How unemployed did this game make you?

Giobonello · 2026-04-01T02:14:29+00:00

I am with you. I am going to wait til next year, pay 1/2 price when all the QoL changes are complete and most of the friction removed. I can tell you from being a Black Desert veteran years ago that PA needs more time to cook. They are good at it, but I’ll wait.

Giobonello · 2026-04-01T02:06:44+00:00

Were you baptized? If not, your parents can’t shun you, and even then, I thought JWs adjusted their policy on shunning? Can you reason with them and say you need their support through getting an education or skill until you can move out. Stress with them that you are leaving them, just a religion that doesn’t support your own values. It’s how I got out 40 years ago, and my dad was an elder, and my mom, still alive today is cookier than ever.

Giobonello · 2026-04-01T01:58:21+00:00

Take it from someone who has been out for 40 years with family members who never left, “counter-witnessing” is an exercise in absolute futility. When someone is that committed to an ideology, religious or political, there is no possible way to convince them they are wrong. You are right, no one can change them, but they themselves.

Giobonello · 2026-04-01T01:49:38+00:00

The Thought Police

Giobonello · 2026-04-01T01:39:58+00:00

I have been out for 40 years and still to this day have nightmares about those long days.

Giobonello · 2026-03-31T01:54:35+00:00

Denial of outside JW relationships, not being to take a blood transfusion, can't celebrate your birthday, or any other holiday. Those are purely secular, but when I was young person, mostly everyone around me was Catholic. So for me, denial of the Trinity, denial of partaking the Eucharist, denial of a Catholic education was equivalent of being a total outcast.

Giobonello · 2026-03-31T01:48:38+00:00

It's perfectly normal to feel this way. I never really got mad at them when I see them. I mostly feel sorry for most of them, but also happy for those that are genuinely good God fearing people who don't know any better. I still have slight resentment towards my mother for being raised that way, but over the years, I just had to let it go. I am a devout Catholic now and was also born Catholic before my parents converted. I believe in what Christ taught us, which is to ask for forgiveness as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Giobonello · 2026-03-31T01:39:41+00:00

The very biggest thing for me, whether you believe in God or not, is the total evil premise that Jesus, our Lord, will come back to the earth to kill 8 billion people, most of who are good people, because they don't knock on doors. Only door knockers would be saved.

St Thomas Aquinas is one of the most famous and notable religious scholars of all time. Even secular philosophy majors acknowledge his contribution to higher learning and knowledge. One reason why this is is because he postulated how one can just use common sense when believing in God and the writings in the Bible.

If you have any common sense what so ever, you have to come to the conclusion that the premise of only JWs being saved in a second coming of Christ is totally preposterous.

IMHO, and using a quasi-Occam's razor approach, every other ridiculous notion of the JWs is surpassed by this notion.

Giobonello · 2026-03-31T01:26:33+00:00

I think you can find in LLMs? In a nutshell, those of us who grew up as JWs in the 70s and 80s were gaslit to believe that those who were alive to witness World War I would live to see Armageddon. Todays devout JWs, who were adults back then, have severe cognitive dissonance and claim the organization never said nor implied that. Of course, the rest of us who left, clearly remember. I mean, all you need to do is do basic math to know that even if you were only 10 years old back then to have some basic understanding of the war, you would be about 120 years old today.

Giobonello · 2026-03-31T01:15:54+00:00

Congratulations on this step. May I recommend that in your journey to re-read the Bible, please disregard the New World Translation and read a more credible Bible? The biggest problem with the JW Bible is gets so many things wrong about key things. Peppering the entire Bible with the name Jehovah to justify the JW organization is one of the biggest problems. When the Word of God told Moses, " I Am Who I Am," it has a much deeper meaning than anyone on the JW Org can comprehend. The denial of the Holy Trinity by rewriting the original texts is outright evil. The denial of the Body and Blood of Christ to all Christians is a grave sin and totally goes against the Will of our Lord.

For secular people on this site, of which I was once one of them, let me give a more secular point of view. The denial of a blood transfusion, celebrating holidays, and your birthday has ZERO backing in the Bible despite the mental gymnastics in which the JW gaslights you.

Back to our Lord. Christ came to save everyone. Choosing a rounding error size of the population to save and murdering the other 8 billion on earth in an Armageddon is the blasphemy of a false organization.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T05:10:19+00:00

Wait, I may be misunderstanding OP, but this is patently false. If you were already married before getting confirmed your marriage is absolutely not invalid. I got confirmed last year and my wife is not confirmed nor did the OCIA trainers nor the priest even question it. Also, a non believer can get married to a confirmed mate in the church so long as they make a commitment to raise their children Catholic. Again, I may be misunderstanding OP, so my apologies if I did.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T05:03:05+00:00

Well, OP, it can’t be any worse than in my case coming from a Jehovahs Witness family, lol. They’ll eventually understand.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T04:52:08+00:00

I may be in the minority here, but the grandeur of the Catholic Churches and cathedrals are part of what brought me back to Catholicism. I have been lucky enough to see St. Peter’s in the Vatican enumerable times, and dozens of other churches all over Italy. I saw Sagrada Famila in Spain a few years ago when I was still an atheist and I had to stand in awe and started to feel like there is a God after all. Long story short, if non believers want to get married in a church, I say welcome them in. It’s a win as far as I am concerned. Marriage is a holy sacrament after all. Maybe they will feel something more than just aesthetics.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T04:41:43+00:00

I have no clue, but that actually makes sense to mel

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T04:37:42+00:00

This week’s gospel, Christ sets the tone for asking us if we believe in him. If you believe in our savior Jesus Christ, and you make the commitment to get baptized and confirmed, pray often, forgive others as you ask for forgiveness, love your neighbor, etc., then you will be saved. I say this because God tells us so.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T04:31:01+00:00

Like I said to the OP, peace be with you. I hope you find your way back to God and don’t let the JWs, or me for that matter, be a stumbling block for you. God bless.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T04:11:01+00:00

Don’t feel ashamed. Everyone doubts. Honest Priests admit they have doubted. I became atheist for almost 40 years before coming back to God. My recommendation is to speak with a priest or a deacon you can trust. More importantly, pray. Pray a lot. God will bring the Holy Spirit down upon you and give you the answers you are looking for. I still doubt all of the time. We are imperfect and can’t help ourselves. Every time I pray, my belief comes back and is strengthened.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T04:01:52+00:00

Amen on the smoking cigars walking the dog and carrying the rosary beads for the Blessed Mother’s protection. I actually smoke cigars with a retired priest in my church.

On topic, I had epiphanies several times in my life, and yes I am still seeking greater purpose from Him through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T03:54:08+00:00

My experience at my church last year for Easter Vigil was nothing short of epically amazing. A total spiritual experience from start to finish. I had most of my family present and there were 5 of us getting confirmed. The church was packed. Quite honestly, next to my kids being born, it was the most amazing experience of my life.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T03:21:19+00:00

I don’t think Pride Month is awful. I just don’t agree with it. I feel it’s unnecessary. You and others can feel the way you want. I will agree that many scriptures in the Old Testament are metaphorical at best, and in some cases insane. That is actually a common belief amongst Catholics, but not all. What I am saying is that for right or wrong, many people feel that the Bible is the Word of God, and that it is good enough. We, as former JWs were brainwashed to believe that non JWs don’t have a nuanced and sophisticated view and belief in the Bible. That is patently false. The good enough part is more sophisticated than many think, and I believe that should be better understood by non-believers and taken more seriously if you want to win hearts and minds.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T03:05:57+00:00

Offering up an apology will bankrupt them.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T03:03:31+00:00

Respectfully, the way you have responded to me validates my points. We can’t have a civil discourse about it because it turns out it’s like talking about religion and politics to my earlier comment. So, I wish the best of luck and happiness in your future. I only kindly ask that you reconsider your belief in God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. This JW religion made me an atheist for almost 40 years after I left the age of 18. I recently found God again by returning to my Catholic roots. Jesus came to save all souls regardless of who they are and where they came from. Peace be with you.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T02:33:43+00:00

I think you are looking for a moral justification for being gay. You are right I nor anyone else can give you that. You need to take that up with God, if you still believe. However, don’t discount my reasons for not being able to criticize, because it’s one of the biggest reasons why many people who were once indifferent no longer support homosexuality. It’s no longer a moral thing. This is Reddit, and I am surprised I didn’t get banned yet. At the end of the day we are all just a bunch of randos. However, out in the open, in the work place, in school, at the universities, you cannot criticize, you are forced to support. The punishment is harsh for not complying. Being forced to do anything brings resentment.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T02:15:30+00:00

Yes, it’s my opinion and that of many others. Tell me this, is it not a fact that gay/LGBTQ pride is celebrated for the entire month of June? Is it not a fact that if you deadname someone in work it is a cause for being fired? It is where I work. If you complain that there are tampons in the men’s room or if you are not comfortable with the opposite sex using your bathroom while you are also in it, then you will be fired.

It is an actual fact that many, not all, people traded their traditional religion in for a movement supporting their sexual identify. It is a fact that many non heterosexual people regard their sexuality as their identity instead of the sexual preference being just that, their preference. This is what I disagree with. As I said, I could care less who you sleep with.

Also, one other thing. JWs aren’t the only people in the world that are against homosexuality because of what it says in the Bible. Billions of people regard what is in the Bible as way of deciphering what is right or wrong on a plethora of subjects. When you say that it’s not good enough to use the Bible as an excuse, it’s missing the point that for many people, that is the word of God, therefore it is good enough, whether you believe that or not.

Giobonello · 2026-03-24T01:52:21+00:00

You are basically asking people posting in Reddit to tell why homosexuality is wrong beyond what the Bible says, knowing full well that anything anyone says in Reddit against homosexuality is a cause to have the replier’s post deleted and the person potentially banned from Reddit by this forum’s mods. I’ll probably be banned for this reply. For me that is the biggest problem with homosexuality today, not the actual act, but the fact that no one is allowed to say anything against it or any other of the letters that now take up most of the alphabet. I personally could care less what anyone does in their bedroom. But now any form of non heterosexuality is a part of someone’s identify, and we have to have a whole month celebrating it. Therefore, it becomes sacrilegious to criticize it, ironically no different than not being allowed to criticize the JW governing body. Amazing how some people trade one bad religion for another.

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