i had never thought about this that much until now.
my wife and i have been living in this community for over 6 years now , and nobody has ever called upon my wife or myself for that matter, to encourage us back to the meetings as jehovahs witnesses , who have become inactive /faded .. the same goes for my son and his wife , who live in the same area , have never been contacted with the intent of trying to re-activate them.. admittedly, only a couple of times in these past 6 years we both my son and i , have had witnesses call upon us in the normal d2d work , without acknowledging if ever they knew we were non practicising witnesses .
hard to beleive since my neice is in the local congregation , and is aware of our former congregations that we attended .. to cap it off , a few of our "freinds" who know where we are have never ever offered any encouragement or support in trying to get us back to their "truth ".
It is so telling. We haven't attended in 2 years. Only one pioneer sister has kept in touch (to count time???) An elder does phone occasionally when my active elderly mother cannot be reached. NEVER has he asked how me or my family are. only asks @ my mother. ***hole!
Not a Christlike man in the bunch. Only company men.
do you know of anyone who sucessfully dedicated time to charity without getting bad mouthed by witness elders?
we had a sister in creepside congregation who got a lot of lip when she was working for the food bank for free.
the jehovah's witnesses elders hinted, used the watchtower study to say "jehovah's people are ambassadors to satan's world and know the real solution is god's kingdom".
If a JW volunteers to help the community, they are viewed as lacking faith in God to solve the problems of the world.
so when i attended, this was never an issue - its been five years since i was booted.
a bit before i woke up, a couple visiting us (middle america) from the deep south basically told me this never, ever was allowed in their hall.
no 'priveleges' for a guy who chewed gum.
Gum is evil! Imagine sitting at the Watchtower, in the front row, short skirt, low cut blouse, tattoos and chewing gum with an open mouth.
there were recent two posts that got me to thinking...the first was on the topic of if rank and file should be excused and the second was from a person whose mother who was in her 80s excited about the un and the catholic child abuse issue, believing the great tribulation was near.. as with the ways of the world, eventually the governments may get tired of all the abuses that are perpetrated by religions against their citizens; and action maybe be taken.
it can quickly become a worldwide human rights issue, as not many citizens actually condone child abuse.. of course if organized religion is turned upside down, a great amount of wealth may return to the governments, which could begin to bring the world economy back into balance.. so, it appears at this point in time there is a possibility that the u.n. may turn on religion eventually.
(like the jw speak?
There were recent two posts that got me to thinking…the first was on the topic of if rank and file should be excused and the second was from a person whose mother who was in her 80’s excited about the UN and the Catholic child abuse issue, believing the great tribulation was near.
As with the ways of the world, eventually the governments may get tired of all the abuses that are perpetrated by religions against their citizens; and action maybe be taken. It can quickly become a worldwide human rights issue, as not many citizens actually condone child abuse.
Of course if organized religion is turned upside down, a great amount of wealth may return to the governments, which could begin to bring the world economy back into balance.
So, it appears at this point in time there is a possibility that the U.N. may turn on religion eventually. (Like the JW speak? ) IF that is the case, where does that leave honest hearted people who wish to believe in God, whether they are Catholics, Jdubs, Baptists or anyone?
Could things eventually be as the old John Lennon song “Imagine” said, with a world ‘at peace, with no religion, too?’
Just thought I’d stir up a little hornets nest today. There is bound to be many difffering opinions on this subject.
the poor thing is 86 and was told by a friend with "the internet" that the catholic church is being attacked by the un!
the tribulation is at hand.
well, if you consider a report on molestation coverups the end of religion, watch out wt, they are coming for you next.
Poor thing. Well even though it isnt what she thinks she may die happy and full of hope. Shes been decieved and it may be a kindness to just let her remain in her ignorance in her remaing years. After all how much time does she have left? I ask myself all the time 'would ttatt actually help or would it shatter my old mum.'
Its so sad and at the same time so maddening that I want to SCREAM!
generally i go along with it when posters express pity and sympathy for the r&f jw's.
i feel this way toward them too, to a degree.. but where do we draw the line ?
we know that jw's do not have a conscience of their own really, they are told how to think and act, and they have to obey.. just as those living in nazi germany were told how to think and act, and had to obey.. but, " i was just following orders " was not taken as a valid defense at nuremburg.. as the wt descends in to becoming more and more like north korea in its do not question, simply obey !
Yes they share some responsibility however remember they are members of a spiritually abusive religion. They are victomized by men who want total control.Sure some will wake up but how many actually have the courage to leave? Unless they are intentionally being abusive I do not believe we should not blame the victims. Some sheep are just plain ignorant. Its the ones who intentionally spread lies knowingly that should be held accountable
a single member of the governing body, for example david splane, i find it helps me to understand things a little better.. they have changed the meaning of 'faithful and discreet slave' to basically just 'the governing body'.. but that still allows them to print nice friendly 'we' and 'they' when giving directions (orders).. "we need to obey david splane to have jehovahs approval.
"[a mature christian] does not advocate or insist on personal opinions or harbor private ideas when it comes to bible understanding.
rather, he has complete confidence in the truth as it is revealed by jehovah god through his son, jesus christ, and david splane.
As its intended, the whole thing gives me the creeps
what made you realize it was time to go?
i've been having health problems for the last few years and instead of any help, i'm listed as spiritually weak and of course associations is only my kids and husband.
all the good jw's have moved to other congregations and are doing well.
Welcome Angus,
You have gotten a lot of good advise here. Some may make sense and some of it you will find hard to swallow (at first). I totally understand. I'm in my mid 50's, a 4th generation JW. I was raised as the daughter of an elder, I pioneered and then married an MS. Eventually he became appointed and I was and then the wife of an elder for another 20 years. The truth was my hertitage and my life. I was happy and contented....then came an issue that I could not consciously accept. Like you, there was a situation where the law was broken, sins were hidden and the police were not informed. I didn't understand it all.
It was like being in a funny house where what is black is white and what is white is black. Nothing made sense. Yet, I knew there had to be an explanation. So, I kept digging and finally, like Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz, saw behind the curtain. I didn't WANT to see behind the curtain, it was simply unavoidable...I hated what I learned, but I believe that to know the truth is better than to live a lie.
Yes, we all believed that we had finally found the ‘truth’. Even being raised as a JW, there comes a point that you have to make the truth your own. We believed that we were blessed by God and found the best way of life. We believed it when we were promised we would be in paradise by now. We didn’t plan for the future, because we KNEW we would be in the new system.
Then as we age and experience different things, we begin to notice discrepancies. Some things that just don‘t make sense. We push it aside and go on. Then eventually, there comes a situation or a crisis that we cannot ignore. The awakening can begin.
Many of us have been spiritually abused, either by our spouses, the elders or both. We find were lied to and manipulated. We are made to feel worthless and unloved. We are pressured into acting a certain way, made to feel that things are our fault and not that of the one causing the abuse. We try to live up to the abusers standards, but we are never enough. We always fall short and never validated. And the cycle of spiritual abuse continues.
There is also the feelings of loss. Where did all the years go? I thought I had the truth. I believed HAD the truth. I taught others what I believed and now I find it is a lie. How do I cope? How do I live with myself? How could I have not seen things sooner? These are all questions we have asked ourselves.
There are also feelings of betrayal and also loss. You may begin to understand why some ‘apostates’ have the reputation of being angry…(who wouldn't be angry after being lied to your entire life?)
Then comes the grief. Your entire way of life is now up for grabs, what do you do now? Where do you go? How do you live your life when you are in middle age and your foundation of life as you knew it is gone….Yes, it’s rough. It is like a death. And in a way it is….a death of your life as you knew it. It is an unexpected and unwelcome death.
Nothing about this situation is easy. Especially since we never lived in the world or know how to act in it. Angus, we are glad you are here. We understand. Just keep remembering that it is a journey and you will get through. You have been deceived and you will learn to live with it. Will you become angry and resentful? Will you grow from the experience and be a better person? You are in control of your future.
Keep digging and learn the truth about the truth (TTATT) It is a roller coaster ride. Remember that you are a good person and you are growing. God is still the God of love and His hand is not short. You will recover and move forward. It’s all up to you.
Please feel free to PM me.
All the best, 4thgen
it's been a while since i've read or posted on jwn.
i guess i have been trying to put this chapter of my life behind me.. .
as is usually the case, just when i'm having a good week, i get contact from a witness.
Do your friends know eachother? Maybe they all talked together and came to the conclusion. Was there a local needs talk that they all attended?
Circuit assembly where they used that phrase?
It's very hard to loose those who you were close to, but we all make different choices in life.
Your choice is to learn truth and grow as a person. Theirs is stagnation.
All the best, 4thgen
the conti case is a game-changer; that much is certain.. its also pretty certain (to a lot of us at jwn, anyway) that the wts:.
believes they have the moral high ground and thusly are in the right.... arent going to significantly change their child abuse-related policies any time soon.... dont really think theyll actually lose their appeal.. .
it should be obvious to anyone by now that one of the most significant and unavoidable characteristics of hierarchal, authoritarian religions (no matter what faith template they subscribe to) is a deeply entrenched problem of sexual victimization, especially of children and young people.
Very reasonable. The rules have changed.
