No to soaps.

Moomin

Hi

During the time leading up to my baptism and even more so afterwards, my study conductor and her friend were always telling me how I shouldn't be watching the soaps. (I had mentioned to them at some point how I enjoy watching Emmerdale and Coronation Street).

They described them as being unwholesome and encouraging of immoral ways. I was a tad offended at this as I didn't consider that I would be that influenced by a soap at my age. :)

As with the accounts in the Bible of tales of immorality and murder, I thought that you could learn from them. For instance in any soap it would be unusual to watch as someone has an affair and quietly gets away with it.

They continued to (not so subtly) have conversations in front of me about the evils of soap. This got my back up a great deal, but saying that, I did actually try to do other things by the time the soaps came on (such as use the internet instead!).

It got to a stage that I started to feel quite crap about myself that I still enjoyed watching these programmes and whenever the subject arose I wanted to go and hide somewhere. I would imagine my SC and her friend doing some kind of wholesome activity of an evening but I wasn't sure what, maybe they studied their wt articles.

It came as quite a shock soon after I left as I was perusing around the eBay site. I decided to look up my SC's friend's eBay id to have a sneaky peak at her feedback and the items she had bought. Well I couldn't believe my eyes at some of the items, but what got me the most was the Little Britain merchandise! I don't know about anyone else but I would consider any soap as quite lame compared to that programme.

I was absolutely livid about the double speak, but was pleased in a way as I had only just left and it was just another thing to prove I had made the right choice.

It really got me though to imagine myself succumbing to the pressure of this person and tried to find other things to do of an evening, whilst all the time her and her husband are happily plonked in front of Little Britain.

Hmmph :(

juni

G'day moomin.

I was never into the daytime soap scene. Thought they were soooo stupid and poor acting. But I know what you mean. It was a big no-no, but others including pioneers, etc. did speak out against them but I knew they watched the stuff. I hate hypocrites!

Juni

serendipity

I remember when the WTS emphasized how bad soaps were in the late 70's (or maybe early 80's). My mother gave up most of the soaps, except for two, and then to fill the time, she planted a garden. We were stuck pulling weeds and canning and freezing and getting beat because we weren't working fast enough. I wanted her to go back to watching soaps.

mouthy

Ouch I feel guilty.... I was one of those wretched teachers ( when I had my studies)that soaps were evil. Jehovah did not want us to watch them.... Talk about minding our own buisness >NOT!!!
I am afraid I am hooked on The YOUNG & THE RESTLESS Now I am free. I feel guilty about all those I led into the wolves caves. By telling them it was wicked. Wish I could call them up & tell them what happened to Victor LOL

But now even Christians tell me I should not be watching them....I am a Christian & I will do what I think
If GOD is only concerned with the soap I watch ....I find it is not the God of Scripture ...HE SET ME FREE!!!.

fullofdoubtnow

Yes, I remember the counsel against certain tv programmes, and soaps were one of them. Another was the x - files, which I never watched, so imagine my surprise when I found out recently that the brother who counselled against this type of programme used to ask Trev, who was one of the first people in our kh to get cable tv, to record videos of the x - files on Sky, so he could watch them before they came out on terrestrial tv in the UK. What a hypocrite!

Moomin

Hi Juni

I hate hypocrites!

That's what I couldn't understand. If they genuinely believed that God would be cross at us for watching such things, then why are they watching something worse?

And if they didn't believe he would be bothered either way, then why were they badgering others?

But maybe it is that power thing, she was the P.O's wife after all.

katiekitten

Yeah, we NEVER watched Corrie, or any of the other soaps, but oddly in the 80's my mum got addicted to 'Dallas'. It was a Saturday night ritual for us to sit down as a family and watch the poisoned dwarf, the man from atlantis the drunken housewife and JR and their mega bucks antics.

Maybe it was because their lives were so far removed from working class british northerners that we allowed ourselves to watch it. It just wasnt real.

We LOVED it. But, bizarrely, we still shunned Coronation Street, which is essentially a great comedy.

Moomin

Wish I could call them up & tell them what happened to Victor LOL

LMAO :)

wonderwoman

I was raised with the same 'soaps are evil' mentality. I knew a lot of jw that watched them, even pioneers. It was a 'do as I say not as I do' issue, (like most jw issues.)
My big thing was the 'R' rated movies. We were constantly warned at meetings, watchtowers and assemblies to resist the temptation, but I knew so many people including elders and their bratty kids who watched them on a regular basis.
Just one of the many things I missed out on because some pig-headed man said so.
WW

Moomin

we still shunned Coronation Street, which is essentially a great comedy.

Yes it is isn't it? I love the light-heartedness about it, I'm not too keen when tragedies happen, I just enjoy watching day to day goings on.

I know what you mean about Dallas being such a world apart from us that it kind of makes it okay. Maybe the witnesses in Texas were ok with watching Corrie for the same reason but shunned Dallas lol.

No to soaps.

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