Well yeah, Crazyguy, this is the religion of give give give all you have and then some to the maleficent seven... er I mean Governing Body... and get nothing in return, don't ya know.
Posts by Sevan
-
29The Elders want to meet with me and the hubby... Lol lol lol
by Sevan inso the elders called wanting to meet with me and my husband.
most likely because i told a concerned jw friend of mine that i really care about that i wasn't coming back and a couple of the issues i had.
i didn't bring up any so-called "apostate" information, just told her about the australian royal commission and that there are a lot of unscriptural teachings and that the gb apply scriptures that are about jehovah and jesus to themselves, which is idolatry.
-
-
-
29
The Elders want to meet with me and the hubby... Lol lol lol
by Sevan inso the elders called wanting to meet with me and my husband.
most likely because i told a concerned jw friend of mine that i really care about that i wasn't coming back and a couple of the issues i had.
i didn't bring up any so-called "apostate" information, just told her about the australian royal commission and that there are a lot of unscriptural teachings and that the gb apply scriptures that are about jehovah and jesus to themselves, which is idolatry.
-
-
Sevan
So the elders called wanting to meet with me and my husband.
Most likely because I told a concerned JW friend of mine that I really care about that I wasn't coming back and a couple of the issues I had. I didn't bring up any so-called "apostate" information, just told her about the Australian Royal Commission and that there are a lot of unscriptural teachings and that the GB apply Scriptures that are about Jehovah and Jesus to themselves, which is idolatry.
Well she reacted like a good JW bot and did not respond to anything I said and then turned me into the elders. I'm not mad at her. She's just reacting the way she's been trained by the cult to react. I still love her very much. She's a good person and could be an even better person without the cult pushing against her better more loving nature. I feel sorry for her being trapped in this cult. All her family, except her three adult children, are in the cult. She is so distressed about her children. Even before I left, I tried to put her mind at ease about her kids and told her that Jehovah reads hearts. I feel bad that she is sitting there thinking that her kids are getting destroyed at Armageddon. She is depressed a lot about this. This cult really messes with people's minds.
Anyway, back to the elders. These guys have never helped me when I have been in need. Never visited me when in the hospital, never helped me move, never helped me with family issues, never visited me or even called me when I missed meetings for several months one year, never helped me when I was out of work and had no money (my "worldly" family did thank you very much), etc, etc. And in the last 20 years, they have never called on me for a shepherding visit that I did not specifically ask for. I think I have had a total of 4 shepherding visits in the last two decades, all at my request.
But now that I have so-called "apostate" beliefs, I'm getting calls and messages from the elders. These "shepherds" of the flock. Lol lol lol lol. Yeah, I don't think so dudes.
I will never, ever, not in a million years, go back to that crazy pedophile harboring cult.
I'm only sad about those that I care about that are still in. That I can't say a proper farewell and tell them how much I love them. It is bull that I can't show them all that I've found. They probably wouldn't be willing to listen anyway, but I should at least have the option to try to help them. Even though I know their friendship is conditional on me being a JW, as they have been trained and as I was trained for too long, I do still think they are good people and I still do love my friends in the congregation. Very sad and heartbreaking.
But still worth it to get my children out of the cult while they are still young and have a chance at a normal childhood. And for myself and hopefully soon husband. I celebrated my birthday yesterday for the first time since I was 16! It was great! And I secretly celebrated my step-daughters birthday. I got her presents and made her a special cake. She loved it! Since she's still very indoctrinated, I put her mind at ease and told her it wasn't a birthday party, just my way of showing that I was excited that she turned 9. She bought it, lol.
My husband has been supporting me btw. He even made me a special breakfast and bought me flowers for my birthday. He just isn't ready to go full on anti-JW, even though he doesn't really believe, because all his immediate and extended family are in, which I understand.
-
83
Seeking support ... Where can a Christian go
by Sevan inhey all, .
so i recently posted for the first time and introduced myself.. i have been spending time reading various posts.
some informative, some not so much.. since i've been reading on here, i've read a lot from atheists.
-
-
Sevan
Giles Gray,
You are right in saying that my current concepts of God may be wrong. There are non-tangible reasons for my faith that cannot be described or explained with logic or science. To me, God just is. He is very real to me, even if I may not have all the details correct.
I do want to learn more about evolution, history, atheism, theism and many other topics. While those that know me consider me very well-educated, I fully accept that there are many areas that I could educate myself more thoroughly. I fully accept that some of the things I currently believe may be wrong.
I have a lot of research to do.
-
83
Seeking support ... Where can a Christian go
by Sevan inhey all, .
so i recently posted for the first time and introduced myself.. i have been spending time reading various posts.
some informative, some not so much.. since i've been reading on here, i've read a lot from atheists.
-
-
Sevan
atomant, I will PM with some experiences when I get a little time.
-
83
Seeking support ... Where can a Christian go
by Sevan inhey all, .
so i recently posted for the first time and introduced myself.. i have been spending time reading various posts.
some informative, some not so much.. since i've been reading on here, i've read a lot from atheists.
-
-
Sevan
Iown Mylife,
Yes, I agree that I have been very supported here and thank you for your thoughts.
I posted, not because of anything said to me personally, but because I was feeling unwelcome after reading some of the threads of Atheism. I read those threads to try to understand the Atheistic viewpoint. The threads did help me to understand Atheism better, however I felt disturbed at the vitriol and insults on the threads that I saw thrown at believers by some of the posters.
One person gave me the advice just to avoid those threads will I'm still feeling sensitive and disoriented. That is the best advice I think at this point.
I just left a month ago and I am not ready to challenge my faith in that way at this point. Just trying to process all my emotions.
-
83
Seeking support ... Where can a Christian go
by Sevan inhey all, .
so i recently posted for the first time and introduced myself.. i have been spending time reading various posts.
some informative, some not so much.. since i've been reading on here, i've read a lot from atheists.
-
-
Sevan
DJS, what you don't seem to understand is that there is a difference between personally believing in God and in judging others.
I don't personally believe any groups should be destroyed because it is not my place as a simple human to judge who should be destroyed or not.
I do believe God has that right, even if that includes my own destruction. My existence is at His pleasure and he does not owe me eternal life. God will do what he will regardless of my personal opinion anyway.
I don't necessarily believe that our interpretation of the Bible is entirely correct. For example, I think Armageddon may in fact be a very different event than I've been taught to believe it is all these years. I am just beginning to investigate these ideas. Just because I am grappling with Scripture and trying to understand and reconcile the Bible does not mean I am cherry picking. It just means that I am trying to understand the Bible from a different perspective after being indoctrinated first by the religion of my birth and second by the JWs for my entire life. I don't know completely what all I believe at this point outside of Christ and that is what I am trying to figure out.
-
83
Seeking support ... Where can a Christian go
by Sevan inhey all, .
so i recently posted for the first time and introduced myself.. i have been spending time reading various posts.
some informative, some not so much.. since i've been reading on here, i've read a lot from atheists.
-
-
Sevan
DJS, I do not hold to the Jehovah's Witness belief that billions of people are going to be destroyed, the vast majority of the world population. I have always had difficulty with that concept, even as a Jehovah's Witness.
The Bible says that God does not desire any to be destroyed. That says to me that he wants people to live and loves them. How he intends to accomplish this, I do not know. Still I think he has the right to do with his creation whatever he sees fit. Whether that means life or death for me or anyone else I leave up to God.
I like to think that there is hope for life beyond the short life we have on this earth. I personally have been blessed in many ways in my life, even though I have had much difficulty as well. Others have not been so lucky. Simply by accident of their birth, little children have starved to death, been tortured, beaten and raped to death. This breaks my heart beyond measure. One of the things that keeps me going on is the hope that these little children will get the chance to live again and be truly loved. I want them to know that they are loved and that I already love them. There are many others of all ages that have suffered horribly in life. I want to believe that their will be justice, love and happiness for them. I think the pain of human and animal suffering would be impossible for me to bear without this hope.
As for LGBT ex-JWs, I would like to hear more from them and their experiences. I read some of the experiences of gay ex-JWs on jwfacts.com and my heart was very touched from their experiences. It is very helpful to hear these experiences because it shows the world from a very different prospective and helps instill compassion and understanding. I never knew that gay JWs struggled with feelings of lack of acceptance or feeling that God didn't love them before I read those accounts. I always thought that God loved them even more because of the faith and sacrifice necessary to remain celibate for Him. The idea that God doesn't love you immensely just because you are gay, bi, trans or what have you, I think that is a human induced thought. I think God is much more understanding than we give him credit for.
Personally, I find the concept of someone having to live life without a life-partner difficult, but not impossible. Why the Bible condemns homosexual behavior when homosexuals are incapable of changing their sexuality, I do not know. I am still trying to understand this myself. However, I do not feel that I have the right to judge God. He is our Creator and as such has the right to define the rules. He knows many things that we do not and must therefore have reasons for everything that we may not be privy to.
As far as feeling that you aren't a good enough person, that God is disappointed in you, that you aren't doing enough for God, etc, etc, this is basically what the JW cult drills in everyone's heads constantly and incessantly. I have felt inadequate and not good enough for the entire time that I've been a Witness. That is a heavy weight to bear and I think one of the reasons that so many JWs are depressed. That is one of the reasons that I am shying away from organized religion as a whole and just trying to find God and Christ for myself.
If you want to continue to both look down on me and talk down to me for my faith, that is your cross to bear. I have to do what my conscience tells me I ought to.
-
83
Seeking support ... Where can a Christian go
by Sevan inhey all, .
so i recently posted for the first time and introduced myself.. i have been spending time reading various posts.
some informative, some not so much.. since i've been reading on here, i've read a lot from atheists.
-
-
Sevan
Giles Gray, the concept that everything, in all its wonder and complexity, just got here by chance, does not and cannot make rational sense to me. That scripture about every house having a builder really hits home for me, especially when you consider that the natural world and universe is far more complex and awe-inspiring than any house.
There are many other things I've experienced and learned over the years that informs my belief in God, but the universe and all creation is a big one.
Now the Atheist posters here have echoed some of my own questions and issues with the Abrahamic God. Issues I had even when I was a dye-hard JW. I have tried to get help for these issues, but I am still grasping to understand why rape, murder, abuse, misogyny and slavery were allowed, even seemingly encouraged. I know that there may be a bigger picture that I am not seeing at the moment.
Outside of the loving and self-sacrificing example of Jesus and many of the higher principles in the Bible about being peaceable, loving, humble, slow to anger, etc., my faith is on shaky ground. But that is a journey that I feel I must grapple with on my own for now. When I've thought more deeply on everything, I may be able to come back here and engage in intellectual and theological discussions.
-
83
Seeking support ... Where can a Christian go
by Sevan inhey all, .
so i recently posted for the first time and introduced myself.. i have been spending time reading various posts.
some informative, some not so much.. since i've been reading on here, i've read a lot from atheists.
-
-
Sevan
Thank you for your thoughts FayeDunaway. I will keep them in mind as I study the Bible for the first time without the influence of organized religion. I was raised in the Assemblies of God church before the Jehovah's Witnesses found me in the door to door ministry, so I have always been influenced by organized religion. It should be interesting to just read the Bible on my own now.
-
83
Seeking support ... Where can a Christian go
by Sevan inhey all, .
so i recently posted for the first time and introduced myself.. i have been spending time reading various posts.
some informative, some not so much.. since i've been reading on here, i've read a lot from atheists.
-
-
Sevan
Cofty, thank you for your posts.
It is not that I am opposed to the discussion of the evidence for my faith, it is just that I don't see the benefit at this point in my life. I have reasons for my faith, but at this point would rather not get in theological debates. I don't call that wanting to "have my cake and eat it too." I call that respecting my own emotional boundaries at this point in time.
As for evidence, 100% proof of God's existence, that will never happen. There is no way to prove the existence of God, especially the existence of a particular God. If there was, there would be no need for faith.
I fully accept that I do not have all the answers nor will I ever. Each one of us and still all of us together only know an infinitesimal amount of what there is to know in the universe.