Jehova's Witnesses and Suicide

As a baptized Jehovah's Witness this is the kind of thread that alarms me. A lot of people find us weird or quirky or alienated because we don't celebrate certain holidays or go along with the popular opinion of the world. I'm ok with that. This whole suicide thing though, ugh. Do you realize all these sites your getting information from are just blaring "we are doing our damndest to make JW's look like freaks"?

Try to look at both sides of a story before you form an opinion. I see myself as the perfect guy to lookj at if you wanna get a real idea of what makes a basic JW you see knock at your door.

I go door to door. The bible tells us too. I spend more time with JW's than non'JW's. The bible tells us too. The bible. not some dude in a suit. I ONLY do things the bible tells me to do. Or try. lol I have got drunk and acted like an idiot. the bible tells you not too. I got reprimanded for it or more than one occasion. I have a problem with flippant speech, i can be an asshole to my wife. I'm a regular dude who loves basketball, paintball, video games. What makes me different than you is I have a specifc set of beliefs based on the bible that tell me to act like jesus would. Lots of people have forsaken the fruitages of the spirit and have adopted the spirit of the world. See there? i went from saying asshole to preaching. lol. I know some brothers in my religion who would frown upon this post. I don't care much, I follow Jehovah and thats it.

I know a kid who go disfellowshipped (excommunicated) from the JW's. its a biblical teaching believe it or not. sad to say, his family moved to Arizona and left him behind, he lived on his own though, dont worry. then his non-jw girlfriend dumped him. he jumped off a bridge and died. it was terrible. it was probably because he was so alone. He could have went to some of the brothers and asked for help and got it but instead he choose to end his life. I miss him, he was a cool guy. I have known of other friends of mine who choose to follow the same route BUT they didnt kill themselves. its a personal choice, not one influenced by a persons religion.

I am a 32 year old man who has had his ups and downs when it comes to my faith. Ive read all about the 1975, 1914 bullcrap. I have come to put it in its proper place. Men are idiots and certainly you must not put your full faith in whatever they say. You have to temper there words with the bible says. Lets be clear though, the prophecies in the bible are coming true right before all our eyes, and despite the fact the JW society has some quirky people in it from the beginning til even now....we are aligning ourselves with God.

reply to post by McDohl


Ok, I'm going to quote. If it gets deleted, then my bad. Are these people really lying?

Charlotte A
(Guest)
11/19/2008
My name is charlotte and i came into the JW religion when i was 8 and left when i was 14. it took me a couple of years to finally forgive myself and realize not eveything was my fault that happend in that cult. they play major mind games there. i got caught holding hands with a boy and parents called the elders of my church to my house to give me a great big speech. they then took away my shoes and didnt let me go to school. when you are in that cult you cant have friends outside the religion. i cut myself for years until finally i felt better about myself. i now live in a foster home because they would not let me leave the house so i cut my wrist in order to get out. as drastic as that is im glad i did it. i have new parents now and i love them to death. i always thought that people outside the religion were "worldly"as they called in and bad people. my eyes are now open. please stay away from the Jehovahs Wittnesses. they may seem nice and a good religion but it is really really min

widow
(Guest)
10/02/2008
My husband committed suicide after much pleading with local kingdom hall and Watchtower. He had been disfellowshipped for adultery (before we met!), and the day after the final pleading...he killed himself.

..they took away her shoes and didnt let her go to school? Im sorry but if that was the case it would be on her parents fanatical interpetation of something. My years in the Dubs between 8 and 14 were full of regular kid things. getting muddy, going to school and playing football at recess, and the occasional spanking outside the kingdom hall for being a brat. i was extremely immature at age 14-20. adhd.
My wife came into the JW religion when she was about 17, along with her father and stepmother and other siblings. her father and mother took the truth and used it as a weapon against her. She stopped studying and partied for a year, luckily she decided to give it another go. I remember when I first dated her she was temporarily living at her parents again at age 19. her father again become a complete jerk. what has come about to her family since then is a story for another time. needless to say there not a happy bunch. lots of problems. these problems didnt start because they were JW's The problems started because there jerks and selfish people. PEOPLE cause problems. My wife is happy now, i treat her good and we have two children and i will raise them normal, just like my JW parents raised me normal. you cant judge a religion based on stories about idiots. For every story about some sheltered held back poor exJW, your gonna find a thousand like mine. where i was taught to respect God and the people around me, but also to live a fun fulfilling life.

As for the suicide story? suicide is a giant complex decision that is made based on more than one reason. People who commit suicide do it for more than just being disfellowshipped. They got plenty more problems than that going on. especially since disfellowshipping is not a one way process, they can come back easily if they want.

[edit on 20-7-2010 by McDohl]

[edit on 20-7-2010 by McDohl]

reply to post by McDohl


Hopefully this was some strange sect or just isolated incidents.

And perhaps these people were indeed mentally ill.

The way you're telling it is how it SHOULD be. I hope that way abounds more than what this article is saying.

Here I will try to make things more comfortable for all, and please Witness or non, I would like the input.

Firstly, current JW witness's are not allowed and I mean allowed to be on these types of sites. Secondly, these aren't stories of misguided people but people that had been brainwashed, and had no way out.

This touches my heart, because I dealt with a person that had to choose, even though he chose the way of finding himself I spent 7 yrs trying to get IN. This is a cult. I have from past posts tried to show where the false teaching the JW's, but that seems to have opened the flood gates of those that are not even supposed to participate.

I would like... NO wait, I would love if a witness or even X-witness would try to debunk anything that I have stated. I will probably get no responses, but for those that are interested please ask.


Peace to you...

Originally posted by NoRegretsEver

Firstly, current JW witness's are not allowed and I mean allowed to be on these types of sites.

There appear to be Jehovah's Witnesses on ATS, because I have argued with them.
Any discussion about the Trinity on the Theology forum on BTS will bring out their viewpoint, and it's also expressed on the thread about "Jehovah's Witnesses believe the UN will ban religion".

regrets, im not sure what I am supposed to be debunking...you saying these people are brainwashed has not proof or scientific backing. I can only offer my own personal experiences as a JW.

This site seems fine by me, I am sure there is people on here i should probably stay away from....they will show themselves and i can make that decision when it comes, but people who honestly are in search of facts can pm me and ask me anything. im not here to preach, i just like this site. Seeing threads like this, i cant help myself. I dont like this "cult" like status employeed to my religion when i know its simply not true.

reply to post by DISRAELI


That's what I mean how could the UN ban religion, if it played part? These are the FACTS that witnesses cannot deal with. Its simple.

Peace to you...

If anyone commits suicide because of Jehovah's Witnesses it is because they cannot bare the torment placed upon them if they should decide to leave the congregation. I speak from experience. And yes, it sounds like a petty reason but when you know how adamant these people are, either about keeping you in or banishing you from your friends and family- you would understand what it does to your mental emotional state.

reply to post by McDohl


I'm curious. Which is not true, and or proved? Can you name one thing? If you don't have the proper information, how can you make a logical assessment?

Peace to you...

You are speaking disjointed, the verb needs a subject. I am not sure what your asking.

You are saying witnesses are brainwashed. I am saying thats false. I do not have to come up with proof that its false because i am not making the accusation. As you are the accuser you need to have proper proof since your implying I am also brainwashed. Just saying something does not make it true.

reply to post by McDohl


First of all I want speaking to you personally, unless you want to take it that way. If you would have read the posts before these, you would know what I was speaking of.

I am calling for, and all that will claim that this is not a TRUE religion. I know that this may seem that I would not discuss or challenge such things, but this is not the norm. So unless you have the time or the facts, I don't know what to tell you.

I call it as I see it.

Peace to you...

Originally posted by McDohl
Men are idiots and certainly you must not put your full faith in whatever they say. You have to temper there words with the bible says. Lets be clear though, the prophecies in the bible are coming true right before all our eyes, and despite the fact the JW society has some quirky people in it from the beginning til even now....we are aligning ourselves with God.

Ummmm...dude......who do you think wrote the Bible?


MEN!


You have put your faith in the writings of man.....and I agree completely with your statement that the race of man are complete idiots.

I'm sorry to have to break this to you, but religion is about control...NOT about saving your soul.

Do you HONESTLY believe that "God" will not love you because you don't follow a book that some guy in a cave wrote? Search deep in your heart. The creator of the universe CAN NOT be that petty..... I refuse to believe that God even gives a crap about what we do. If God really did care, we would not have FREE will!

This entire planet isn't even a flake of sand on Gods buttcrack when you put our existance into perspective with the universe.

[edit on 20-7-2010 by bismarcksea]

reply to post by bismarcksea


The fallacy of what G-d and Man can create for one another is not to far fetched. its not complicated, and I was hoping that one or an other would understand that the word of man IS NOT the word of G-d.

The fact that religious people cannot tell the difference just goes to show that the agenda is "as planned".

Peace to you...

reply to post by NoRegretsEver


Because the truth in the matter is that "God" does NOT need man.....never did and never will.

And "God" gave us free will so that we don't need him either.


Live a productive life, don't intentionally harm others.....and keep to your own affairs. WOW! How hard is that to understand?

But wait....lets write down 800 pages of filler and confuse people so that someone can abuse and twist "weaker" minds....and then lets warp it to our own agenda!

BRILLIANT!







[edit on 20-7-2010 by bismarcksea]

reply to post by bismarcksea


I don't even need to copy and paste what you just said. This isn't about OUR doctrine, but about the lives that have been affected by the people that know, that what they preach is untrue.

Peace to you..

Hey folks !
I have studied with many groups.
I had chats with the JWs until they told me about not allowing me to take communion on Easter. I studied with Mormons. I studied with the Church of Tzaddi. I went to a church of Christ that did not allow music in church- too evil. I belonged to a 12-step program. I met generational hard-core bikers. I met pagans. I have met organized drug sellers. I have met Government workers with high clearances. I have worked in offices, schools, and hospitals.
IMO, All these groups had a commonality, a general bunch of hangers-on, or worker bees, and a central core of controllers.
In my personal experience, the central core always get to power-tripping, they get corrupted and start controlling everything, inventing new rules. If one is on the fringe one may notice nothing but a vague discomfort, a feeling of oppression.
It seems to me the way to avoid getting slammed by the controlling ones or getting guilted to death is to keep your mental distance, and if people were not so generally self-destructive, they would not buy into the ridiculousness of some of it.
I do feel for the kids, they get indoctrinated into things and do not realize for years there are points of view. I remember delivering Halloween cookies to my friend's sister and kids, never thinking they were JW. I remember her pulling them away from the Christmas parade out front though, it sure was sad ! But, who's to say, they may have a happy life now for all I know.
So, maybe I was born a free spirit with a free spirit of a Mother ! IDK, I just hope people will share the spirit of independence and love, without infighting. And without controlling!

Well I managed to read the first page of this thread but I can't go on. Jehovah's Witnesses are not anything like people describe here. People are so ignorant about them and the lies here go pretty much unchecked. Deny ignorance? People here appear to embrace it.

I used to be JH from birth till around my 12th.
That was mostly becuase of my parents getting divorced and I have to say I kinda felt stalked for a while,even now they still know my name by the sound off my voice..and that was like 10years ago...
But whe didn't get harassed or anything,they just let us be.

I used to have many friends from wich only one was a JH witness, so whe wher'nt exiled from the world or anything.

Just go to one of those meetings(or what ever they call it) they're one of the most loving people I ever met

A question.

Do you ask an extremely bitter divorced person for a balanced perspective on their ex-spouse? My experience is there is an emotional element that really causes a negative spin to be put onto that person. Then you talk to the ex-spouse and you find their side of the story. If you have ever been involved in family councilling you know this to be true.

Embittered people seldom give you a balanced perspective.

Intrepid is no longer a part of the Jehovah`s Witness, yet he is not bitter, his perspective is balanced.

He is the guy to listen to, if you want answers that are not tainted with a strong emotional bias. Indeed deny ignorance.



[edit on 20-7-2010 by Blue_Jay33]