Posts by TTATTelder

28

A Mind at War

by cappytan in

right now, i feel like my mind is at war with itself.. on the one side is reason, logic.. on the other is tradition, hope and fear.. reason and logic are challenging life-long beliefs.

they are telling me, "is this any more believable than the story of the lord of the rings?".

certain doctrines of my belief system are crumbling.. my mind still wants to hold on to the belief in a creator, his son jesus and the bible.

TTATTelder

I understand that having children adds to the anxiety, but it doesn't change the point I was trying to make.

Armageddon isn't coming... No Devil is after you.....So take your time and make a level-headed plan for you and your family. Assuming lives aren't in immediate danger, It is never a good idea to make a rash or overly emotional decision.

(there can be many variables to consider - immediate family, extended family, friends, employment concerns, business partnerships, pending inheritances, no social network to replace the JW community etc etc)

Thinking things through is good advice in any situation, but I think even more so if you are dealing with the effects of having your worldview crumble before you. There is emotional "dust-settling" to allow time for.

-Good luck to everybody dealing with this mess. It sucks. I hope for the day when WT leaders are prosecuted for the scumbags they are.

-TE

28

A Mind at War

by cappytan in

right now, i feel like my mind is at war with itself.. on the one side is reason, logic.. on the other is tradition, hope and fear.. reason and logic are challenging life-long beliefs.

they are telling me, "is this any more believable than the story of the lord of the rings?".

certain doctrines of my belief system are crumbling.. my mind still wants to hold on to the belief in a creator, his son jesus and the bible.

TTATTelder

cappytan,

I stumbled on a bit of ttatt back in spring 2012. I had gotten fed up with some of the things I had seen and continued to see in the congregations, so I watched a few youtube videos and such. I only went so far at that time. I felt a little better about my grievances - almost like I had gotten some frustration out. So I pulled back.

The unraveling had begun, though. I chose to swallow it down, cover it up with the standard party-line excuses, and push forward. It didn't take long before I was running into more congregation frustration around the summer of 2013. I again turned to the internet to get my frustrations out. This time I went all the way. I read almost the entire JWfacts.com site and COC etc. Well, I will never be the same.

I am telling you this to say - I am not sure it is as much a "choice" as you may think. The truth will burn inside you. You can't un-know what you know. A sane person doesn't typically choose delusion over reality. You can try to turn away from it and stay in the "warm bed" of the familiar. You can pull the covers over your head to avoid the feelings of fear, betrayal, and the unknown...but this isn't going to solve the problem long-term (although it might be helpful short-term :)) The truth is still waiting on you once your nap is over.

But with that said...Taking your time and allowing your anxiety to cool down is a good start. Like someone said to me in the beginning...time is on your side. Time is not running out like JW's teach. You have plenty of time to sort this stuff out and create a level-headed plan of action.

I will add this. When I was first coming to grips with it, I had a problem letting go of the thought of "having it all figured out". I also felt compelled to replace the JW belief system with another. I guess it's just what we're used to. Well what helped me was realizing this next statement and repeating it to myself many times:

"I don't have all the answers.........but ..........neither do they"

"I don't have the answers.....but......the governing body doesn't either."

I also remember thinking and even said to my wife multiple times back then, "I don't have all the answers, but I also don't pretend I do. And I sure as hell don't demand people believe what I believe with the threat of taking away their family and friends or being killed by God."

I cringe at the thought of saying so much to my wife so early. I am more careful now. It was just boiling inside me then.

Because of the effects of indoctrination, It will take a long time for all of this new info to really sink in. If it takes a while to simply sink in, it certainly will take a while for you to evaluate life's big questions. So be patient with yourself. Let the process breathe. The big questions aren't going anywhere. Time is on your side and we are all in this same boat.

-TE

20

Q-tips and Coffee Filters helped me learn TTATT

by RedPillPopper in

jw
friends

well they didn't fully teach me ttatt but helped me on the way.............. first thing i do in the morning after waking up is grinding some nice coffee beans and getting the brew started while i take a hot shower.

after the shower i like to clean out all the nasty wax out of my ears with a q-tip (or cotton swab for those not familiar with that term).. while cleaning out my ears i would think about how nice it is we have things like q-tips and coffee filters that make life more enjoyable but at the same time realize that somebody somewhere is in a factory making these.. i can't imagine a child saying "when i grow up i want to work in a factory making coffee filters".

the people who end up really doing that as adults did not set that to be a life goal.

TTATTelder

If they consider life without modern conveniences paradise, then why don't they just join forces with the Amish?

Oh...they must not own enough real estate.

-TE

18

Propaganda vs Bible study

by Clambake in

is it just me or is the wts increasingly just becoming more about watchtower propaganda.

every week it seems to be about killing your children over blood transfusions or worshipping the magical men in brooklyn or the loving provision of shunning or the magical power of the elders or some brother in far off land who is in jail because he cant stop handling out magazines he doesnt understand to people who dont want them.

try and get a jw to explain the gospels or the book of the romans and what was significant about the book of acts...........................no clue.

TTATTelder

The bible is the bait in their bait and switch...
Their app sorts search results for scriptures by frequency of use, so the inconvenient scriptures that they don't use end up all the way at the bottom. The best thing, though, is their clever use of .epub literature and pushing tablets for study. Now JWs don't bother to look up scriptures in context, they just tap the link to the scripture and it brings up the cited scripture and no more. Now that it's easier to read just the cited scriptures, JWs will be less likely to get curious and read the context. - oneeyedjoe

Strong points.

They have shortened, just this month, the only two parts left in their meeting program that featured the Bible exclusively. The No. 1 Bible Reading assignment has been shortened and the Bible Highlights part has just a 2 minute section for the brother to comment on the weekly bible reading. The brother is even instructed to only cover One point in the 2 minutes.

Just a bit controlling wouldn't you say?

What good, sound, real, "Christian" reason could there possibly be for shortening these parts? If the BIble is the "Word of God" why are they minimizing discussion of it?

I think we all know the answer...

-TE

19

Explaining away the increase in anointed

by lurkernomore in

so i was just informed by my wife that her grandmother (who's also out) has been told by a 'sister' from her old hall that during their most recent circuit visit the co said something along the lines of:.

isn't it faith strengthening that the number of anointed is falling in relation to the increase in publishers?

!.

TTATTelder

With this growing # of partakers trend, it's no wonder that the GB suddenly got some "new light" about who is the FDS.

They were scared of the angry mob.

"There might be a coup! ....Quick!... To the New Light Revelation Chamber!"

-TE

34

RELIGION AND MENTAL ILLNESS!!!

by ADJUSTMENTS in

jw
friends

i have have come to realize most "rank and file" jw's are mentally unstable-to-ill and here is why.... http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/mental-issues.php.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/religious_delusion.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/religion_and_schizophrenia.

TTATTelder

The WT attracts vulnerable people including more than its fair share of mentally ill.

I would say what is inflicted by WT teachings and treatment would be better described as emotional abuse.

- TE

89

An Elder Reads CoC !!

by TTATTelder in

i have recently joined the site.

i was just appointed an elder this summer.

i started discovering the ttatt (the truth about the truth) last year after putting a few things together myself concerning the leadership and then doing some research online.. i really enjoyed jwfacts.com, jwsurvey, and others.

TTATTelder

Faye,

I am still an elder. I am on a body that is understaffed at the moment. I am trying to back away with good timing. We will have to see how things play out going forward. I have marital, extended family, and employment concerns to weigh out. The marital factor is by far the biggest. I actually am very determined to beat the WT at its own game with her.

The wife is seeing things very slowly but there is progress. She is missing a few meetings and service here and there. I think it is getting easier to make an excuse and skip. Her zeal is down and she even has acknowledged it. She blames the lame congregation though instead of the lame religion.

I slip in little daggers from time to time but have to be careful. The cult personality can kick in like the freakin exorcist. Seriously her eyes change. She looks at me like I am a demon if I step past that imaginary line.

It's really sick the hold the WT has on people. What a diabolical raping of human lives. They should be locked up - and don't let them back out this time!

Anyway I am playing it slow, patient, and determined. It gets old as hell sometimes though, I have to say. FS is the worst. I'm thankful for breaks and "windshield time".

Welcome to the forum.

-TE

26

Critical Thinking from the Wife !!

by TTATTelder in

the other day i had a couple of drinks and went off on the gb (again), about how they are just posturing and have no clue.

i said if they knew what they were talking about we would already be in the new world, but we're not ..so they dont...the end.. well i got some push back as would be expected, but what surprised me was what she said a little later.

firstly she didn't pay attention to the public talk this past sunday and instead read an article in a watchtower on stress.

TTATTelder

Faye - The mosquito thing is a good one. I'm going to use that.

89

An Elder Reads CoC !!

by TTATTelder in

i have recently joined the site.

i was just appointed an elder this summer.

i started discovering the ttatt (the truth about the truth) last year after putting a few things together myself concerning the leadership and then doing some research online.. i really enjoyed jwfacts.com, jwsurvey, and others.

TTATTelder

Thanks cappytan...

Hope you get your wish with your Dad. You never know what people are thinking in this org. You are only allowed to say positive things. It honestly gets increasingly absurd as time passes and things sink in more and more for me. The knee jerk indoctrination "comebacks" aren't even popping up in my head much anymore. When I wrote that intro post it was still like I had two personalities battling each other. The awake one was winning but the indoctrination was still holding some ground. What a process.

-TE

12

Imagine a Company Sells You a Product...

by TTATTelder in

imagine a company sells you a product... you like the product and begin to do more business with them.. then one day this company demands that you never visit any of their competitors for the rest of your life.

they also add that you are never allowed to read a negative customer review about their company or products for the rest of your life.. actually this company threatens you with a humiliating future death if you engage in either of these activities..... how does that sound to you?

sound reasonable?

TTATTelder

Thanks for the comments everybody...

Well hey if a car dealer knew about one of their sales people saying discrediting things about the cars they were selling, you might expect that this person would taken to a back room and asked what the they were up to and probably asked if they were truly devoted to the car company and its products. - Fink

Interesting point. I assume the car dealer is paying the car salesperson to represent them? When you are the employer you have certain rights as far as what you can expect from your employee. They literally buy those rights by handing the salesperson a paycheck. Those rights are not the same for the relationship between the car dealer and the car-buying customer.

I would argue that the typical JW is more of a customer than an employee. I've never received a paycheck from Brooklyn. Most people I know haven't. :) Interesting point still though.

-TE