will buy my son books he wants to read, books that bring him happiness, and that he understands.

and by so doing, i hope he will acquire happy memories of his childhood, so that the sensitive and delicate, in him will be allowed to grow.

Ucantnome

I had two discussions this week, one with my brother and the other with one of my children.

The discussion with my child revolved around being a member of another church and being a vicar. I think there are some benefits to being part of a community and partaking. Although I'm not.

Being raised as a JW now has very limited benefits. My parents were strict witnesses and we were good witness children. I think we would have survived the GT.

This means we lost out. As I said to my brother I never had a present. I never done anything with my father that was enjoyable I have no good memories with my parents

I knew what i wanted to do for living at 9 and never did it. I have no real pension and have worked harder than i should have.

My children are well educated and we have a good relationship.

21

Describe your witness self, then describe yourself now.

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

my witness self :-very hollow, slightly lofty, characteristically judgemental, overwhelmingly convincing.. my non-witness self:- and in my imperfect way no longer taking the passive attitude to reality, and most importantly no longer feeling an outsider with my " true" friends..

Ucantnome

I was raised as a JW and i don't feel that i've changed much since I left. Some of the changes are probably more to do with getting older. I have less anxiety than I did.

I've seen a few plays that I wouldn't have seen when I was a witness and done a few things that I wouldn't have done. Took a while to be able to buy my kids toys near to Christmas without having to check who was in the shop and buying an Easter egg meant wearing a disguise. Now i'm able to go to the LGBT theatre and smoke cigars with no problem. Laying on the floor drunk I was able to do when I was a Witness.

40

Woman's Purpose

by StopTheTears in

jw
friends

i'm probably going to say some things here that will disappoint many.

there are some that may look back over the years and say "man i really blew it" i'm not writing the following to scold for failures, but rather to help those who are young enough to put into practice what god wills for their life, and also to those of us who are in our middle years that still have time to change some things, in order to please god and find a peace that only being in his will can bring.

first let me say that god didn't create man for you.

Ucantnome

God made a woman to sit in the audience

This is like my wife. Whenever i do a job around the house or garden she gets a chair and sits and watches. She could help but she feels she is by saying how well I'm doing or not doing.

20

Why ex-JW's so knowledgeable when it comes to the Bible?

by James Mixon in

over the years here on this site i have found over half of the folks can hold their own with any minister.. why when we leave the borg we become proficient on any subject on the bible.. why did we go down that road?

my intention was to get close to jehovah (searching the bible), but i. guess i found lucifer.

i'am ask all the time, how did you go from a true believer to calling the bible a book.

Ucantnome

I have enjoyed reading the bible more since I left and I'm still a.Christian.