Posts by moreconfusedthanever

31

Atheists - How Did You Become An Atheist After Waking Up?

by pale.emperor in

i consider myself an atheist.

and right now i'm reading a lot on atheism in general (books written to answer creationists).. i'd be interested in knowing how you became an atheist after leaving the jws and how long did it take?

was it instant or did your belief in a deity gradually decline?.

moreconfusedthanever

Just reviewing my prayers and realising I had been talking to myself.

I was told that God only answers prayers in line with his will so you can't ask to win the lotto for instance.

I was very careful not to ask for "selfish" things but still nothing.

Then you have ones tell you that God helped them find their keys or something equally trivial that most people can do without any divine intervention.

I watched Serena Williams thank her God Jehovah when she won tennis but not help ones who really needed it.

Only logical conclusion is that he is not there.

13

What's it like these days for teenagers?

by JeffT in

jw
friends

i converted at age 22, and left 15 years later (1988) so i don't really know what its like to be in high school as a jw.

for those of you who do know: do teenage jw's hang out with each other?

worldly kids?

moreconfusedthanever

I think it depends on who you are and where you are.

Growing up in the 80s where I grew up, unless you were an elders child or well to do, you were pretty much irrelevant. Oh unless of course you were an attractive, single brother - then of course all the sisters and their mothers had you on their radar. Hahahaha.

There were parties and socializing for the "in" crowd and it seems much the same today from what I can tell.

39

How many people have been woken up by the A.R.C??

by karter in

jw
friends

i know of 1 that watched the video and never went back.. i think for some it was a the sum of the total or the "last straw" if you like.. karter..

moreconfusedthanever

I was already out when I became aware of the ARC but after reading the transcripts and watching video of the brother's testimony and their bold faced lies - I knew I was done for good.

27

4 j dubs at jdubs at the door

by JunkYardDog in

jw
friends

4 zombies at the door.

i come out with the nwt and ask who wants to talk about the bible.

if you don't want to talk about the bible why the fuck did you knock and counting time.

moreconfusedthanever

Its sad that no one wanted to actually have a biblical discussion. When I was growing up the houses where you could get into the nitty gritty of the scriptures were something the pioneers loved. Now its just baby sitting book shelves and running from house to house leaving tracts that will be trashed as soon as the door closes.

So much for the urgency of the "time of the end".

5

where to find help

by dogisgod in

i was having a conversation with another ex jw about difficulties when you have been a born-in and indoctrinated from birth.

it just is so disheartening that if and when you do wake up and leave that all that crap is still in your brain.

you just can't unplug.

moreconfusedthanever

It will always be in the back of your mind. In my opinion seeking help from a "group" set up is just swapping one controlling influence for another.

I know of some who have found professional help by way of psychologist to be helpful.

This site has been a tremendous help to me.

I have a few "worldly" friends that I have met along the way who I have told of my choice to leave the cult and they have been very supportive and assured me that I am not alone. These are proving to be real "unconditional" friends.

Find something you like doing, be it going to the gym, art classes etc and soon you will find yourself with friends who like the same things you do. It wont happen over night but it will happen.

52

My JW Elder Brother Passed Away

by minimus in

jw
friends

he was basically a good man, just a believer in the religion.

when we were both elders we were best of friends and then things deteriorated when i was not an elder for a while.

then after becoming an elder again, i slowly drifted away from the religion and he drifted further away from me.

moreconfusedthanever

Condolences to you.

18

Shallowness in 4/29 Watchtower study

by Rattigan350 in

move forward as a spiritual person.. paragraph 2 "robert and his wife began passing time by quizzing each other on bible subjects.

his wife, a spiritually strong person, had no problem answering the questions, but robert found himself constantly embarrassed, not knowing what to say.".

there is no indication of how she fits the template of a spiritual person other than she can answer bible trivia.

moreconfusedthanever

The problem with that is that a person can have very good "head knowledge" of the scriptures without believing it or being a spiritual person.

We have all seen ones who can talk the talk but certainly do not walk the walk. Paedophiles for example.

14

Jehovah is true

by JehovahMyRock in

i feel as is he himself wants me to find a life my lost life..affordability jobless almost homeless doe to rent cost..i trust jahova witness and respect their teachings cause to before i liked and understand their mind..but my heart didn't resolve cause my brain not very helpfully i understand i have a important future roll i trust for the first time in jahova..i respect and my person addiction brothers please pray for me, please brothers and sisters please i don't want become a homeless or b more lost in wonder i one jobless truly if am here is because of jahova..the fact of loving a somebody not approved by god or nature i feel as if i like to serve jav as becoming a bomb to kill bugs that harm the good really.

moreconfusedthanever

Isn't there a saying "the Lord helps those who help themselves"?

Don't rely on the brothers and sisters. Seek help from professionals.

28

THEY act like the ones who are hurt??!!

by stuckinarut2 in

it really amazes me when jws act like we are hurting them!.

many of us have found that if we stop associating with them for valid reasons, they act all upset and hurt that we would be "so cruel as to limit our association or cut them off".

i know of friends here on the forum who have been told by parents that they "will shun them if they leave jehovah" , and yet when the shoe is on the other foot and our awake friends shun them first, the parents cry and bemoan the situation and say how "cruel it is to deprive them of their company".

moreconfusedthanever

So true. My mother is suffering from depression because her children have left Jehovah. The sisters in the congregation are rallying around her and trying to cheer her up. BUT we are the same people we have always been and she is the one pulling away from us and saying we have nothing in common just because we are no longer seat fillers at the hall.

The "it's not our fault" mentality comes from the top down. Nothing is ever their fault.

49

"You owe Jehovah humility and HONESTY" - an email from a JW

by Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho in

hey forum goers.

i'd like your opinions on constructing an email reply to this shocker below.

bit of background about the sender: she is a middle-aged, cheery uberdub whose siblings left when a schism occured in her congregation in canada way back when.

moreconfusedthanever

I would not give her any more of my time. Delete the email. Forget the email and move on with your life. As you say, she has some serious blinders on and you have your family to take care of. Let it go.