Posts by paradiseseeker

7

Do you know any good novel about faith crisis?

by paradiseseeker in

jw
friends

i'm looking for something to read.

i'm interested in ecclesiastical settings like churches and gothic cities.

but the most important thing i look for is the inner thoughts and evolution of the main character: his/her feelings of guilt, regular visits to the confessor, self-comfort drawn from faith, praying god/saints, relapses and self-loathing as well as his/her process of "waking up".. i know it's something very particular and there's a lot of junk literature about the topic with poor writing and archetype characters, but if you have read anything of good quality, i would be very glad to know.. thank you in advance..

paradiseseeker

Thank you all for your recommendations! I'll check them out.

7

Do you know any good novel about faith crisis?

by paradiseseeker in

jw
friends

i'm looking for something to read.

i'm interested in ecclesiastical settings like churches and gothic cities.

but the most important thing i look for is the inner thoughts and evolution of the main character: his/her feelings of guilt, regular visits to the confessor, self-comfort drawn from faith, praying god/saints, relapses and self-loathing as well as his/her process of "waking up".. i know it's something very particular and there's a lot of junk literature about the topic with poor writing and archetype characters, but if you have read anything of good quality, i would be very glad to know.. thank you in advance..

paradiseseeker

I'm looking for something to read. I'm interested in ecclesiastical settings like churches and gothic cities. But the most important thing I look for is the inner thoughts and evolution of the main character: his/her feelings of guilt, regular visits to the confessor, self-comfort drawn from faith, praying God/saints, relapses and self-loathing as well as his/her process of "waking up".

I know it's something very particular and there's a lot of junk literature about the topic with poor writing and archetype characters, but if you have read anything of good quality, I would be very glad to know.

Thank you in advance.

45

Personal opinions spouted from the platform?

by purrpurr in

have you ever heard some brothers own ideas and opinions spouted from the platform?

perhaps off brand or crazy ones?

some that i've heard is:.

paradiseseeker

If you really believe in God, you don't sin. Because if you acknowledge that God is seeing you, then you won't do anything bad.

This was said by an elder who is a compulsive liar and a born manipulator.

STUCKINARUT2

The King of the North is Jon Snow. End of discussion.

12

Did you become more antisocial after waking up?

by paradiseseeker in

jw
friends

i've been shy my whole life, but during my teenage years and early 20s i managed to be more comfortable socializing and made many friends in different parts of my country (jws of course).

that was before i woke up, because i saw myself being a jw for the rest of my life and thus i made an effort to meet new jw friends.

however, after i woke up, i lost interest in meeting new people because knowing that when i leave they will be gone... feels like a total waste of time and energy.

paradiseseeker

I've been shy my whole life, but during my teenage years and early 20s I managed to be more comfortable socializing and made many friends in different parts of my country (JWs of course). That was before I woke up, because I saw myself being a JW for the rest of my life and thus I made an effort to meet new JW friends. However, after I woke up, I lost interest in meeting new people because knowing that when I leave they will be gone... Feels like a total waste of time and energy. Except for my very very close friends, I don't feel like going out with JWs in my town either.

It seems like I took several steps backwards in my fight against shyness.

I hope this process will be reversed when I leave.

Have you experienced something similar?

15

This is my story

by paradiseseeker in

i've already posted in this forum but i haven't told you my story.

nowadays i'm a pimo in my late 20s from spain.. i was born in the cult and i can say that during my whole childhood and most of my teenage years i believed in this.

however, i felt that here was something wrong with me, as i wasn't comfortable telling people i was jw, talking about jw stuff, nor did i feel "excited" and "grateful" whenever a watchtower publication told me that i should.

paradiseseeker

Thank you very much for your kind words. I'll keep you updated.

ONTHEWAYOUT

Yes, I've already considered that option, but in my case I think it wouldn't work. Me and my family are well-known among the congregations in our city and I myself have some very close friends who would be always asking what's going on if I ever stop attending meetings or become inactive. Apart from that, I want to be involved in my community, culturally and politically, and because of that I no longer want to be "careful" with the things I post on social media, so I think that leaving is the best option for me.

LOISLANE LOOKING FOR SUPERMAN

No words... You are a wonderful and brave mother. You certainly must love and know your daughter if you could just look through WT's FOG and see her sincerity in her eyes. I hope you are right. And of course, I'll keep you informed! Thanks for your concern.

NEVER A JW

¡Qué bien que haya más hispanohablantes por aquí! Muchas gracias, de verdad. Bueno, creo que lo que he hecho hasta ahora era seguir lo que me parecía más lógico y coherente, aún me queda demostrar valor el día que decida salirme. De seguro vuestro apoyo me ayudará a seguir adelante sin importar lo que pase.

XANTHIPPE

I hope the best for your daughter (although she already has the best mother/father). If she likes this job, she will surely enjoy it despite the challenges that we as teachers face nowadays. Well, I think that I am shy but I somehow manage to make new friends rather easily, even non-JWs, so I think you are right. Thank you!

THE FALL GUY

Thank you. Well, I think that I'll choose the "hard" one but I'm waiting for the best and least harmful moment for me and my loved ones. It is going to hurt anyway but I know that I can rely on all of you.

ALLTIMEJEFF

Thank you for your words, it's very comforting to read that some people see so many positive aspects through the things we write that in many cases we are not aware of. I think you are right, as I told to ONEWAYOUT, leaving is the most suitable option for me as I would get rid of WT boundaries and develop my full potential. I hope you have made some friends by now, in my case I already have some but not as close as my JW friends are, so it is going to be kinda hard.

CHA CHING

Yes, you are absolutely right. Even preferring being lied to and keep our comfort zone is unbearable in this situation as we have to deprive ourselves from a lot of vital things in life.

25

WT predicting smartphones back in the 20s?

by paradiseseeker in

jw
friends

i've come across a jw friendly article about watchtower predicting smartphones in the 20s.. .

of course, in the comments section there are a lot of jws freaking out saying "there is no doubt that this is the only true organization!

", "thanks jehovah that used his faithful and discreet slave to tell us some useful information about the future!

paradiseseeker

I've come across a JW friendly article about Watchtower predicting smartphones in the 20s.

Of course, in the comments section there are a lot of JWs freaking out saying "there is no doubt that this is the only true organization!", "thanks Jehovah that used his faithful and discreet slave to tell us some useful information about the future!", "it must be holy spirit's work!", "no one could have known this information with so much anticipation! Jehovah is with us!"

I wonder what would they think when they read that their beloved WT couldn't foresee that shunning was going to be turned into Biblical before writing this article in the 40s:

It is even more interesting knowing that Jehovah considered crucial to reveal the future existence of smartphones but didn't say a word about the overlapping generation before the original generation was almost completely gone.

And of course, Jehovah might have used other people apart from the WT, as there are some postcard images from the early 1900s predicting Skype calls.

Anything you'd like to add?

5

When lacking education makes you say some eternal truths

by paradiseseeker in

jw
friends

i think some of us are familiar with those jw facebook pages that post images that are shared by our contacts from time to time.. i don't know if this happens with english speaking jws, but in the case of spanish speaking jws many of those images contain some spelling and grammar mistakes.. but this one is killing me nicely.. .

it literally means: "unless you use your life to serve jehovah, you will never feel empty".. beautiful :').

paradiseseeker

I think some of us are familiar with those JW Facebook pages that post images that are shared by our contacts from time to time.

I don't know if this happens with English speaking JWs, but in the case of Spanish speaking JWs many of those images contain some spelling and grammar mistakes.

But this one is killing me nicely.

It literally means: "Unless you use your life to serve Jehovah, you will never feel empty".

Beautiful :')

21

Will paradise be like a 24/7 Disneyland vacation package?

by Sour Grapes in

i was thinking about the jdub paradise this morning and all of the pictures in the watchtower company's literature illustrating the new system of things.. here is a partial list of what you see in the pictures:.

pet pandas, lions, elephants.

people always on a picnic with lots of beautiful fruits and vegetables.

paradiseseeker

I can recall my teenage years when I secretly wished that the New World didn't come before Kingdom Hearts 2 was released (and now I'm totally confident that even Kingdom Hearts 3 will come before the New World).

Anyway, apart from all the things you said, could you imagine how the second generation living in the new world would be? A generation that has no idea of what pain and problems are like? It would surely consist of a bunch of spoiled grown-up kids without challenges and life goals who would live much below their potential.

That was the main reason that convinced me that Paradise is impossible. And even if it were possible, it would me inhumane and immoral.

15

This is my story

by paradiseseeker in

i've already posted in this forum but i haven't told you my story.

nowadays i'm a pimo in my late 20s from spain.. i was born in the cult and i can say that during my whole childhood and most of my teenage years i believed in this.

however, i felt that here was something wrong with me, as i wasn't comfortable telling people i was jw, talking about jw stuff, nor did i feel "excited" and "grateful" whenever a watchtower publication told me that i should.

paradiseseeker

Thank you Giordano.

Well, my mother is very devotee but since we have suffered a lot of bad experiences with authoritarian and hypocritical elders (my father was removed from being an elder and MS as a result of these intrigues) she doesn't expect anything related to privileges from me, just serving Jehovah. My father feels betrayed because of the intrigues I mentioned, but he still believes in this.

It is going to be a great shock when I tell them that I leave... but I think that there's still a chance that we keep some contact (my sister is dfd and they do talk to her).

Time will tell!

15

This is my story

by paradiseseeker in

i've already posted in this forum but i haven't told you my story.

nowadays i'm a pimo in my late 20s from spain.. i was born in the cult and i can say that during my whole childhood and most of my teenage years i believed in this.

however, i felt that here was something wrong with me, as i wasn't comfortable telling people i was jw, talking about jw stuff, nor did i feel "excited" and "grateful" whenever a watchtower publication told me that i should.

paradiseseeker

Hi there!

I've already posted in this forum but I haven't told you my story. Here it is:

Nowadays I'm a PIMO in my late 20s from Spain.

I was born in the cult and I can say that during my whole childhood and most of my teenage years I believed in this. However, I felt that here was something wrong with me, as I wasn't comfortable telling people I was JW, talking about JW stuff, nor did I feel "excited" and "grateful" whenever a Watchtower publication told me that I should.

As you can imagine, preaching was something that I hated from the bottom of my heart.

I was baptised at the age of 14 and the first "shock" came when I was 16. I had finished secondary school (here in Spain it lasts 4 years, for 12 to 16 year-olds), my marks were excellent but I didn't know what to do next, and I was a bit tired of studying. Thus, following the recommendations of the DVD "What Will I Do with My Life?", I decided to annull my enrolment for Bachillerato (a 2 year preparatory course for university) and I began to work with my father in something related to construction with the hope of becoming regular pioneer when I hit 18.

This lasted less than a year, but it was the most depressing and miserable period of my life: I hated my job, I was bad at it, I felt like scum. The comfort, self-worth and motivation that I once drew from studying were gone... And I didn't improve at all in my preaching, so knowing that I wasn't good enough at it made everything worse. As a result, the image of the pioneer full of happiness and holy spirit was shattered into pieces for me, and it was kinda shocking that I didn't become happy doing what the organization said. Thus, I decided to begin Bachillerato.

After I began, I just 2 or 3 months I became the happiest person on earth: it was hard, but I was good at it and I loved the things I learned. My classmates were awesome, we all felt like a big family. Here started my first serious "Crisis of Conscience": I felt so comfortable with my "worldly" classmates that I started feeling angry with all the things the Org said about mixing with non-believers and so on.. and little by little I started to reject everything about the Org. I even come across some apostate material but I didn't take it too seriously (although it planted some little seeds). When the end of Bachillerato was getting closer, I realized that I had to decide: to begin a regular degree and eventually leaving the JWs, or to start an on-line degree and staying in. Back then, although I felt the aforementioned "anger", I wasn't mentally ready to leave and I wasn't even fully "awaken", as I still believed in the JW prophecies, so I chose the second option.

During my degree years I lost contact with almost all my former classmates and met many new JW friends and thus I somehow "recovered" spiritually, although there were some things that I preferred not to investigate in much detail (evolution, the veracity of the Bible...) because I knew my JW arguments didn't stand a chance. I saw myself being a JW for the rest of my life, even though I was a bit atypical: I was very "rational", I listened to heavy metal, I loved spicy humour and swearing -with my friends-, and I admitted openly that there were many things I couldn't agree with like encouraging children to get baptised.

Little by little these incongruities in my person became more and more difficult to bear and my former doubts began to flourish again and I started to question many other things (like the utopia of paradise, the poor arguments used in WT literature, the hypocrisy of inviting others to ours meetings but we are not allowed to attend theirs, the moral weakness of many JWs, the problem with the non-existing signs of "the last days", the authoritarian and cruel nature of disfellowshipping, the control that the organization would like to enforce on the information we take in...). Finally, one night during the summer of 2014 I reached this fatal conclusion with tears in my eyes: If I ever wanted to become a whole and consequent adult, I HAD to leave the JWs.

From that date, my awakening process has progressed full speed ahead (607, evolution, Bible prophecies, the ARC...) and we can say that we have arrived to the point where I am now.

I'm still living with my parents, as I'm still studying to pass some entrance exams to become an English teacher (my degree was English Literature) and thus economically independent. I hope to achieve this independence throughout this year and I hope to leave the JWs afterwards.

It is going to be very hard, as I have my close family and some dearest friends within the cult, but I know it can't be otherwise, I don't want to live in an eternal contradiction.

Thank you very much for reading my experience (sorry if this post is too long!)

Any comment will be highly appreciated.

Paradiseseeker.