Love is eroding away in the Congo, why?

thecarpenter

When I first started studying with the Jehovah Witnesses, although I am a technical, matter of fact type of guy, the thing that got my attention was the genuine love I saw in the congregation (this was in the early 80's). It made such a impression on me that I ignored some of the serious questions I had about the organization and went ahead and got baptized (I figured things would get sorted out over time and decided to give the society the benefit of the doubt) . The congregation I went to was a fireball, full of activity and good works and growing fast. I contributed to that spirit as much as I could by pioneering, being rich in good Christian works, love and taking on as much responsibility as I could. Slowly though, the spirit in the congregation started eroding to the point that today, it doesn't even remotely resemble the congregation I use to know.

Why is this? Well, I noticed a a very legalistic spirit creeping in little by little (not that it wasn't there before but it became more noticeable). The elders seemed to be getting harsher and more distant. One thing that reallyreally ticked me off was a event that happened about 12 years ago. On one of the meeting parts, an elder was talking about some who were missing their meetings. He said that if you noticed someone has missed a few meetings, not to call the person because there maybe something wrong going on in their life and you don't want to endanger your spirituality. He said to call the elders first to make sure everything is okay then to call the person if they give the go ahead. I nearly had a aneurysm over that one. There were so many things wrong with those statements, I was monetarily lost for words. Where in the bible does it say to get the elders permission first before showing love to a fellow Christian? I could go on and on but the statements speak for themselves. Since that time, I heard that counsel two more times. (I felt like vomiting each time)

Although I noticed a lot of little disturbing things over the years showing a lost of love, that event made a major impression on me.

What are some pivotal events dealing with Christian love that made you do a double take?

confusedjw

Good observations. I used to refer to some on the Elder Body as Corporate Elders.

Fact is - people imitate the god they worship - thus the lack of love, esp on the Elders part. The WT is a loveless god.

Cardinal Fang

Is it just me, or did anyone else read the title and think this thread was about JWs in Africa?

Seriously though, whatever happened to "not masters over your faith, but fellow workers for your joy" ? To paraphrase the words of the man they claim to follow (but who takes a distant second place to the Org in their estimation):

'they make the word of God invalid by their tradition'...

evergreen

I once attended an elders and MS meeting; and the CO told us specifically not to pray for those who have been away from the meetings for a while, when opening or closing a meeting in prayer. One elder raised a question about it at the time , which i cant remember specifically, to which the CO said "why should we". "They dont love Jehovah , otherwise they would be hear, so dont pray for them".

I personally thought that it was very cold hearted of him to say that. No mention of encouraging the weak, no mention of how can we reach out to these ones about getting back to the meetings. No , now we cant even ask "jehovah" to help these weak ones to come back to the meetings.

The funny thing was not long after he said that , most of us were still praying for those who werent at the meetings , that God help these ones no matter what their reason for being away was. I guess it is only human nature to do so considering that some of these ones were usually related to us in some way.

serendipity

Hi Carpenter,

I agree that all the rules put a damper on any love or concern that people may show. It must be a common problem. If people help out those who are weak or inactive, they may get criticized for doing so. Then there are those who put their efforts toward helping out the influential older ones, ignoring the rest.

I also think people feel guilty about not doing enough in service. I don't think that kind of guilt helps people feel motivated to do things for others.

People are stretched for time as well - with jobs and family responsibilities. They spend what free time they have at meetings or in service or taking care of elder/MS responsibilities. They may not have a lot of time to get involved in other activities.

In connection with the idea of love, there was a CO who gave a talk at our KH 2 or 3 years ago who said "Act on your good impulses to help people or do something nice." He gave some non- WT routine examples (not the same old 'pick up sister ancient or brother sick for the meeting'). That was such a novel expression to me in the JW world.... but it shouldn't have been.

There were a few events over the years that really opened my eyes- unpleasant, but with a silver lining- I took WTS counsel as suggestions not commands.

1. The elders told a teenage friend that she committed the unforgiveable sin by getting her seriously drunk and submitting to the sexual advances of two brothers (18 & 19). I would call that rape. The elders df'd her, privately reproved the two guys and told her parents not to go to the police. One of the guys tried it again with at least one other friend. What motivation would the girl have to lead a productive life if she's doomed to destruction? Many abuses in this case.

2. I didn't think it was very loving to df me, a single pregnant girl, from the congregation, even though the elders said they thought I was repentent, but should've 'known better', even though they knew my family was all JW, and that I had no non-JW friends. Yes, it was very loving to kick me out, pregnant and single, without a support network.

3. Family is supposed to stick together - especially if they're JWs. Already prior to my df'ing, most of my JW family pretty much ignored me when I moved away from home. No calls, no visits, nothing. That has pretty much continued through all the years, even after I was reinstated. If I hadn't visited them, I doubt they would have contacted us.

4. What's kind of interesting to me is that although I'm irregular and hardly attend meetings, when I go to the KH, some people will greet me but NO ONE has invited me in field service in at least 4 years, if not longer. In the 80's, people were always inviting the weak ones in service.

drew sagan

Time is having an effect on the Witness communities. What I have noticed is that each generation of JWs is becoming less and less adherent to the 'values' that those who came before them held. Their convictions are much weaker. They simply look to the 'global' orgaization and say that it is proof of the love without actually ever contributing to it locally. Where I live there are many 3rd and 4th generation witnesses. Many are sipmly lost sheep. They feel that following the societies rules is the best way to build yourself as a spiritual person. Personal conviction is gone. It's now all about what the group does. In my opinion the Elders that are in their 30's and 40's now are the worst. They have been theocratically trained all their lives, all they know is the WT. My mother (a ex-catholic) visited the Kingdom Hall once. Her impression what that she got the feeling that it was like a business meeting, not a spiritual atmosphere. Everthing has been turned into a system, there is no human expierance. Take the human factor out and what do you have left?

just2sheep

as the old saying goes, a fish rots from the head down. this fish has been rotting since rutherford seized power in 1916. any love between individuals is soon eliminated.

FlyingHighNow

Slowly though, the spirit in the congregation started eroding to the point that today, it doesn't even remotely resemble the congregation I use to know.

When people have their lives micro-managed 24/7, right down to their thoughts, it tends to make them crabby and cold.

thecarpenter

Incidentally, the brothers who said this (three different brothers) were all bethelites. Two of them were bethel elders. I don't know if this was stressed at bethel but in thinking back on the different occasions, I just realized that they were all bethelites. (kind of ironic, huh..)

Another thing that struck me was the general distrust amongst the leadership toward the flock. This may be one of the reasons why so little love is show. Numerous times while sitting in on various committee meetings, brothers in different positions of authority would make broad sweeping comments that were disparaging and displayed a real lack of trust toward the friends. (Of course, not all the brothers felt that way but it surprised me how many did)

In my opinion the Elders that are in their 30's and 40's now are the worst.

Drew's comment hit the nail on the head. It was among this group that I noticed the most mistakes, anger issues and least trustful. It seemed to me that many were more thoughtful about how they handled their personal assignments than the general welfare of the friends. Last year I spoke with one of the elders in a neighboring congregation about a old bible study that I had (baptized for ten years now) just to see how he has been doing. He mentioned to me that this brother and his wife hardly makes it to the meetings and went on confessing the sins of his congregation. It seemed that this elder (in his late 30's) was very quick to point out the shortcomings of his hall but failed to take on any responsibility for the welfare and spirit of his hall. I should point out that the elder body for this hall is young and his congregation cold.

My mother (a ex-catholic) visited the Kingdom Hall once. Her impression what that she got the feeling that it was like a business meeting, not a spiritual atmosphere.

Exactly!

DannyHaszard

Fact is - people imitate the god they worship -

That's it! Which by process of elimination is not Jesus Christ.

So guess who?

Love is eroding away in the Congo, why?

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