Ah right, people shouldn't complain about being ruined from early age on. It's all their own fault.
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Any Ex-Jehovah Witnesses on ERA?
- Thread starter HypedBeast
- Start date
Is there a difference between the American and the European ones? Usually I'm used to religious people from the US being even more bat shit insane... but in this case? I don't know for sure.
I used to work for a JW, she was a pleasant boss and I never came into contact with any of this stuff... until we had to work outside the office at an event and she provided me with her daughter's notebook to use... and I just couldn't resist and start the watchtower program, basically a collection of all issues of the watchtower from like the past 20 years or so... there was some really juicy stuff in there. Especially how to deal with preaching-anxiety. Just remember, the people behind the door WANT to be saved, go do it!
I used to work for a JW, she was a pleasant boss and I never came into contact with any of this stuff... until we had to work outside the office at an event and she provided me with her daughter's notebook to use... and I just couldn't resist and start the watchtower program, basically a collection of all issues of the watchtower from like the past 20 years or so... there was some really juicy stuff in there. Especially how to deal with preaching-anxiety. Just remember, the people behind the door WANT to be saved, go do it!
I know that. I was born a JW and was in it until my 30s, when I made my escape.
My point is that he says he is no longer a JW but still called it 'the truth'. That sounds like someone who still believes they are the one true religion, which is ridiculous if research was indeed done.
I'm always annoyed at people who dismiss others experiences and trauma by acting like belonging to a cult is just a simple choice. You know, they are so smart that no one coerced them and everyone else must be a dumb fuck.
It's one thing to come into the religion as an adult. It is quite another to be born in and indoctrinated from birth. Of course you'll believe it. And by the time you start having doubts and questioning everything, your entire life and support system revolves around the JWs. That makes leaving a terrifying proposition for many. JWs lose their childhood by missing out on normal experiences, watch family members die due to refusing blood transfusions, are punished for being LGBT, aren't allowed to think for themselves and face serious consequences if the openly doubt official doctrine - the list is huge. But if we make it out this guy says don't complain, you just "followed it blindly".
Yet while proclaiming that we should all stop whining he also seems to be defending their doctrines, says the Bible is the word of God and still refers to them as The Truth.
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Just to be clear, not JW but United Pentecostal Church. Plenty of differences between the two, sure, but I didn't realize how many cult-ish similarities there were until I read this thread.
The stepfather was a "recovered" alcoholic, which is why I say dry drunk. Basically replaced the alcohol with the religion.
I probably almost could of. Members of my family were members and would make me go to the church.
Can't say I remember much of it though.
Can't say I remember much of it though.
It's pretty consistent wherever you go, so no real differences beyond cultural ones. Jehovah's Witnesses in general are very friendly and genuine people.
I'm not quite sure what you're talking about with the notebook. Was it just personal notes from meetings and things they attended?
Ah, you're talking about the magazine itself. I thought you were talking about her notebook so it left me slightly confused.
Not Ex-JW here, but Ex-Seventh Day Adventist. Our groups had several differences, but many more similarities... Apart from some shared history, the SDA church is also a doomsday cult in many ways.
I left in my late 20s because of disagreements with many fundamental teachings that I considered to be misguided at best... More specifically, I disagreed with most that was related to the Prophet and her writings. No big consequences on my side at the time, as I was living on my own abroad when that happened. My dad didn't like it much, and my brother and his wife were fairly shocked and asked a lot of questions after a while (I know for a fact that she thought that I would eventually be back)... However, we never had any serious discussions about it and the relationship with my dad is good. In any case, my mum left the church much earlier than me, and because of that at home we were used to differences in opinions. However, I heard some weird horror stories of people who left and were shunned. There are other kind of consequences, though, related with how going through all that stuff when you're younger can still affect you years later... It's been 10 years since I left and now I'd consider myself agnostic, but it is surprising when you discover some of those little ways that former and rejected ways of thinking can still come back and have a significant effect on yourself.
Thankfully I live in a building so JWs don't go there. But sometimes I see them camping near bus stops.
As for them, the wife of my late grandfather is one. I still don't know how that worked out since my grandfather wasn't the religious type. She never tried to convert me, or my brother or my parents though, but I believe that is mostly because she hates my mother.
As for them, the wife of my late grandfather is one. I still don't know how that worked out since my grandfather wasn't the religious type. She never tried to convert me, or my brother or my parents though, but I believe that is mostly because she hates my mother.
nah, I meant there was official watch tower software on her laptop, somewhat like an ebook reader containing all releases ever
This is the thing that made me question my beliefs. We're encouraged to put "Jehovah to the test" and and see how our beliefs will stand. But if we're only looking at the organization's thoughts, is it truly research? I'm a history major and one of the fundamental things we are taught is to compare and analyze multiple sources. The magazine regarding Evolution is such horseshit and I cannot sit and listen to scientific inaccuracies in good faith.
So many things do not sit well with me at all so I'm inactive. I'm crafty enough to avoid the disfellowshipping so my mom isn't forced to cut off contact with me.
Watchtower Libary
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This. You see a lot of talk about hive minds and group think on this forum, but that aint shit compared to the absolute unquestioning obedience of the JW's. You actually have to keep yourself in an echo chamber, as you are not allowed to look at information that is critical of the organization, or anything deemed "apostate" literature.
You would be surprised about how many witnesses dont know about the false end of the world prediction of 1975 as it is no longer mentioned in the literature and any outside media on the subject is dismissed.
Thats what really bugged me about my time as a JW, the constant denial of anything that could possibly damage my faith to Jehovah had the opposite effect on me. How can I know of a ideology is truly sound if it is not allowed to be questioned and put to the test?
Ah ok yeah I totally agree with you. That post really rubbed me the wrong way too.
A good friend of our small high school circle was JW. We were pretty much the nerdy 'good' kids since middle school and just had a lot of fun playing games online, at each other's homes, doing general things.
He ended up going to college with us, but pretty quickly stopped hanging out with us until he pretty much disappeared.
Such a cool, and smart guy too. Wish I knew what happened to him.
He ended up going to college with us, but pretty quickly stopped hanging out with us until he pretty much disappeared.
Such a cool, and smart guy too. Wish I knew what happened to him.
Assuming at the time that he was still in the organization, he was probably getting more and more responsibilities until it just absorbed him. Unfortunately that was probably the worst outcome out of it, because most witnesses probably don't even have the benefit of having "worldly" friends to kind of give them a regular dose of an outside perspective that conditions them to have less extremist, black and white viewpoints.
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He was likely reprimanded for having close friendships outside of the JW organization. JWs call those outside the religion "worldly" and are taught that they are a corrupting influence. Worldly people should be no more than acquaintances.
In the end, that's just another control method of any group/system of belief with cultic tendencies to prevent their members from doubting and eventually leaving... It was basically the same for me as a Seventh Day Adventist, where any literature that was not produced or approved by the church in one way or another was considered suspect at best, or an attempt of the Devil to deceive you at worst.
We would consider the JWs a group that had it wrong at many levels, with many false teachings... While at the same time we were blind to all our failed prophesies and dodgy interpretations to fit our own particular biases.
Religious groups like these demand a high investment of energy, time and money. Therefore, the cognitive dissonance one faces when looking at facts and information that contradicts what is believed there is usually really strong, and one may put a lot of effort to somehow make sense of it and not abandon those beliefs. If in those situations one "investigates" by only reading "approved" literature, then it will be easier to calm down any doubts and getting out of that unsettled status. But I think that is only a temporary solution, because the tension just keeps growing... Eventually one has to keep going down that rabbit hole to maintain it or leave.
It's a big thing for me too. As a JW you're repeatedly told the scripture wherein the Bible is a sharp sword dividing truth from lies....but you're also told that you should never listen to anything "false" because you will be seduced by it. Well the Bible should be able to stand against ANY statement anyone makes against it. Except it doesn't hold up once you actually read "apostate" "lies".
The other bullshit things that really got me to leave is the idea that God doesn't want anyone to be destroyed...but currently is set to destroy billions at Armageddon because they don't follow his arbitrary vague statutes. The amount of truly "wicked" people on earth is probably in the thousands. Hell, maybe a million...five million if you're generous. But no, he loves his children and will only save the ten million Witnesses because they go to meetings and fuck the rest of the billions of his wicked wicked children.
If he really wanted to lay down the law he can fucking come out and tell people, he has no reason to be vague. "Faith" has no value other than invented by the religious. God if he existed would have the ability to prove anything he wants, so the idea that believing in in him through "faith" is somehow more valuable than facts and evidence is just bullshit of the highest order.
God arbitrarily decided that a penis goes in a vagina and never in any other hole, that's wrong. I'm not gay but I realized just how fucking arbitrary it is again to imagine a God entity giving a shit about this. He made so many things pleasurable and then wrong as well. Fuck off. God's perfect design was really flawed from the start if there's so many ways to connect the parts that work perfectly and he only wants things one way. Fuck off.
God doesn't exist, if he does, he doesn't care who you fuck.
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Yep, same story, different coat of bullshit. Though in the case of Seventh Day Adventist, Im not sure if they utilize the disfellowshipping techniques as used by the JW's.
No, definitely not in the same way as the JWs. Shunning was never actively or officially promoted... But quite a few people took it very seriously and did it anyway.
How much people will stop talking to you after you leave will vary between families and congregations. But you're definitely on the wrong. The usual accusations are that the person leaving was bitter and angry with God, and wanted to live a "worldly" life, like having a lot of promiscuous sex and eating ham sandwiches - Honest about the ham. We would not eat anything pork based... You know, old testament laws and all that. Therefore, wanting to eat a ham sandwich was for some really, really bad.
The communities are so close knit and your culture and identity as a SDA is so deeply ingrained, that leaving basically means abandoning your whole world... Not easy, definitely. But nothing new. The controlling tools are just a bit different, adjusted to the peculiarities of the community.
When I was about 22 (10 years ago) two women knocked at my door and started talking about some good deeds, saving my soul etc. I knew they were Witnesses, but was taught to be polite, so I just gave short answers and said that I don't have the time to talk right now, and closed the door.
A few days later my mother was visiting and I heard a ring at the door. I was in another room, so my mom opened the door and all I heard was a woman asking if I was home. Seems my mother knew what's up right away because her tone of voice suddenly changed. I didn't hear all of the conversation but sounded like she very calmly and politely told them to fuck off. They haven't come back to this day.
A few days later my mother was visiting and I heard a ring at the door. I was in another room, so my mom opened the door and all I heard was a woman asking if I was home. Seems my mother knew what's up right away because her tone of voice suddenly changed. I didn't hear all of the conversation but sounded like she very calmly and politely told them to fuck off. They haven't come back to this day.
I'm not, but my mom and her family was. They hid a Christmas tree in the basement during the holidays near the end.
There was a article in the Awake a couple years ago I remember reading and the main idea was that a man who grew up gay kept praying to God to help him and he eventually got rid those of feelings. In fact, he was "happily" married with a child. Like, what the fuck? Who is really going to believe that shit? I get aggravated whenever I think about the stuff people believe.
This isn't really normal either honestly, to want a tree so damn bad you'd hide one in your basement? I think I remember someone mentioning that after they got out they were kind of just indifferent to holidays which would be more understandable to me, to be honest even the monotony of the same thing year after year is enough for me to not care anymore. But guess when you've been told you can't do something for so long you just GOTTA do it, whatever it takes.
I guess that's what it was. Or maybe my mom and her siblings (who were very young at the time) begged for one. I don't know the specifics, but it's probably wanting something you're denied.
But are they supposed to mention about their false end prediction?
I was feeling pretty bad about my wife leaving me and having no friends or family anymore that aren't JWs (and thus have shunned me). Then I read that Trump is also alone on Christmas and I feel a lot worse.
Bit of a necro bump but I was pleasantly surprised to see this thread. I just disassociated Saturday and my family cut off all contact without even blinking an eye. I've been escaping the cult over the last year and needed to finally cut the cord as it were. For anyone reading this who is still in or who doesn't know much about Jehovah's Witnesses. They are a high control cult masquerading as a Christian religion and they absolute obliterate the lives and mental health of many of their members. I left at 33 and barely survived after being born into it. I wish more people knew how screwed up the JWs are.