IAmA Ex-Jehovah's Witness of 20 years who got kicked out for joining the Navy AMA

do you mingle with the rest of us heathens at /r/exjw???

WE HAVE A SUBREDDIT??!?!?!

I apologize for the time you all came to my door and I was drunk and eating a bible.

Its all good. You were just becoming one with the scriptures.

I've heard that pursuing higher education is uncommon in Jehovah's witnesses. What's the reasoning behind this, and what are your thoughts on it?

Yes thats true. Alot of them are discouraged from going to college for many reasons.. They encourage that you learn a trade.. mostly because if you can be your own boss, you can free up more time for the field ministry. I honestly think they are afraid of the experience that you get in the college life constantly surrounded by "worldly" people. I had to get out because #1 I only did it because of peer pressure and #2 i was going nowhere in life.. I didnt even take my SATs because I was dead set on not going to college...

How do you feel about your family's actions/point of view?

It hurts at times.. The further I get from the religion, the more absurd the doctrines seem.. The feeling that my mom really DOES want to talk to me but wont out of fear or because she truly believes its the "right thing to do, kills me.

Well my friend you are in a much better place. What kind of ship are you on?

Currently im on shore duty in Hawai'i :D

Sweet gotten laid there yet?

True story bro.. Before getting baptised I'd had sex with only 2 girls. Then i joined the navy and went to my A school which is practically college. It was filled with a bunch of sexually deprived teens straight out of bootcamp. I dont want to sound cocky but in the 16 months I was there, the number jumped to around 32. I went crazy.

Were most of these girls in the navy? Make sure you cover your dude up. You don't wanna be a paycheck for some chick. That you never get to see the kid.

I say a solid 1/3 were. Yea man I feel you. Always wear the jimmy!

Stationed in Wahiawa, Kunia, Pearl /Hickam, or Kaneohe?

NCTAMS right now

Rochfort building?

Yep. Wonder if you can figure out who i am before i figure out who you are lmao

I work downstairs. N3B.

Upstairs N2B

Let the stalking commence!

Haha I have clues though >:D

Aloha Brother! Working here on Ford Island =b How long ya been on Island?

2 years!

How do you feel about getting kicked out? Do you miss anything about it?

I did it willingly. I was already out of the organization in my heart and was ready to go.. I do miss my friends and the kindness of the congregation in general. I love being out though.

Best story you have from going door to door?

Nothing exciting from me really. I've rang on people during sex, came across some pretty irate people that didnt wanna be woken up at 8am on a saturday, threatened by dogs, invited in for weed.. nothing too crazy. There was a story of an Ex-Con turned JW who got a shotgun pulled on him at the door and threatened to shove it right back up the homeowner's ass.

If you were to open a Gym in the future, would you consider naming the place Jehovah's Fitness?

Absolutely

My brother married into the Jehovah clan almost 30 years ago. It has been real horror show for my family as the church is cultist and preaches rejection and bigotry. An atheist myself, I try tolerance and trust in freedom of religion, but this cabal of self-righteous, self-hating, self-pitying puppets have tried my patience many times over the years. I've gone with my brother to church building meets over the years and, after being welcomed warmly, watched the crowd turn on me in minutes after they learn I'm not "one of them". I've lost hope as there seems nothing I can do to cure this cancer. How were you able to heal yourself?

Well i was raised up in an emotionally cold environment and when i face hard times i've gotten pretty good at "dealing with it".

I'm sort of an ex JW. I was born into it, and stepped away from it with my mom when I was in the 5th grade. Yes, I know, too young to know much, but yeah. Since then, I tried other religions. Decided on Atheism. Do you practice a new religion?

Nope. Now i'm just living life day to day..

Have you ever tried to talk with your family ever since you joined the Navy?

Yea I have.. Some of them respect my decision. Some want nothing to do with me.

My dad was on the uss midway during early vietnam action from 62-65. He has told me many funny stories. One was when he was stationed at coranado island. Said him and another guy were at the bar and there were several marines there. He said the easiest way to pick a fight was to say "You know what the 2nd most deadly thing in the world is?" "Answer is a marine and his m14" Then he would say what is the most deadly thing in the world?" His friend would say " A sailor on liberty." He said the fight was always on then. Said one time they pulled this prank and there was 3 marines sitting close and when the fight was about to happen his friend said nah just sit back down I got this. Dad said he got his ass whooped. lol

Yup dont like marines. They will bang your fiancee without thinking twice. Fact.

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In my opinion, "right" is something that can only by gauged by it's contrast to "wrong". I don't think its wrong but whether its right or not.. depends on who you ask. I don't like it.

What exactly is being a JW?

technically you are a JW after you get baptised. You follow the bible and go from door to door trying to convert people. Thats what i got out of it

What is your job in the navy?

Im a chinese linguist

DLI?

YUP!

No kidding, see you out there in about 7 months then.

Haha, Right on.

Practicing JW because my wife thoroughly believes it. Enjoy life, I like the people and associations, but see the problems from a mile away. Check out Crises of Conscience, it will make you feel better.

Thanks for the recommendation!

What do you think of other Christian denominations?

Want nothing to do with them honestly

Why not? I ask because I read that as "I don't want anything to do with other Christian denominations, only JW".

I dont want anything to do with religion.. Now whenever religious people start getting all bibley around me i get this eerie feeling o_o

I've always wandered what would I do if JW rang at my door (there is some arround here, but not much). I am thinking I would invite them in and offer them drink and put on some enjoyable music, so they could get a rest, and have different view of what life can be. I mean, I cant buy the religion bullshit, but that does not mean I have to be offensive to poeple ? It would be like being rude to a cashier because the price are high, right ?

Would that be a good idea ? Or would I just made them waste their time ?

IMO, doing that would be like a boy in the friends-zone being asked to a movie by his all time crush. He will continue to go.. only because he thinks there is a chance ;)

'yvan eht nioj'

How did you get recruited? Subliminal, liminal, or super liminal?

My friend joined and the money looked good :)

Looking back upon the JW religion, what is the single most absurd belief/practice of the faith that you now see as being, well, absurd?

Thanks! And thank you for your service!

DATING. Dig this.. *If you like a girl and you two are alone, it is dating. *If you dont tell anyone about this interaction, it is "Secret dating". *If you talk on the phone with a girl, it is dating.
*While you're dating you BETTER not be using tongue when you kiss either. *If you dont have a job and aren't in spiritually good standing, the elders will shut your relationship down. I've seen it happen so many times. *When going on dates it is encouraged to go in a group setting. No 1on1 time. If you want something like that, its time to get a chaperone.

How do they justify the contradictions in the new world translation when comparing to another such as the esv or niv? For example John 1.

Is that the one that says " and then the word was. and the word was god." or something like that? Their argument was that the other bibles removed the particle "a". And the word was god vs. And the word was a god. its been a long time..

Hey sorry I couldn't find why they are actually kicked you out for joinning the navy? What were the exactly reasons for kicking you out and how did they justify it? Also what does it mean to be kicked out?

"Thou shall not murder". The military kills people and I joined it. In their eyes i am supporting a direct violation of a commandment.

Are you circumsized?

Yep. Late though..

If I ever meet a JW is there a secret handshake that will get me free stuff?

Hahah nope no handshakes.. At least on the lower levels. I had no idea what goes on at Bethel o_o

is Bethel the big thing in NY? one of my bestfriends is a jehovah witness and all he ever wanted to do was go to NY to do the whole JW shit. He was the most athletic kid ive ever met. Great at anything he ever tried. Could have gone to any college with a scholarship in any sport. His parents never let him play on the teams because "Jehovah always comes first" Dumbest shit ever. Great kid though.

And dont forget that sports like football have heavy violence and violence is SATAN THE DEVIL. yup.. mom pulled that on me.

Why was the original text removed?

I dont even know what happened :/

Having been a JW myself, and having left to study at university (england), how did you feel about other religions or trying other religions when you left?

Personally, I found it really hard to accept other religions, merely because the everyday followers don't follow their beliefs as strictly as the Witnesses. Did you find that the case for witnesses in your congregation or not?

Absolutely. I dont want to try any other religions because while I was in i "learned" why all of the rest of them were so wrong.

How often did you beat on somebodies door and actually become successful? Was it demoralizing to constantly get doors slammed in your face? What are your religious views now?

No religious views now. You build really thick skin.. If they ran a camp for salesman, they'd do great.

Sincere question: Do all/some JW's believe they can channel some higher power and influence people directly?

My dad hangs out at times with a practicing JW. We've talked briefly about religion so he knows I'm agnostic. We were playing boule one day and as I'm walking up to throw I turn my head and catch him standing with his arm straight towards me with the palm facing outwards. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was focusing on something.

I say "catch" because it was really brief and he stopped when he saw me looking. Of course, he could have just been messing with me. :)

Im not sure about channeling a higher power but at times I've heard them say" I was filled with the holy spirit and blablabla became clear".

So did you join the navy from the influences of subliminal, liminal or super-liminal advertising?

i joined because my friends did it :D

What is your current religion? Or are you atheistic/agnostic/etc?

Thank you for doing the AMA! :)

No problem! I feel like there just might be a higher power up there but i have no idea who or what it is. I try not to label myself as anything and so far its been working for me.

It was more than that.....and you know it. So not only have you been unfaithful to your family values, you lie on top of it. Navy should be on guard....once a traitor......

You sound like a witness o_o

You heard my voice?

Nope.

cool

In the end you know what I meant and you know what you're doing. Nobody likes being called a liar and a traitor.

Wow dude! Issues much? Guilty conscience or something? I don't have to be a witness to see that. Over what I'm sure I can't say. The fact that you didn't get a straight answer and get all nervous and crap over it tells me you'd much rather bitch, chew and complain than actually be informative. I never called you a liar or a traitor, but if that's what you want to hear, who am I to tell you different? Get some help for your nervous disorder. After you replied to me last with the monosyllabic 'nope' I let you be. So what's your purpose? Never mind. I don't care.

–]cerebralvomit -10 points 19 hours ago It was more than that.....and you know it. So not only have you been unfaithful to your family values, you lie on top of it. Navy should be on guard....once a traitor......

Either that was directed towards me or we have a misunderstanding.

You are entirely correct, I wrote that, however it was a generalized statement. The very same as a cheating spouse.You can never really trust them after that. And when you do, their loyalty has been proven over many, many years. It is my understanding that disfellowshipping is vastly different than 'being kicked out'. It is also my understanding that a disfellowshipped person can enter a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses any time he or she likes and speak with the elders and they will speak to him/her. So they are not totally cut off. As for family members, that is their individual choice and one can speak about family matters. Am I correct in that statement? So you were not kicked out, you just chose the path of least resistance. Stating you were kicked out, is a lie. And you know it. You gave up. I'd say that to you if you were a Catholic, Seventh day Adventist, Pentecostal, Muslim, Jew. etc. And the navy should be on guard. Honour, courage, commitment. That's their job. If you believe there is a possibility of those not convicted and convinced of their assignments within any organization, it is a citizens duty secularly and morally to do something about it. But the correction should be allocated to the person(s) not the organization. Look at that priest in the Vatican refusing to sign confidentiality papers. Tony Flannery, "I refuse to be terrified into submission" That could have been you. Were you really a J.W. or just their kid? I mean, were you baptized and everything because if you were a Jehovah's Witness for 20 years that would mean you joined the Navy somewhat later in life. Then by being baptized, you had made a commitment you didn't stand by. I mean if what you say is true, that you were kicked out because you joined the Navy. The navy does a lot of good, but the individuals run the very real risk of taking a life. How do you justify that? You don't. You choose. You kill or be killed. So my question to you is, what made you feel you had to kill? Perhaps your fight for justice would have been better fought at home, but if you were just their kid, then you weren't really a Jehovah's Witness at all. So that would be lying. Would that statement be correct? If you want, we will carry on, but I have been up all night due to other obligations and I need to go to bed. If you don't want, just don't reply any more. If you need to reply but still want to end this dialogue, just say so. Regardless, stay safe. I'm sure your family would much rather see an alive disfellowshipped you than a dead you. And if they are Witnesses, I guess they just see you as choosing to be a murderer. Isn't that what what defending the country ultimately costs? sorry, I am getting tired. Can't say it nice. Tried, don't work. Again, stay safe.

I used the words "kicked out" simply because not as many people are familiar with the term "disfellowshipped" and what it entails. " It is also my understanding that a disfellowshipped person can enter a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses any time he or she likes and speak with the elders and they will speak to him/her. So they are not totally cut off. As for family members, that is their individual choice and one can speak about family matters"
The first part of that is true. I could go back if I had the intention of being reinstated. I could also talk to the elders and they would go over a scripture or two with me.. So you're right. Im not completely cut-off. But then again, I never said that I was. The elders are the only ones that can talk to me freely like that. But as for family, unless you have some sort of business where its necessary for you to communicate with that person, you are NOT advised to speak with them. My little brother isn't even baptized.. he doesn't even like the religion and they still told him that if he continued to talk to me, he would be labeled as "bad association". Peer pressure and guilt can be pretty strong. I was raised in it and didn't get baptized until I was 19. Even though I was only baptized for a year, I had identified myself as a witness my entire life. The same goes for so many others. I don't feel that I gave up. To say so implies that I quit because it was too difficult or that it was where i was supposed to be. I hated it. It wasn't for me and wasn't what I wanted out of life. It was a lifestyle imposed on me and I had the balls to start my own path. And to answer your question " what made you feel you had to kill? " Even though I knew that this is what the Navy does and that id be supporting it, it didn't bother me one bit.

Sailors are gay.

Well they are now since the repeal of DADT.

Yea we got alot of big gay thailors