Posts by outnfree

12

new Poster--Finding out I'm Adopted

by WhatNow in

i'm a "long time listener", "first time caller".

i've been eavesdropping on this site for a couple of months now, trying to detach from my beliefs engrained in me for forty years (since birth).

i've finally got the time and the ambition to share my story with you all, since you've so gratiously shared your story with me (electronically).. i'm a 4th generation jw, or perhaps i should say "i was a ..." (old habits die hard).

outnfree

What Now,

You WERE 'adopted', er, 'adapted', ummm, 'abused'!!!

Your parents turned you over to the wicked step-brothers, who have no natural affection in these last days for the lost sheep who goes out from among them!

I am SO relieved that you have read, and learned, and drawn the correct conclusion: SHUNNING is a God-dishonoring practice!

Welcome to this board, where you'll find LOTS of love and support as you extract yourself and your children from years of being told you weren't good enough.

You are!

outnfree

64

Convention Apostatizing Brings Gestapo Response

by outnfree in

jw
friends

my flyers merely said: if as a jehovahs witness, a member of your family has been molested information is available for further information see: www.silentlambs.org or call 1-877-wtabuse.. nothing overtly inflammatory, actually more like a public service announcement.. i guess thats what most of the local organizers and friends thought in my neck of the, woods for the first two days of the district convention!

but once the 'friends' realized that the website i was promoting with my flyers and moving car billboard was not an approved wt site, the powers that be got ... well ... pissed is the word!.

nobody bothered me on friday as i went smiling about my posting flyers on the light and utility poles on the routes to/from the convention site.

outnfree

Esther (and all),

I am, indeed, gratified with the results. The word in the area was that there were 30,000 in attendance. If silentlambs' site got 300+ hits, that's 1% of attendees. I truly, truly hope that most of those were curiosity calls. But, if even 1 was a real victim who as a result of my actions plucked up the courage to call or access the website to get help, it is enough.

Jst2Laws,

I always thought that you WERE a 'person like me'. I have enjoyed your posts, both here and on H2O, your warm humanity, the struggle that you have shared with us.

I agree with Farkel. Fading away is best. IMO, fading away is what will calm your soul as well as allowing you to leave with your dignity intact.

I understand so well what you mean when you say you are presently determined "to show love to all" in preparation for your eventual departure. I felt the same. In fact, I made sure I took care of several undotted i's and uncrossed t's before my da'ing announcement was made. We want to be thought of as GOOD people. We ARE 'GOOD people', but we know that we will be unfairly branded as wicked and evil, and that hurts.

I don't know if you've read this before, but I decided to hand-deliver my DA letter to as many elders as possible to hasten the meeting that would result in my leaving. At several homes, the elders and/or their wives were home and invited me in to share their hospitality. It was very strange, because I knew that a few days later these very same people would be cutting me off as dead. But I nonetheless took the opportunity to be treated as a valuable fellow human (never mind Christian!) and to try to give them gentle clues as well as compliments and loving words by which to remember me.

Arggggghhh!

Farkel said:

If you want to leave their game, then don't play by their rules when you are trying to do so. Put yourself in the frame of mind that their rules are no longer binding upon you and no longer relevant to you.

In hindsight, I agree. I would never have DA'd myself. ESPECIALLY if I had known what the Flock book pointed out about floundering ones.
I would have taken back my power, and gone away COMPLETELY on MY terms, leaving open options for interpersonal relationships that do not exist for me any longer. I feel I could have done this AND remained true to my newfound convictions.

So, I'm sure, can you.

(((((jst2laws))))))
Even your name speaks volumes about your goodness.

outnfree

11

WT June 1, 2001

by Defender in

jw
friends

the wt june 1, 2001 issue contains the article "if god is for us who will be against us?".

in this article the wt talks about identifying the marks of those having god's backing.

in paragraph 6 it quotes jesus words found in mathew 7:15,16 where he says that "be on the watch for false prophets that come to you in sheep's covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves.

outnfree

Thank you, Defender for posting this information and for offering a counter to each point that readers of this board can view and digest prior to it being studied at the Kingdom Hall.

However, JWs will look upon any non JW as worldly and deserving of death, even if that person has a personal faith in Jesus Christ and lives according to Christian principles.

This was a HUGE factor in my decision to leave the WTS. Too many good Christian (and non-Christian!) people out there for God to want to destroy all who were not JWs.

Of course, this article is just a pep talk for the weary, spiritually-starving masses of Jehovah's Witnesses who feel unworthy (because of not doing their utmost for Jehovah[=the Society]) so need to be reminded how very Special they are!

So sad!
outnfree

8

Christ's Resurrection

by bjd4jc in

i know that jw's believe that christ was raised from the dead as an importal spiritual being.

i have a problem with this because jesus said that he would be raised in bodily form.

no jw has been able to explain this scripture to me.

outnfree

Hi, Brian!

My very l-o--n---g life story can be found at this thread http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=3432&site=3

I am, indeed, no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses. I disassociated myself about 3 months ago.

How about you? Is your story posted here?
Looking forward to your reply,

outnfree

16

Prince promises a family-friendly week of music

by Kent in

jw
friends

"the first person to wish me a happy birthday gets dropped in the alligator moat," said prince as he walked into a conference room thursday at paisley park.. the story can be found at:.

http://watchtower.observer.org/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?nocache=1&dato=20010612&kategori=news2&lopenr=10612002&ref=ar.

yakki da.

outnfree

Thanks for the link, Osarsif!
I knew it was a November issue, I just couldn't remember the year!

Thank you, too, Osarsif, for posting the 2001 District Convention Program on an earlier thread. It was a great help to me last weekend to know the starting, lunch, and ending hours so I could have my silentlambs ad in place on my "moving billboard".

freddi,

See?!? It's true! LOL -- I registered to vote in January! (Of course, then I DA'd myself in March...)

outnfree

64

Convention Apostatizing Brings Gestapo Response

by outnfree in

jw
friends

my flyers merely said: if as a jehovahs witness, a member of your family has been molested information is available for further information see: www.silentlambs.org or call 1-877-wtabuse.. nothing overtly inflammatory, actually more like a public service announcement.. i guess thats what most of the local organizers and friends thought in my neck of the, woods for the first two days of the district convention!

but once the 'friends' realized that the website i was promoting with my flyers and moving car billboard was not an approved wt site, the powers that be got ... well ... pissed is the word!.

nobody bothered me on friday as i went smiling about my posting flyers on the light and utility poles on the routes to/from the convention site.

outnfree

Phew!

How lovely, silentlambs.

I think I'll just go away now and have a good cry!
of relief!

outnfree

10

Still don't understand

by Yerusalyim in

jw
friends

how can the witnesses claim jesus returned in 1914 when the bible makes it clear in matt 24 that no one will have to tell us, we will know, just as lightening can be seen streaking across the sky, and all can see it, so will his return be.

followed by acts which tells us that just as jesus was taken up in glory so he shall return.. any jw's wanna do this one?.

yeru.

outnfree

Yeru,

All I can say is that WT teaching on this has been given "new light" over the past several years that have it sounding more and more like traditional Christendom's view of the matter. That Jesus' return (as opposed to his 'presence'/parousia will be evident to all and THEN the judgment of goats and sheep will take place.

This is a question I had after my last WT Study which I brought up in the last elders' meeting I attended. It was due to the way they treated my sincere questions, etc., and the misapplication (IMO)of texts relating to this that I came to the conclusion that I would never be comfortable again inside the Organization. I decided later that same day to let my DA request stand.

Good luck to any JW who tries to explain incorporating the "new light"! LOL Because it doesn't make sense!

outnfree

5

how can I get a newspaper editor to publish an art

by rekless in

jw
friends

why, you ask... well my son was airlifted into a trama center yesterday and was in criticle condition and still is.

i divorced myself from the org.

last week , but my daughter has not spoken to me in a year since my wife , her mother died last july.

outnfree

rekless,

I am sorry to hear of your loss and then the further pain inflicted on you by the members of your family who are blindly following Watch Tower policy by stooping to "snooping" and unloving behavior.

I sense that you are in great pain. And I do hope that your son makes it.

joelbear gave good advice on who to contact for your article.

I noticed your name in chat earlier. I'll look forward to meeting you there sometime.

outnfree

64

Convention Apostatizing Brings Gestapo Response

by outnfree in

jw
friends

my flyers merely said: if as a jehovahs witness, a member of your family has been molested information is available for further information see: www.silentlambs.org or call 1-877-wtabuse.. nothing overtly inflammatory, actually more like a public service announcement.. i guess thats what most of the local organizers and friends thought in my neck of the, woods for the first two days of the district convention!

but once the 'friends' realized that the website i was promoting with my flyers and moving car billboard was not an approved wt site, the powers that be got ... well ... pissed is the word!.

nobody bothered me on friday as i went smiling about my posting flyers on the light and utility poles on the routes to/from the convention site.

outnfree

JT,

I did consider that the "evil slave beating his brothers" mentality would kick in and that the eyes would glaze over, the brains go dim, etc.

However, if I helped just ONE Witness to see that there was help and understanding out there for JW victims, I would consider that reward enough for all the reviling that is perhaps being heaped around my head as a result.

What good will the Dateline program do? Same response would be typical.

I consider what I did to also be consciousness-raising so that when the program publicity trailers come on air for Dateline and JayDubs see them, the ones who saw my mobile billboard will perhaps react with more curiousity and find themselves unable to resist viewing the program. It will "click" as to what I was all about (I'm hoping, at least.)

Please remember, too, that the ad I was parading around with did NOT slam the WT. (I specifically didn't choose, for example, Pedophiles in Paradise?) One would have to actually visit the website to see that it was anti-Watch Tower POLICY and that other members are suffering because of it.

Since they got riled up by Sunday AM, I've got to think that at least ONE elder actually DID visit the website (or at least called Brooklyn if they didn't already realize what 'silentlambs' meant). <-- I'll take it!

outnfree

5

DNC update and request.

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

the dnc site is approaching its final format.

arrangements are in place to have it enabled to accept online payments for memberships soon.

importantly, this will include an affiliate scheme for other quality sites such as ajwrb, silentlambs, freeminds, watchtower-observer and, of course, jehovahs-witness.com.

outnfree

Nic',

You know I'm supportive of your efforts, but I just clicked onto the DNC website earlier this morning before your post appeared.

Will the general public CARE that Jehovah's Witnesses aren't supposed to practice oral sex? I think not. I think, rather, that seeing that topic on page one would be a "Conversation Stopper" (LOL!) and might make someone want to think twice about subscribing.

I fully realize that this teaching was a major thorn in the side of many Witness couples -- especially those with unbelieving mates -- but do we really want to invade the bedroom as the WTS does?

Perhaps someone could write an article under the personal experiences area that touches on how this prohibition caused intermarital strife, but IMHO it does not belong under the educating the public area on the home page.

Thanks for all you do!
outnfree