i grew up in this religion, i was baptized at 14, married at 27, and now i'm 31. i'm also evolutionist and atheist.
i wanted this to be the truth.
i spent years as an apologist trying to reconcile everything.
4 years ago I told the elders I was having a few doubts, I didn't want to discuss it and wanted to be left alone...true to that they haven't bothered me and I'm just faded, dubs still talk to me when they see me.
DF/DA causes more grief if you have still-in family. So I just follow the advice of the GB Mr Jackson at the Aussie Commission where it is best to just fade.
tl;dr: if you live either in scotland or in other parts of uk and you don't mind traveling, you might be able to help a fellow ex-jw by being present during a courtcase where she alone has to face more than two dozens of jws who have ruined their business.
please contact me directly for details on when and where the court case will be held (i will know these details in few days probably).
ps.
Indeed the replies on here and Reddit just make this story utterly strange.
tl;dr: if you live either in scotland or in other parts of uk and you don't mind traveling, you might be able to help a fellow ex-jw by being present during a courtcase where she alone has to face more than two dozens of jws who have ruined their business.
please contact me directly for details on when and where the court case will be held (i will know these details in few days probably).
ps.
Which city will the case be held in? I'd go if I'm close by. But some of this story really doesn't add up.
i know many on here are atheist.
but for the christians on here...what religion are you now that you are no longer a jw?
i'm still undecided as to whether i believe in god.
My ideal christian religion would not promote a strict, literal interpretation of the bible...
Eh? Not sure you get to choose your religion? Surely if you are serious about worshipping "a god" or pleasing him then you only choose one that is "the truth"? Your wants and preferences are irrelevant..surely "a religion" is all about what God wants?
And why are you "researching Christianity"? Why not research IF there is a god or not now that you are out of the JW's...because if you can find the answer to that then it will help you in your next step...imagine wasting time researching Christianity IF there is evidence out there that points to the fact that man was not created and no god exists?
Logically, you would want to find out and prove to yourself if there is a god or not prior to finding out what that god wanted?
a new video is up about the commencement of moving to warwick.shawn bartlett tells the viewers that jehovah has said, through the governing body, ‘it’s time to move out of brooklyn.
‘ then helper robert lucciona says ‘ the governing body, these brothers, as soon as they see god’s direction, they just move, it doesn’t matter if it is long held, cherished ideas, this is the way it has to be done, as soon as they see jehovahs direction.
he just kept nudging imperfect humans, he knew where he wanted us and then we end up where we are supposed to be.
So was "God's Direction" evident when they the GB said:
I could go on and on of course but how do the GB know what God's Direction is when they clearly get things wrong.
IF God WAS directing them would they ever get things wrong? No...unless God purposefully did that...
The fact the GB have gotten many things wrong would indicate they have no idea WHAT is Gods Direction or not thus how do they know moving to Warwick is God's Direction?
I can tell you why though...KERCHING!
so our congregation is full of hardliner elders, 3 of them, who are not gentle, kind or loving.. people have either moved away or quit trying because one elder inparticular was going to drive them crazy with all his rules and nit picking and being righteous over much.
(and he is pissed that he hasn't been accepted to the school.
hmmm, i wonder why!).
If he resigned then he doesn't need to be a MS again...if his teenage daughter moved out of the family home and he was not to blame in her disfellowshipping then he can be reappointed straight to an elder again unless 2 years pass.
hi guys.. im aware of the orgs blatant hints to donate, donate, donate to the org, the sacking of bethel staff, selling of buildings, reducing mags and books, emphasis on digital rather than physical books etc which is obviously a money saver - but are the wt org in money difficulty?
because elsewhere on here and on youtube there's stories of the watchtower being mega rich, one even called it "a billion dollar organization".
and if there is any money in there, who's benefiting off it?
They have sold $1 billion dollars worth of property in the last ten years...they are not skint at all.
i used to go out early mornings with 2 pioneer elders, we would drive 20 miles out of the territory (a big no-no) to look for hikers to preach to lol of course there were never any hikers.
then off to starbucks for another hour lol easy way to count 2-4 hours.
i am chuckling as i write this, what a joke!.
Used to walk an hour to uni and then an hour back...would start walking with dropping a tract on car window...walk an hour then drop another tract at the end...did this every day...2 hours a day...easy...
i asked an old jw friend of mine why so many baptized individuals leave the jw religion.
"did it ever occur to you, old friend, that maybe they know something that you don't know and have valid reasons for leaving?
", i asked.. his response set me back for an answer.
No, I would say the reason that most JW's say to each other when a person leaves is that "they were spiritually weak and neglected their study, ministry and prayer"
i was baptized in 1985, was a regular pioneer, ministerial servant, and on the way to becoming an elder when i left the witnesses in 1999. i also was one of those who claimed and (at the time ) believed i was one of the anointed.. i am wondering if there are any others here who also claimed they were of the anointed?
how did you come to that conclusion?
how do you feel about your claim now that you are out?.
Whilst I am now an athiest I found the OP's comments very interesting, thank you for sharing.
