the delusion of believing they are "good witnesses"

cyber-sista

I remember how the Org always encouraged us to be a "good witness" by telling others about our JW activities and putting our theocratic interests above everything else. This is a major JW delusion that anyone who is not a JW will be impressed by our unwavering loyalty to the WT Org.

Just recently my husband had a family reunion we attended in another state. One of his cousins who he had not seen for several years showed up. She and her husband showed up the last day of the 4 day reunion when many of the others had gone home. it just so happens this cousin is a JW. She made a point of telling everyone they had arrived late and missed the major part of a once in a lifetime family reunion, because "they had to attend their JW meeting at the KH because they were indeed JWs" Looking at this objectively now that I have left the JW mindset I could clearly see how this did not impress anyone. I'm sure that most viewed them as delusional fanatics, who cared more about some religious meeting than to commune with their own long lost relatives. Later on in polite conversation my hubby asked about the couple's children. The woman waxed on about her daughter and how wonderful she was doing (obviously still a JW) , but when asked about her son her face turned red and she hung her head--"we don't know where he is we haven't had any communication with him for several years now" (obviously he is no longer a witness). The woman's husband sat in the corner and had a sour look on his face most of the time and didn't say much (was this too another great witness for all to behold?) PS I never let on to anyone that I had been associated with the Org and had a good old time at the reunion without all those JW brick walls that blocked past communications for me.

I met up with an old friend non-JW friend on this trip too. Her daughter was childhood friends with a JW girl. My friend happen to mention the girl and I aked about her. She is no longer a JW. Her parents broke up because her JW father had molested her. The girl went rather wild after that and the story goes on... (Another great witness for all to behold?)

It is truly a part of the great delusion that the witnesses are on the great theocratic stage giving a wonderful witness about Jehovah for the world to behold. It is just another thing to keep them all in line--to keep them separate from people who might break the WT spell--to keep them under control.

cybs

misspeaches

So very very true CyberSista....

I've often pondered since making my way about train of thought. But never to that extent. But everything you say is so completely accurate.

Goldminer

In every congregation there are stories similar to yours;of broken jw families,a df'd family member,pioneers just going through the motions,on and on.This just helps give more life to their delusions,trying to convince themselves that it's Satan attacking them because they are so close to the end,on and on.Meanwhile it's the WTS who is entirely responsible for this mess that they've created.

Goldminer

FairMind

Typical truth about JW families! There is a brother I know (or knew as he might now be deceased) who is metioned in two different year books. He was held up as an example of someone who in post WW2 Europe experienced peresecution because of his faith. This brother later married and had three sons. One son became a JW, another grew up and joined the US Navy (the normal son) and the third went off the deep-end mentally. A stranger to the father would think that this man had only one son as he would not speak of the two who did not become JWs.

vitty

I always felt that I should "make a stand" to show how loyal to Jehovah I was.

In fact you just look like a fool and nobody, understands, respects or gives a flying fig why you wont do this or that.

garybuss

Hi cyber-sista
I remember that, "The whole world watches us because we are Witnesses." line too. It was hammered at us often. I guess I believed it just because they repeated it so often. Now I see the "We are being watched.", feeling as a paranoid delusion. I believe those are called grandiose delusions.
*God* only channels to *us*, = grandiose delusion.
*We* are watched because we represent *God*, = grandiose delusion.
*They* are watching *us*, = paranoid delusion.

katiekitten

I have thought about this too. I was always hung up on 'giving a good witness'. But when I look back those things that Witlesses considered 'giving a good witness' would have been lost on non witnesses. Stuff like not celebrating christmas - that just made people think we were plain weird.

The stuff that would really have given a good witness, like being damn good company, loyal to your family, honest, friendly, easy to be around - all that didnt attract the right brownie points for the witlesses. No, they were more concerned that no-one saw you wearing trousers if you were a laydee, or that you didnt have short hair like a boy if you were a laydee, or that you wore a tie and suit if you were a blokey. Or that you wore your convention badge to restaurants after the assembly. How pathetic.

Hellrider

LoL. Both pathetic and funny. Oh, I`ve got a good story for ya`ll. One summer, at a district assembly, when I was a kid, a funny thing happened. Here in Scandinavia, when there are district conventions, all JWs have (at least this is how it was in the 70s and 80s) these caravans, these portable homes (it`s called rvs in english, I think?), you know what I mean. This was our "vacation" each summer, in my family, going to the district assembly in our damn caravan. So this one year, the camping area that was rented for JWs, was shared with non-JWs, who were also camping. And then we were invited over to a neighbouring family. My mom, who was a show-off, very theocratic woman, started right away with the "oh, how did you like the speeches today blah blah blah", lot`s of theocratic crap. And these people were just sitting there like question marks. My dad realised the blunder, that they were not JWs, and behind my moms back (he was a relatively normal guy, for a JW, with a sense of humor and all), he put his finger to his temple, turned it around, smiling funny to them, signalising to them that his wife was..well...a little crazy. That part of it was a bit funny. But on the other hand, I was so embarassed, I just wanted the ground to swallow me. Well, it`s kind of funny, now in hinesight...

vitty

Hell rider........that was funny

cyber-sista

The stuff that would really have given a good witness, like being damn good company, loyal to your family, honest, friendly, easy to be around - all that didnt attract the right brownie points for the witlesses. No, they were more concerned that no-one saw you wearing trousers if you were a laydee, or that you didnt have short hair like a boy if you were a laydee, or that you wore a tie and suit if you were a blokey. Or that you wore your convention badge to restaurants after the assembly. How pathetic.

, and one of my big question why could I not associate with my neighbor if I was to love them as myself? How could treating them as not worthy of my association in anyway attract them to the WT Org? How was this a good witness? Why did Jesus hang out with tax collectors and sinners and the like, but JWs could not? Why did I have all these questions, but continued on in my JW delusional daze I will never know.

Thanks all,

Hi Gary,

Pretty funny story hellrider.

aloha, cybs

the delusion of believing they are "good witnesses"

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