stillhurts

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Posts by stillhurts

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  26

  conscious of my spiritual need, what next?

  by stillhurts in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so once you leave, what next?

  have you found anything from a spiritual standpoint that brings you happiness and satisfaction?.

  have you been so scarred by the teaching that "all religions are wrong", that you can't see the truth anywhere?.

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  stillhurts

  So once you leave, what next? Have you found anything from a spiritual standpoint that brings you happiness and satisfaction?

  Have you been so scarred by the teaching that "all religions are wrong", that you can't see the truth anywhere?

  Have you been able to overturn deeply held doctrinal beliefs and been able to accept teachings that are common to christendom, such as the divinity of Christ, antichrist, the rapture, heaven and hell, Modern day Israel as the chosen people, etc?

  I am still conscious of my need for spiritual things. I love God and his word. But now that I'm out I don't know where to go next. Everything seems like poison. How did you fair? I want to be happy again, I want to know what's next.

  thank you!

  Stillhurts
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  24

  JEHOVAH

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does that name produce in you any feelings?.

  when you see that word, "jehovah", does it make you think of god?.

  do you ever use that name- jehovah- in your life at this point?

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  stillhurts

  It used to bother me when some of the brothers would say this name like 50 times in a prayer. Like Jehovah this and Jehovah that. I know my dad's name, but I don't use it when I talk to him or talk to others about him. I call him "Dad", or my father. So why would I constantly refer to the name of my heavenly father over and over again in every conversation I have? Its like Bob Dole. LOL. Mentioning his own name at the beginning of every sentence. I guess it was just a pet peeve of mine.
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  28

  November literature offer is.........

  by hoser in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  tracts.

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  stillhurts

  If they put a column for "tracts" in their monthly recruitment slip, the members would place a bazillion of 'em. They only resist because they can't "count" them.

  You got that right OnTheWayOut! It seems if you can't count it on the slip, no one wants to do it. I remember one year we had to keep count of the invitations we handed out for the memorial. So maybe there will be another special arrangement.

  But you nailed it. It always bothered me that the tract method of ministry that I was most comfortable with seemed to the brothers that I was not effective. Cause my magazine placements were lame.

  oh well
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  27

  Protesters at conventions / assemblies...

  by garyneal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  first off, i can happily say that this year i did not attend a single day at this years district convention.. on saturday during the convention, my wife asked me to drop her off after lunch and later pick her up when the convention was over.

  while i was dropping her off, i noticed a single individual holding picket signs protesting the convention.

  it said things like, "was the ransom sacrifice worth it?

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  stillhurts

  I remember how uncomfortable I was walking by them. haha. Usually there is a group of elders standing between the protesters and the delegates. So I always wonder if anything the protesters say get through to the elders. They don't hear just bits and pieces like the rest of us, they get to hear the whole spiel

  But mostly it just makes witnesses think these people are nuts, and we get to feel that this is another way we are being persecuted. But I imagine people who drive by think its the witnesses that are doing the screaming. So that makes me laugh.
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  39

  What scripture bothered your concious?

  by stillhurts in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been out 3 years.

  i was baptized, never df'd.

  ignored the 2 or 3 phone calls from the elders, and then they left me alone.

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  stillhurts

  Thanks for all your comments. Interesting to read the scriptural interpretations that bugged you. I will go back and read the comments a little more carefully when I have more time.

  And thanks wise king solomon. You are right. I meant conscience. So ha! I guess I proved one bible point, that I am imperfect :) And I rely on spell check too much. And ok then, I love God with all my brain, which might not be saying a lot. (cause its small) :)

  Thanks 3rdgen. I realize that there are a lot of viewpoints on here. I certainly will tend to side with the ones that believe that the bible is the inspired word of God. I feel bad if some were so hurt by this religion that they lost their faith in GOD and his word. I hope we all can find some comfort and support from one another.

  Look forward to getting to know you all. Hope to find some friends here.
• 
  39

  What scripture bothered your concious?

  by stillhurts in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been out 3 years.

  i was baptized, never df'd.

  ignored the 2 or 3 phone calls from the elders, and then they left me alone.

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  2. 
  3. 
• 

  stillhurts

  I'm new here. I have been out 3 years. I was baptized, never DF'd. Ignored the 2 or 3 phone calls from the elders, and then they left me alone. I guess from I read here, I would be considered a fader. I faded because I had so many problems with the presentation of scriptures. So many scriptures could not just be read and understood at face value. Rather they had to explained," in context". I felt in my heart that there were so many explanations that I just could not stomach.

  I could not stomach how they were explained in the literature. I could not stomach how they were explained from the stage. I could not bring myself to use those same explanations when trying to teach new ones.

  I spent so much time thinking that I would eventually "get it", that the explanations would make sense. That everone else around me, my brothers and sisters, are not doubting this, why am I? Maybe I need to study more, or rely on God's Spirit more. Maybe I am just dumb.

  But the more research I did, the more the pieces did not fit. I guess to me it seemed like a crossword puzzle. Where you are looking for words, and the word you come up with some that seem to fit perfectly. But as you start putting more words in the boxes, you realize a lot of the ones you did first were wrong. You have to go back and change them before you could finish the puzzle.

  So when I figured out so many of parts of the puzzle were wrong, I left.

  I guess I will share just one of the scriptures that bothered me. Rev 1:7, where Jesus return is decribed as being visibile to all "every eye will see him". The "eye of understanding" made no sense to me. The scripture did not say "everyone will sense he has returned" or in any way make it seem that his return was invisible. It says he will be seen by every person living on the face of the earth, with their own two eyes.

  So that was a biggy for me, along with about a hundred more. And so I wondered if you could share some you had difficulty with, so I can see if my thinking was in line with others that decided they needed to leave too.

  I don't have a lot of contact with my family now. They don't have a lot to do with me. I am not living an immoral life. I love God with all my heart, even though they tell me my stopping is proof that "i don't love Jehovah anymore". Boy did that hurt the first time they said it, and it still cuts me up every time. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ha. Just like that organization. :)

  Thanks,

  Stillhurts