Posted by Antique [Antique] on November 01, 1999 at 05:28:03 {2gTL9dbN6k6ii1RkHmng.lGYl4oc5Y}:
In Reply to: Q for apostates posted by B on October 31, 1999 at 18:09:04:
I came in with my Mom when I was 10. We were very poor and my Mom's life up until then was extrememly disfunctional. She saw this religion as a "God send" and compared to the rest of her life, it was. It gave us some type of focus and never was as bad for her as the rest of her life had been and having been Catholic it was different enough to look like the "Truth". Our family life was hell, as my Dad was an alcoholic, (never a JW) so us little guys took to the attenion as youngsters. We did start to see the truth about the "Truth" as we got older. My brothers got out when they were young adults, but I didn't get away until later because by then it involved my whole life. I was the oldest of us three kids and I married in. So as time went by I was challenged to research the Organization's background and I realized it was not for me I drifted away.
As I researched and questioned I realized the JW's just do not think for themselves. Everything is right there for them and they are so busy doing all that they have to do to stay active there is no time for themselves. You marry "in", you raise your kids "in" and you socialize "in" and a lot work "in." So there is no new blood to bring up questions and new thinking. And new ones jump right in and before they know it they are also so "in" they don't think either.
The few of the bunch that do question or start to think about things, get the "don't question Jehovah, or run ahead of him". Or "wait on Jehovah, it will be revealed." Or "Jehovah will take care of it in His time." Continue to question, next your study habits, meeting attendance, service time and any worldly associations will be drug out front for all to examine to find out what is wrong with you.
If you then "arrogantly" continue on, you will be "marked" and then if that doesn't do it they will find some way to oust you.
Most JW's are so indoctrinated and people-involved in the Organization that they stay even though many have serious doubts. It is very hard to give up all your friends and family and possibly your livelyhoo and marriage and children to leave.
It has also been researched that most persons when they get involved with this or any new faith of this sort are looking for something and are in some way very needy in some area of their lives. So that being the case, they accept what looks good quickly. At first it fills the need. Problem is that by the time you start to wake up they have you so involved that if you do have any kind of "thought" if usually is "rubbed" out before you get a chance to indulge in it.
That is why the ones who are "new" on here as JW's have such a hard time defending their faith outside what is taught by the Society. They think they are very knowledgeable about things. And at the KH and in their own groups, they are! But as I found out myself, the knowledge is very limited to what you are taught by the Society to be true and you can't hold up under deep scutiny. Out in service they look good because most people aren't that deeply involved in religions of their own and they don't know their Bible. So the JW's really think they have something and they are Biblically intelligent. And so it goes on.
Hope this can help you to understand why seemingly intelligent people can be so duped.
As Always,
Antique