Posts by jwundubbed

22

New to JWD, Hello!

by jwundubbed in

jw
friends

my story in a nutshell... .

scientist for a father; extremely mentally ill, 'annointed' mother.

was privy to and also suffered a lot of abuse.

jwundubbed

@baker,

Wow... that is creepy! Thanks for sharing.

26

something that says "religion is crap, i don't care which one".. i was thinking of adapting the "coexist" one to say "toxic" instead which is great because it removes 'science' but includes all the major world religions.. anyone else have any ideas?.

also a tag-line ... "whatever god you worship, he's a weirdigan".

jwundubbed

God is the root of all evil.
Toxic; Leaves a bad taste everywhere.
One man's God is another man's delusion.
One man's delusion is another man's God.

Ideas I got plenty of... good ideas? I'm not so sure.

22

New to JWD, Hello!

by jwundubbed in

jw
friends

my story in a nutshell... .

scientist for a father; extremely mentally ill, 'annointed' mother.

was privy to and also suffered a lot of abuse.

jwundubbed

@millie,

I'm glad to know some people like my sense of humor... Thanks for the welcome!

22

New to JWD, Hello!

by jwundubbed in

jw
friends

my story in a nutshell... .

scientist for a father; extremely mentally ill, 'annointed' mother.

was privy to and also suffered a lot of abuse.

jwundubbed

Your father was a scientist? Literally? Tell us more about him!

@Village Idiot,

Yep. He really is an actual scientist. I can neither pronounce nor spell is title/type of scientist he is. But he works with electron-microscopes. He was actually the top guy in his field for a long time and companies would hire him to set up their microscopes and teach people how to use them. What would you like to know about him?

He spent my formative years working his way through to his doctorate. He started questioning the cult when I was still a kid. He went so far as to learn Greek so that he could read the original context of the Greek scriptures and he would study that during meetings! He started wearing a beard, because there is no actual scriptural basis against that, when I was in my teens. By the time I was in high school he was inactive.

And can any sense of humor be that bad if it is dry and sarcastic?

@David Jay,

Well, it certainly isn't good when I get a big kick out of telling my boss 'No' because he asked me something completely rhetorical. Boss: "Jwun, can I unlock and take that register?" Me: either 'No.' or 'I don't know, can you?' Bosses don't like that. I find it immensely funny. I am working on stifling myself at those times. Think it, don't say it.

But thank you!

@aubergine,

Good to see you too! And thanks!

22

New to JWD, Hello!

by jwundubbed in

jw
friends

my story in a nutshell... .

scientist for a father; extremely mentally ill, 'annointed' mother.

was privy to and also suffered a lot of abuse.

jwundubbed

@Funchback, Thank you!

22

New to JWD, Hello!

by jwundubbed in

jw
friends

my story in a nutshell... .

scientist for a father; extremely mentally ill, 'annointed' mother.

was privy to and also suffered a lot of abuse.

jwundubbed

My story in a nutshell...

Born-in. Scientist for a father; extremely mentally ill, 'annointed' mother. Was privy to and also suffered a lot of abuse. Attempted suicide at 15 (TMI for some but it was a crucial point in my life.... and it was the catalyst for great changes). Got baptized without permission at 17-18ish. Began suffering the affects of severe PTSD. Shunned by all the JW family based on a rumor my little sister started. Left the cult at about age 20ish. My dad and my elder sister left about the same time. My little brother left a couple years later. Spent many years recovering from the damage done by the cult and an abusive parent. My sister, my mother, and my entire maternal extended family are all still in and still shunning me. That's okay, I shun them right back. Got my bachelor's degree in 2014. I don't suffer from PTSD anymore, but do have a lingering panic disorder that I will always suffer from due to the severity of the PTSD that I suffered. Life is hard but good.

I'm not normally the kind of person who advocates shunning but I find it necessary and the healthiest choice in my personal circumstances. I tried forgiving and forgetting and it didn't work out so well for me. I tend to be passionate and intellectual. I am very opinionated and some of my opinions are way out there. I love a good debate, but I won't press my point unless the circumstances are right for it. I'm a bit of a nerd/geek but not at all tech savvy. Numbers and I do not work well together. So, any time I relate a date, time, time-frame, or any other kind of number take it with a large dose of salt. I have a serious personality and my sense of humor is dry, sarcastic, and not very good actually. I do like a good sense of humor in others, but I don't always get a joke and am often a good target for jokes. Se la vi. I am working on finding my career. My hobbies are usually about writing, creating art, and watching TV/movies. I am trying to get myself into being more physically active for entertainment, but it's hard. Who wants to go for a run when you can watch someone else do it with far more hilarity and in the comfort of your nice comfy sofa? So, that just about sums me up. I can't wait to get to know this forum, and its members, better.

jwundubbed

P.S. people often call me 'jwun' or 'undub' for short. I like both just the same.

240

Introduction - Any Believers?

by Believer in

i’ve been reading it for a few of years off and on, but have been a little too ... maybe ... timid to join.

i left the watchtower organization almost 20 years ago but never abandoned my faith and belief in god.

i knew the gb/organization didn’t represent god, so when i lost my faith in them, i managed to keep my faith in an all wise benevolent creator.

jwundubbed

So, my dad is a scientist. And I was born into the JW cult. My mom was one of the annointed. As you might imagine, those two mindsets are very different and I found myself in need of a little of both in my life. I need evidence just as much as I need to believe in something greater than myself that I don't understand. I fall much further into the believers than the non-believers. But I'm not religious. I am very spiritual in my own way. I rarely tell others what I believe because it is personal to me and I do NOT believe in trying to convert others to my way of believing.

What I believe in more than anything else is possibility. I believe that everything is possible. It is just as possible that there is no God, as it is possible that there is only one God, as it is possible that there are millions of Gods, and even that it is possible that all the other possibilities are possible to exist simultaneously. That is my belief. It isn't evidence based. It doesn't seem to align with any specific religion out there. And I am okay with that.

I came to my belief when I left the cult and found that I had no foundation to start with. It all crumbled away and left me feeling bereft. I lost the foundation because I couldn't find anyone who could give me evidence that the Bible was real and not just a made-up story. But I found my belief by learning about religion, science, and listening to myself when my instincts said, 'Whoa... that is it!"

123

Message from Designer Stubble to the former JWR members

by Designer Stubble in

jw
friends

message from designer stubble to the former jwr members.

first of all i am glad to see that many of you have found your way to this great forum, facilitated by simon.

i am sure that after the dust of the jwr shutdown has settled, you will find this to be a good new home.. i would like to apologize for the sudden closure of jwr.

jwundubbed

If anyone were to start a forum with a focus on support and recovery, I would be interested in helping moderate. That is all I can offer but I have plenty of time and energy for something I feel passionate about. I would have eventually offered to mod or help out at JWR.

For now, I think my feelings on the matter of the other group are getting closer and closer to closure. One positive point to a sudden and definite ending is that all you can do is learn to accept it. It takes time, but it can happen... sometimes in a shorter amount of time than with a longer shut down process.

For now, I begin the process of getting to know JWD and figure out what I can offer here. I am very glad to see many of the posters from that other site as it is the community which I feel the greatest loss of. I really fell in love with that community. I'm sure, especially after seeing so much support from Simon and the members here, that I will shortly find that I fit in here just as well.

26

Do you still believe in the concept of absolute truth?

by JW_Rogue in

jws very much believe that there is an absolute truth and of course, they are the only ones who have it lol.

how about now though do you still believe that absolute truths exist?

or is everything subjective?

jwundubbed

I believe that 'truth' is subjective. There are facts but how we view facts can take them from accurate to subjective very quickly. I like this actually, it means that we can constantly see the world, analyze the past, and envision the future, and figure in our part in all of that from different perspectives. It helps us grow as people.

39

"how awful it must be to be dying as an apostate!"

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

i heard today about a former jw/now apostate who is dying in hospital.

this information was accompanied by the comment of "wouldn't be awful to be lying there in hospital,dying as an apostate!

knowing that you have no hope!?

jwundubbed

How awful it must be to be dying.... I know that in some sense we all are heading that way, but to know it is coming and have little to do but wait for it. I don't think it really matters what you are or what you believe at that point, in terms of how sad and difficult it is to face your own death.