Posts by Saethydd

26

My Introduction

by Ray Frankz in

this is my first post and i'm feeling like i'm doing something bad big time!

i know on my mind it isn't, but the feelings are less manageable.. well, since i'm still a jw it's better not to give too much info, but i'm from brazil.. i've grown-up in the religion and practicly all my family, my closest friends and my girlfriend are loyal jws.

i used to be a regular pioneer but i still have a service privilege on my congregation.. i've had questions about the teachings of the wt since i was 10, but naturally i always pushed it away as it were "questioning the holy organization".. i started a friendship with some people in a course i took and we talked about a lot of subjects.

Saethydd

Welcome to the forum, hopefully you can find what you're looking for here.

33

My parents found out

by BlackWolf in

jw
friends

so in my last post i talked about how i had told my younger siblings how i didn't plan to get baptized or ever be a witness.

i thought i could trust them but i guess i was wrong, they're just kids after all.

my oldest brother (who's 11) told on me today.

Saethydd

I sympathize with you a great deal, not too long ago my situation was very much like yours. I, however, am the youngest in my family and the only who has thus far woken up. After I realized that my entire life and its "spiritual" goals had been built on lies and delusions I had many conversations with my parents over several months. It was like talking to a brick wall, nothing I said sunk in, no evidence I provided swayed them, they were incapable of conceding a single point in my favor even if they could not answer my arguments.

So, I started leading something of a double-life. I reached out to old acquaintances from college to build true friendships with and met new people as well. I started spending quality time getting to know them while my parents thought I was at the gym or studying. I realized very quickly that it was a situation I could not endure for long because it was tearing me apart. So I started working on finding a place to live and figuring out a budget, saving up money, etc. Until finally about a month ago I had everything I needed to approach my parents and tell them I no longer wished to attend the meetings or try to get reinstated, I had been DF'd about a year earlier, unfortunately I was much like your brother, so eager to get baptized at the young age of 10 years old. (A decision that I was once proud of, but now see as perhaps one of my greatest mistakes.)

They were stunned, to say the least, we talked for a long time. I told them how I was miserable at the meetings and knew that I could not get reinstated feeling this way. They told me that they weren't going to kick me out, but apparently, they spoke later and changed their minds on that. If I wasn't going to the meetings they didn't want me there.

So, I followed my carefully laid plans to where I sit right now. At my desk, in my new room, in a house that I share with true friends. Friends that would never cast me aside because I didn't share their beliefs. It was hard getting here, and it's hard work staying here. I've got three part-time jobs right now and summer classes. My free time is limited, but I'm figuring out to make things work. I miss my family, I miss the people still inside that I once called friends before I realized how tenuous those relationships were, but I don't miss the religion one bit, I don't miss their God, and I'm pretty sure that's because he was never anywhere but my own imagination.

It's not all freedom and good times away from the Organization. Sometimes I do feel sad for what I have lost, but overall, I would say I'm happier now. Finally, for the first time in my life, I don't feel confined by the mental and emotional prison constructed by the Watchtower. Finally, I feel as if I am free to seek my own path instead of following the one I've been forced to walk since birth.

I can't tell you what to do, it's your life, and your choice, but hopefully my story will help you decide.

59

Evolutionist on their deathbed.

by Nimble duck in

i would really like to read the thoughts of an evolutionist as they lie on their deathbed.

their "honest to nogod" thoughts.

their terrors.

Saethydd

I am, hopefully, a long way from my deathbed, but I would rather live my life without a delusional (or at the very least an unfounded) hope that I will somehow escape death. Rather, I will do what I can right now to improve my own life and the lives those around me and try to be content with the existence I have been so fortunate as to have.

If by some chance there is an afterlife, then any god that I would wish to spend an eternity with wouldn't deny billions of people access to that afterlife for failing to believe in it based on the circumstantial or logically fallacious evidence which has thus far been provided for its existence.

18

Books are not dying out and this is not the reason for the WT turning to tablets

by slimboyfat in

there's a popular misconception that books in general are in terminal decline, that this is the reason the wt organisation has turned to tablets instead of print, and this in turn has created a financial crisis for the organisation which traditionally relied upon publishing books for income.

this is wrong on a number of levels.

firstly physical books are not in terminal decline, they are as popular as ever with consumers.

Saethydd

Do you know when exactly they stopped charging for literature? I was unable to find it with a quick Google search.

25

What is the worst type of work or job you have ever had to do?

by stuckinarut2 in

jw
friends

we all need to earn a living.... so just curious, what is the worst type of work or job you have ever had to do?.

Saethydd

Well I'm a millennial, and it seems like the only job I can manage to get while I'm in school and living over an hour from any big city is a fast food job.

9

Contrast Jesus and Einstein

by venus in

jesus did not use his (superhuman) skills to prove the existence of either god or immortality of soul.

further, he did not answer direct, important questions put to him (mathew 21:23-27; luke 22:70 …), and most importantly never defined ego—the root cause of all problems ….

however, einstein, whose business was not spirituality, still defined ego as “optical illusion of consciousness.” this definition helps a lot because when one internalizes the idea that ego is only an illusion, he knows how to effectively deal with it.. .

Saethydd

We have reason to believe that Einstein actually did the many things attributed to him.

Einstein's predictions about Gravitational Waves were definitely written down long enough in advance of their discovery to make the prediction legitimately impressive.

37

What Happens If the JW Beard Policy Stumbles a Person

by Cold Steel in

some of the videos on youtube really make the beard policy look ridiculous.

i wondered what would happen if the jw beard policy caused someone to stumble?

jesus most likely wore a beard, and charles taze russell had a beard.

Saethydd

In that case, it is solely the fault of the person who was stumbled.

116

What is behind your choice of forum user name?

by stuckinarut2 in

jw
friends

just 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.

Saethydd

I have a fascination with Welsh culture that was born from reading the book Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead, so I picked the Welsh word for "archer" because my first foray into ex-JW territority was being done cautiously "from a distance" using the anonymity of the Internet.

38

Who is benefiting from Watchtower Corporation financially

by John Davis in

who do you believe is financially benefiting from watchtower business dealings.

i know about the gold apple watch, but that is only a small percentage of the billions that they have.

so who do you think is keeping all of this money.

Saethydd

I personally believe that most of the higher ups at Bethel are simply delusional true believers and are just naively following the public example and teachings set by the conmen who came before them. I don't really see any individual or group who reflect Rutherford in his building of Beth-Sarim.

So, as far as I know, I don't have much reason to doubt that the majority of the money has gone back into either building projects, writing and distributing their literature, and supporting missionaries. However, those are all a waste of money in my opinion since all they do is promote a narrow-minded and in some ways dangerous ideology.

Once again though, most of the dangerous and controlling aspects of the organization where simply inherited by the people who run it today and they are just trying to rationalize it because they truly believe it be God's will.

23

Should a JW accept Veteran payments?

by Tantalon in

hello people,.

i was born in but long time faded.

i think i hold current jws to a higher standard than they now maintain.. here's the thing; my father is very old, in his nineties and been a jdub for over 60 years and even made it to elder till he got too old.on a recent visit my siblings and dad were saying how wonderful that veterans affairs were.

Saethydd

Not strictly on topic, but as I was reading through this I was thinking "Wow! I thought veterans were usually poorly supported in the US." Then I saw that you're in Australia and it all made sense.