Posts by stephanie61092

7

Intro 2

by hillfy333 in

part 2. my wife and i were at a point where we wanted to move closer to our daughter as she was about to have a child.. so we put our house up for sale, and after a few weeks we had a buyer.

as we previously had purchased a block of land in the town we had planned to live in, we needed to rent for about a year till our new house was built.

during that time only one witness family showed any kindness to us.

stephanie61092

Can't wait to read the rest. Crossing my fingers that your story includes your wife waking up!

19

My meeting yesterday

by stephanie61092 in

so i just wanted to jot down some thoughts and feelings about my meeting yesterday.... first, the wt, paragraph 16. i couldn't help but laugh to myself at the blatant hypocrisy.

god’s word admonishes us “to live with soundness of mind ... amid this present system of things.” (titus 2:12) having “soundness of mind,” or being sober-minded, should certainly come into play when the explanation of a diagnostic method or therapy seems strange or mysterious.

can the practitioner or the one promoting it explain satisfactorily how it works?

stephanie61092

So I just wanted to jot down some thoughts and feelings about my meeting yesterday...

First, the WT, paragraph 16. I couldn't help but laugh to myself at the blatant hypocrisy. It says:

God’s Word admonishes us “to live with soundness of mind ... amid this present system of things.” (Titus 2:12) Having “soundness of mind,” or being sober-minded, should certainly come into play when the explanation of a diagnostic method or therapy seems strange or mysterious. Can the practitioner or the one promoting it explain satisfactorily how it works? Is it in accord with known facts, and do numerous qualified people view it as credible? (Proverbs 22:29) Or is the main appeal to the emotions? Perhaps the claim is that it was discovered or used in a distant or remote place, as if hidden from modern research. Does such a claim prove anything or even seem reasonable? Some diagnostic devices or forms of treatment are described as using a ‘secret substance’ or ‘body force.’ That warrants serious caution because God warned against “the use of magical power” and spirit mediums.

I couldn't help but find it so ironic that they preach this message when it comes to physical health, but when it comes to spiritual health, their message is exactly the opposite. When JW's come to the door, the message may seem 'too good to be true.' Are JW's in accord with "known facts and do numerous qualified people people view them as credible?" Hardly. Is "main appeal" of JW doctrine "to the emotions"? Yes, absolutely. Go to any convention and see if they don't throw videos around to pull at the heart strings. "Perhaps the claim is that it was discovered"? Sounds like 'new light.'

I still cannot get over the double standards these people have in play. If anyone applied these principles to their spiritual health while in the JW faith, they would be disfellowshipped for apostasy. It makes me sick.

On another note, I got counseled by one of my elders because I was eating tictacs too loudly during the meeting and coughing too much. I went to the meeting sick because "I wanted to be there." My elder told me next time I needed to sit in the back room as to not disturb others. I said I had never sat in the back room ever and if I did now as a DFed person trying to come back, how would they be able to tell that I was paying attention and that I was studied? I was told that they wouldn't be able to tell so I might as well just stay home.

Ughhhhh! I'm so close to being done forever. But I'm continuing it hold out because my family has been communicating with me since they can "really tell I'm making an effort to return to Jehovah, and as long as I'm doing that they can keep some social communication with me."

66

What's the point?

by punkofnice in

jw
friends

i mean, i don't want to be miserable or anything, but what's the bloody point of it all?.

since i left the watchtower cult, i have come to realise that god cannot possibly exist...and if a god exists...god is indifferent to humankind as the least.. in 100 years time i'll be gone.

kaput.

stephanie61092

I'm not at the point of an atheist but for the God I still believe in, I believe he is deliberately screwing with mankind. I also am coming to grips that this is the only life we have to live.

This quote from Ricky Gervais has been giving me comfort:

"It's a strange myth that atheists have nothing to live for. It's the opposite. We have nothing to die for. We have EVERYTHING to live for."

I've been trying to live each day in a way that would make my future self proud. Did I do something kind for someone else? Even a complete stranger? Was I honest? Was I happy today? What can I do to be happy tomorrow?

Knowing that I am living "the real life" now is liberating in that I no longer feel like I have the ability to put off things I want to do for myself. I will not have time to do those things in paradise.

49

I have a question.

by DATA-DOG in

according to jwism, god didn't cause suffering, he just allowed it.

wow, that's really, really, dumb.

to help humans out, jeehoobidoob provided the ransom.

stephanie61092

Here's the answer I would have given as an active JW:

When Adam & Eve sinned, they didn't just disobey, they questioned Jehovah's sovereignty, or Jehovah's right to rule. Jehovah allowed the rebels to keep living because he devised a way to restore mankind to imperfection while also demonstrating his right to rule.

By sinning, Adam & Eve passed sin down to their children, like a dent in a cake pan. The cake mix might be perfect, but once baked in the dented pan, it will always be imperfect. Again, Jehovah didn't protect Adam & Eve's children (like Cain or Abel) with HS because he needed to demonstrate to EVERYONE in existence at that time (because there was sOoOo many) that mankind was going to fail terribly and he was the one with the ability to manage humans best. Jehovah needed enough time to pass to demonstrate that all other forms of government would fail.

Honestly, reading your post and my "jw reply" makes me sick. All the excuses for all of the untold suffering is really just plain stupid. I don't know if that answers

27

Damn it feels good to be free and on my own without the pressure to do more as a JW slave

by No Longer a JW Brother in

i don't know where to begin but damn it feels so good to be free of mind control.

i'm only officially out since this past december but i was out mentally for two hot years under the close watch of my batshit crazy psycho parents who bothered me every sunday to see what i thought about the meeting.

it was necessary for me to lie through my teeth.

stephanie61092

Congratulations and thank you for sharing your story!

1

"So you think that you can tell us how to live our lives..." Ever heard of Shelly Segal?

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-h_jnisczw

stephanie61092

I had never heard of this before. But these lyrics resonated with me very much:

What will it take for you
To start opening your eyes
To start questioning the bullshit everyone around you
buys

For me, it took being disfellowshipped and being treated as less than a human being to open my eyes and start doing some research.

77

Trying To Leave - Im Going Crazy

by pale.emperor in

this is my first post.

i really feel i need to leave the jw's rather than go along pretending everything is perfect etc.

no friends, me at work.

stephanie61092

Wow PE, I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this. That's such a crazy situation. I'm currently DFed and still undergoing the emotions of finding out I've been brainwashed by a cult my entire life. I wish you all the best. This place has been a great source of information and at times comfort for me. I hope you can find some refuge too.

10

Question for Cart-Watchers

by berrygerry in

q. what is more important, the bible teach book or the bible itself?.

a. the bible, of course.. q. then why do you only display these books, and not the bible?.

stephanie61092

Thanks for the idea! I think the next time I'm out of town and see a cart, I will simply ask if I can have a bible instead of literature. I'm confident they will direct me to the website and/or app to which I'll lie and tell them that I don't have a smart phone and I was hoping to have a tangible bible to read on the train.

32

GoFundMe - JW Pioneer & LDC Couple

by Listener in

jerry jones on youtube exposed a jw couple who were begging for money on gofundme.

this is his youtube .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feohxtbml2c.

stephanie61092

Okay these folks seem like they took an extra hit out off the crazy sauce. This is a little wacko even by JW standards. I've known MANY who wanted to "reach out" but waited because they had to pay off debts, loans, etc. Commencing my giant eye roll... 🙄

52

Does the WT attract needy dysfunctional type of people?

by William Penwell in

in your personal experience, do you think that the wt attracts needy types of people?

over the years, my experience is that they do attract very needy, insecure, dysfunctional, types.

i had an acquaintance that i just basically cut off.

stephanie61092

Yes! The only new "convert" in my congregation has clear mental deficiencies. A very kind woman, but I don't have to be a MD to know that she has some definite imbalances going on.

even this weekend I was helping my parents (who have resumed their relationship with me despite being DFd - yay!) clean out and we came across some old WT books. I tried planting a seed by saying "we can throw these away because the doctrine has changed so much. These probably aren't even what we believe any more." My mom ignores that comment but did say "those books were deep. It's all pretty frilly now. I think it's too appeal to everyone coming into the organization and I don't think everyone coming in can handle critical thinking topics." Even the people still "in" know that the society has to appeal to a populous with lower intellect!