Posts by FayeDunaway

30

Life after the witnesses, friends, faith etc

by Theburstbubble in

jw
friends

hi everyone, this is my first post so go easy on me :) i have been a witness all of my life (i'm 37) and truly believed it until 3 years ago.

my husband and i had become spiritually weak and over time i began to question more and more until i came to the conclusion that the witnesses were not the true religion but just one of many religions and that if god is there then there are many paths to get to him.

anyway, i've battled with keeping going as my husband still believed and i didn't want to be in a divided household as we have a young daughter and thought it would be very confusing for her (and us).

FayeDunaway

All of us are different. For me, I found the deepest faith I ever had by studying the Bible on my own. I compared NWT scriptures with other translations, especially focusing on Jesus' relative position with his Father. Long story short, this led me to the nice liberal Protestant mainline church im in now. I chose really carefully, based on how openminded the believers were and how much diversity of thought and if they valued education and independent thinking. Also it's not a huge church and the people there are like family now. Actually one of the older couples is like my children's grandparents. Truly. I've made a lot of other friends by pursuing hobbies and volunteering at school etc., but the church friends are the best ones. It was huge for me to walk in the first time and sit down. I actually cried through the whole service, I must have looked like an absolute nut. It was kind of a joyful mourning. It went against everything I had ever been taught. It felt like I was betraying everyone I ever knew. But it was where I was dying to be for a few years, and I finally faded and got there.

Most of us exJWs seem to become atheist. But I needed God in my life, and I'm happy this way and feel like it's right for me and and it's brought me many, many good things. And Christmas and Easter at church are absolutely amazing. I really really love it all. Well a couple of people annoy me but mostly it's all just hugely wonderful and a really important part of my life that I just couldn't live without.

46

JWs nearly killed my mother

by cookiemaster in

the past week has been hell for me.

my mother started feeling ill and we went to seek medical assistance.

we live in the mountains and the nearest large hospital is about 150 kms away.

FayeDunaway

They pressure you not to take blood because it's such a sacred symbol of LIFE yet they dont care a rat's ass about LIFE itself.

Thank you for working so hard to keep your mom alive despite people working against you. What an incredibly harrowing experience.

19

Anyone seen this new "Bad Association" video at the Convention yet?

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

i read on another thread (on another forum) where someone mentioned a truly guilt-inducing, cringe-worthy, "bad association" video that was played at this summers rc's.

here is how that person described it:.

"the video about "bad association" was really weird.

FayeDunaway

Nobody got AIDS, pregnant or became a drug addict?? What is that religion coming to??

20

Social changes- 50% of British youth think they may be a 'little' bit gay

by fulltimestudent in

this is an amazing social change, and bring humans closer to reality.. from the independent - a british newpaper.

a survey reports:.

read the full story at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/yougov-poll-homosexuality-half-young-people-10458032.html.

FayeDunaway

Um, I'm going to venture to say most of that 50% is women, because almost all of us are a little bit in love with eachother. I mean come on, we're gorgeous, how can we not be??

21

i made my sister cry :(

by BlackWolf in

jw
friends

so lately i've felt so frustrated and overwhelmed that i had to tell someone how i felt.

my parents were gone so i decided to talk to my sister.

we've always been close so i thought i could trust her because we have talked about it before.

FayeDunaway

Yep, say you were thinking too extremely that day, and you really need to do more personal study, but do say you think it's wise to keep one's mind open (and this may help your sister keep her mind open too).

5

John 13:35.

by Sabin in

so my husband believes the wording in john 13:35 is wrong.

instead of saying, "by this all will know that you are my disciples-if you have love among yourselves".

it should say "by this all will know that you are my disciples-if you have love for yourselves".

FayeDunaway

I didn't catch the sarcasm either and thought it was a strange comment, but yeah, they do act as if it says 'for' yourselves, especially in all their self congratulation and adoration, 'oh, we are sooo special!!'

34

JW to SDA anyone do it ?

by Introvert 2 in

a couple friends pointed me to some info on the sabbath and i just plain like it, being the workaholic i am it's a lifesaver for me and gives me the motivation to be more balanced about my business and work schedule.

so from there i looked into the adventists and found a hall near my place and went last week.

i honestly enjoyed myself and the meeting time is not disruptive and the people were great and pretty laid back.

FayeDunaway

SDA is the watchtower's sweet (vegetarian) Aunt Mary who lives to be a hundred because of her healthy lifestyle and encouraged you to get an education.

If you are religious and sabbath appeals to you that much and using the name Jehovah in prayer makes you feel warm and fuzzy, go for it.

37

I don't want the Watchtower's version of paradise.

by StarTrekAngel in

i am writing this in the hopes that it may help someone in a debate.

i personally have not had a chance to discuss it with anyone but that is true for most other topics.

i think is a good one to analyze.

FayeDunaway

True, Star Trek angel, I've yet to see a 'paradise' picture that looks like the Badlands (amazingly beautiful, actually) or the Southwest. They're all New England or Switzerland. Which is fine, but variety is the spice of life.

Real nature, now, is way more beautiful than those treacly 'paradise' illustrations,

39

Need someone to talk to

by Anonymous17 in

hi i've been a jw my whole life and i'm 17 now.

i've never had a mine of my own and recently i started thinking more open minded and i know the being a jw isn't for me.

i feel like i've been in a bubble my whole life.

FayeDunaway

Welcome A17!! That's awesome you have family to talk to. You are in a better situation than many here!! Always nice to hear of another young one with a free mind.

Yeah just keep telling people you aren't ready to be baptized. They will really start to freak about it as you approach 18, but don't let it get to you. In your mind, in the silence that follows, say 'and I never will get baptized a JW cuz I'm not somebody's robot!'

78

I believe that the greater percentage of JWs-You Will Not Be Able to Help, no Matter What Facts You Show Them.

by John Aquila in

so i ran into this brother whom ive known for a while and the conversation led into me being invited to come back to the kingdom hall.

we talked for about an hour during which time i explained to him 607 being the wrong date and a lot of other stuff including the child abuse cases in australia.

but what i wanted to relate was the last few minutes of our conversation.

FayeDunaway

I stick to my earlier comment that there is no bliss in staying in that religion, but I will add, UNLESS you are the type of person that likes to consider yourself 'right' and you have all the answers and everyone is unholier than you and you love to criticize people and society. Those types of people do live in a sort of bliss in that org. They would be a lot happier if they grew out of that but most will never know. As for the rest of them who don't have those types of personalities, I do agree that FEAR is the reason most of them aren't willing to allow themselves to question and research. The religion has too much control over their lives, it usually holds family members as collateral, it says it is the only hope, without it there is nothing, and people are so dependent on this idea of having something, that they can't live with the idea of nothing and are told that there is nowhere else to go.

it takes some sort of impetus that is worth facing the fear. Either loss of a family member because of the religion, or bad treatment by someone or an abnormal amount of standards and belief in freedom, integrity and truth for people to be willing to face that fear and go through the difficult process of leaving.