@doubtfully yours - I completely understand. I think of some of my family who are a little older and this is all they have known and have 40 years or more invested in relationships inside the org- It would be hard to start from scratch on the outside and frankly I know so many that just do the bare minimum just to be able to stay in and associate with their friends and family.
mentalclarity
JoinedPosts by mentalclarity
-
70
What made you stay "in" even when you knew it wasn't the "truth"?
by mentalclarity inso i've been thinking a lot about why i stayed a jw for so long even though i had always had doubts about the doctrines.
i was born into the religion, left and came back as an adult for another decade.
some of the things that come to mind (besides the threat of shunning-and this isn't to minimize that very real threat) was:.
-
-
mentalclarity
-
234
Suicide - How many do you know within the JWs
by Lady Lee inthw wts likes to play games with their statistics.
one interesting but truly tragic is the number of jwhovah's witnesses who commit suicie.. now i suspect that if a person commits suicide shortly before or after they are disfellowshipped then the elders would say that person wasn't a witness or that they had done something so terrible that they were too guilty to admit it and by their action of committing suicide they pretty much declared they were no longer a jw.. yup fancy talk to make sure any crap didn't fall on them.. so my question.. do you know of cases like this?
if so then can you answer a few more questions.. had this person been dfed or in real danger of being dfed or whatever the equivalent is if they were never baptized?.
-
-
mentalclarity
My JW uncle- they claimed he had mixed his meds by accident, but there was a note so everyone knew.
Three JW cousins of mine, 1 sibling all attempted while JW. My one cousin was publicly reproved a couple of decades ago because of it. All are still JWs.
-
116
What is behind your choice of forum user name?
by stuckinarut2 injust curious how we all think.. what prompted or influenced your choice of username for this forum?.
there are some really amazing names, and it would be great to hear the stories behind them.... mine was nothing fancy.
i just felt "stuck in a rut too" along with so many others.
-
-
mentalclarity
I originally chose "mentalclearness" when I first left and started posting on this site 10 years ago. For some reason I was having issues signing back in with that username so I chose mentalclarity (I have a limited imagination..haha!)
It's a little ambitious- but just means I see things clearer now than before.
-
23
I started a new podcast about my life as a JW today
by dubstepped inso, i did a thing today.
i officially launched a podcast called "this jw life".
people keep saying that i should write a book, but i don't even read books, unless in audio format.
-
-
mentalclarity
This is awesome! I'm sure it will be helpful to others and yourself. Good luck with the upcoming episodes!
-
70
What made you stay "in" even when you knew it wasn't the "truth"?
by mentalclarity inso i've been thinking a lot about why i stayed a jw for so long even though i had always had doubts about the doctrines.
i was born into the religion, left and came back as an adult for another decade.
some of the things that come to mind (besides the threat of shunning-and this isn't to minimize that very real threat) was:.
-
-
mentalclarity
@millie210 family is the big one too! I don't have any family (siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins) who are not JWs. It would have been easier of at least one family member was not JW.
-
70
What made you stay "in" even when you knew it wasn't the "truth"?
by mentalclarity inso i've been thinking a lot about why i stayed a jw for so long even though i had always had doubts about the doctrines.
i was born into the religion, left and came back as an adult for another decade.
some of the things that come to mind (besides the threat of shunning-and this isn't to minimize that very real threat) was:.
-
-
mentalclarity
@sparrowdown- that's what happened with me too. I stopped going to meetings after hearing a talk by a CO on being "humble". That was the last straw - I just refused to be a drone...and then the doubts about the doctrines were confirmed once I had some distance.
@stuckinarut2 - fear of the unknown is right! or fear that it would be even worse outside. I always think of that movie "The Village" when trying to explain that to some.
-
70
What made you stay "in" even when you knew it wasn't the "truth"?
by mentalclarity inso i've been thinking a lot about why i stayed a jw for so long even though i had always had doubts about the doctrines.
i was born into the religion, left and came back as an adult for another decade.
some of the things that come to mind (besides the threat of shunning-and this isn't to minimize that very real threat) was:.
-
-
mentalclarity
Maybe there are two type of JWs: those that believe and those that don't know any better. Born-ins and converts.
Which makes sense when you think about why some people leave because they find out about doctrinal issues and others leave because of being exposed to nice people who are "worldly" or see the hypocrisy inside the org.
-
70
What made you stay "in" even when you knew it wasn't the "truth"?
by mentalclarity inso i've been thinking a lot about why i stayed a jw for so long even though i had always had doubts about the doctrines.
i was born into the religion, left and came back as an adult for another decade.
some of the things that come to mind (besides the threat of shunning-and this isn't to minimize that very real threat) was:.
-
-
mentalclarity
@chook that seems like the logical thing to do- once you realize it's not true..leave. But in my case, there were some "paybacks" I guess that kept me in a while longer until too many things added up and I'd had enough.
-
70
What made you stay "in" even when you knew it wasn't the "truth"?
by mentalclarity inso i've been thinking a lot about why i stayed a jw for so long even though i had always had doubts about the doctrines.
i was born into the religion, left and came back as an adult for another decade.
some of the things that come to mind (besides the threat of shunning-and this isn't to minimize that very real threat) was:.
-
-
mentalclarity
@freddo I also tried harder at some point- even studying with someone (I think). I thought...all these people I admire in some way really "believe" - it must be me...I must be missing something. It was hard being the lone dissenter when people seemed to really be into it and I was just sitting there going..ok, this sounds nuts! I have to admit I sometimes envied those that believed....
Of course, then I found out I wasn't the only one..glad you did too!
-
70
What made you stay "in" even when you knew it wasn't the "truth"?
by mentalclarity inso i've been thinking a lot about why i stayed a jw for so long even though i had always had doubts about the doctrines.
i was born into the religion, left and came back as an adult for another decade.
some of the things that come to mind (besides the threat of shunning-and this isn't to minimize that very real threat) was:.
-
-
mentalclarity
Yeah @herelgo - that is a big one if you're born into JWism- the whole "where will I go" and will I be successful looms over you. Constantly being told that JWs are like these incredibly special exceptions..you'll never meet people better than this.
My JW sister was commenting to her son how nice it was when coming out of the assembly hall parking lot how everyone let each other pass and were so nice to each other like it was this really spectacular event. I just rolled my eyes and thought how that happens a lot in other church parking lots. Not everyone outside are jerks. But imagine always hearing that since birth- it's deeply ingrained to mistrust everyone outside the org.