Which did you fear more as a JW, God or the Elders?

by JH 26 Replies latest jw friends

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  Apostate Kate

  As a JW child pre 1975 I feared god more. The god of the Watchtower was looking for a reason to squash me for not making all the meetings. I was afraid of Armageddon...very afraid...

  Second was what people were going to do to me for being a JW. I wasn't looking forward to having my fingernails being ripped out, or the rapes and beating that were going to start anyday. Since we all knew armageddon was coming in 1975, we also knew the persecution would come first. So we were told...

  Third I feared demons.

  Fourth the elders. I figured demons could jump me, but the elders could not hurt me too bad. As a young teen, after being forced into the back room with three of them and grilled about a friends sex life, I avoided them at all cost.

  Things were different for me as an adult pursueing the elusive "get right with Jehovah" attempt...I only had a mild fear of the Watchtower god's wrath. All fear ended in the late 1980's when I learned enough to know the WT was full of it.
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  sspo

  I could handle any elders ( since I was one myself) any day and did not worry about God very much or any worldly guy at work.

  What i feared most was my wife's moods, never knowing which way they would swing.
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  buffalosrfree

  I feared displeasing God and his son Jesus. I never feared the elders or the ministerial servants, in fact i believe they were in fear of me and my military background history. Former Ranger and x amount of years after that in Naval Intelligence in Special Operations and Direct Support Operations. They always seemed to walk around me as if walking on egg shells. That is one reason I never really got close to a lot of people in the borg. I just didn't relate to them and their lifes.
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  moshe

  I hated not being able to get my wife to see what I could see. Once I knew I was right , I never feared the Elders or the Watchtower god. Someday those Elders who judged me to be an apostate will realize they threw away 20+ years of their life by not listening to me.
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  5thGeneration

  Now this is a good question!

  As a current fader I can say I have always feared the elders and the Society more.

  IE. Love to play blackjack when I'm in Vegas. Do I think God cares? NO! Do I hope the elders don't find out? YES!
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  blondie

  I feared the backbiting, gossiping, lying sisters in the congregation. They caused the most damage.

  Blondie
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  evita

  I was a JW during my teens and into my very early 20's. I lived in terror of losing the approval of my mom and the congregation big-wigs. I was sick with shame and fear when I did something that wasn't approved of by the organization. . Jehovah was an abstraction that I couldn't relate to. But the fear of man was very real to me. Eva
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  jaguarbass

  God, I dont remember fearing the elders ever.
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  fokyc

  I never feared God/Jehovah, it was the Elders, nothing was ever right! Never any pleasant conversation, either they were complaining about something I or other brothers had or hadn't done. Nobody ever volunteered was one of their main complaints, then when I volunteered they never ever came back to me, just ignored the situation.

  Perhaps I wasn't good enough to weed the grounds of Bristol Ass. Hall before it was opened, they could have told me . I had special disspensation to look after pushchairs one year at Cardiff, big deal!!

  Elders are loathsome creatures!! and excellent liars!!

  fokyc
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  fullofdoubtnow

  My main fear was not being found good enough to get into the new system, so I guess I feared God more. I didn't fear the elders that much really, even when they were pressuring me to pioneer or hounding me when I stopped attending meetings. They were more of an annoyance than anything else.