Posts by pale.emperor

39

Hello

by UnshackleTheChains in

jw
friends

i decided to join this forum as have been lurking awhile.

there are lots of interesting topics on here that appeal to me.. i have been a witness for almost 3 decades and am very disillusioned with the organisation at this time.

i am beginning to see it in a new light as i am getting older.

pale.emperor

Hello UTC. Nice to have you here. There's some great people on here that have helped me since leaving. I look forward to your posts.

58

What's The First "Worldly" Thing You Did When You Exited The Cult?

by pale.emperor in

when you finally and officially exited the cult, whether it be by disfellowshipping, disassociating or fading - what was the first things you did that are considered "worldly"?.

for me, it was like crash landing on another planet that looked like earth but was completely different to the earth i knew.

i wanted to learn everything that i thought i already knew.. first things i did:.

pale.emperor

Im growing marijuana. Got it down like a real science. Never used the stuff but for some reason growing it is so interesting and exciting for me.

25

The J.W fishpond of marriage mates! How many of us married a idiot!! No choice.

by Witness 007 in

what a horror.

instead of there being "more fish in the sea" our marriage mates came from the small and crapy witness pond.

anyone got burned by going with mr or mrs you will have to do?

I married an elders daughter who had no idea what the religion is all about but somehow managed to get baptised. Marriage soured quickly due to her being a poster girl for gestapo type snitching they encourage you to do on your "loved ones". The only thing we had in common was that we were JWs. So since I faded she left. I'm now with a hot Portuguese girl that thinks I'm just the best thing in the world

59

Counting time

by Emma in

i may not have put this in the correct spot, but i do think it's scandalous the way time gets counted now.

i've seen a cart at the edge of our farmer's market, never anyone close enough to talk.

yesterday was a drizzly day and there were two carts set up, covered in plastic, "witnessing" on their own.

pale.emperor

I remember when you couldn't count anything less than half an hour. Then they changed that rule to let you record 15mins. And lo and behold the number of hours shot up... it doesn't take a genius to realize that all those 15mins add up!!

Even when i was in i saw through that.

58

What's The First "Worldly" Thing You Did When You Exited The Cult?

by pale.emperor in

when you finally and officially exited the cult, whether it be by disfellowshipping, disassociating or fading - what was the first things you did that are considered "worldly"?.

for me, it was like crash landing on another planet that looked like earth but was completely different to the earth i knew.

i wanted to learn everything that i thought i already knew.. first things i did:.

pale.emperor

When you finally and officially exited the cult, whether it be by disfellowshipping, disassociating or fading - what was the first things you did that are considered "worldly"?

For me, it was like crash landing on another planet that looked like earth but was completely different to the earth i knew. I wanted to learn everything that i thought i already knew.

First things i did:

Joined the labour party

Read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

Read Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche

Caught the philosophy bug because of Nietzsche and read Sartre

Studied buddhism in a big way

Stopped praying before meals as i no longer believe in god/gods/goddesses (i still have to stop myself sometimes, it was so ingrained in my to pray before eating)

Watched the exorcist

Joined a life drawing class

Started studying for A levels

Charity work

It's safe to say that im a happier, more outgoing, more honest and content person since my exit. Even witnesses that are supposed to be shunning me have commented on the change in me. One even said "You look happy in this world. But arnt you sorry for leaving? You're acting like your not sorry." They're right. Im not sorry. Not at all.

21

The Cult Guide To Raising Children

by pale.emperor in

something you're not likely to see in the "secret to family happiness" book.

the borg's guide to raising children:.

put the borgs needs, desires and agenda before the children every time, all the time.

pale.emperor

My mum used to snoop around my room when I lived there. One time when I got home she had a book shed found in my room in her hands waving it around annoyed and yelled "what's this your reading about evolution?!! Rubbish!! Trash!! Wisdom of men!!"

i said "mum, that's one of the society's books"

it was the book LIFE: HOW DID IT GET HERE? BY CREATION OR EVOLUTION?

So yeah, she was right : rubbish, trash, wisdom of men.

54

According to one JW there can only be 1 of 3 reasons why you left.

by Bonsai in

i asked an old jw friend of mine why so many baptized individuals leave the jw religion.

"did it ever occur to you, old friend, that maybe they know something that you don't know and have valid reasons for leaving?

", i asked.. his response set me back for an answer.

pale.emperor

One elder answered up about the satanic, demonic thing that is hypnosis. Im actually well read in hypnosis and know what it is and what it isnt. The WT mags made silly claims and outright lies about it. It was then that i knew they were talking out their ass and decided to visit JWFacts. I binged for a whole day on there and came away feeling sad then angry then numb. Then read Crises Of Conscience and i was awake.

33

"You Can Do Just Enough Ministry To Dislike It"

by pale.emperor in

when you were "in" did you ever actually enjoy the ministry?

and i made no secret about it.

instead i would joke about me feather knocking, and made sure i had my bible in hand so as they come to the door they know what im about so they can shut me down before i even start.. i always wondered how or why there were people who enjoyed it.

pale.emperor

When you were "in" did you ever actually enjoy the ministry? I never did. And i made no secret about it. Instead i would joke about me feather knocking, and made sure i had my bible in hand so as they come to the door they know what im about so they can shut me down before i even start.

I always wondered HOW or WHY there were people who enjoyed it. Did they really enjoy it or were they just saying it? It's like The Emperor's New Clothes, everyone pretending they can see something that isnt there because they're "supposed" to.

In the experience parts in Thursday meetings the pioneers would always say "well, you can do just enough ministry to not enjoy it" which is saying that if you dont enjoy it its because you're not out there enough. Whenever i worked with elders on the ministry i always said i dont enjoy the ministry and i think people are more likely to ask questions in work or in casual conversation. That door to door surely must feel intrusive in this day and age. Like when you get a charity collector with a clipboard in town trying to get you to sign up. You avoid them and if you do get caught you cant get rid of them unless you sign up (or take their mags).

10

Apologizing to my non-JW friends

by pale.emperor in

yesterday i bumped into an old friend from my last workplace.

he's a gay man and we were good friends along with a woman from the same office.

although i was a jw at the time, i would go for the occasional after work drinks with them, blackpool funfair every year and the occasional cinema or theater.

pale.emperor

This is what normal friendships are like isn't it, up and down but we don't give up on them.

You're right Xanthippe. It's still strange to me that real friends (those outside the cult) can just move on from any negative air we might have had. That never happens with the JW's. No matter what they print in their mags about forgiveness.