Posts by Itsallwrong

48

How many ex-JW's are musicians on here?

by NoRegrets in

just wondering how many of us on here are musicians, what we play, and if we had witness bands and/or performed.

i have had quite a few funny moments of being in bands that wanted to be cool, but always had to nerf the edginess of any songs we played and watch the noise!

i played with different elders who loved to rock out, but when they played at a congregation party didn't even want to use overdrive of any kind!

Itsallwrong

I played saxaphone growing up from about the time I was ten and then switched to guitar around 16. I've played guitar for nine years now and I mostly play Jazz and fusion. I love composition and I'm a little obesessive about theory. I've taught lessons for a long time and ran a music store for several years up until just last year. In July I moved to Chicago from Saint Paul, MN and I've been trying to find a new group to play in. I have some really solid demos from a band I worked with in MN so when I send them out I get a lot of interest back but I've been really selective about who I work with. Just trying to be patient and find something that will be fun and give me a chance to stretch out a little bit.

I never played in a JW band, but I did used to jam with some elders from my kingdom hall in Michigan. I actually do think that my musicianship was a contributing factor to my leaving the religion. I got accepted to Berklee during high school (my high school band teacher helped me record my audition cd and even helped me fill out the application). When my mom found out she was pissed, and with the help of some of the same elders I played guitar with in my congregation she talked me out of going (worldly interactions and all that). She also informed me I would be on my own financially which basically killed any hope I had of going at the time. Of course after that I got pretty depressed for a while and my dear sweet mom blamed the music I listened to for making me that way (apparently Dave Matthews and Eddie Vedder were really bringing me down). I think all that proved to be a really swift kick in the ass in the right direction (out of "the truth").

I feel fortunate for those events, because if they hadn't I may be still stuck reading those collections of endless run on sentences better known as the Watchtower. Also I have a skill that I've worked furiously to achieve on my own and have had the privilege to share that skill with many others. So hopefully that answers your question and didn't use too many parenthesis (probably did though).

32

ex-witness to atheist

by Itsallwrong in

hey all i was a witness most of my life in the lansing area of michigan.

i've glanced at online communities like this before but mostly shyed away from them because after leaving the organization i became an atheist.

i'm not ashamed of it by any means, but these forums and websites seem to be mostly filled with folks who are still religious but just don't agree with the governing body's methods.

Itsallwrong

Thanks for the grettings and the links! They were interesting, it's funny to hear how people stumble upon their beliefs. I think I started down the road to where I am now by first realizing that there was no image of God between the Bible and modern religion that made any sort of logical sense to me. I didn't put two and two together right away, but it's what eventually lead me to atheism.

32

ex-witness to atheist

by Itsallwrong in

hey all i was a witness most of my life in the lansing area of michigan.

i've glanced at online communities like this before but mostly shyed away from them because after leaving the organization i became an atheist.

i'm not ashamed of it by any means, but these forums and websites seem to be mostly filled with folks who are still religious but just don't agree with the governing body's methods.

Itsallwrong

You know I'm always really intrigued that people can realize they're being scammed by religion just to jump to another. I know JW's have a pretty shady history, but it's relatively tame compared to any modern main stream religion (if only for lack of age).

I also find the point that you make interesting. There are so many atheists who add the "spiritual" modifier to their beliefs. It's almost as if you worry about losing a dimension to your existence, or at least a level of complexity by not having some sort of metaphysical aspect in their belief system. I meditate and I'm a musician, so I understand the desire for "spiritualism" and "soulfulness" but don't you feel in the long run that those concepts are just as useless as the God concept. What do you truly define as the spiritual aspect of your atheism?

32

ex-witness to atheist

by Itsallwrong in

hey all i was a witness most of my life in the lansing area of michigan.

i've glanced at online communities like this before but mostly shyed away from them because after leaving the organization i became an atheist.

i'm not ashamed of it by any means, but these forums and websites seem to be mostly filled with folks who are still religious but just don't agree with the governing body's methods.

Itsallwrong

Hey all I was a witness most of my life in the Lansing area of Michigan. I've glanced at online communities like this before but mostly shyed away from them because after leaving the organization I became an atheist. I'm not ashamed of it by any means, but these forums and websites seem to be mostly filled with folks who are still religious but just don't agree with the governing body's methods. I was mostly curious if there were any other ex-witnesses out there who are now atheists and what brought you there? It would be nice to connect with someone who can empathize a bit!