Posts by jp1692

31

Anyone pissed at their parents for raising you in the cult?

by blownaway in

my mother was not the most emotionally stable person.

she was a follower and instilled in me the idea we were better than those worldly people.

its hard to go to school as a child and you can not be friends outside of school, you can not celebrate any holidays, and you are told all these people are going to die.

jp1692

I've read through this thread with great interest. I appreciate reading thoughts and feelings shared from the perspective of a child raised in a cult. Thank you all for posting.

As a parent that initially raised my children in the religion, but then realized it was a cult and left, I am faced with the tragic irony which is the polar opposite of those of you that have posted here: my children are extremely angry at me because I left the religion! (They are still in it nine years after I left ... I tried to get them to leave with me, but have so far been unsuccessful.)

27

If the Gov. where you live outlawed the JWs would you turn in your family?

by blownaway in

i guess it would depend for me.

some of my family i would take out bill boards pointing to them.

many of the elders it would be he is over there and set off a neon sign.

jp1692

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) was a prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps.

28

Suggestions for horror/supernatural movies

by Addison0998 in

hey guys, so now that i’m pretty much atheist and i’m not scared of demons or supernatural things, or bring them into my house by watching movies or reading books about them lol, i defenitly want to watch a few scary movies.

i’ve always loved scary movies, but as witness, you don’t get to watch many since they need to be pg-13 and have no spiritism in it lol.

does anyone have any suggestions?

jp1692

Punk: I love the old British Hammer horror films with Cushing and Lee.

Oh yeah, my older sister took me to see some of these when I was just a lad. They scared the crap out of me ... and I loved them.

Here is one of my favorites, the death scene from Dracula:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssvgMHCa45s

I just rewatched it after not having seen it in 50-ish years. I was surprised at how well I remembered this sequence. Probably because end is burned into my psyche just like the sunlight the proved to be the Count's end!

I was just about 10 when my sister took me to see "The House that Dripped Blood!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNO3yw0Cg5I

Another classic is "The Wicker Man":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx1oU1IiZ3k

27

If the Gov. where you live outlawed the JWs would you turn in your family?

by blownaway in

i guess it would depend for me.

some of my family i would take out bill boards pointing to them.

many of the elders it would be he is over there and set off a neon sign.

jp1692

Absolutely not. That's an appalling suggestion.

My gripe is with the religion, not the brain-dead, indoctrinated cult followers.

Why be like them?

18

Since You Left The Organization Do You Celebrate National and Religious Holidays?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i know of people who were disciplined because they observed the fourth of july fireworks celebration.

and i know many people who celebrated thanksgiving but just didn’t call it that because they could get into trouble with the elders.. do you now celebrate birthdays and other holidays or is that something you really don’t care about?

?.

jp1692

Yes to both, but only in secular style. What I mean is: I don’t go to church on Easter, but we do cook a big family meal and hide Easter eggs for my five year old grandchild.

29

Watchtower Spies and Secret Agents

by TerryWalstrom in

i'm posting this link:http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com/spies.htmlonce you start reading it you won't be able to stop.fascinating and well-documented citations which give credibility to the belief that such a sneaky, underhanded, and often illegal practice has been secretly promoted for decades by watchtower society world headquarters..

jp1692

I think they are more tracking MS, elders and other high ups that have access to things that they don't want leaked

NEWS FLASH: It isn’t working!

20

Independance day.

by zeb in

jw
friends

happy independence day to all the american readers.

.

cheers all!.

jp1692

WT: Just because you decide to leave doesn't mean you know what freedom is.

Au contraire, deciding to leave is the first step toward freedom and away from oppression—out of the cult.

As the saying goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

20

Independance day.

by zeb in

jw
friends

happy independence day to all the american readers.

.

cheers all!.

jp1692

What I appreciate about this day is the idea that we (Americans) are celebrating the DECLARATION of our independence from the tyranny of an oppressive dictator, not the attaining of it. That came later.

As ex-members of a cult, we can and should celebrate the day we reclaimed our personal independence and left the cult. We can do so even if the process of leaving was long and painful leaving us with emotional scars that last perhaps even until the present.

We may carry the scars of our wounds for the rest of our lives. May they remind us of the price we were willing to pay for our personal freedom of mind and the integrity of our conscience.

Happy Independence Day to all ex-JWs!

114

The biggest news of the year for Mr. and Mrs. Totally ADD

by Still Totally ADD in

jw
friends

this is bigger than christmas and birthdays wrap into one.

thanks to the australian royal commission our youngest son has woke up.

we received a e-mail from him tonight where he apologized to us for shunning us all these years, how bad he felt for doing this.

jp1692

f2f,

Thanks for the brief intro. I'd suggest you take a breath, give it some thought and compose a nice introductory essay (it needn't be too long, and what you've got above is a nice start) and then post it as it's own, separate thread.

jp

33

Concerned Parent

by ConcernedParent in

jw
friends

i'm writing for some advice from former jws.

my family is christian, and my 15yo daughter is "dating" a jw boy.

(the quotes are because they aren't old enough to actually go out on dates... they consider themselves bf/gf and have hung out and gone places with each other, but always with parents, family, etc.

jp1692

Jerryh: CP, NEVER quote anything and say it came from this forum

Totally gotta' disagree with you here. CP and her daughter were never JWs and don't have to worry about silly JW rules.

In fact, it is important that CP and his/her daughter consult a variety of sources, try to evaluate the objectivity and bias of all of them and reach an informed conclusion.

It would be particularly powerful for CP's daughter to talk to her boyfriend and say, "Look, I've examined jw.org, jwfacts, a forum of ex-JWs and also several independent governmental websites investigation JWs as well as a variety of journalistic sources and what I've found it ...."

This could be a really great learning experience for CP's daughter.

CP's goal is to keep her daughter safe and to prevent her from joining a cult. It is not to attempt to "rescue" her daughter's boyfriend and/or get him to wake-up and leave the cult. If that happens, great. But he's only 15 and has a long, hard road ahead of him that HE has to figure out and walk. And he has to do it for himself first and foremost.