Hi Darryl, the great and wonderful thing is you have complete FREEDOM to figure out what you believe, and find YOUR path to God without interference and direction from men! You can even choose NOT to believe in God if you want to. I believe that religion is nothing more than a man-made "to do" manual for a relationship with God. I DO believe in God but I do not believe in Religion. I have gone to church on occasion to receive a message of inspiration (I also occasionally tune in to Joel Osteen on Sunday mornings, even if you're not a religious person his message is usually spot on with regard how we need to look at things to bring happiness and success into our lives). I love the fact that I can go to church IF I WANT TO, without fear that someone will call on me to find out why I've missed a Sunday! I can pray to God in the privacy of my home IF I WANT TO, with no one asking me how many times a week I pray, or ensuring I say a prayer of thanks before EVERY meal, whether I'm out in public or not (I always hated that!). Go to several churches, read many books from people who do and no not believe in God (I recommend Nietzsche), and guess what no one is going to ostracize you because you read a book by an atheist! Life is meant to be lived uncensored; as long as your beliefs don't harm anyone else you're good in my book. Check out my site https://separatedfromtheflock.org where I share my views and stories related to having once been a JW.
hyperpen
JoinedPosts by hyperpen
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16
I need a little help
by Darryl inmy story is i've been df'd for about 20 years.
a couple years after i started attending church and found it to be a tremendously uplifting experience.
from the people to the music, message everything drew me in.
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hyperpen
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disfellowshipped family and friend being reinstated
by Together innew to the forums and looking for someone who may have had a similar experience.
i have been disfellowshipped going on 30 years now.
within those thirty years i have built myself a life and slowly learned to cope with the shunning from family and friends.
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hyperpen
Hi Together, I too have been out nearly 30 years. I have a couple of close relatives on Facebook, one reinstated, one disfellowshipped (but may go back). I'm puzzled that after the shunning video that just made its rounds at the conventions that the one back in has kept me as a friend (we don't communicate through Facebook at all). My father was maintaining very light contact with me until about a year ago and I suspect now knowing the nature of his "conscience" that he won't be having any sort of contact with me after having been given the instruction to not even answer the phone if I call. I stayed off of these boards for a long time afraid that I would burn bridges with these family members for good but have come to realize that me relationships with them, and to some extent, their love, are conditional. It's time I did what's right for me. I've even gone so far as to start my own blog at https://separatedfromtheflock.wordpress.com. I'm not afraid anymore!!
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Why are anniversaries allowed but not birthdays?
by hyperpen inthe scripture quotes aside, i was always told that we don't celebrate birthdays because that is a celebration of the self, which has no place in jehovah's organization.
then why celebrate anniversaries?
anniversary celebrations are about the joining of two selves, isn't that twice as selfish?.
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hyperpen
Great response OneEyedJoe...I sure stood out like a sore thumb in elementary school when I had to sit in the corner while everyone else celebrated a classmate's birthday. The worst was when my kindergarten teacher tried to celebrate my birthday at the end of the school-year and nearly forced me to eat a cupcake she had made for the occasion. I refused to eat it and the story spread around the Kingdom Hall like wildfire. I was a hero! I never get excited about my own birthday.
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Why are anniversaries allowed but not birthdays?
by hyperpen inthe scripture quotes aside, i was always told that we don't celebrate birthdays because that is a celebration of the self, which has no place in jehovah's organization.
then why celebrate anniversaries?
anniversary celebrations are about the joining of two selves, isn't that twice as selfish?.
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hyperpen
The scripture quotes aside, I was always told that we don't celebrate birthdays because that is a celebration of the self, which has no place in Jehovah's organization. Then why celebrate anniversaries? Anniversary celebrations are about the joining of two selves, isn't that twice as selfish?
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How Many People are Living a Lie?
by awokenjw inone of the things i often wonder about at the meetings is how many of these people are actually living a lie or sinning in secret?
and more importantly, how do these ones stomach it?
in my case, i have secretly dated and done things disapproved by the wt with a pioneer sister in my congregation for years and we both go to the same meeting twice a week and pretend everything is perfect and nothing has happened.
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hyperpen
I can say from my own experience of living a "double life" for at least a year, that it is probably quite common. For me, what caused what little faith I had left to become completely extinguished, was when despite my habits of drinking to excess and getting high on a frequent basis, I was actually appointed as a Ministerial Servant. As Witnesses, we were taught that congregation appointments were made by Jehovah's Holy Spirit. It did not make sense to me at all that the Holy Spirit would have appointed me to that position given what I was doing behind the scenes. At that point I became fully conscious of the idea that this was a man-made and man-run organization, and not one that had God's blessing or direction. Another take on this is I've had several siblings become disfellowshipped at one time or another (long after me), and they would occasionally tell me what they were doing but ask that I don't tell our parents...now if you really believed that this was "the truth" then you would be in fear of God's displeasure and not your parents'. Even the most recent shunning video that has been making the rounds provides the message that the only reason for desiring reinstatement would be to be reunited with your earthly family, and not actually with Jehovah. I've met many, many disfellowshipped ones in my life and they almost unanimously have told me the primary reason for wanting to return is to be reunited with friends and family. No one, NOT ONE, has ever told me because they believe it is the one true path to a relationship with God. Very telling. If you're interested in what I have to say about my own reflections on life as a former JW please check out my blog at https://separatedfromtheflock.wordpress.com/ Thanks!
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Separated From The Flock
by hyperpen inhello all, i've started a new blog to share experiences of living outside of the "flock" of jehovah's witnesses.
it can be found at https://separatedfromtheflock.wordpress.com.
i look forward to any comments, criticism or shared stories of life since you left the jw!.
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hyperpen
Hi Vidiot, that's a point I hadn't thought of!
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Separated From The Flock
by hyperpen inhello all, i've started a new blog to share experiences of living outside of the "flock" of jehovah's witnesses.
it can be found at https://separatedfromtheflock.wordpress.com.
i look forward to any comments, criticism or shared stories of life since you left the jw!.
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hyperpen
Thank you losthobbit, I appreciate that you visited my site and enjoyed my words, I will keep writing and sharing :)
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Separated From The Flock
by hyperpen inhello all, i've started a new blog to share experiences of living outside of the "flock" of jehovah's witnesses.
it can be found at https://separatedfromtheflock.wordpress.com.
i look forward to any comments, criticism or shared stories of life since you left the jw!.
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hyperpen
Hello all, I've started a new blog to share experiences of living outside of the "flock" of Jehovah's Witnesses. It can be found at https://separatedfromtheflock.wordpress.com. I look forward to any comments, criticism or shared stories of life since you left the JW!
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How Far Up The "Ranks" Did You Go In The Organization?
by minimus inat age 18, i was a regular pioneer.
at 20, a ministerial servant.
at 24 an elder.
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hyperpen
I was an auxiliary pioeneer first, then a regular pioneer for two years, then at Bethel for one year, then MS for 6 weeks and then out!
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Feb 15 Watchtower: Apostates - Guard Against Deception
by truthseeker infeb 15 watchtower: apostates - guard against deception
don't you wish this were the real title of the 2nd study article?
well, it is, minus the word apostate.
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hyperpen
It would appear to me that the WTS is preparing the "flock" for some important doctrinal change that may get the chat boards such as this one buzzing. The references to 'refining our understanding' since it is not "perfect" make me think something will be revealed shortly. Also possible that they are just referring to past doctrinal changes but I am not so sure.