Posts by Unstuck

19

Jerusalem's destruction.....

by Unstuck in

hello all - so me and stuckinarut2 are at the state library proving to ourselves that wt has it all wrong re: 607. i've read at length jwfacts, jwsurvey and crisis of conscience that all go into the subject and i've just downloaded gentile times reconsidered.. while it is fabulous to have someone else compile all the research and evidence for you, it is quite another to see it in print for yourself - and so, here we are.. while we wait for our array of books i couldn't help but share with you how the state library has catalogued jewish history - 586 bc to 70 ad.

no mention of 607 as a key date as far as the library's catalogue is concerned!!

evidence before we have our books!!.

Unstuck

Just a very big THANK YOU to everyone who has posted on this thread. Thank you so much for taking the time. You've given me a lot to think about, mull over, and study more!!

Love and light to all! Mwah!

17

Never give up!

by stuckinarut2 in

i just wanted to share a quick thread to remind us all to never give up hope that our loved ones who are still mentally trapped in the org may one day wake up.. when i first starting waking up i never thought my wife would also awake.

i have always loved and respected her ability to think and reason, but i assumed that the hold of the organisation would always have its grip on her.. but slowly, and with patience, i shared some things i had learned, and the results have been amazing!.

my dear wife, who posts here under the name "unstuck" is so fully awake along with me.

Unstuck

Hi all - stuckinarut2's other half here.

Thank you everyone for your very kind words and thoughts - feeling the love here on the other side of the planet!

Um - I add my words to stuck's, my first thought is for those who don't have their nearest and dearest by their side, or who have been shunned by those closest to them because you now see the "truth" for what it is - a big pile of stinking lies! I feel and share your pain - we now have aunts, sister and cousins shunning us just because we are inactive (let alone awake!). But I am grateful each day that I have my closest with me in this journey to support me and discuss things with - with no judgment but true freedom of expression and thought. It is truly a beautiful thing.

Eyeuseto2badub - you said: "I think that the most significant thing is that she has seen me transfer from being an uptight, always worried, seldom happy, constantly busy with 'theocratic' activities, no fun elder, circuit assembly speaker, life time jw to now being a much happier, not too serious, content, fun loving, having time for my hobbies, non critical of others, non judgmental regular human being."

Yes, yes, yes!! That was one of the things that impressed me the most with stuck. Everything was blowing up around us, the cong was either ignoring him, or elders were pressuring to "meet", I wasn't sure which way was up, but I couldn't help but notice that he was so much happier, less stressed, more relaxed and easy-going and I wasn't the only one to notice the improvement. He allowed me to question him and he didn't judge my responses (even though some of these, I'm ashamed to say now, were very in-JW speak) - he didn't react emotionally to that, he let me say what I needed to and listened as I processed where he was now up to.

I'm an all or nothing kinda girl. So when I was a JW I was all-the-way-JW. I can well understand why Stuck didn't share his doubts and questions with me when he first started having them - I was still too-in. But he showed incredible patience with me, and he allowed me the time I needed to stop feeling guilty as my meeting attendance started to drop. He created an environment at home that was entirely judgement free which subtly let me relax! And not always be on! These things helped tremendously.

I hope that these thoughts and comments help someone else in a similar situation. Just keep showing unconditional love (a bit of a foreign concept for JWs) and be consistent in listening to your loved one, allow them to express themselves and support them as they process and think it all through. I sincerely hope that your efforts result in freeing others from JW bondage.

Love and light to all. Mwah!

Unstuck

19

Jerusalem's destruction.....

by Unstuck in

hello all - so me and stuckinarut2 are at the state library proving to ourselves that wt has it all wrong re: 607. i've read at length jwfacts, jwsurvey and crisis of conscience that all go into the subject and i've just downloaded gentile times reconsidered.. while it is fabulous to have someone else compile all the research and evidence for you, it is quite another to see it in print for yourself - and so, here we are.. while we wait for our array of books i couldn't help but share with you how the state library has catalogued jewish history - 586 bc to 70 ad.

no mention of 607 as a key date as far as the library's catalogue is concerned!!

evidence before we have our books!!.

Unstuck

Hello all - so me and Stuckinarut2 are at the State Library proving to ourselves that WT has it all wrong re: 607. I've read at length JWfacts, JWsurvey and Crisis of Conscience that all go into the subject and I've just downloaded Gentile Times Reconsidered.

While it is fabulous to have someone else compile all the research and evidence for you, it is quite another to see it in print for yourself - and so, here we are.

While we wait for our array of books I couldn't help but share with you how the State Library has catalogued Jewish history - 586 BC to 70 AD. No mention of 607 as a key date as far as the library's catalogue is concerned!! Evidence before we have our books!!

And so tumbles down the whole foundation of WT doctrine....(1914 wrong / 1919 wrong / FD slave chosen wrong etc etc)

11

You're not going to believe what I'm about to tell you....

by kpop in

jw
friends

nicely sums up most of the population.... https://theoatmeal.com/comics/believe.

Unstuck

Wow - I love the oatmeal. It's always hysterical and gets to the heart of whatever topic.

I hadn't seen this one before and I hadn't known cognitive dissonance by another name: the backfire effect.

What a fantastic strip, really enjoyed.

Thanks for sharing kpop.

10

Jehovah's Witnesses: DO THEY FACE REALITY

by TerryWalstrom in

article

1.the organization itself denies access to reality and substitutes its own version, interpretations, and meanings.

a.only watchtower approved publications are allowed.

Unstuck

Brilliantly written Terry - and well worth wading through despite the lack of formatting (don't you hate that when it happens!)

You have crystallized beautifully the thoughts tumbling around in my head recently. Yesterday, I had a long talk with a very active JW whom I had lived with in my much younger days. We had pioneered together and she had just heard along the JW grapevine that I was no longer attending meetings.

I had a very careful conversation with her (as I'm not d'Ad or d'Fd but feel the vultures circling) and I kept coming up against a lot of what you list above. To her credit, she listened, wasn't defensive (how can you be about the ARC for example - what's to defend!) but she was trying to reason with me and find positives about the ORG. I really had to try hard not to laugh when she said: "But the GB have never claimed to be inspired" - and you captured that little gem above too. I just remarked that the language from the GB is contradictory: on one hand: "we're not inspired", on the other hand: "we are the F&D slave and we provide food at the proper time from Christ and Jehovah" - I told her that you can't have it both ways, you can't claim to be God's channel for spiritual food and yet not be inspired. She didn't have a response.

Anyway, I won't bore you all with the details but reading through your post reminded me so much of the conversation I had with her. She tried, but she can't actually see where I am coming from as I'm introducing ideas that are not allowed to be considered. It's a wonder she didn't use the A word - although I'm positive she was thinking it.

Tick, tock, The days are ticking until my game is up, I'm sure. In the meantime, I will continue to act with dignity, poise and grace and to respect those JWs that still bother to speak with me, never forcing my views or trying to tear away the fabric of their indoctrination. I want to be able to hold my head high that no matter what provocation I will not behave in a manner that justifies their twisted opinions (although I'm not naive to think that no matter how admirably I act I won't be branded evil anyway). At least in my own opinion I will have conducted myself with honour and integrity.

Apologies - I kinda made it about me in the end didn't I! What I really wanted to say was THANK YOU for a very thought-provoking and well constructed post.

Love and light to all

Unstuck

16

Toxic Person?

by stuckinarut2 in

i read a fantastic quote that applies to the way the society treats those who choose to leave...:.

"when a toxic person can no longer control you, they will try and control how others see you".

just wanted to share....

Unstuck

Blondie - that is indeed a fantastic book. I read it a few years back as I tried to come to terms with my toxic parents and their impact. Might be a good idea to pull it out again and read it from a rather different point of view now.

Stuck just sent me another quote that is applicable to this post: "Never forget that walking away from something unhealthy is brave".

There are a lot of brave people on this forum and I am grateful to you all for what you share - it has helped me tremendously.

Love to all

Unstuck

7

"It is BECAUSE I value Truth and Honesty that I have chosen to no longer attend"

by stuckinarut2 in

yes, i used that line when questioned by someone as to why we no longer attend.. it needs to be used calmly and without any arrogance.

then this direct, yet simple comment can't help but make the person think!.

Unstuck

Agreed!

We are more honest now that we have left. We are not part of a dishonest group....

29

New "paradise" video preview? "Will you be there?"

by stuckinarut2 in

my wife (unstuck) just saw a new 2-3 min video in her ex jw facebook feed, depicting a "paradise" scene preview.. it was complete with aerial shots and slow motion montages, with moving music.. scriptures were quoted across the screen, such as rev 21:3,4. i shazamed the music, and it came from another "worldly" album called "world of dreams.future world music" (you should see the song titles from that album!).

is it an official wt video, or some private persons production?.

if it is official, they seem to have once again resorted to desperate emotional manipulation tactics..... anyone else know?

Unstuck

Deleted - sent link to Wifi to see if he can extract it and post it (Privacy issues...)

9

Thank you for helping me through the bad days

by doubtfull1799 in

i'm sure that whatever stage we are at with our journey in leaving the corporation disguised as a religion, aka the watchtower bible & tract society, we have good days and bad days.

maybe young ones who have managed to escape mentally do not suffer quite as much, or suffer in different ways, but after 40 years of indoctrination, what i now like to call the "machinery of reinforcement" it is unavoidable that you don't have days where your head is messed with.

yesterday was just such a day for me.

Unstuck

"part of the brotherhood of heretics"

no-zombie - love it!! Count me in as a proud member of the brotherhood!

Right - I know, I'm supposed to get back to work.......

9

Thank you for helping me through the bad days

by doubtfull1799 in

i'm sure that whatever stage we are at with our journey in leaving the corporation disguised as a religion, aka the watchtower bible & tract society, we have good days and bad days.

maybe young ones who have managed to escape mentally do not suffer quite as much, or suffer in different ways, but after 40 years of indoctrination, what i now like to call the "machinery of reinforcement" it is unavoidable that you don't have days where your head is messed with.

yesterday was just such a day for me.

Unstuck

Wow - thanks Doubtfull1799. So nice to read your post (while I munch on lunch during a busy day) although not so nice to see the challenges yesterday presented to you.

First - I'm so sorry to hear about your work colleague. When you leave being a JW, your work relationships take on a new meaning. I have found support at my place of work from the most unusual and unexpected sources - they try their best to understand and some of them show uncanny insight. I have become closer to my work colleagues and I imagine you have to and so you will feel your colleagues death particularly keenly. 27 is way too young!! And too the false teachings we were raised with re: resurrection etc make the experience more difficult in a way. How wonderful that funds were raised to get the widow's mum to the funeral! So called "worldly" people show more generosity of spirit, kindness, unconditional love and support than those who claim to represent God's Son. Go figure.....

Stuck told me about your day yesterday and about what the coordinator said to you. I really feel for you. Despite it all, allow yourself the time to grieve the relationship that was. It is his choice to reject you, and his loss, but your choice to allow yourself to close the door on it, in time, when you can. Hold your head up high that you stated your reasons clearly, you made your stand. He rejects that stand but again, it is narrow mindedness to see that as a choice - but that is what we are dealing with.

I so look forward to meeting you in person one day and I hope that day will be soon!

Much love & light (back to the grind, lunch munch over....)

Unstuck