lifeafterthewatchtower

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

Am I the only one who thinks that JWs publishing a magazine titled “Awake!” is almost painfully ironic?

#jw #ex jw #ex jehovah's witness #Jehovah's Witnesses #jehova

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

So the other day I was reading the exjw subreddit, I’ve found this post and I wanted to talk about something I’ve just realized:

In particular the 2 last paragraphs.

I’ve never thought about it that way!!

Well actually when I was in, the doctrine was that the anointed would be raptured at the start of Armageddon and now it’s during the Great Tribulation. So I think we all thought that they wouldn’t participate in the killing, or maybe it’s just me.

But anyway, if you think about it it’s VERY CREEPY!!

It means that currently, the jws believe the anointed (the Governing Body and the others) will, along with Jesus and the angels, participate in the killing of all of mankind expect the good jws. Yes, because in this organization, you’re not sure you’re going to make it even you’re a baptized.

Let me clarify: The Governing Body, the leaders are supposed to directly kill the jws, their own “flock”, who aren’t good enough.

This is blatant blackmail!!

Let me clarify one last time because it’s crazy: The Governing Body is like: 

“Hey if you don’t listen to us and do whatever we tell you to do, we’re going to kill you during Armageddon with our pals Jesus and the angels”

This is horrifying!!

And what about the random anointed in the congregations? My own mother believes she’s an anointed!!!

My own mother believes she’s going to kill everyone except the good jws, along with Jesus and the angels INCLUDING ME!!!!

Well actually I don’t know if she realize the jw doctrine isn’t “We don’t know if everyone who isn’t a jw will die, God will read the hearts” which I heard a lot, but is “Yes, God and his buddies will kill everyone, except jws, well, good jws!”

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

“Him creating the world doesn’t give him the right to be a tyrannical asshole”

In a discussion with my (jw) sister, the question of free will showed up. And after Idon’tknowhowlong (when she ran out of “arguments”) she basically refused exactly what you wrote. I found it pretty interesting hearing it THIS clearly from an active PIMI JDub. Usually they run in circles trying to avoid any kind of clear statement.

While she didn’t use the words “tyrannical asshole”, of course (I think, I did say something along those line in the discussion ;o), she literally said: “Jehovah created the universe. So it is his right to do whatever he wants to do”

What I don’t understand - literally don’t understand - is why they stick to this dumb phrase “free will”. When clearly it isn’t free will. It is “will”. But not “free”. Not even in the most literal meaning of “you can want something but you better not act upon it”, because even thoughts are regulated, like in Matthew 5:

“... But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment… “

“... But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart...”

Why don’t they skip the “free”? In that way they’d come across at least a bit honest. Even though this still doesn’t explain why a “loving” God would make humans even capable of wanting something that they mustn’t have. And then putting this something that they must not have, and that will inevitably lead to thousands of years of misery when they obtain it, DIRECTLY in view. And making it so easy to obtain. And then looking away when the dummies did eventually obtain it (just as if this wasn’t clear from the beginning. Especially, when you’re omniscient)... And then punishing them and millions of people afterwards... Loving indeed. /s

Some notes on a post I reblogged got me riled up. It’s the one about Eve eating the fruit. The point of the fucking post is that God, who gave humans Free Will™ can only demand worship via coherison. Coherison is NOT free will. If a parent says you can have an apple or an orange, but if you choose the orange I’ll beat your ass you’d say the child did not have a choice. God saying Obey me Or Else isn’t loving, it"s not free will. I don’t give two fucking rats asses if he created the universe. If he wants to kill me, or send me to hell for having a different fucking opinion he better come down here and to it himself. Him creating the world doesn’t give him the right to be a tyrannical asshole and I would physically fight God about that fact. Come down here and face me yourself you omnicent coward.

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

Critical thinking

Common logical fallacies - Part 01

In my discussions with active Jehovah’s Witnesses, I often hit walls. I presume, they are the same walls everyone hits, who tries to argue with a devout “believer” of any religion. What I found especially interesting, is that there are recurring “argumentation patters”. And many of them are classic logical fallacies. Knowing that they exist, what they are, what they mean, and how they work, might not help us to convince other people, but it certainly helps us to not being shut up, it might help us to not run against walls anymore, identify these fallacies when we face them, and it also helps us to argue more consistently and honestly by avoiding these logical fallacies ourselves. With that having said, let’s start this little series with “A” as in...

“Ad Hominem”

“Ad hominem” is Latin for “to the person” or “against the man”, and is a very commonly used tactic for shooting down discussions by attacking a person instead of addressing the the argument the person made.

“What do you know, anyway?”, “You’re too stupid to understand this complex issue”,  “You’re too young/too inexperienced/not educated enough”, “You’re a woman/a Liberal/an Atheist/a Republican/gay/... Of course you think that way”, “You just do this/say this because you want to do/say XYZ“ etc. etc. etc. Using phrases like these as “arguments” and without even addressing the point that was originally made, is called making “ad hominem arguments” because the argument is directed at the person who made the point rather than the point itself.

The ad hominem is used as if it were evidence against the point the opponent made, while in reality it solely tries to invalidate the opponent’s point by demeaning the opponent. The ad hominem is often based on prejudice.

The “formula” is very simple: “Your argument is invalid because _you_ made it”. The focus is not on the argument but on the person who made the argument. Hence the name “ad hominem” - “to the person” / “against the man”.

Variants

the “abusive ad hominem” - a more or less direct insult by attacking the appearance, intellect, or character of a person - basically: “You’re too dumb/ugly/selfish/... to talk about this”

the “circumstantial ad hominem” or “appeal to motive” - appealing to person’s circumstances - “Of course you think that way, because you’re in this or that specific circumstance/you’re in this or that specific group/you have this or that specific mindset...” - while this might (!) explain why a person made an argument, it says nothing about the argument itself.

“poisoning the well” - appeal to negative emotions - “Eat your lunch. The children in Africa are starving, and you don’t eat up”, “Yes, but science also brought us the h-bomb”, “Scientists were wrong so often before...”, “I won’t listen to him. He’s an alcoholic”, ... 

“guilt by association” -  also an appeal to negative emotions and/or motive. It applies when a person expresses a view similar to someone who is viewed negatively. So this person and their viewpoint will be viewed negatively as well. “Yeah, but he was in prison”, “He is a Communist”, ... 

“ad feminam” - specifically addressing women, or female characteristics - basically: “Because she’s a woman”, or the “classic” "Are you on your period?”

“Tu quoque” - meaning “You also” - often made to point out hypocrisy - “But you/he/she did that too”. While pointing out the possible hypocrisy (”You judge me even though you did it yourself”, “Hey, but John did it too”) might be legit but it still is not an argument against the point made. Just because someone did it “also” can not be an argument. “But you smoke as well” is not an argument against the hazards of smoking someone pointed out. A variant of the “tu quoque” is what is known as “Whataboutism” (”Yeah... but what about XYZ....” to distract from the original topic... “BUT HER EMAILS!”)

the “credentials fallacy” is a bit tricky. It is based on the idea that if a person doesn’t have formal credentials in a certain field, any argument they make about this topic can immediately be dismissed. Which, of course, is dishonest but still this is a rampant logical fallacy in the academics world. 

The thing though is: While - for example - it’s most certainly not a good idea to let someone with no medical credentials and training at all do surgery on you, arguments can be and should be verified. It is a good idea to question people’s motives and also their credentials, and to be even more cautious with people who have no credentials, but the legitimacy of an argument has nothing whatsoever to do with _who_ expressed it.

Like in all other cases before, it has to be about the argument itself and not about people. Just because someone doesn’t have a PhD or holds an academic chair doesn’t make their arguments invalid.

The assumption that a lack of credentials is a valid reason to assume a person is necessarily wrong and so their arguments can be dismissed is fallacious and dishonest. An argument has to be treated isolated from the person who stated it. A good argument withstands scrutiny. No matter who made the argument. And dismissing an argument because a certain person made it, is dishonest.

#critical thinking #logical fallacies #ad hominem #argumentation #discussion #religion

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

I used to sneer at people who said: “I am an atheist because I read the Bible”

And then I did it: I read the Bible. Without the “help” of literature that “explained” what the texts in the Bible allegedly mean. And then I stopped sneering. And I became an Atheist. 

Do it! It’s a healthy thing. Especially when you’re struggling with your belief. Actually read the Bible! And only the Bible. No “explanations”.

It’s pretty simple: If you don’t understand the Bible without the help of “explanatory literature”, or if you’re appalled by all the violence and atrocity that’s in this book, that “needs” people or literature to “explain” how this is “moral”, then you seriously need to think about the following:

If the Bible is God’s true and inspired word that he gave us humans as a guideline, and it doesn’t make any fucking sense by itself, then this can only mean of three things:

1) Either God is a pretty incompetent author. 2) The Bible isn’t for us. 3) It’s not God’s word but a book filled with mythical stories like all the other books filled with mythical stories.

#ex jw #ex jehovah's witness #ex-JW #jehovah #jehovah's witness #atheism

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

The Thing about leaving the Jehovas Witnesses after beeing born and raised in it is how everybody pretents you had a choice.

Its how everybody pushed you forwards to doing everything you can, to go from door to door to talk to stangers about a high control cult you didn’t fully believed in yourself yet. How they made you go to these meetings three times a week where they burned the thoughts into your brain that this is the only right thing and everything “worldly” was bad and evil.

How they frown upon you and the elders talk to you for accidentaly singing a christmas song you heard or for not paying attention at the meetings. How they completely screwed up your definition of right and wrong on the basis of a manipulated believe.

This and so much more before you’re even a teenager. Before you even understand the word brainwashing, it had happened to you.

And then, when you are lucky enough to stumble upon something that made you question this whole thing, its your fault. Its Satans fault. Its the fault of this world. And as ridiculous as it sounds, it scares you to your core.

And when it finally happens and you decide to leave, the only truly own choice you ever had in this cult, you are blamed for making the wrong choice. Because questioning “god” is wrong. It makes you the evil one.

And once you’re out, you should feel happy but you’re not. You are scared. You are angry. You are hurt and confused. Because now you have to try to live the live that has been taken from you for the last 20 years.

And sometimes I wish I could stop this cult from ever doing this to another child again.

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

Hi! Baptized JW here. I'm PIMI, but I feel so emotionally out and uninvested. Like, my parents and I are in different language congregations. I moved out of their foreign language congregation but I still visit. I absolutely enjoy my congregation but I am getting emotionally isolated and burned out for some reason. Glad to know I'm not alone in feeling isolated.

Same as in the last ask: I am terribly sorry that I didn’t see this. Please excuse my delay of answering.

Thank you very much for reaching out. No, you are not alone. Absolutely not. No matter if you believe in the Bible, in (some of) the WT teachings, or not. Know that you are not alone with your struggles.

Let me be straightforward: Since you’re PIMI, please know that I will not - in no way - try to convince or persuade you of anything. I am aware that it must have been hard for you to even get in contact with an “Apostate” like I am one. And that you even might feel scared and afraid. So, again: I will not try to drag you to the “dark side” ;) - even though we have cookies ;PJoking aside: All I can do and all I want to do, is to encourage you to look at counter-arguments. If something is true and “the truth” then it will withstand scrutiny. It is as simple as that. So, there is no need to be afraid to look at counter-arguments. And - even more importantly - to ask questions.

I know that many of us POMOs are often very direct and in some cases even come across as “aggressive”.My dad once made a pretty good analogy: If you take a metal spring and squeeze it together really hard and then suddenly release it, what will happen?All the tension and pressure that you put on it will immediately “explode”. And that is what happened to many of us.All the tension and pressure - not only put on us by the WT doctrines - but especially through the way we tried to “squeeze” ourselves into the whole structure of the organization to fit it, all the fears and the feelings of inadequacy… all that is suddenly gone. And some of us became angry (I certainly did) when we saw what exactly the Watchtower did and does. So… please be a bit patient with us ;) And don’t be afraid.

It totally feel you about enjoying the congregation. I miss some of the “brothers” and “sisters”. There was this one “brother” who was sort of my “uncle”. He was a really pleasant person. There are others that I don’t miss that much. Because I never “connected”.So… the unity that was there… that’s really something great. But it is not as unique and special as I was told. You can find groups of people with the same interests everywhere. Clubs, societies, interest groups. I have friends all over the world. And they are friends with me. And _not_ friends with my religious opinions. And I personally feel that this is much more valuable.I have friends - real friends, people who care for me as a person - who are polar opposites to my personal opinions. 

For example: I am liberal, leftist agnostic atheist. One of my best friends is an ultra-conservative gnostic Christian. Of course we “fight” over these issues. But we totally care for each other. And we help each other as good as ever possible.

When I moved to a new apartment, I had 18 people helping me. 18! None of them got paid. One of them I never saw before in my life, he was a friend of a friends and just helped carrying heavy furniture because “that’s what we do as human beings - we help each other”… and none of them was in any way interested in my religion.

Some years ago, when I was going through a really dark phase in my life, I had people checking up on me, helping me. Because they like me. They were not interested in my faith. On the other side, while I was still “in” and my mom passed, all I got was a visit by a CO and two elders, who read some Bible passages… Don’t get me wrong: I do not say and I will not say that the “brothers” and “sisters” in your congregation are not serious and are just faking it. Not at all. I am totally convinced that they really mean it. Because they are also human beings. I am sure that those, who are in closer contact with you, that they really like you.The question though is: Will they act upon their affection towards you, will they still like you, help you, support you, you in case you change your opinion on matters concerning your belief? Have you ever asked yourself whether these “brothers” and “sisters” will stop liking you if you do “this” or “that”?

In case they do change and in case you asked yourself this question… Don’t you think it is legit to ask whether this is the “real love” that Jehovah’s Witnesses say they have amidst their “bothers” and “sisters”. Your worth and value to be loved and supported… is it based on what you believe or not believe? Or based on how you treat other people?I know that as long do my best to be a good person, not harm anyone, and act at least a bit decently ;) I will have real friends that go with me through thick and thin. Something that the Watchtower denies is possible outside. Because “real love” is only possible within the Organization. I know otherwise. And I know it from experience. I HAVE that…

Take care, Anon! And please, please, please never let anyone keep you from making your own picture of things. 

I’ll say it again: The truth - the real truth - will withstand scrutiny. So there is nothing to be afraid of. No matter if you believe the Bible is God’s word or not.Fact is: The Watchtower does not teach what’s in the Bible. The Watchtower teaches their interpretation of what they say is in the Bible. And that is a HUGE difference.Whether you believe their teachings are true or not true… whether you even believe that the Bible is true or not true… that is upon you to decide. And it’s your own responsibility for your own life.And it was upon me to decide for my own life. And so I did research. Now I do have arguments that are solid and based on evidence. What more can I wish for?

#ask #jw #ex jw #jehovah's withness #ex jehovah's witness #Anonymous

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

Congrats on leaving!!!!! I don’t know how long it’s been, but I know it can be hard. Together, we can help as many JWs realise the watchtower is lying to us.

WHY DIDN’T I GET A NOTIFICATION? I am so sorry that I didn’t see this. I didn’t post or reblog a lot in the last weeks, but I checked the blog frequently. There was no indication for this ask. I am really sorry.

And thank you so very much! Yes, it’s not easy. Every person has their own struggles. And all are different. But all are valid.I was fortunate that I had (and still have) large parts of my family behind me. I cannot even imagine how terribly hard it must be for those who woke and have to face their family who is still “in”. 

And yes, we can and should help those who struggle. That is - at least as I see it - our duty as human-beings.

It gets easier over time. For me certainly the hardest struggles were those with getting rid of all the guilt and fears.This: “What if that Watchtower is right and I just don’t see it? Or want to see it?” That was the toughest bit. And the only way was to “face the fear” and do research.The thing about research - and that is what I can promise - the more you read, and learn, the clearer it will become what an incredible sham the Watchtower is.

There is literally NOTHING behind it. It’s all smoke and mirrors and make-believe. Held together by statements that are not to be doubted or scrutinized.

If you learn the basics of critical thinking though and apply those, you can easily dismantle all the tricks and the cons that we fell for while they kept us uninformed.

And keeping people uninformed is actually the biggest weapon the WT has, next to fear and gaslighting.

#ex jw #jehovah's witness #ex jehovah's witness #Anonymous #ask

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

“Misuse of free will”?! Really?!

Oh, wow! I need to let this sink in: “Misuse of free will”

scum part 4

you have free will, only use it how god wants you to

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

TW: CHILD HOOD SEXUAL ABUSE proceed with caution. 

Hello, it’s Mod Skye. I haven’t really told my story anywhere yet. Honestly for a very long time I thought it wasn’t ‘good’ enough to tell. I’m not disfellowshipped, no one (in my family at least) is shunning me. I didn’t realize until making this video, actually, how much it hurt me. How much this religion compounded my trauma. and just made everything that much worse. My sexual trauma played into my religious trauma and it’s made a fine mess of it all. 

So, this is my story. I really don’t feel like typing it out in addition to the video, to be honest the video was emotionally taxing enough, and I honestly think I said it better than any time I tried to type it out. This isn’t everything that happened that pulled me out. There were a little of little things, too, like becoming involved with the LGBT community as an ally before my Gay Panic, and becoming involved with feminism, but these are the main points. 

I hope you all take the time to watch, and, if it helps somebody than I’m glad. 

-Mod Skye. 

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

Group of Jehovah's Witnesses believed Great Tribulation had happened

“They thought it was Armageddon and wanted to save their neighbours.

They believed police were monsters. They showed super strength after being pepper sprayed and Tasered.

And all but one of them were naked because, with the end of the world, they didn't have time to get dressed.

A court document has provided more details in a bizarre naked kidnapping case that happened last year south of Edmonton, but some questions remain.”

#Jehovah #Jehovah's Witnesses #ex jehovah's witness #ex jw

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

A post made on r/exjw applying this article on gaslighting by Psychology Today on the jw organization.

[lifeafterthewatchtower]

Congrats on the channel and GREAT video! Currently watching

Here’s my new vid! This one is short and is a little more relevant to the “growing up a Jehovah’s Witness” experience. Enjoy 😉

[lifeafterthewatchtower]