Perry, I know what you mean about letting Christ do the work. I grew up in church, was a good kid, had a strong sense of justice and generally wanted to do the right thing. But it was the day I realized that we can't "be good" in our own strength and God never expected us to-- that it all clicked for me and my faith became real. Jesus died for me! And more than that, He is risen indeed :) I hope you had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday with the family.
OutsiderLookingIn
JoinedPosts by OutsiderLookingIn
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25
Happy Resurrection Sunday
by Perry in.
wishing everyone a happy resurrection sunday.... from my family to yours!.
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Hello, I'm new to this site
by ScrewedandConfused inhello, i thought i should introduce myself.
first, i apologize if my writing is not too good because english is not my first language.
my name is art and i am 25 years of age.
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OutsiderLookingIn
One word: RUN. Two words: RUN FAST.
I know it sounds harsh. I can tell you care about her very much and you seem like a considerate and thoughtful person. But what you've said tells me that she cares more about the comfort of familiar relationships than the truth. And if she chooses the cult with the information she's seen, you're setting yourself up for failure. Right now, It's just you and her. Do you think it will be harder or easier to sort things out when you're married and have a child or two?
I'm not that old but oh to be 25 again. You have so much life ahead of you. Don't make decisions based on feelings that may be over sooner than you think. I know it's hard but believe it or not, you survive! Make a clean break while the stakes are low.
Oh, and welcome :)
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My jw friend keeps preaching to me in e-mails
by Queenme indear friends this is my first time posting.
i am not a jw and have never been one but i have a friend who married a jw and converted.
in spite of the bunk barometer going off in my brain over the years and never responding to her efforts to convert me, she just cannot stop preaching.
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OutsiderLookingIn
Queenme, I was just like you. I just thought the JWs were another garden-variety Christian group, didn't really know what cult meant besides legalistic. I have been thoroughly disabused of that notion. The things I have learned...
I don't know how much you want to save the friendship. You're in different countries and if these are your only interactions, there's not much there besides childhood nostalgia. People grow apart; you don't have to stay friends with someone who clearly doesn't respect your previous requests to stop the preaching. If you're ambivalent about the friendship or if you still care about her but don't care if she talks to you anymore, ask her a few questions she can't answer or will have very embarrassing answers. Hadriel gave some good ideas. Or tell her you know she's counting time and share some of the "bad news" about the JWs. There's much to choose from--child abuse, false prophecy, hypocrisy; out and out lying; unscriptural doctrines, etc. With conversations like this, making a placement won't be worth it to her. Be firm but gentle and genuine; she might need you later as a true friend.
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Hashtag "BESTLIFEEVER!!"
by Lostwun inis it just me or does it grind your gears when you see #bestlifeever hashtag after every damn jw post on fb and instagram?.
i rarely get on instagram anymore because i dont want to deal with the jw propaganda but i swear sometimes i just want to comment on one of those pics 'jw life is the worst life ever wake up already'.
does anyone else know what i'm talking about?
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OutsiderLookingIn
I don't think I've ever seen this hashtag. Then again, I'm a mere worldly. But I can say for sure that I would not be impressed or even intrigued. I'd just be annoyed. Those are the people I take off of my FB newsfeed. There's a difference between posting pictures of major life events or exciting trips and humble-bragging (or actual bragging) about nothing. I mean, if I saw a picture of someone standing next to a cart outside the mall with this hashtag, it comes across as insecure and seeking validation for their life choices. It won't get a like or a second look from me. -
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How My Husband Helped Me See TTATT
by corruptgirl ini wanted to write my experience on how my husband helped me see the ttatt (the truth about the truth).
first, let me mention that he wrote his own experience a couple months ago under the name sanchy.
for his story please click here….. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5148261828526080/walking-thin-line-resigning-elder
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OutsiderLookingIn
Welcome, corruptgirl! I'm so glad to hear this! I remember reading Sanchy's story a few months ago and I'm glad it had a happy ending--and so quickly! Your tips are very helpful. I've never been a JW, but I'm challenging a JW I know using only the Bible. I don't know always if it's having an effect but I can definitely tell that his attachment is mostly emotional.
If I recall correctly, Sanchy was being consider for an elder position. I hope you can move away from the WT smoothly and get on with your life raising your children outside the high-control environment.
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After Being Out for 17 Years He is Back In again!!!
by new boy ini called a guy i haven talked with for over two years yesterday.
i met him at bethel back in the 1970's.
david b was known as the g job king back then.
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OutsiderLookingIn
This is the saddest type of story to me. There was another woman away for 20+ years and went back. Crazy town! They never got rid of the idea that all worldly people are evil so it's confirmed when bad things happen or when they met a few bad eggs. I've been worldly my whole life and can honestly say that's just a part of life. Only a newborn baby has never been through anything and I'm not even sure about that; apparently, being born is something of a trauma.
Comfort over integrity is a choice like any other, I suppose. Sad :(
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Lost on how to respond...
by babygirl30 inso an old friend of mine from the congregation hit me up today.
the story goes like this when we were jw's:.
- this guy used to be madly in love with me but i didn't see him as anything more than a friend.
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OutsiderLookingIn
How about:
Thanks for your concern. I'm good. Great, in fact. I don't know whether you can say the same as an elder now, knowing: (proceed to list all the reasons you left).
Take care,
Babygirl
Simple but effective (i.e., most likely, you won't hear from him again). I see no need to refrain from preaching. He did the same, with an emotional hook.
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How to Tell When Someone Is Evangelizing to You Versus Trying to Be a Genuine Friend
by jacobm ini've had this question on my mind for the last two years.
first off, i'm still a follower of jesus.
second, i don't go to church but rather a topical skype bible study with some fellow ex-jws.
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OutsiderLookingIn
It's not quite paranoia as much as caution. I've never been a dub. I don't particularly go for some mega churches. You can't possibly know 10,000 members. The house churches of Acts were much more of a community.
That said, I don't think everyone who invites you to church is being disingenuous about wanting to be your friend. I invite friends or family to my church who show an interest, have mentioned they're looking for a church, or if we're having a special event. It's an open invitation and they're welcome anytime. I don't do this to gain membership for my church but because I attend there (I've picked it from among weeds and can give some sort of personal recommendation). It's not perfect because we're all imperfect but it's doctrinally sound and we're all striving to be more like Christ. I simply don't know that about other churches.
If I extend an invitation and they don't come, I don't stop talking to them. That's a HUGE difference from JWs. My churchgoing friends are the same. I'll give an example.
-When I moved, I was looking for a new church. I visited many I heard about and one on the invitation of a friend. I went once and it wasn't my scene for whatever reason. We're still friends. I'm going to her son's birthday next month.
-I made friends with someone who goes to another church. She invited me but I haven't gone because I feel I'm at my church for a purpose. There are no hard feelings. I'm seeing her tonight in fact. It's not about competition in my mind. I'm glad worship is going on in other parts of the city.
Visit churches as you feel comfortable and take your time. They're not all the same. And there's nothing wrong with just continuing your Bible study in a small group. Church should grow you as a Christian. You don't need a building for that.
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"Ones"
by Joe Grundy in(i never was a dub).. this is something which has intrigued me for a while.
i don't know whether it's dub-speak, or us-speak.. it's the use of the word 'ones' as in 'interested ones', 'worldly ones', 'disfellowshipped ones' and so on and so on.. in the 'normal world' we would probably use the word 'people'.. thoughts?.
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OutsiderLookingIn
Joe, thanks for this OP. It's something I wondered about too, a never dub in the US. All of that to say, it stands out quite a bit to us worldly "ones". Such an affected way of speaking is not by accident. Interesting to hear how subtle, yet powerful, it is in stripping individual identity (you're just a number) and dehumanizing anyone outside the group.
My other least favorite affected/loaded terms: Christendom; true Christian; and system of things. I guess they can't just say the end of the world since the earth won't pass away
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OutsiderLookingIn
Yeah, this is pretty bad. Words fail at something so blatant and shameless So, I'll talk about the art instead...are those cows (and stacks of paper??) in the picture next to the Watchtower sign? Definitely no cows in Brooklyn so looks like they're subliminally preparing people for the move to the boonies.