Posts by TheSilence

81

Why I didnt left JW an dont plan to do so

by Lazarus in

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in another thread i wrote: i didn't left the jw's and don't plan to do so.

TheSilence

What would you do in my situation, if you knew that leaving would slowly kill one of your most beloved people?

Exactly what I did knowing that my leaving would slowly kill my dad. I left. I can't live my life for my dad. For him to expect me to pretend to believe something I don't to keep him happy is manipulative and controling. If he can't love me for who and what I really and truly am then that is his issue, not mine. I'm a good person who does good things. I deserve to be loved for who and what I am. If me leaving kills him *he* is responsible for that, not me. He chooses to give this religion that power and control in his life, not me. I am not choosing to kill him by leaving, he is choosing to let it kill him that I left. He is an adult and he chooses to react the way he does, I am not forcing it on him, I am simply living a good and positive life. It is not my fault that he chooses a bleak interperetation of that rather than the reality of how wonderful I actually am. :)

Jackie

69

Who has NOT read Combatting Cult Mind Control or Crisis of Conscience?

by Mad Sweeney in

a lot of people here have read and highly recommend ccmc by steven hassan and coc by ray franz, myself included.

i don't know how i would have handled leaving the borg without that knowledge.. so thinking that got me to wondering, who here has not read them (or has read one but not the other), and how are you coping with exiting the borg?

did you get counseling?

TheSilence

If you want to know WHY seven million people will do anything that 10 strangers in Brooklyn tell them to, then read CCMC.

Why doesn't interest me enough to read a book about it. I've seen and lived it, I understand the basics of it and have come to terms with it in my own way. I'm at peace with my past and with who I am. That said, I was lucky enough to have 1 parent out and a huge family support system when I left which made the experience of leaving much easier than most here, I would think. Perhaps that is part of the reason I don't feel compelled to read these books explaining. I left young and didn't lose the entirety of my support system... in fact, I gained a much bigger one. If I had lost more in my exit I might be more inclined to read such a book, perhaps.

Jackie

69

Who has NOT read Combatting Cult Mind Control or Crisis of Conscience?

by Mad Sweeney in

a lot of people here have read and highly recommend ccmc by steven hassan and coc by ray franz, myself included.

i don't know how i would have handled leaving the borg without that knowledge.. so thinking that got me to wondering, who here has not read them (or has read one but not the other), and how are you coping with exiting the borg?

did you get counseling?

TheSilence

I've not read either one. Why is simply because it's not generally the type of book I prefer to read. I believe I am doing rather well. No counseling, no meetups. When an issue comes up with any family that are still witnesses there are a few ex-witnesses I speak about it with on another forum... or, more accurately, I kind of vent and work my way through it in a public way, I think. But it doesn't happen often these days. I am simply me and happy to be so. :)

Jackie

122

Refuting the ARGUMENT BY DESIGN.

by nicolaou in

it's tiresome and it doesn't add up but it's one of the most popular arguments for god's existence, "the argument by design.

" jehovah's witnesses and other believers point out a wonder of nature like the eye and compare it to a 'lesser' mechanical wonder of human design like a camera.

the supposed conclusion is that this natural wonder is evidence of creation by a powerful designer; god.. .

TheSilence

You assume ice is like it is because that's how life needs it to be rather than that life is like it is because that's how it works with ice.

I will add to this that it seems quite an assumption to make considering life is much more adaptable than the properties of ice.

122

Refuting the ARGUMENT BY DESIGN.

by nicolaou in

it's tiresome and it doesn't add up but it's one of the most popular arguments for god's existence, "the argument by design.

" jehovah's witnesses and other believers point out a wonder of nature like the eye and compare it to a 'lesser' mechanical wonder of human design like a camera.

the supposed conclusion is that this natural wonder is evidence of creation by a powerful designer; god.. .

TheSilence

To name just one, strictly related to the snowflake, why is the specific gravity of ice lower than the SG of water, making ice cover the water and not sink in it? Most other "solid" materials are multiple times heavier than their "fluid" form. Why not so with water? Is that one of many "very lucky" but hard to explain coincidences?

Who says it is a "very lucky" coincidence? Perhaps things would have followed a different evolutionary path if ice sank. You assume ice is like it is because that's how life needs it to be rather than that life is like it is because that's how it works with ice.

Jackie

41

"this system is in such a financial crisis now! You can see the time is ripe for the end to come!"

by highdose in

jw
friends

so said a jw to me recently.

they claimed that:.

1)never before in the history of the world has there been another financial crisis like this!.

TheSilence

Sounds familiar... here is an email from my dad sent a few months ago...

What's the fastest thing you can think of? For me, it's light. I've heard there are faster particles, but I can't think of what they are. But light should be fast enough for the purpose of this observation.

Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. That's almost 670 million miles an hour. No way anybody can wrap their mind around that kind of speed.

In a year, light travels a little under 5.9 Trillion miles.

If you could spend at the speed of light - $186,000 a SECOND, at the end of 3 years you still would not have paid off the US National Debt and the ongoing expenses of the government.

No way anybody can wrap their mind around that kind of spending. I can't even imagine how many people you'd have to hire to write the checks.

People are starting to throw their hats into the ring to run for President in 2012. They claim to know how to fix this. They're either lying or they're delusional. Who will you support?

A new government is in place and poised to fix this and every other problem man has. Its King is already ruling. He will forcibly remove every one of his political opponents and destroy them. So again, ask yourself - Who are you supporting? (Daniel 2:44)

25

How can I get past the anger?

by Rocky_Girl in

jw
friends

i have gotten through so much of the anger i felt toward my parents for their part in my screwed up childhood.

i know they were just doing what they thought was right.

but now, as i celebrate holy and special days with my children i feel a new anger because i cannot give them the big family celebration they deserve.

TheSilence

How long have you been out, Jackie?

I suppose that depends upon how you are looking at it. ;) I was never baptised so I was never actually "in", I suppose. I told my dad when I was 13 that I didn't belive. I was still required to attend meetings until I was an adult and could no longer be compelled. I had nightmares into my early 20's of god killing me at armageddon. I still remember a particularly vivid one of being chased by a mudslide and eventually being buried alive in it. So even though I wasn't attending and didn't believe there were still some pretty serious ramifications going on at that point. I'm 37 now.

So if you're going by how long I've been officially not affiliated I was never in to get out since I didn't get baptised. If you're going with how long since I really believed about 25 years. If you're going with how long since I regularly attended meetings about 20 years. If you're going with how long I've really been okay with it... well, that line is fuzzy and so I couldn't guesstimate. And even though I'm at peace with it, for the most part, sometimes I will get an email from my dad or see my nephew's fear of the world and it strikes a chord in me. :::smile::: I, too, just do the best I can. ;)

25

How can I get past the anger?

by Rocky_Girl in

jw
friends

i have gotten through so much of the anger i felt toward my parents for their part in my screwed up childhood.

i know they were just doing what they thought was right.

but now, as i celebrate holy and special days with my children i feel a new anger because i cannot give them the big family celebration they deserve.

TheSilence

You are not selfish and we all *want* it all even if we can't have it. You're just human, that's all. We all just do the best we can, eh? ;)

25

How can I get past the anger?

by Rocky_Girl in

jw
friends

i have gotten through so much of the anger i felt toward my parents for their part in my screwed up childhood.

i know they were just doing what they thought was right.

but now, as i celebrate holy and special days with my children i feel a new anger because i cannot give them the big family celebration they deserve.

TheSilence

Forgiveness is easy in concept, difficult in practice, so cut yourself a break. But I will make one more point: we talk continuously about the conditional love that the witnesses teach, how if you don't follow this rule you lose your friends and family. But unconditional love has to come from us if we aren't going to be hypocrites when we talk about how wrong they are in this regard. That means we have to accept our parents faults and love them for who they are. That is what we believe they should do for us, is it not?

Again, this is a much easier concept than it is a practice and it takes time to get there, but sometimes having these things pointed out makes it easier to see it and move towards it which is why I wrote it down... not to make you feel bad but just to give you an altenative way to look at it and see it that may make it easier to get to the point where you can forgive them. Because, really, forgiving them affords you peace... or at least it has for me. Your mileage may vary. ;)

Jackie

25

How can I get past the anger?

by Rocky_Girl in

jw
friends

i have gotten through so much of the anger i felt toward my parents for their part in my screwed up childhood.

i know they were just doing what they thought was right.

but now, as i celebrate holy and special days with my children i feel a new anger because i cannot give them the big family celebration they deserve.

TheSilence

What is with the paragraphs today???