Posts by StrongHaiku

13

JWs are not charitable

by BashfulAshG in

hey guys,.

i'm just venting here because obviously, i can vent to no one else because i am still in the congregation.. jws as a whole do nothing to help the poor, the homeless, the sick, the hungry, though some individual jws do.

because they are too busy giving to the gb.

StrongHaiku

In all the years that I was JW I never did anything for the poor, hungry, destitute "worldly" people except for giving them a Bible Study. I think this is the only "charity" activity the Organization approves and supports. But then again, why would they advocate anything else as "worldly" people are so dehumanized and demonized. After a while, it becomes easier and easier to step over and ignore people that will someday be "bird food". Shameful. I am trying to make up for all those years now.

31

Having One Of Those "Pondering Disassociation" Days :(

by freemindfade in

there are a lot of things that make me have days like this, the utter embarrassment of being are part of a cult that protects child abusers, that enforces emotional brutality through shunning, and that lies constantly.

the lying i can tolerate, the world is built on bullshit, i have a high lie tolerance.

i can ignore it if it has no effect on me etc.

StrongHaiku

freemindfade - Just had an epiphany, my large, uber dub family is a cult within a cult.

So they sustain this thing on two levels. wow..

I totally get what you are saying. My family is structured in a similar way as well. My mother is anointed and has been holding control of (and court over) all of the rest of the family for over 30 years. A cult within a cult...A bubble inside a bubble...

30

Life after the witnesses, friends, faith etc

by Theburstbubble in

jw
friends

hi everyone, this is my first post so go easy on me :) i have been a witness all of my life (i'm 37) and truly believed it until 3 years ago.

my husband and i had become spiritually weak and over time i began to question more and more until i came to the conclusion that the witnesses were not the true religion but just one of many religions and that if god is there then there are many paths to get to him.

anyway, i've battled with keeping going as my husband still believed and i didn't want to be in a divided household as we have a young daughter and thought it would be very confusing for her (and us).

StrongHaiku

freemindfade - But be cautious, for me I always had "wordy" friends, I fear some who have only known friends in the "truth", they go out and get hurt and feel the witnesses were right.

This is very true. And, it applies to not just "worldly" people you will meet but other experiences you may want to have. As a JW I was woefully ill-equipped to deal with the real world and made some mistakes along the way. Take it slowly. You need to learn to navigate in a different environment you are used to.

30

Life after the witnesses, friends, faith etc

by Theburstbubble in

jw
friends

hi everyone, this is my first post so go easy on me :) i have been a witness all of my life (i'm 37) and truly believed it until 3 years ago.

my husband and i had become spiritually weak and over time i began to question more and more until i came to the conclusion that the witnesses were not the true religion but just one of many religions and that if god is there then there are many paths to get to him.

anyway, i've battled with keeping going as my husband still believed and i didn't want to be in a divided household as we have a young daughter and thought it would be very confusing for her (and us).

StrongHaiku

Theburstbubble, welcome to reality...

How have people adapted to life outside the truth?

Everyone adapts in different ways. I had a lifetime of beliefs to unlearn and replace with beliefs and ideas based on critical thinking and evidence. It's scary and exhilarating. And, you may want to seek counseling (e.g. there are therapists who specialize in cults). Oh, and you will know you are making progress when you stop calling it "the Truth".

Making friends?Have you found your new friends to be as genuine?

Lots. And the cool thing is that these friends don't leave you if they disagree with you.

How about faith? I feel like I still want to believe in God but don't know even where to begin.

One place to begin is to ask yourself "why do you feel you still want to believe in God?". This is a question that most of us were never afforded the opportunity to ask. We were simply taught to accept this at face value with the same evidence we thought the JWs were "the Truth". How did that work out for you? So, maybe a good place to start is to ask a lot of questions especially ones that start with "Why?"... Take your time, challenge all your assumptions, and be gentle on yourself.

For what is worth, I am an atheist now and see no reason for faith. Faith ultimately comes to believing in something without good demonstrable evidence or evidence to the contrary. That did not seem like a path to truth to me. And, after some time I also realized that religion does not have a monopoly on those "spiritual" experiences, the sense of awe, wonder, joy, etc. You can have those feelings and experiences in other ways,

31

Having One Of Those "Pondering Disassociation" Days :(

by freemindfade in

there are a lot of things that make me have days like this, the utter embarrassment of being are part of a cult that protects child abusers, that enforces emotional brutality through shunning, and that lies constantly.

the lying i can tolerate, the world is built on bullshit, i have a high lie tolerance.

i can ignore it if it has no effect on me etc.

StrongHaiku

What SecretSlaveClass said...

Freemindfade, you seem to me by all your posts that you are good and very thoughtful person. I empathize and my heart goes out to people like you and others. Only you know what is best for you.

On a side note, every time that I see a new scandal or crazy idea from the Organization, I think to myself, "...this is it...surely this will be the one thing that will give those standing on the ledge the excuse to jump...surely there will be a mass exodus..." And, it does not happen. I think some people are waiting for perfect circumstances. There really are none. Or they may be waiting for others to jump first...

I have this horrible thought that one day, a few years from now, a large number of JWs are going to wake up and recognize they only stayed because the people they loved seemed to want to stay. But those people stayed only because they thought you wanted to stay. If it wasn't so tragic it would be comedic.

34

They know something’s up.

by John Aquila in

we have the convention this weekend and many jw families are arriving.

one family that ive known for many years from new mexico stopped by to visit my mom.

hes been an elder since the 80s.

StrongHaiku

John Aquila - "...if you want to go and sit down for three days to listen to the same information you get at the Kingdom Hall, for the next 20 years, that’s your choice..."

Priceless. Nicely done.

46

JWs nearly killed my mother

by cookiemaster in

the past week has been hell for me.

my mother started feeling ill and we went to seek medical assistance.

we live in the mountains and the nearest large hospital is about 150 kms away.

StrongHaiku

cookiemaster - Just said she hopes Jehovah will forgive her.

If there is a God (which I have no reason to believe in) and he is as loving as everyone says he is, he would not require human sacrifices (symbolic or otherwise). You are better than that God and so is just about everyone else. You put another person's interest ahead of your own. I would worship you before I would worship that God.

37

I don't want the Watchtower's version of paradise.

by StarTrekAngel in

i am writing this in the hopes that it may help someone in a debate.

i personally have not had a chance to discuss it with anyone but that is true for most other topics.

i think is a good one to analyze.

StrongHaiku

I would be more impressed with those WT pictures if the captions read "Wouldn't you like to live in a terraformed Mars?"

I don't think it occurs to most JWs that there are already beautiful and diverse places on Earth that you can visit TODAY...You can study hard, work hard, save some money, and go see them...

46

JWs nearly killed my mother

by cookiemaster in

the past week has been hell for me.

my mother started feeling ill and we went to seek medical assistance.

we live in the mountains and the nearest large hospital is about 150 kms away.

StrongHaiku

cookiemaster, you not only have my empathy but my admiration. When I was a JW (~30 years ago) I am absolutely sure that I would not have made the wise, reasonable, and brave stand you did. You are better person than I was. Nicely done.

17

If you were undeniably anointed with holy spirit what would you do?

by Splash in

so you have had some kind of supernatural revelation, a personal message from god and some miraculous sign that you have been personally chosen by the almighty, what would you do?.

would you be the same as every other wt'ite, dragging yourself to the meetings, getting your 10 hours in each month, maybe pioneering?.

listen!

StrongHaiku

I would go to a hospital and get an MRI...