Cappytan, if you want to leave this thing and still have a faith in God, study. Read apologetics websites. Read the New Testament. Notice how often Jesus is mentioned next to God, and notice how often he's mentioned in wt literature or in talks or comments. It's completely different, and this is a result of brainwashing. Even when scriptures are read about Jesus, follow up answers will be about Jehovah. Witnesses have changed the bible. Get yourself a good version. Some include Yahweh in the Old Testament as it should belong, but don't add It wherever the heck they want to in the New Testament, where it shouldn't. There is absolutely no case for adding it there. Do some research. Get out your interlinear Greek Scriptures bible. The purple one. It helped me immensely!!! When you've researched every single thing witnesses differ from mainline churches on, then read about fundamentalism. It helped me a lot to move from fundamentalism. It's the only way that I can have a faith, because I have a scientific mind. We can talk about these issues later. But I am completely at peace now, I have a strong faith, I am part of a very good church community, where people care about each other but they don't judge each other (seriously!) and there's just a lot of worshipfulness gratefulness and joy.
FayeDunaway
JoinedPosts by FayeDunaway
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A Mind at War
by cappytan inright now, i feel like my mind is at war with itself.. on the one side is reason, logic.. on the other is tradition, hope and fear.. reason and logic are challenging life-long beliefs.
they are telling me, "is this any more believable than the story of the lord of the rings?".
certain doctrines of my belief system are crumbling.. my mind still wants to hold on to the belief in a creator, his son jesus and the bible.
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Lets pretend jw's disappeared
by atheist_R_stupid inand joined your ranks.... this means...youre talking about a people, that currently are pushing no sex till marriage.
that would end and join into the messages you currently push regarding youths and sex.
that would be sex, with condoms.
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FayeDunaway
Whatever it takes, man. We know it's not easy. -
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Lets pretend jw's disappeared
by atheist_R_stupid inand joined your ranks.... this means...youre talking about a people, that currently are pushing no sex till marriage.
that would end and join into the messages you currently push regarding youths and sex.
that would be sex, with condoms.
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FayeDunaway
I bet you're counting your time, aren't you. -
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How much real Integrity does the average JW have ?
by Phizzy inconsider the definition of integrity given below :.
" the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.. "a gentleman of complete integrity".
synonyms:.
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FayeDunaway
However, many are really stuck because of family situations, so they TRY to believe, try to make it work. I did this for many years myself. I really don't want to criticize those who do think for themselves but just can't get out of it. It's a huge step and a cruel situation. -
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How much real Integrity does the average JW have ?
by Phizzy inconsider the definition of integrity given below :.
" the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.. "a gentleman of complete integrity".
synonyms:.
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FayeDunaway
Atheist r stupid.... you might want to add another 's' at the end of atheist to make it plural. -
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How much real Integrity does the average JW have ?
by Phizzy inconsider the definition of integrity given below :.
" the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.. "a gentleman of complete integrity".
synonyms:.
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FayeDunaway
Actually fremind, my best friends husband is an inactive witness accountant, and he says his (many) witness clients aren't honest with their taxes and try to get away with paying less than they owe all the time.
do they have true integrity? I think in a cult you can't call it true integrity. Integrity is holding to your own principles, using your own mind, and then being true to that. I agree with Morpheus. This following blindly what other people tell you is weak mindedness.
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New member, no longer just reader...
by freemindfade inso i joined very recently and began posting and commenting without a formal intro.
been reading for a while, decided it was time to jump in.
mentally i am completely cleansed of this thing, but still have to maintain a minimal involvement for spouse and family.
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FayeDunaway
Thanks fremind! Billy did the new songs at all compare with that 'singing kingdom melodies' tape fiasco of the mid 90's? THAT was painful to listen to!! Funny how no sister got a solo :P but they were the only decent singers! -
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An Elder Reads CoC !!
by TTATTelder ini have recently joined the site.
i was just appointed an elder this summer.
i started discovering the ttatt (the truth about the truth) last year after putting a few things together myself concerning the leadership and then doing some research online.. i really enjoyed jwfacts.com, jwsurvey, and others.
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FayeDunaway
Shoot te, I was confusing you a bit with fremind fade, I asked him those questions! Sorry about that. Just getting used to it here. -
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An Elder Reads CoC !!
by TTATTelder ini have recently joined the site.
i was just appointed an elder this summer.
i started discovering the ttatt (the truth about the truth) last year after putting a few things together myself concerning the leadership and then doing some research online.. i really enjoyed jwfacts.com, jwsurvey, and others.
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FayeDunaway
Thanks TE!! I also asked you a few questions in another post of yours, if you have time.
I agree with the other advice others have given you, don't be pushy, just point out things occasionally. The worst part of this org is that it tears families apart. So hard to be patient tho!! I know, I almost went crazy!! Field service, ugh!! What I did was try to learn from householders during service, lol. It actually directed me to the religion I'm in now. You may not want a new religion, but use this time to keep your eyes and ears open to things around you. Not sure you still believe in God, but I fully believe he helped direct me where I needed to go for myself, just by things I came across on the way out.
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New member, no longer just reader...
by freemindfade inso i joined very recently and began posting and commenting without a formal intro.
been reading for a while, decided it was time to jump in.
mentally i am completely cleansed of this thing, but still have to maintain a minimal involvement for spouse and family.
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FayeDunaway
Free mind, thanks for the update on the carts! Yes I'm sure they are looking back to their periods of history when they had the biggest growth percentages and trying to repeat what worked. It's a very different world now, tho. I've been curious about all the focus on their website...aren't they concerned that people who Google it, even sincerely trying to look for the official site, will see all the apostate sites listed on the same page?? I mean it's not like they can say in their literature, or on the street, 'be very careful to type the website name exactly as it appears here, or you will see lots of stuff we don't want you to see!!'
what percentage of door to door work has been cut back to stand by the carts, do you think?
And yes I had noticed the extreme dumbing down of their literature. One of my sons friends had magazines on her coffee table when I went to pick him up from a play date...a witness had been by. Everything was super simple, sugar coated, positive, childlike. Don't people get around to coming to the Sunday meeting and during the study see and hear the real version of it and say 'whoa!'
Freeminds, one more question for you!!! Sorry but it's been a few years since I've been keeping up, what is this joke about 'I guess we believe in the rapture now!' referring to?? And any other new doctrinal changed since 2010? I occasionally talk to my parents but they avoid any discussion of religion.
you said most people probably have doubts but say 'where else would we go?' I know most don't turn to another religion, but I did. A tradition liberal Christian one, and you CAN have that same good community feeling, but without the judgmentalism and all the bad stuff. I've found a second family for which im so thankful. Reading the New Testament during a particular convention instead of listening to an abrasive circuit overseer was the start of it. They're stuck in the Old Testament, not embracing true gratitude for Jesus' sacrifice for our complete redemption..but instead always worried about following the rules. Pharisees, at their hearts. During meetings when I was fading I had to constantly tap my foot just to keep from screaming. I like Ding's suggestions, above. I did those things, but it was still so hard. You need to get out. I have to go read your other posts to see if the wife is making progress! My husband came out of it, but it was easier, since he didn't grow up in it and had a family outside. His father, who was dying at the time, was a wonderful man who would have given his life for us and his grandkids. During this time we went to the DC and it was the dama that said 'no one can truly love you unless they also love Jehovah.' Blatant, hurtful lie. That one helped!
Sorry so long!! I hope you answer my questions!!