given my new, unincumbered state of mind, i am rereading a few favourites and ones i haven't read before.
i'm reading east of eden again and have hey, nostradomus!
and 1984 next on the list (never read it!).
I really enjoyed 1984. Joy Castro's book was the first "apostate" book I read and then the "Girls guide to homelessness" bu Brianna Karp. They were both great and quite touching.
Now, I'm on a Dawkins, Hitchens, Sam Harris kick. I also joined an art history book club, which has been a wonderful and enlightening experience.
i remember when i was a kid going on vacation somewhere with my family, my parents would always have to find out where the local kingdom hall was.
god forbid we should miss a meeting because we were actually enjoying our time away from work and school..
Yes, I loved the opportunity to make new "friends". I went way out of my way many times as it was exciting to me, especially when I visited CA. I really enjoy socializing.
i've been out around 20 years (da'd), but recently i've really started to struggle with certain aspects of relating to family members who are still in, as well as my own thoughts and feelings about my upbringing and my personal views about god/life the universe.
i have an older sibling and my mum who are still in.
we are a small family and my dear grandmother, who was not in, passed away around a year ago.
Welcome. You're not alone. Glad you joined :)
are elders required to report domestic violence to law enforcement?
what if children are involved?
i am wondering if the elders will report a situation to police or dcfs here in california.
They didn't even cover mentioning it to police back when I reported DV. My daughter was an infant. Fortunately, I packed up and left. One elder mentioned that if I had a chance to leave, take it. The other two used verbiage that made me think it was my Christian duty to stay and set a better example. Oy vey.
In any jw experience I've personally heard, the elders have never promoted or suggested notifying police.
Nor do they consider the children. Something any lurkers should really think about while they support this reLigion.
I hope the situation works out the best it can.
weve all heard it.
a person starts studying with jehovahs witnesses and love what they are learning so much that they cant stop talking about it.
bubbling with enthusiasm, they spill everything they are learning with their friends and family...or anybody who will listen.
UBM = unbelieving mate, I think.
Great reminder post. I said too much to a couple people, when I first found out TTATT. Now I just lay low and ask a question if I am around JW's.
i just heard this about a co i knew back in the day before he was even a co. he must be in his mid-late 40's now, my mother told me the story as she knows the family very well (the entire family has gone 'apostate' including several elders, circuit overseers and missionaries - this was an "example" family, always on the stage etc).. he wasn't 'feeling well' so he took time off from his co duties.
that week he packed his suitcase, told his wife he can't do it anymore and he's leaving, leaves her the car and the house and went to live in a small apartment, bought a small car and a week later got a decent job.. this was very recent so not everybody within the org has heard yet what happened..
Awesome! Let's hope he posts here soon.
since the pope stepped down and is in the news, thought i would pull a little joke.
called my ex who is a born in, not baptized, but still has dub brain.
me " did you hear about the pope stepping down today ?.
The new pope has made some comments that I think could be effectively used to wake up some JW's.
Good for you on making your own difference. My ex had great points about the jw religion (and others) being man-made, but always got EXTREMELY emotional and I tuned him out.
He was one of the first people I told when I woke up. He couldn't stop hugging me and then we laughed about idiotic jw issues.
Wish you all the best.
i'm sure most of you have read bits and pieces of my story throughout the last year being on this site.
i've decided as a human being, and as an adult, i'm going to make the decision on whether to stay with the jw religion or leave it.
i of course have many doubts about the organization which has lead me to do research.
Good for you! Keep reading and start enjoying life. We just stopped attending after last years memorial and have been left alone :)
all i can say is i take my hat off to the many posters here.
you have no idea how much you folks are helping people!.
i only visited this site once before i left the borg back in sept. 2001, but what a impact wow!.
Bttt. Good reminder.
being a jw makes one feel special, no doubt.
when i found out ttatt i realized i'm not special at all.
i'm just one of the other 7 billion human beings who will live and die being nobody, the world will forget about them (and i'm not talking about relatives and friend), they didn't make anything special in their life, they didn't change the course of history, were not famous nor rich, didn't invent facebook, google or anything awesome, didn't have an article published in newscientist, had no imdb profil, not even a wiki page, didn't write a book etc.
I must clarify, in reference to you post about most of us sounding like believers: I haven't stopped reading since I learned TTATT, to the point where I am not a "believer". (My, how things can change in one year). I just enjoying reading all that I missed out on in the form of Hitchens, Dawkins and Sam Harris. Personally, I find listening to Sam Harris on CD incredibly motivating.
I love quotes. A couple that matter to me are:
"Howlovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world". Anne Frank
"Despite everything, I still believe that people really are good at heart". Also, Anne Frank
"Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put all together that overwhelm the world". Desmond Tutu
Carpe Diem
