Tell them that regurgitating moronic unscriptural garbage to you via text message doesn't count as proper shunning, so if they want to survive the Big A they better wise up and leave you alone.
A really annoying text
by strawberry cake 15 Replies latest jw experiences
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besty
Hey SC
Firstly my answer would have been along the lines of:
Therefore brothers and sisters are your friends but won't talk to you unless you take steps to return to Jehovah's people. You were the ones who broke ties with spiritual family. Brothers and sisters show loyalty to Jehovah not being your friends.
"Hi xxx Thanks for the text. I'd have preferred to hear and see you say that to me - perhaps you could have explained it better face to face as I'm now confused. Your text says that you both are and are not my friend. Perhaps you are confused too - it is difficult for the human brain to hold two opposing thoughts at once - you are my friend, you are not my friend, but in either case you aren't speaking to me. Pushes the boundaries of the definition of friend for sure...LOL. Well anyways if you want to explain it better to me I'm here for you. Love SC xxx"
Secondly as a more general point I think the problem is one of definition.
friend (fr
nd) n. 1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. 2. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance. 3. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade. 4. One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement: friends of the clean air movement. 5. Friend A member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker.mem·ber (m
mbr) n. 1. A distinct part of a whole, especially: a. Linguistics A syntactic unit of a sentence; a clause. b. Logic A proposition of a syllogism. c. Mathematics An element in a set. 2. A part or an organ of a human or animal body, as: a. A limb, such as an arm or a leg. b. The penis. 3. A part of a plant. 4. One that belongs to a group or an organization: a club member; a bank that is a member of the FDIC. 5. Mathematics The expression on either side of an equality sign. 6. A structural unit, such as a beam or wall.When leaving the JW's I wondered why my best friends were deserting me. Through time I cam to realise it was membership I had, disguised as friendship.
Membership is conditional on criteria defined by a 3rd party, in this case the WTS. Friendship is mutually agreed between two or more people. You decide which you had as a JW.
Of course there are elements of friendship between JW's - in most cases 100% genuinely motivated from true emotional connections - its just that in high control groups loyalty is always directed upwards in time of conflict, not sideways - hence the content of the text you received.
You are attracted as a friend and are converted to a member by baptism. When the rubber hits the road, membership trumps friendship.
I would argue that the WTS has deliberately over-used the word 'friends' to mask the difference.
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DoomVoyager
Another nice little quip would have been: "Your new book says all that, eh? You should try looking at what the Bible says."
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tijkmo
can you say 'counter productive'
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ninja
that's even more annoying and insensitive than me stupidly trying to cheer up hillbilly after his horse died while I was at the same time drinking a bottle of strongbow cider and some whisky....i.e ....you mean well....but end up being a bit of an arse.....hic
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Pahpa
I'm not surprised that Jehovah's Witnesses would react this way even though there is no official position. I remember one elder who voluntarily stepped down to take care of his teenage children. He was treated as a pariah in the congregation after it was announced that he was no longer serving in that capacity. ( He actually had his priorities correct. Family always comes first.) It was assumed that this brother was "removed" for other reasons. And he was treated as a non-person.
Jehovah's Witnesses over-react to any hint coming from the Watchtower organization. Who can forget the "marking" of individuals that occured a number of years ago? And this happened to people in good standing in the congregation. It's the nature of spiritual inbreeding that takes place in such groups.
nd) n. 1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. 2. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance. 
b
r) n. 1. A distinct part of a whole, especially: a. Linguistics A syntactic unit of a sentence; a clause. b. Logic A proposition of a syllogism. c. Mathematics An element in a set. 2. A part or an organ of a human or animal body, as: a. A limb, such as an arm or a leg. b. The penis. 3. A part of a plant.