Posts by FayeDunaway

48

The shift: from follower to wanting to leave

by paradisebeauty in

this week has been the week when my whole way of thinking shifted.

i still cannot believe how this can happen so fast.

over a period of seven days i went from not even imagining that i could ever not be a witness to wanting to get out of this organisation.. .

FayeDunaway

Shoot it would be nice if some of us lived close to eachother. Paradise beauty I really would want to be your friend in real life. I'm glad you've clicked with LHS too.

You should research the cross...when I did, I was so surprised by what I found. Actually Wikipedia helped me a lot with the history of thngs. Jesus did actually die on a cross. Witnesses have fought very long to be apart from other religions, but really it's foolishness. Rutherford especially was really messed up. I don't know what happened to him in his childhood but the guy had serious issues he infused into the religion and that they cling to today.

Giordano, my pastor is female! She's quite awesome, but I admit that it took some getting used to to having a female pastor. I knew this church had a female pastor, and the first time I went, I planned it to be the week there was a visiting male speaker...and I could not believe how he spoke of his own weaknesses and insecurities from the stage! He infused his experiences of having a child born with a severe disability into his sermon, and how difficult that was to accept for him due to his own pride, but how rich she has made his life. it made me like him so much. But the next week I met the female, and she is so warm and loving it felt natural for her to preach.

About Unitarian Universalists...we have many close friends of that religion, and they are all wonderful people. It's not for me because I am firmly Christian...But me and my kids often go to their family game night.they are good people.

38

Things I trust more than the Jehovah's Witnesses Governing Body

by OnTheWayOut in

i stole this, from of all places, rick fearon.

i don't know who he stole it from.

please think of more.. things i trust more than the jehovah's witnesses governing body+ the media+ mexican tap water+ cappuccino from bill cosby+ a bigfoot sighting+ a politician who says "trust me"+ an al qaeda who wants flying lessons, but skips landing and take-offs+ a hillary clinton war story+ bill clinton wanting to give a speech at an all-female school+ gas station sushi+ a brian williams or bill o'rielly news report+ email from a nigerian prince.

FayeDunaway

FOX news

48

The shift: from follower to wanting to leave

by paradisebeauty in

this week has been the week when my whole way of thinking shifted.

i still cannot believe how this can happen so fast.

over a period of seven days i went from not even imagining that i could ever not be a witness to wanting to get out of this organisation.. .

FayeDunaway

The shift in my thinking was gradual, I had always had strong doubts. I have a questioning mind and never took in information without questioning it. However, I tried to make it work and just go along with it most of my life. My parents are very devout witnesses. Eventually though I couldn't stand it anymore. I had my own family and they were growing up. I didn't want them to feel pressure to be baptized and repeat this cycle. I wanted them to be free. Many factors were involved, but I started reading the bible on my own. My eyes were opened, as yours are now open. I read had many of the same thoughts as you, about the scriptures. I felt a very deep connection to Jesus. I felt strongly that all who accept him as their savior should partake at the memorial. It is so clear in the bible. After passing the emblems along one memorial, I promised to myself and to him I would never reject him again. We were able to move, which helped a lot with the fade. My parents and brother are still in and hardly talk to me. I researched a whole lot about which church to choose...I like to worship with others. As long as you don't go extreme, they are very similar with slight differences. I couldn't quite accept Catholicism with its rosaries and Mary worship which is unbiblical (on the other hand, witnesses NEVER talk about her! Funny.)..I chose a liberal denominational church and have been there a good number of years now. One person there annoys me, but I figure that will happen anywhere I go. For you I recommend worshipping at a church because I read your other post and you need friends, as I did. But take your time and pray about it. Keep your receptors open and God will help you find the way as he did me.

17

"They 'thought' themselves out of the truth, and clearly they are living an unhappy life now!"

by stuckinarut2 in

yep, these gems and comments were used in the talk today:.

speaking of ones who "failed to show appreciation for all the rich spiritual food we get from the f&ds", the speaker said this:.

"many have even failed to keep up with everything we are lovingly provided by christ's brothers, and rather than keeping their faith strong, they have become complacent and even critical ofjehovah's provisions!

FayeDunaway

Yes, truly that is the only sad part of my life too. I miss my parents and brother. But otherwise life is very very good! I'm actually busier than I was as a witness tho, I got too excited, joined too many organizations and clubs I was interested in, so I'm working on cutting back, prioritizing... But all this stuff I do is by choice, I don't have to do anything I don't want to do, which is incredibly liberating. Sitting through and doing stuff I didn't want to do was miserable, my husband especially hated it. He got so grumpy Saturday mornings when we had to go out in service. Now he does yoga, rides his bike, makes a big breakfast for the family :).

23

Today's WT

by OneFingerSalute in

so today's wt seems to put out the idea that during early christian times it was god's hand that made the romans build roads, have strong laws, etc.

to make the preaching easier.. anyone else notice that?

some here really banged on about how great it was that god did that, just for them.

FayeDunaway

Wow. Crazy to hear what is going on in JW land! The ignorance is astonishing.

30

"Evidence" of a "smokelike pall"... This was the last straw for me back in 2008. Fade began with this:

by DarioKehl in

from that nutty red book of insanity, the grand climax at hand book, chapter 22, paragraphs 7 & 8. .

i had my doubts since childhood.

i went along with it to please people.

FayeDunaway

I remember that! People cut out those KM updates and taped them over the old sentences in their revelation books. How must that have looked to newcomers?? What a bunch of nut jobs, changing their beliefs so quickly they need to paste in revisions before the next edition comes out. And that quote above...(gasp!) I had forgotten how very insane that book really was.

I did prefer it tho to the United in worship book, which took forever to get through each time we did it for book study. But the worst of all were the interminable Isaiah books. Don't think I've ever heard '1919' so often. Whoever wrote them was absolutely obsessed with 1919. I remember being so depressed every time I remembered that it said vol. 1 on the cover...knowing there would be a vol. 2!!

9

Kind of looking for a quick update

by free2beme in

jw
friends

i have been out of the religion since 1996. i used to come to former witness boards a lot in the distant past, and then i lost interest in the subject.

however, with a couple relatives still in and passing the 1914 one hundred year mark, i find myself looking to see what a modern jehovah's witness is believing.

could i get kind of an update on some things.

FayeDunaway

Free, I came here for the exact same reason, wondered what the new stance was on 1914 and if the disfellowshipping policy was changing! And then I got addicted....

Im faded so I'm hoping there's not much truth in the 'treat faded as df'd' thing...but come to think of it, my family doesn't see me or talk to me unless something big happens...so maybe it's already happened and they just didn't tell me!

30

Seriously condsidering disasscoiating

by Ashley L. in

jw
friends

i am seriously considering disassociating myself.

i want to do this because i no longer consider myself one of jehovah's witnesses.

i no longer consider jehovah as my god and i am in a new religion now.

FayeDunaway

A DA letter can not be undone. It is unlikely you will ever have a relationship with your family again, and you will be considered a hateful apostate.

If you fade, they still won't talk to you much, and there will be things you can never tell them, but at least you can see them sometimes.

and like freeemind said, you can be a secret Wiccan! Wiccans were always good at being secret anyway ;).

10

100 Years Ago, 1.5 Million Christian Armenians Were Systematically Killed. Today, It's Still Not A 'Genocide'

by fulltimestudent in

whatever the reasons, whatever the excuses, whatever the denials - its still a tragedy:.

100 years ago, 1.5 million christian armenians were systematically killed.

today, it's still not a 'genocide'.

FayeDunaway

A friend of mine is Armenian and always wearing tshirts about this genocide. 1.5 million, it is huge. Maybe most of the world was distracted with WWI at the time, it didn't receive the media attention it should have. It's time to recognize this as a genocide and remember all the people who were lost, innocent lives destroyed.

64

The poor and deprived life of JW children.

by Esse quam videri in

i find it hard to believe that adults on this forum make such a big deal about not celebrating birthdays, x-mas, easter, halloween, etc, etc, etc.

i grew up as a jw kid and it actually made me feel good, being different from the other kids in school.

we went to meetings.

FayeDunaway

And guilting people into not celebrating a natural family event is unnatural as well! Birthdays have nothing to do with false gods. Just a nice little display of love for someone who was born that day.