if you want to believe that jehovah’s witnesses have the truth, that’s your right.
if you want to believe in global warming being the most horrific thing we have to face,that’s your right.
have you been adversely affected by political stands and beliefs?
No.
I no longer have friends that choose beliefs over people. Such a mentality is stiflingly narrow-minded, judgmental, self-righteous and arrogant. I simply can't stand to be around people with such a worldview.
That all ended when I left the JW cult. I have since studiously avoided joining any other cults: religious, political or otherwise.
i dont know why i'd want to argue over something like this.
i've been aware of this theory for years.
as interesting as it is - it's still bullshit.. for future reference, i believe the bible to be a collection of fantasy, myth, real locations and crazy ramblings of psychedelic bloke stuck on patmos.. my reply:.
Religions are full of ideas from primitive peoples trying to explain things that are hard to understand.
Some of us have left behind myths and superstition; others apparently like living in the dark ages.
Personally, I prefer the discovered truths that come from a scientific, rational approach to attempting to understand life, the universe and everything (however tentative that knowledge may sometimes be) to the "revealed truths" of religion with their insistence on absolute inerrancy and unquestioning belief.
good evening all, this is my first time posting.. been reading and following for two years.
my story will come soon.... but i want to say to all, thanks for all the meaningful, intellectual, honest, and insightful words!!
it’s been an interesting 48 years of service to an organization!
Welcome!
We look forward to your story.
jp
how many people here can sincerely say those words to someone?
i take it most here do not say prayers, right?
?.
I didn’t get them. Don’t bother, it’s pointless.
Even if they came, I wouldn’t want them — not from you. You don’t know me. You don’t care.
Cut the fucking bullshit!
Quit pretending to be caring or compassionate. It’s all an act. No one believes you, at least not anyone with half a brain.
Normally, I wouldn’t even to bother to respond to your hypocritical post. But — since you did it publicly — I feel compelled to call you out for the pathetic excuse for a human being that you are.
Your “virtue signaling” public declarations are disgusting to me. If you really cared — which you obviously don’t — you would have reached out privately, sensitively and with discretion. But you didn’t.
Instead you opted to make this very public post which I can only construe as designed to make you look good to others. It isn’t working.
I don’t know or care what others think. You disgust me.
Take your useless “thoughts and prayers” and shove them up your fucking ass.
I don’t give a shit, and now neither will you — those useless “thoughts and prayers” will clog up your ass and make that shit back up until it comes out of every other orifice of your body ... oh, maybe that’s already happened. Maybe that’s why you’re posting this miserable shit about fucking useless “thoughts and prayers.”
Your postings are evidence of a constipated brain, which is just a fancy way of saying: you’re completely full of shit!
quickly glanced through it and noticed these bits of "food at the proper time.
i'll leave the lap-dancing comment on page 25, par.
12 and the "how to give us more money" item on pages 28,29,30,31,32 for others to pick up on... page 16, par.
Lap dancing is defined as “an activity in which a usually seminude performer sits and gyrates on the lap of a customer.”
Whew! Thanks for the definition WT!
So, I understand:
But I’m a little fuzzy on the meaning of: “gyrates.”
Brother WT conducter, could you please explain “gyrates” to me? Maybe if you gave a little demonstration we’d all understand it a bit better.
And while you’re at it, perhaps you could tell us how you came to have this special “knowledge.”
what are you thoughts on this?.
i find this alarming because jones was very outspoken and had great guests on discussing topics most other media outlets wouldn't go near.. the fact that many have restricted him access to their medium what does this say on our freedoms of speech?.
Free speech is a public right, not a private one.
Private social media platforms do not have to allow anyone and everyone a stage or a microphone. Alex Jones can go to the local public square and spout his nonsense. Anyone that wants to listen, can.
for ex jws, pimos, pomos, faders, born again christians, agnostics, atheists, etc.
what is your opinion regarding sex before marriage, has your view been influenced since you left?
in western society, you’ll probably find yourself ridiculed to be an 18 year old virgin so i am curious to hear opinions from here.
For many people that's the only time they'll get any! ... LOL
But seriously, most people have sex more for pleasure than procreation, so as long as it's safe and consensual have at it.
Personally, I really enjoy having good sex with someone I care about and that returns the feelings.
Marriage is a completely different -- although not unrelated -- subject.
i have been invited to speak at an international cultic studies association workshop this fall.
i could use your help in focusing on my presentation subject.. these workshops are for former members of any cult or other high-control, authoritarian group, not just jehovah's witnesses.
last year, i spoke at one of their larger conferences in europe.
Hi everyone,
Thank you all for your posts!
I have been closely following all the comments and suggestions from everyone that has participated so far. I really appreciate the thoughtfulness that you have given to this subject -- it is very evident from everyone's posts.
Although we all share the JW cult experience and everything that goes with being in this religion and leaving it, we still have had fairly different paths and experiences upon leaving. As a result, the things that are most important to each of us differs between us.
Perhaps it's not too surprising that there is no one topic that is the clear front-runner. However, there are three about which there is a general consensus:
As many of you have commented, these are very related. Indeed, it's really impossible to talk about one without touching on the others -- at least insofar as they relate to each other.
For example, one obvious reason many of us felt isolated and possibly lonely when we first left the cult is because we were cut-off and shunned by our family and former friends that remained in the group. We no longer had that community. Even if we no longer believed the Governing Body is guided by God, we still all need and want (as does everyone) to feel that we belong somewhere and are cared about by others. It's a devastating loss and not one that is easily replaced.
Couple that with the JW belief that everyone that is not a member is part of "Satan's system of things," and it's more than likely that most of us had few, if any, friends outside of the religion.
These and other beliefs have a lot to do with creating those feelings of isolation and loneliness. They all must be addressed in order to overcome them, and that takes a lot of work.
I intend to come back later this coming week and respond specifically to some of the excellent, very thoughtful comments that you all have made.
In the meantime, know that I greatly appreciate everyone's contributions. It's all been -- and continues to be -- very helpful to me.
jp
hi guys.. as some of you may be aware, i'm currently studying in uni part time training to become a therapist and councilor for ex-cult victims.
my goal is to be the vest best therapist i can be, specifically for ex-witnesses (because i can relate completely), and i plan to incorporate hypnotherapy in my therapy sessions.. i have already trained in hypnosis, however i'm not trained in hypnosis for therapy.
nor am i licensed to practice it in therapeutic work.. i'm hoping you can help me to change that.
PE Congrats on your plans to get into a helping profession.
If you haven’t done so already, I’d strongly encourage you to study cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as an effective intervention for helping ex-cult members.
In that vein, are you familiar with the work of Peter Kinderman? He is a professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool. I took a course of his a couple of years ago. Very helpful. Although the course I took was fairly general and did not specifically address cults -- rather it focused on common mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and PTSD -- his course helped me consider alternative ways of treating the inevitable negative aftereffects of being in a cult.
The overall focus of Kinderman's work is mental health as opposed to mental illness. The shift in focus on health and well-being rather than illness is profound.
You might find this book of his insightful: The New Laws of Psychology. I highly recommend it.
jp
what could you say to prove to a witness that they simply do not have the truth?.
It's easy to "prove" many of their beliefs and practices are wrong, unbiblical and even harmful.
What's impossible is to convince them of any of this.
That's not how cult indoctrination works and not how it can be undone.
And let's review: It's a cult!
