truthseeker

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Posts by truthseeker

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  406

  ex-jw-uk

  by bigmac in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm quite new to this site, & have realised some members have a union jack symbol under their avatar.

  i don't.. could we have a "show of hands" from any uk members?

  i've already found several by reading older posts..

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  truthseeker

  I grew up in West Sussex. Somewhere between Chichester and Littlehampton.
  
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  21

  Facing mortality after leaving the witnesses

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  tell me i'm not overly thinking this.. i'm 39 years old...still youngish...but i worry about getting old.

  i look in the mirror and it depresses me.

  i suppose i still cling to watchtower utopia when no one would age over 25.. i used to look forward to paradise earth because it meant all the evil in the world, nuclear warfare, terrorist attacks and sickos would be no more, but we are deep in the 21st century with no end in sight.. appreciate your comments.

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  truthseeker

  Mickey mouse

  i agree. I'm older than the elders were when I was a kid in the 1980s and 1990s. And the elders are mor or less retired. And so the cycle goes except I broke the cycle and left.

  Freeandclear, let's have that party.

  I miss the certainty that my hope was based on, and knowing even if I died I could get a resurrection.
• 
  21

  Facing mortality after leaving the witnesses

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  tell me i'm not overly thinking this.. i'm 39 years old...still youngish...but i worry about getting old.

  i look in the mirror and it depresses me.

  i suppose i still cling to watchtower utopia when no one would age over 25.. i used to look forward to paradise earth because it meant all the evil in the world, nuclear warfare, terrorist attacks and sickos would be no more, but we are deep in the 21st century with no end in sight.. appreciate your comments.

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  truthseeker

  Dub stepped,

  I agree I am also that way.
• 
  21

  Facing mortality after leaving the witnesses

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  tell me i'm not overly thinking this.. i'm 39 years old...still youngish...but i worry about getting old.

  i look in the mirror and it depresses me.

  i suppose i still cling to watchtower utopia when no one would age over 25.. i used to look forward to paradise earth because it meant all the evil in the world, nuclear warfare, terrorist attacks and sickos would be no more, but we are deep in the 21st century with no end in sight.. appreciate your comments.

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  truthseeker

  Thank you for your comments.

  They are really appreciated and needed right now. I'm sort of going through a crisis and it's not what I'd call a midlife crisis it's a series of decisions, events, choices I made when I was in "the truth" and so on.

  undoing some choices could cause more problems than just dealing with them.
• 
  59

  Sweet 16 - Happy Birthday to Us !

  by Simon in

  1. forum
  2. announcements

  it's the forum's 16th birthday today!.

  amazing that not only have we lasted so long but we're still thriving and growing.. thanks to all the people and often colorful characters who've contributed to the site over the years.

  some are still here with us, some have since moved on, but all have touched each others lives in some way along our different journeys.. .

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  truthseeker

  Thank you Simon. This forum has really helped me.

  Long may it continue!

  Truthseeker
• 
  21

  Facing mortality after leaving the witnesses

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  tell me i'm not overly thinking this.. i'm 39 years old...still youngish...but i worry about getting old.

  i look in the mirror and it depresses me.

  i suppose i still cling to watchtower utopia when no one would age over 25.. i used to look forward to paradise earth because it meant all the evil in the world, nuclear warfare, terrorist attacks and sickos would be no more, but we are deep in the 21st century with no end in sight.. appreciate your comments.

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  truthseeker

  I've been out about six years. I had to relearn everything develop social skills. Occasionally I find myself wanting the comfort of a hope I know to be false.
• 
  21

  Facing mortality after leaving the witnesses

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  tell me i'm not overly thinking this.. i'm 39 years old...still youngish...but i worry about getting old.

  i look in the mirror and it depresses me.

  i suppose i still cling to watchtower utopia when no one would age over 25.. i used to look forward to paradise earth because it meant all the evil in the world, nuclear warfare, terrorist attacks and sickos would be no more, but we are deep in the 21st century with no end in sight.. appreciate your comments.

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• 

  truthseeker

  Tell me I'm not overly thinking this.

  i'm 39 years old...still youngish...but I worry about getting old. I look in the mirror and it depresses me. I suppose I still cling to Watchtower Utopia when no one would age over 25.

  I used to look forward to Paradise Earth because it meant all the evil in the world, nuclear warfare, terrorist attacks and sickos would be no more, but we are deep in the 21st century with no end in sight.

  appreciate your comments

  Truthseeker
• 
  30

  Has anyone noticed the JW movies are trying to normalise their lifestyle?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  having watched the prodigal son returns movie produced by the organization and a recent mini-clip of a brother in london who is shown jogging and doing normal everyday things while wanting to "reach out" it occurred to me that the organization is trying to normalize their bizarre lifestyle and beliefs for the benefit of non-witnesses.. what do i mean by normalization?

  they try to make the witnesses look like just another christian denomination who are reasonable while their members live and enjoy normal lives that appear to be within the mainstream.. they do this by not mentioning anything to do with higher education, armageddon or the urgency of the end of the world nor is their discussion or mention of the blood issue.

  these are things mentioned often at kingdom halls and in study articles.. watching the prodigal son returns, the family appears to live a normal life, going to meetings and studying.

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  truthseeker

  What I am trying to say is to the outside, the movies make JWs out to be reasonable people living ordinary lives. There is nothing about them that appears radical or different.

  It's only when you become a JW that you know the truth about them, the discouragement of higher education, the blood issue, reaching out to pioneer after high school, the stressed urgency of the times we live in, "are we giving Jehovah our best?" and the kicker, "we may have to obey direction that is not reasonable from a human standpoint."

  The movies give a sanitized view of witness life.
  
• 
  30

  Has anyone noticed the JW movies are trying to normalise their lifestyle?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  having watched the prodigal son returns movie produced by the organization and a recent mini-clip of a brother in london who is shown jogging and doing normal everyday things while wanting to "reach out" it occurred to me that the organization is trying to normalize their bizarre lifestyle and beliefs for the benefit of non-witnesses.. what do i mean by normalization?

  they try to make the witnesses look like just another christian denomination who are reasonable while their members live and enjoy normal lives that appear to be within the mainstream.. they do this by not mentioning anything to do with higher education, armageddon or the urgency of the end of the world nor is their discussion or mention of the blood issue.

  these are things mentioned often at kingdom halls and in study articles.. watching the prodigal son returns, the family appears to live a normal life, going to meetings and studying.

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  truthseeker

  @Dozy,

  I grew up in West Sussex.
  

  The kind of lifestyle shown in the Prodigal Son movie is out of the reach for most, though to be fair, in the What Is True Love movie, Liz and her parents are living in an apartment. I presume this movie is filmed in New York?

  My hall was a mix of well-to-do families who had nice homes and money and manual blue collar workers plus the assortment of pioneers supported by middle class parents and then there were the welfare mums.

  Given the housing situation in the UK right now, it is almost out of reach for anyone to buy a home. Most do the shared ownership thing and pay a subsidized rent in addition to their mortgage to be able to afford anywhere half decent.
  
• 
  30

  Has anyone noticed the JW movies are trying to normalise their lifestyle?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  having watched the prodigal son returns movie produced by the organization and a recent mini-clip of a brother in london who is shown jogging and doing normal everyday things while wanting to "reach out" it occurred to me that the organization is trying to normalize their bizarre lifestyle and beliefs for the benefit of non-witnesses.. what do i mean by normalization?

  they try to make the witnesses look like just another christian denomination who are reasonable while their members live and enjoy normal lives that appear to be within the mainstream.. they do this by not mentioning anything to do with higher education, armageddon or the urgency of the end of the world nor is their discussion or mention of the blood issue.

  these are things mentioned often at kingdom halls and in study articles.. watching the prodigal son returns, the family appears to live a normal life, going to meetings and studying.

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  truthseeker

  @NittyGritty

  I didn't have a normal life growing up in the "troof".

  Yes, JWs do normal things, I have no issue with that. What I have issue with is that all the controversial beliefs that make JWs "unique" are missing from these movies.

  There is no discussion of the time of the end or the urgency of the times we live in. Many times, there has been counsel from the platform to talk about "spiritual things" after the meetings.

  I did see the movie What is True Love - it is very professionally made and it's easy to see the cult-indoctrinated thinking processes used to make this movie.

  If one was not a JW, then one could get the appearance that JWs are reasonable people with high moral standards.

  What is missing from this movie is that even when a brother or sister gets baptized they are still not considered approved to date a baptized member in the congregation and they cannot sit next to them at the Kingdom Hall until they are engaged. Everything has to be done in groups yet you see Liz and Zach having coffee together by themselves.

  The movies are impressive and so is the psychological manipulation.

  For example, in an effort to appear reasonable, Zach asks Liz what does she want to do besides pioneering. She responds that she would like to take a few classes. I don't know anyone who says they want to take a few classes. Usually, at the very least, someone wants to work towards an associates degree, if that is permissible, depending on their parents view and whether there dad is an elder or nor. Some might go the full course and get their bachelor's degree. I know of noone who took a few classes in anything. The whole point is to be qualified in something where it's vocational or academic and at the very least certificate programs take about a year to finish and are full time.