i don't think there's any "one right way" to go about trying to show friends and family that the religion is both false and harmful.
but i do think there are a couple of things we should keep in mind..
) the religion is a social network.
Thank you for sharing this. I'd add PATIENCE. You never know how long will it take for all that to finally sink in. You never know what of what we say or do creates the desired effect of opening their eyes.
In the end, by doing that we really intervening in people's personal decisions without their permission, so having patience is appropriate.
Once again, thank you for sharing.
new wt just came out.
about self control.
by the way looking at outlines the word disfelowshipped not in there 52 outlines.
Good to know (I guess).
i bring up this subject because of all the restrictions children have to endure in the jw cult.
they are made prisoners of mind and body.
being forced to do things that are not natural for children to do.
I bring up this subject because of all the restrictions children have to endure in the JW cult. They are made prisoners of mind and body. Being forced to do things that are not natural for children to do. In time looking for freedom to do what they want to do but can't. Just like a inmate in prison think of all the things children are restricted from doing. Still Totally ADD
In short yes, in my not-so-humble opinion and as a born-in. However, it is not that cut and dry. There are different family dynamics everywhere, and the JWs are not an exception.
The very first thing that I did when learning TTATT was to make sure that I understood the difference between the WT, the congregation and all that JW crap, and my dysfunctional abusive violent family.
Today as a mature man I can point with accuracy which of my issues come from the Wt and which come from my messed up family, and which comes from my messed up family's misuse and abuse of the WT teachings.
My upbringing and survival of it did feel like a jail, but the JW crap was just one layer of dysfunction in my family. Personally I am quite clear of that.
I don't get tired of talking about how much those folks at the WT don't give a rat's ass about children. I rest my case.
my mom and sisters have not had any contact with my family for the past year and a half.. we even recently announced a new pregnancy and none of them acknowledged it or called to say congratulations or anything.. this past week my non-witness grandfather passed away and i had thought that for the sake of his death and funeral, it being "necessary family business" that they would at least be civil in front of our other family.
all of them still ignored me, my sisters didn't even speak to my children at all - to be honest i don't think my kids even knew who they were.
for the sake of my grandmother i made a small attempt at the end of the day to say goodbye to my mother and she kind of just brushed past me and said goodbye without really looking at me.. anyways my grandmother told me later that my mom spoke to her and said "i love my daughter and i love my grandchildren and i'm so upset that she won't allow me to see them".
Have any of you had this experience where you have allowed your JW families to continue to see your children?
First, my condolences for your loss.
They are playing victims. They are full of shit, not necessarily by their own merit, but mostly because that's how they feel loyal to the WT, that is, because of their brainwashing.
The number one tactic that cults, controlling groups and conservatives use on a daily basis is to always trying to portray themselves as victims in every situation. That way they gain allies, they get others to see you as a bad person, and they reinforce the nonsense that they believe.
I'm so sorry that you are going through that. It's unwarranted and hurtful.
the wt teaches that "fatherless boys" need special care and attention in the congregation.
however, as brought out at the rc their definition of "fatherless boys" includes boys that have actual fathers who maybe very well qualified to teach and raise their sons.
according to wt, if either of your parents aren't jws then you are a "fatherless boy.
The WT teaches that "fatherless boys" need special care and attention in the congregation.
As I have stated several times, I wouldn't take ANY advice from the WT regarding children. They do not care about them, they have no interest in their well being, and they have no professional knowledge (nor care for having it) on child psychology, nor in early childhood education.
They have nothing useful to contribute when it comes to raising children.
after seeing tiger woods mug shot the idea hit me, a makeup artist for the famous and rich...i have never seen a mug shot of someone who didn't look like, well you know..weekends you camp out around the police station and charge 20-30 bucks to clean up arrestee(you the makeup artist) before taking their mug shot..i'am sure tiger would have paid big bucks.
i have never taken a mug shot but why don't they offer the folks a mirror......of course you will need to make arrangement with the law but i think it's a good idea to make folks presentable.
i'am sure some folks are declared guilty by just looking at their mug shot..
I think somebody already had that idea.
many years ago i met an older man in the ministry who told me he was a baptized jw years ago, when i met him he was an alchoholic and had girlfriends, i told the elders, two came by and they told me to treat him as a regular worldly guy, my question is (i know this is a fuzzy area) about how much time needs to go by before someone (me for instance) would be looked upon as a non jw worldly person?.
:0).
my question is (I know this is a fuzzy area) about how much time needs to go by before someone (me for instance) would be looked upon as a non JW worldly person?
It is in fact a fuzzy area. As others mentioned it really depends on many factors. In my case I moved to a congregation where no one knew me and then faded. I also moved a lot. Then there's my "F-U" attitude towards them, so in my case they were actually very eager to pretend that they don't even recognize my face.
I have family that's in (they all live at a distance), they tend to be by the book so I'm just trying not to give them an "official" reason to shun me if possible,
Sorry to hear about the things you have to go through to manage having a relationship with loved ones. Question: are you comfortable with half truths and lies? The easiest way is lying to them or mislead them to believe something (to that they are very well conditioned by the WT). If not, just try to keep things general and vague. That way they may have some sense to leave you some space. I don't think that there are easy answers.
i wasn't entirely sure what to expect when i made the decision to tell my parents how i really feel, but i was prepared for the worst, fortunately, it didn't come to that.
after i told them i didn't want to go to the meetings anymore it led to a long talk with them.
they made a number of irksome and woefully uninformed statements but at least they were not aggressive and have said that they won't force me to move out over this, though, i can tell they are hoping they can convince me to "accept the truth," as long as i still live with them.
Anyway, I just thought I would let anyone who was interested in my story know how things have worked out so far.
Thank you for sharing your story. I appreciate it very much. Also, you may be helping others in similar situations that lurk around the forum.
Great job, and I commend you for your courage.
i am asking this questions due to the teachings, beliefs and practices of different religions..
I am asking this questions due to the teachings, beliefs and practices of different religions.
In short, yes. There are degrees of truths in many religions. Personally I think that looking for "a true religion" is the wrong approach to healthy spirituality.
It is sad that many controlling groups use half truths and pseudo facts to entice people to join them. On the other hand, some well intended religious organizations may try to force people to do believe things that are not accurate or true.
Also, please keep in mind that knowledge of some truthful facts are not the only things that people look for when joining a religion. Some people can't care less if they are believing or saying something that doesn't make sense. Instead, they care more of what religions make them feel. Their feeling part of a community, feeling taken care of, feeling hope, staying away from the streets, etc, those things are more important to them than if what they preach is accurate.
