You read my mind Stacey Smith. My sentiment exactly. I used to cringe at the site of churches because they were part of Babylon the Great. Now I cringe because I do not want to get sucked in.
tazmaniac
JoinedPosts by tazmaniac
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62
How many have left the WTS and joined another church/group?
by BLISSISIGNORANCE inat this point in my life i don't think i could trust any religious group.
i don't even feel the need to be a part of anything like that right now, and maybe never will.. but i know of some who have joined other churches/groups since leaving the borg.. why do some join another religion and why won't some ever get involved again?.
what makes us so different?.
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Humourous, yet interesting questions
by RAYZORBLADE intime to crack the stuffiness out of ourselves today.
well...let's say, everyday.. i'm going to have some fun here, because well, anything besides that, is no fun.. questions, questions, and more questions, and what will the answers be?
you decide.. 1. are you an exjw, but still have remnants (shhh) of former jw thinking?.
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tazmaniac
1. Are you an exJW, but still have remnants (shhh) of former JW thinking? Yes I am an ex-jw. Yes I still have remaining remnants of that belief structure.
2. Are you 'out' there? as in, not afraid to be seen on an apostate site, or known to be a former JW? I was an elder and very active at one time, so everyone I know views me as a former JW.
3. Are you angry, bitter or sad, as a result of your exposure and participation in JW activities/lifestyle? I know I would have had my college degree by now.
4. Do you still have this feeling 'Armageddon' could still come anyday or in the future? Not consciously. But, I do have vivid dreams. One dream a booming cloud looms over me and then with the crashing of the thunder and a crack of lightening I hear "I am Jehovah, I will not be mocked" then iminent destruction looms....thats when I awaken in a bath of sweat.
5. What was your biggest epiphany that lead you to leave the JWs, or at least make plans to do so? Finding a woman, it wasnt til after I was DF that I began to surf the net about ex-jw sites etc. I would never ever have done that If I wasnt df'ed.
6. Do you still read/believe in the bible? No, dont think I ever will either.
7. Do you still believe in god/higher power? Agnostic
8. Do you accept other exJWs with opposing views than yours: athieism/agnostic vs. belief in god/higher power? (vice-versa) I enjoy reading their reasoning.
9. Do you grade people on their disfellowshipping offenses? ie: apostacy, fornication, smoking etc. No, no, no, no,....did I mention my awnser is NO.
10. Are you still a JW? (no names required) No, been df for about 3 yrs now. The healing process is long.
11. Anything you'd like to add, for what it's worth? Like one of the other posters, I did get benefits from being a witness. I am not sure if I would have survived my late teens and early 20's if I didnt have witness belief system.I really enjoy reading posts on here. I have always enjoyed live stories. I do like the fact that we keep updated on here as regards "new light", scandals, changes etc. Peace be with you all.
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Stupidest thing a JW ever told you
by Nosferatu inwhat is the stupidest thing a jw ever told you?
we all know that they say a lot of stupid things, but what really topped the cake?.
for me, it was an elder telling me i was progressing really well when my meeting attendance was down and my field service hours were slipping.
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tazmaniac
I have two
1) When they would announce in the KM "next material for consideration at the bookstudy will be : "Revelation, its grand climax now close at hand". We woulnt know if we should laugh or cry. We went thru that 3 or 4 times. Arrrrrghhhhhhh
2) On a service meeting part a sister was presenting the creation book and said to her partner/householder : " Look how wonderfully the book illustrates the single cell ORGASM". No one got anything else out of that meeting.
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Can "Born-Into-Its" Ever Be Happy?
by Englishman injust wondering....take a 40 year old male ('cos he's an ex-elder!
) who's been born a dub.
he becomes disenchanted with dubdom and eventually decides to leave.
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tazmaniac
Hmm...I wasnt born into it either but my life was very restricted by a domineering father. So when I started studying at 18 and baptized at 19 it was like it was all I never knew or was. I married young and worked my way thru the "ranks". It is still hard to say how long it will take to be truly deprogrammed. My first year with a christmas tree was very tough. I got everthing set up and thought I was doing well, then I just broke out in tears. I still have the occasional "armageddon dream". It usually follows the theme of every armageddon-esque picture the society ever put out. I have only been out for 2 1/2 years. It would be nice if my brain was a simple hard drive and i could delete anything I want to. Well..just my 2 cents. Cheers all, Taz
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Platform Memories
by tazmaniac inwhat is the most memorable funny or inadvertant mistake or silly outfit that you have ever seen on the platform at the kingdom hall.
reach way back into your memory banks and try and come up with your best.
i will start the ball rolling with a funny happening.
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tazmaniac
What is the most memorable funny or inadvertant mistake or silly outfit that you have ever seen on the platform at the kingdom hall. Reach way back into your memory banks and try and come up with your best. I will start the ball rolling with a funny happening. Well....maybe not funny for the sister that it happened to but.......
It was time for the sisters talk on the platform. The school overseer would give a gentle signal to the next speaker and they could get seated during the counsel portion of the previous talk. This poor sister was in a rush with her family that night. About 5 minutes before her talk she went to the ladies room to relieve herself. By the time she got out the school overseer was already counseling the young brother for his very eloquent but only 3 minute talk. The sister rushed to the platform on the way tapping the shoulder of her partner. They promptly sat down with a few moments to spare. The sister very professionally placed out her materials, she quickly ran her fingers thru her hair as a last minute spruce up. The school overseer announced the talk etc. The sister begins her talk but no one in the audience is listening. Why ? Well in her mad rush to get out of the bathroom and get to the platform she had tucked over one third of her dress into her underwear and panty hose. Her right "cheek" was all but exposed. No one knew quite what to do at that moment. Finally after red faces and several young children leaving the 1st school for fear of blurting out in laughter, another sister came up to the platform as smooth as silk. She grasped the dress and gently tugged it back out. The sister turned to her without the slightest hesitation....like it was part of the talk and said.."why thank you sister" and proceeded to finish her talk. To say the least the audience was near to the point of bursting. The school overseer however was looking down at the school guidebook during that part and had no idea why an unscheduled sister was on the platform and then left quickly. He noted it in her counsel saying that it was innapropriate to have additional persons on the stage during the talk. We all nearly died.
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What if JWs had never been part of your life......?
by Scully inprisca's topic about personal responsibility vs blaming the jws (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/56286/824979/post.ashx#824979) got me to thinking..... where do you think you'd be if the jws and the wts had never been part of your life?how would your life be different from what it is now?what do you think you might have accomplished or done differently without the encumberances of the jws in your life?what kind of relationship would you have with your family?who would you be?.
there are no right or wrong answers, but think about those what-i-want-to-be-when-i-grow-up ideas you had as children and whether those dreams could have become a reality.. .
love, scully
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tazmaniac
Hmmmm good question. I probably would have a college degree. I would perhaps still be married to my first wife. She suffers with major depression problems. Not that she wouldnt have psychological problems but they are/were magnified greatly by all the pressures to do more more more. I think the thought of a terrible annihilation from the sky was constantly looming in her mind and caused her to completly snap. To the positive side...if I had never been a witness I dont know if I would have survived being anywhere from 18-28 or so. I know I would have been wild and gotten into lots of trouble if not death.
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How did you adjust to the world after leaving JW land ? friends/lonliness ?
by run dont walk inhow long did it take you to adjust to the real world ???
and make real friends, who didn't care about religion.
did you suffer from lonliness and depression after leaving ???.
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tazmaniac
My adjusting was and is still difficult. I can still remember the first year that I actually had a christmas tree set up in MY lliving room. It felt good, yes, but after I finished setting it up I broke out in tears. Deeply ingrained things come out in the darndest ways. My first worldly concert was a ball. ESPECIALLY when I saw some witnesses here and there in the audience. It is very hard to have friends (and I mean thru hell and back friends) who now look the other way when they see me. It is hard to have casual aquaintances and you meet up with them. Then they notice the cleanly shaven beard I have now and ask whats up. I tell them and they scatter like mice in the kitchen when the lights go on. i must say i believe it has been much easier for me since I only have one family member that is still in. Have I had moments of depression. YES !! Do I at times wonder if I should return. YES !! Do I come back to my senses before I do. YES. I had a vivid dream the other night that I simply went back to the hall. It was a Sunday, and I got right up to conduct the watchtower study like I had done for a zillion years. I have not been back in four years now. Every memorial is still a difficult time for me. But I am adjusting. I have some real good friends now. Ones who dont jugde me for where I was or wasnt last sunday. They dont care if I use a colorful word here and there. They dont care if I have a 2 door car or a powerball ticket above my sunvisor. And they are there when things go good or when things go bad. Sorry to ramble. Cheers !!!! Taz
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How Much is Personal Responsibility vs WTS' Fault?
by Prisca inthe current discussion of an ex-gb member has prompted me to ponder this question:.
just how much of our personal circumstances can/do we take responsibility for, and how much do we blame the wts?
you may have grown up as a jw, coerced into leaving early to pioneer, not go to university, have no kids, even stay single for the pursuit of singleness in the kingdom work to pioneer or go to bethel.
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tazmaniac
That is a very good question. I think many of the decisions I made FOR THE GOOD were because of being tied to the WTBS. Such as ; not smoking, not using drugs, not becoming overly involved in some pursuit etc. When I began to doubt I (me myself alone) made the decision to stay in as long as I did. It is interesting to look back and dissect various aspects of being a witness. Recently I was in a rather large warehouse. In the background there was lilting music. I had near tears coming to my eyes and didnt realize til a while later why. It brought back rememberances of being at the district convention very very early in the morning. We would either be practicing a part or wrapping sandwiches or something in some department and THIS was one of the most enjoyable times I ever had as a witness. Yes it was based on delusion. Yes it was pounding half truths into my head. BUT while I was a hard core witness it was the closest thing to paradise I could describe. Decisions, decisions.....even no decision is a decision. I laugh at them now. But it is me who makes the decisions now. I am picking up college courses. I am going to concerts. I am seeing the occasional R rated movie. It is me who needs to keep the balance now. Maybe it is off the subject or maybe I am rambling but....so be it. I decided to post it. Cheers !!!
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absolute newcomer, absolute
by mash inhello you lot....god it's been a while!
well, like my topic says, i really am a newcomer so i don't really know what this scene's about.
i hope i don't get ostracised again, like the last time i spoke my mind!
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tazmaniac
Welcome..... play your cards as you will. Hold them to your chest tightly or lay them on the table for all to see. Tell all or tell none. Tell a little and have some fun. Friends here are friends indeed. Friends in here have "been there, done that" !! Cheers
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Did You Really Believe in The 1975 Rhetoric?
by Guest 77 inpersonally no, and as such i was never disappointed that the system didn't end.
embarrassed, yes.
the org.
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tazmaniac
I came in shortly after 75 so no I didnt believe in 75 rhetoric. My dad however had 1975 material taped on his bedroom mirror. He was not a JW but read the pubs all the time. He never became a JW. I did. I guess I had the extra gene for stupidity. LOL