Posts by Skepsis

20

I'm giving up in 2017! (More steps in my fading)

by Skepsis in

jw
friends

when i joined this site at the beginning of this year, i was serving as an uber-zealous regular pioneer and ms in a foreign congregation where the need is greater.

i was giving public talks and having parts at regional conventions.

had started to have doubts but i hadn't time to focus on them, i simply was overcharged with so many activities and things to do.. i started by quitting pioneering but couldn't think i would give further steps for a long time.

Skepsis

My spouse and I had to come to terms that we were going to loose "friends." We have. We knew we could possibly loose family. We have to a certain extent. As long as you realize these things will happen, you will be ok. Like someone mentioned, go join some things of interest and branch out and meet people.

Of course, ToesUp. I realised that some time ago. I do know that even fading, I will lose all my friends, even those people I know since we were children.

If I'm fading and doing it in a careful way, it's because of my family. I hope my family won't shun me. Still don't know but it's the only chance to achieve it. Now some friends I thought were like family, don't invite me to spend time with them like before. And I'm still a brother, going to meetings. Just imagine when I stop attending meetings.

Every second devoted to this Org is a second lost to live your own life. I think it was the fact that I realised during these months that there's no "new system of things", no more time than the life here on Earth to enjoy, what made me speed up my fading.

20

I'm giving up in 2017! (More steps in my fading)

by Skepsis in

jw
friends

when i joined this site at the beginning of this year, i was serving as an uber-zealous regular pioneer and ms in a foreign congregation where the need is greater.

i was giving public talks and having parts at regional conventions.

had started to have doubts but i hadn't time to focus on them, i simply was overcharged with so many activities and things to do.. i started by quitting pioneering but couldn't think i would give further steps for a long time.

Skepsis

Question, what are you doing with all the time you used to spend in JW activities? Are you bringing new people to your life?

Hi scratchme,

Yes, first people I wanted to know better were working colleagues. I've been recently to a company BBQ and going out with some of them some weekends. They're good and healthy people, not the 'worldly' caricatures the Org use to describe non-Witnesses.

I also joined German classes where I'm meeting new people. I've been also to some meetups in my city.

20

I'm giving up in 2017! (More steps in my fading)

by Skepsis in

jw
friends

when i joined this site at the beginning of this year, i was serving as an uber-zealous regular pioneer and ms in a foreign congregation where the need is greater.

i was giving public talks and having parts at regional conventions.

had started to have doubts but i hadn't time to focus on them, i simply was overcharged with so many activities and things to do.. i started by quitting pioneering but couldn't think i would give further steps for a long time.

Skepsis

When I joined this site at the beginning of this year, I was serving as an uber-zealous regular pioneer and MS in a foreign congregation where the need is greater. I was giving public talks and having parts at regional conventions. Had started to have doubts but I hadn't time to focus on them, I simply was overcharged with so many activities and things to do.

I started by quitting pioneering but couldn't think I would give further steps for a long time. But things are going faster than expected and told elders that I'm stepping down as MS. It was a big shock for them but I couldn't do it for more time. Just can't have more parts at meetings (I was having 2 or 3 parts each meeting) defending doctrines I no longer believe in.

I've received dozens of emails, phone calls and messages even from people I hadn't seen for years. They're all very worried about my spirituality but when asked I'm simply playing the depression and anxiety cards. "You know, brother XYZ, this world is so difficult". That's what I want to say at this moment and most of brothers understand it though there are other who want me to not give up on spiritual privileges.

This was a couple of weeks ago but this weekend I had my Regional Convention. Wanted to go to chat with some people I only see at conventions and friends of long time ago. However, I was thinking how I would suffer sitting down for hours listening to the same ol' song even more explicit than ever with that title.

So finally I didn't go. Yesterday had some doubts about going today Sunday. Woke up early, had breakfast but decided to stay at home.

This is the first time since I have memories that I'm not going to the summer convention. I had expected it would be my last one but now I think last year's will be my last one.

From one side I'm happy but on the other, I'm missing so many friends. I have a strange mixture of feelings.

So I ~~don't~~ give up your lies, Watchtower!

45

What did NOT get you out?

by problemaddict 2 in

i realize this is odd, but a "how you woke up" thread and the personal stories that are told which i know we all enjoy, made me think of this.

in helping my wife and a couple others get the ball rolling, i realized the thing that resonated with me, didn't even move the needle with them.

i wanted to rail on and on about blood, because that was my conduit to waking up, but for my wife it was about shunning.

Skepsis

I had already said in another post, I visited a ex-Jehovah's Witnesses forum in my native language that no longer exists and when I read all the hate and resentment against the WT, immediately stopped visiting that site. That was 3 or 4 years ago and it had the effect of making me more sceptical about so-called apostates.

28

Dutch conventions organized like circuits

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

here in holland jw.org is organizing for the first time the yearly conventions like circuits.

the whole summer the new convention hall is used for small group conventions instead of 10.000 seat external halls.. it keeps the money in the organization.

not renting external buildings.. the 29.000 witnesses here are divided now into 2.000 seat audience.. g..

Skepsis

Let's see what happens with attendance numbers. Witnesses were waiting the previous months to big Summer Conventions to see older friends, meet new brothers from other parts, the young ones used these special occasions to meet other young people...

So now, witnesses are going to limit their social circles even more to the 10-12 closer congregations in their area. From a financial point of view, it makes sense but it will affect how the rank and file see conventions.

Now young ones have no chance to get to Bethel because in most European countries there are no branches, they can't be special pioneers, now they don't have big conventions... I can't see how WT will motivate their young ones.

9

Foreign Language Field and Fading

by NoviceLocs14 in

hey guys.

first of all, i want to thank everyone for being so welcoming and helpful on this forum.... i was thinking about my last 3 years as a jw when i was attending the portuguese congregation and learning that language to bring in more converts.

interestingly, we were told not to attend meetings in our native language in order to immerse ourselves in the new language.

Skepsis

In my case, I'm serving in a foreign language congregation and I'm fading. I think in some respects is harder, at least in my personal experience.

Being in a small foreign language congretation makes you have more parts, more responsibilities and you are easily noticed if you start missing meetings. Plus, in those kind of congregations tend to be more zealous elders and pioneers who are always telling you to go in field service with them.

But it's different if you're new in that congregation and you're moving to fade. In that case, you can tell the elders you need your time to adapt to the language.

12

How did you overcome feelings of lost time in the Org?

by Skepsis in

jw
friends

i'm a very positive person who always try to focus on the good side of things.. however, my fading is becoming increasingly painful and i'm starting being shunned by some i thought were friends.

i'm missing some meetings so the rumour is spreading to neighbouring congregations where i'm known that i'm not as spiritual as i used to be.

elders want to have a shepherding meeting with me.

Skepsis

Thank you everyone for your messages and advices!

Well, I'm not in the USA, I live in a southern European country and that's the answers I'm getting here. That's in part why I'm moving abroad in September but mainly it's because I want to fade quicker.

Anyway, I'm not expressing doubts openly, it's the fact I'm doing less than in the past and starting missing some meetings what is annoying some people. So, I assume that except for the family, fading, DA or DF are the same in practical terms.

There's another reason behind elders' attitude: I'm moving to another country soon and they see it as a materialistic goal. Well, I don't really mind. Maybe I could have done it in a softer way but after quitting pioneering I just couldn't stay as MS, giving public talks and having parts every week knowing the TTATT.

It was my purpose when I joined the board but I just don't want to waste more of my time and my mental health in this cult. So I told them I'm stepping down as MS in August.

12

How did you overcome feelings of lost time in the Org?

by Skepsis in

jw
friends

i'm a very positive person who always try to focus on the good side of things.. however, my fading is becoming increasingly painful and i'm starting being shunned by some i thought were friends.

i'm missing some meetings so the rumour is spreading to neighbouring congregations where i'm known that i'm not as spiritual as i used to be.

elders want to have a shepherding meeting with me.

Skepsis

I'm a very positive person who always try to focus on the good side of things.

However, my fading is becoming increasingly painful and I'm starting being shunned by some I thought were friends. I'm missing some meetings so the rumour is spreading to neighbouring congregations where I'm known that I'm not as spiritual as I used to be. Elders want to have a shepherding meeting with me. Last meeting one of them was asking me personal questions like if I'm getting along with bad associations or if I'm hidding something.

At the same time, things outside the Org are not going exactly as I had planned. I'm doing job interviews to move from where I live and I'm being asked many times why I got my degree so late. Got some feedback from one of the companies I was interested and told me I was not selected because of my age (almost 30) and not having enough experience despite having done it well in the process.

Regarding meeting new people, I find it so hard. I keep trying to go to different activities but I'm starting to feel a bit alone recently. Yesterday I went to have dinner with some brothers but that feeling of loneliness was even greater, sitting there and having to listen to JW conversations about how fast the Ends is approaching or how incredible the JW.ORG videos are.

I hadn't experienced that feeling until now but it's quite depressing to look back in your life, when you were in your 20s and wasting so much time instead of doing something useful for your future.

I guess I just needed to rant about it.

23

2017 International Regional Convention, Toronto – Entertainment at Sony Centre

by SAHS in

jw
friends

i’ve been hearing from several very reliable sources that there will be an exclusive elite gala entertainment event hosted by the watch tower organization, featuring specially chosen jehovah’s witnesses of outstanding talent as well as spiritual reputation, at the sony centre (formerly called the o’keefe centre) in toronto, ontario (canada) as a special “after hours” addition to the 2017 special international convention.. those chosen have to meet very strict criteria, including, not so much technical and popular talents, but, rather, their spiritual maturity which can be easily and practically related to by the audience (i.e., degree of conformity – you know what i mean!).

a notable and very well-known professional “super star” from some other country (i don’t know which one) who has achieved highly recognized and popular talent was surprisingly not chosen to participate in the extra entertainment program, whereas other performers with rather ho-hum musical abilities ended up being selected, ostensibly for their altruistic and “theocratic” qualities.

(something tells me that there is going to be some jealousy and indignant, hard feelings over this rather authoritarian, arbitrary selection process.

Skepsis

It seems quite cultish. I mean, yes, it's ok to spend additional time with local brothers having some fun but why can't you spend part of the time visiting the city on your own whithout complete control from the Org? Do you really need to train brothers to be your tourist guides when there are real tourist guides?

In fact, those events organised by local brothers are a charge to them in terms of work and money and in the way they described it, looks like a commercial event to raise funds.

16

Human origins pushed back further into the past

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

science is a self-correcting journey.

any error in thought will be corrected by later research or discoveries, so the common concept that we humans (homo sapiens) developed something like 200,000 years ago is undergoing a major correction.

the discovery of fossilised bones of at least five individuals have been recovered from an old mine in morocco.

Skepsis

How would a JW think when listening to this kind of news or at a History class in highschool when teacher explains about last Glaciation period 12000 years ago or Paleolithic and then reading the Bible and being tols Adam was created 6000 years ago?

I could never reconcile both things. I couldn't deny that it was nonsense what Bible says and tried to interpreted it for myself as approximate dates. But then I wandered: if God couldn't get correct numbers about it in the Bible, how do I know the rest of the book is literal and correct? Could it be an inspired human point of view?

It was a source of concern for me so I tried hard not to think about it.