we all have many reasons for leaving, most are doctrinal, some are emotional.
it's a religion which obsesses over factual proofs (counterfactual though they are) of its veracity rather than faith, so it's inevitable that most who leave will do so for intellectual reasons.
which doctrine above all others forced you to reconsider your position?
I'm not sure that this is completely accurate. They do a great job at making people believe that that's the case, but no, that's not what they are there for. Their main purpose is to exercise power over other people, not even money. Their teachings and all that study that they have to people doing is just the means, not the end.
It's still an accurate description of how they work the rank and file members, regardless of their motives
we all have many reasons for leaving, most are doctrinal, some are emotional.
it's a religion which obsesses over factual proofs (counterfactual though they are) of its veracity rather than faith, so it's inevitable that most who leave will do so for intellectual reasons.
which doctrine above all others forced you to reconsider your position?
We all have many reasons for leaving, most are doctrinal, some are emotional. It's a religion which obsesses over factual proofs (counterfactual though they are) of its veracity rather than faith, so it's inevitable that most who leave will do so for intellectual reasons
So what was it for you? Which doctrine above all others forced you to reconsider your position? For me it was a combination of studying evolution & geology, the lack of evidence for the flood and 607BCE, but primarily evolution
when i was a young man growing up in the religion, i would try to defend whatever the understanding of a doctrine was.
i won a lot of arguments based on the idea that i knew better than anyone i was talking to and defended myself admirably.
(lol)....eventually, i realized i was in a cult but for many years i was a believer and i had faith that the gb knew more that i could understand..
so this week's midweek meeting video about stumbling others has lett spouting and gurning rubbish again.. if you can't take the whole 9 minutes go from 5:50 to get the context and 6:45 for the "beard" mention.. https://youtu.be/ezv1ici5cwo.
oh, well - at least they shoot themselves in the foot with this doublespeak.
single.
jw: didn't we just hear somebody say that the sun's gonna blow up?.
me: well, they were saying that it will expand and eventually burn out.. jw: but it can't do that, it just keeps blowing up inside and getting more power.. me: well, they were talking about stars in general, how they have a life span.. jw: but god didn't make it that way, it's firmly established to time indefinite.
it's not like the sun is a regular star.
JWs are the 8 or so million earthlings who can't accept mortality, essentially
it's that time of year again.. trying to decide if i should or shouldn't.
:-).
I tried to eat the bread once when I was about 6 or 7, many many years ago. I was told off and made to feel stupid for following my biological imperative, obviously
by evolution or by creation?
by evolution or by creation?
"the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".
What a blatant misrepresentation of the truth. The quotes are accurate but incomplete and completely out of context, not what the writers were trying to convey. However, it is convincing to those too lazy or disinterested to check the source material.
How can a person be this dense? Some people here are so messed up by this religion that they have literally no sense of humour
lately i've been thinking over how far i've come over the last 2.5 years since leaving the cult.
when i first left i remember not knowing who i really was and what my beliefs and values were.
previously my values and beliefs were dictated to me the the governing body in watchtower magazines.. i'm politically active, being a member of a political party and i'm even considering running in my local election in a few years.. when it comes to religion, im an atheist who has little time for superstition and "god did it" answers to complex questions.
I'm pleased to say that there never was a JW version of myself. I was born-in and left when I was young, having never really believed or behaved as a JW
i think this would be a noble endeavour..
dear brothers and sisters.
after many years outside of the truth, living as an atheist, i have come to realise that i have been on the wrong path.
the fool has said in his heart that there is no god, and i have been a fool.
Dear brothers and sisters
After many years outside of the truth, living as an atheist, I have come to realise that I have been on the wrong path. The fool has said in his heart that there is no god, and I have been a fool. The other day I had an experience that proved to me that not only is god real, but that JWs are god's chosen people.
As I was walking down the local highstreet looking for somewhere to buy some cotton wool, I noticed the trees, I'd never really looked at them before. They are so beautiful in their simplicity and yet so complex at the same time. How can such complexity have come about by chance? There must be a god
Then as I was walking home with my newfound faith, preparing to return to god in a private way, perhaps as an independent born-again Christian, I slipped over and bumped my head. At first I thought this must be Satan the devil trying to knock the holy spirit out of me, but then I saw what had made me fall, it was a discarded JW tract! It was a sign from Jehovah himself, how can such a coincidence have occurred by chance? Jehovah had knocked some sense into me at last! I immediately ran home, dug out my battered old song book from the closet and began singing praises to Jehovah from my bedroom window, for all the neighbourhood to hear, I continued well into the evening hours
Later that night, as I was preparing to dedicate my life and baptise myself in the shower, I was arrested for disturbing the peace with my singing. I figured this was Jehovah manoeuvring events so as to give me some loving correction for using the out-of-date song book. I repented and praised Jehovah for adjusting my thinking so tenderly, like the loving father he is
The following day I went from door to door, preaching the good news. One householder said to me that he is a Catholic, I laughed in his face and told him how foolish he is for believing in such obvious nonsense as the trinity and hellfire, he replied that he isn't a very strict Catholic and doesn't know much about those things, he asked me to explain them. I left his doorstep at that moment as I don't really know anything about them either, just that they're obviously wrong. What a poor lost idiot that man is. His house is nice though, perhaps I'll live there in the new system, when he's dead
Since then I've returned to the meetings, been given microphone privileges (see how the blessings pour in when you have faith?), I've met some lovely sisters, some as young as 55, and I've even had visions of Jesus, so I'm planning to write my own gospel soon and submit it to the WTS for inclusion in the next edition of the new world translation. I won't be partaking at the next memorial though, I'm not crazy
Truly I have returned to the path of righteousness that leads to everlasting life! Return to the fold at once everyone, please, before Armageddon comes, it will be here soon and your lives are at stake!
Edit: Turns out the trees I saw were those fake plastic ones, so never mind
