with all of the bat-shit crazy propaganda of late, i'm considering talking to my wife about the cult.
we have had zero religious discussions for two years.
the last discussion ended with ,"you have no beliefs, no personal beliefs, because you change your "beliefs" when the wtbts writes an article.
"Wifey, you are going to hear some bat-shit crazy things at the RC. None of it will happen. The children who you see at the KH will all graduate High School in the next decade. We will bury our parents. The old ones at the KH will be gone. We will continue to get older, and then we are next to go. There's no overlapping generation and the "Evil Slave" in not hypothetical. ( I have to use the Bible angle for now.) Are you going to remember what I've just said in 10 - 20 years??"
Amen
great news!.
we are free!.
as of the 9th of june, me and my dear wife mrs. eden handed over our letters of disassociation at bethel in portugal, thus making official our departure from the jehovah's witnesses.
Liberdade!
two men who changed watchtower history but you never heard of them!
cults are famous for control--especially controlling information about people, places and events which are embarrassing to their self-myths.. especially is this true for two important figures in watchtower history.. .
the first man is william f. hudgings.
Interesting read.
for those of you who are still in because of family circumstances, what do you do about field service?
do you still go regularly, sporadically or not at all?.
if you do still go, how do you manage?
Wait for it; you said "The only reason I'm even entertaining the thought of going is because of my kids. Getting DF or DAing, wouldn't bother me a bit, but it would restrict me from being around my kids when they are at gatherings and such."
No judging here, just relating where I'm at with all this obligation and guilt they try to instill in us. You need to do what works for you and your sanity. What works for me might not work for your circumstance or visa versa. I'm playing the offended brother card to the hilt.
I told the last couple of elders, that I had contact with "until Jehovah corrects the issues I will keep my distance so as not to create division in the congregation." Got to say it works they have pretty much back off and don't bother us much. We get the occasional, "need your time calls". But other than that, I avoid them like the plague.
for those of you who are still in because of family circumstances, what do you do about field service?
do you still go regularly, sporadically or not at all?.
if you do still go, how do you manage?
Its nice to know many feel your pain and know where you are coming from, this community has help me so much. In a couple of week I will need to go to the convention and try not to show my true self. Kind of, like the movie "Invasion of the body snatchers" where they all turn around, scream and point "apostate!"
for those of you who are still in because of family circumstances, what do you do about field service?
do you still go regularly, sporadically or not at all?.
if you do still go, how do you manage?
Reading this op made me realize what a sad existence we have been forced to live. I did this for awhile until my conscience got the best of me, I just can't go out and preach something I don't agree with. So I stopped going out in service, quit my bible study's and family worship. The more I discovered the more I detest even looking at their literature. Just makes me sick to think, what my life could of been if it wasn't for the Watchtower. So I wont propagate this lifestyle or mental manipulation onto anyone else. I've reported and donated goose eggs for almost 3 years now. So i'm inactive, bad association and spiritually weak............at least I have my sanity.
i last updated you guys almost 2 years ago here.. i thought i'd post an update.. the peace i discovered having decided to let the angst, worry and fear over what to believe is as strong as ever, although i am keeping more abreast of what jw.org (formerly known as wtbts) is up to, and i never cease to be shocked and surprised.. as my last post mentioned, i split from the jw girl i married in 1993 and both of us have moved on with new partners that better fit who we are as grown adults, rather than the children we were 23 years ago.. my partner has no religious background whatsoever, although her children are being raised as catholics by their father.
hearing her kids openly doubt, question and even ridicule the religion is heartwarming and exactly the way it should be.. as for my children, they continue to be a never-ending stream of joy and pride.. my oldest son is now 16, having been only 8 years old when we left the watchtower.
he had big anxiety problems for a while afterwards, worrying about armageddon etc.
Glad you dropped by and updated the community on your progress. Hope your health improves and your journey continues in good health, heart disease sucks. I wish more of the old posters would drop by and encourage those just waking up and leaving this cult. Many are unsure if they made the right decisions or question if things will ever get better, your story gives many hope.
Best of luck to you my friend.
one sentence answers only.. here's mine:.
jws exist because people want an escape from the modern world and are willing to give up intellectual freedom to get it..
"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people" (More so the JW's)
the wts has gone off the rails and is "unrepentantly" hateful.
they are blatantly requiring mothers and fathers to disown/hate their own children that they have loved and cared for since birth simply because they don't comply with the orgs demands.
how is this love?
I will be going to the convention end of July. I don't know how I will get through it, but I do know I will need alcohol to recover afterwords. I will probably stay at the hotel one day with sever stomach issues, aka pool day.
i've been awake now for a good while.
about a year.
in that year i've done a lot of soul searching and thinking about god and religion etc.... as i'm sure most all of us have who've left this cult.
Thanks for sharing that, I really enjoyed reading it. I agree with everything you said and I'm in the same state of mind. Being happy is about being content with who you are and what you have regardless of your situation. Improving your lifestyle and economic situation is important but should not be paramount to your happiness. Otherwise you might be miserable your entire life. I know people who cannot be happy until they have the latest and best things on the market, their convinced that this will make them happy. Then later this cycle begins again with a new trendy product, never happy.
As far as God, well the proof is in the pudding. Religious people live in a constructed reality, believing that this is not the real life that we are just foreigners passing through a desolate place a wicked world. That our real life is in the future a Utopian fantasy, were our every desire will be fulfilled. Our life is thus postponed, nothing really matters, God will take care of it. We can shun or discard our loved ones, not to worry, God will bless us like Job and give us 10 time what we lost. If we die a martyr because of blood, neutrality or whatever the case it doesn't matter because this life is worthless and god will grant you a perfect everlasting life. What a waste!
Thinking about my mortality, this last week reading and watching the news about the passing of Muhammad Ali and prince, forced me to consider my own mortality. No one has ever escaped death, no one and I shall be no exception. No matter how strong, rich, beautiful you are or intelligent, we shall all return to the inescapable state of nothing that we came from. So I consider this life a one time gift to be, to exist and be part of this cosmic symphony, happening regardless of my presence. That to me is poetry, that to me is life.
MC
