I'm planning to do a write in.... I don't like either candidate and I refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils. Those are the only choices I have ever had as a voting American. I'm not yet sure who I will write in, but at least I will be voting for what I feel is right.
jwundubbed
JoinedPosts by jwundubbed
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Is this the best you have to offer. Trump / Clinton?
by Lostandfound inhere in uk we have appalling choice between cameron / corby and some also rans.
are trump/clinton best the worlds superpower can offer up?
all candidates for office seem to be flawed , are no genuine people putting themselves forward?
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Why Are You Here?
by Believer ini'm wondering why believers remain members of this forum which is clearly hostile to believers.
as one member said, nonbelievers pounce on any semblance of belief like piranhas on prey.
as former jws we should have had our fill of judgmental know-it-alls, but here we are.
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jwundubbed
I'm wondering why believers remain members of this forum which is clearly hostile to believers. As one member said, nonbelievers pounce on any semblance of belief like piranhas on prey. As former JWs we should have had our fill of judgmental know-it-alls, but here we are. So why? What is the attraction?
The assumption that you make here is that everyone comes here to debate the validity of their beliefs. Personally, I haven't yet found this forum to be hostile at all. My beliefs aren't like others. I believe in the possibility of a supreme being as much as I believe in the possibility that there is no god. I am full of belief on both accounts equally. That isn't in any way a normal way of thinking. But I don't need to debate my beliefs for the simple reason that they are my beliefs. They aren't facts and they can't be proven and yet they hold the same validity for me that facts and proof does. Why would I need to prove my beliefs are valid to anyone else when they are perfectly valid to me? I don't. And I don't come to this or any other social forum in order to debate or validate my beliefs. I don't have that need.
The attraction for me is community. Something that I lost when I left the cult was a support system and a community. I am not love-bombed and automatically accepted on the condition that I agree with everyone else here and I prefer it that way. I have received a very nice welcome and an initial level of acceptance. From here I have to prove that I can be an acceptable member of this community, and this community has to prove to me that this is where I can belong and is a group that I can accept. I never got that as a JW and I find it very satisfactory.
One of the first things I learned when I left the cult is that JWs are not the only people who are self-righteous, judgmental know-it-alls. Those kinds of people are everywhere. I even find myself being that kind of person from time to time. It really takes a concerted effort not to be that kind of person. I now have a belief that this is a part of human nature. We all want to belong somewhere. Change is scary. People who don't fit our mold is scary. So we try to get them to conform to our way. And this is a mentality that you find everywhere, in all social groups even though not everyone behaves this way. To assume that some community of people won't have judgmental know-it-alls is kind of naive. Just because you left a cult or any group of people it doesn't mean that you suddenly turn into a new person. That takes time. And it takes effort. So, give people a break. Confront them on their behavior when it is bad or unnecessary or wrong or whatever. But don't place general blame on an entire community because they didn't meet your unreasonable expectations of them. That isn't any more right then what you feel they are doing to you... or others.
What do you get out of this forum that makes it worth putting up with the attacks from self proclaimed animals?
I haven't been attacked by anyone. But I also love a good debate, so I might not see people as attacking me. I might see people stating their opinions and arguing a point vehemently and passionately. Not only am I okay with that, but I think a good debate is healthy. I haven't seen any personal attacks yet, so I wouldn't be likely to feel attacked unless someone is attacking me on a personal level. But I am also very confident in my beliefs. I have no problem with someone questioning my beliefs thanks to the JW cult. Seriously. I always wondered how strong a persons's faith could be if bad association could spoil it. I a person could be stumbled in strong faith just by talking to someone. If your faith is that weak then it isn't really faith. My faith is strong. And if someone can prove me wrong... and really prove me wrong, not just state an opinion that they are as confident in as I am in my belief, then all the better. I mean, if you can give me proof then you have every right to convert me to your way of thinking. But belief doesn't usually have proof, that is why it is called belief and not fact.
Edited to remove unnecessary commentary.... can't get rid of the yellow box....
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What is harder? Making a new jw or bringing one out?
by EndofMysteries ini find it interesting how stories of people waking or bringing one out are like the opposite of jw experiences bringing one in.
maybe we should start an ex jw yearbook for experiences of those coming out haha.
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jwundubbed
The easiest way to make a JW is to indoctrinate someone from birth.... so I would say it can be easier to bring folk in. On the side of bringing someone in who wasn't born to it, I think that is getting harder and harder while waking folks up is getting easier to some extent. You can't bring someone out if they don't want out... and you can't force someone into it if they don't want to be in it. So that is similar.
I don't really know any stories of bringing someone into the cult so I don't know how much nor how little they relate to waking someone up.
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New to JWD, Hello!
by jwundubbed inmy story in a nutshell... .
scientist for a father; extremely mentally ill, 'annointed' mother.
was privy to and also suffered a lot of abuse.
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jwundubbed
@baker,
Wow... that is creepy! Thanks for sharing.
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Anti-religion T-Shirt idea
by Simon ini want a t-shirt.
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".
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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.
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New to JWD, Hello!
by jwundubbed inmy story in a nutshell... .
scientist for a father; extremely mentally ill, 'annointed' mother.
was privy to and also suffered a lot of abuse.
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jwundubbed
@millie,
I'm glad to know some people like my sense of humor... Thanks for the welcome!
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New to JWD, Hello!
by jwundubbed inmy story in a nutshell... .
scientist for a father; extremely mentally ill, 'annointed' mother.
was privy to and also suffered a lot of abuse.
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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!
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New to JWD, Hello!
by jwundubbed inmy story in a nutshell... .
scientist for a father; extremely mentally ill, 'annointed' mother.
was privy to and also suffered a lot of abuse.
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jwundubbed
@Funchback, Thank you!
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New to JWD, Hello!
by jwundubbed inmy story in a nutshell... .
scientist for a father; extremely mentally ill, 'annointed' mother.
was privy to and also suffered a lot of abuse.
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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.
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Introduction - Any Believers?
by Believer ini’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.
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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!"