Why are some of the Memorial partakers normal people?

by BonaFide 13 Replies latest jw friends

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  BonaFide

  I KNOW that a lot of the Memorial partakers are crazies, or have emotional problems, or want attention. I am not talking about them.

  But there is a percentage of partakers that are not weird, or attention-getters. They act normal, they have a good sense of humor, they don't promote themselves. Sometimes the only time you know they are "anointed" is when they partake. I have met and associated with a lot of "anointed" ones because I have been in a lot of congregations over the years.

  And focusing on the normal ones, some are outgoing its true. But some of them are very shy. There doesn't seem to me to be any reason for them to partake. They don't even seem to want the attention.

  So, why do they partake? What really happens to them that causes them to partake? Again, I KNOW THAT MANY MEMORIAL PARTAKERS ARE NUTSO AND ATTENTION GRABBERS.

  But what about those THAT ARE NOT CRAZY?

  What about the "normal" ones? How did they get "the call?"

  BF
• 

  Rocky_Girl

  When I was a little girl, there was a man in our congregation that partook. His wife did not. Being the precocious little girl I still can be, I asked him how he knew he was going to be in heaven and wouldn't he be sad that his wife was left on Earth. He told me that when he reads the gospel that he knows it is speaking to him and that those promises were meant for him. He also said that being in God's glory would be so satisfying that he could never be sad. He would probably be DFed now for saying such things if he hadn't already passed on.

  After reading the bible without the JW programming, I understand what he means. I think that the 'normal' annointed ones are just the witnesses that don't ignore the call of heaven for an earthly paradise. This is the normal life after death hope for real Christians. That may be why there are so many 'new' partakers also, perhaps some of the r&f are reading the bible independently and recognizing, on a subconcious level, their heavenly hope. It is the only thing that the elders (and up) do not currently question, the only real free will choice in the JWs. If the number partaking starts growing rapidly, though, that will probably change.

  Angie
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  Narkissos

  Imo, in spite of the WT "sterile atmosphere," you can't handle religious texts, words, notions, representations, practices (prayer) daily for years, without some religious "experience" or at least "emotion" emerging here and there. So when someone happens to feel a genuine (even though subjective) connection with some of it (Jesus, God as "Father," Spirit, and so on) there is only one interpretive pattern available in the JW system to make sense of it: you're "anointed". And while this can be the first step toward "apostasy" it can also remain there -- depending how "spirituality" and "critical mind" are connected (or not) in your particular setup.

  As one who went through the "anointed" stage shortly before I allowed myself to intellectually question the whole system, I can say I was not (at least consciously) looking for attention; I dreaded the upcoming memorial. I didn't mention it to anybody except to one friend who first told me that he had come, independently, to the same "conclusion" and was resolved not to repress it anymore. However a measure of "insanity" is not to rule out in both cases... :)
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  JustHuman14

  I haven't see, since in my Island there is no one
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  Psychotic Parrot

  Perhaps they're alcoholics & gluttons who can't resist stuffing their face full of bread & downing a glass of wine when it is presented to them?
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  cattails

  That's great! No more sitting around watching.

  Next year I'm partaking too! I'm a child of God through faith.

  If that's what Jesus said to do to remember that's what I'm doing.

  ---
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  donuthole
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  BluesBrother

  Since any pre 1935 ones must now be in their mid nineties , it is a fair bet that anyone we know must a person who concluded that, despite the belief that salvation was on Earth, they were so special that God picked them for immortality in heaven.

  If narcissism is normal then so be it..

  NB No reflection on Narkissos who is a valued member of our community and it was interesting to read his post...

  I also knew a few old timers in my childhood who had been there in the days when the calling was normal if you believed..Some of them where lovable eccentrics too..
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  Narkissos

  Blues Brother,

  No offence taken, actually you ask a very good question.

  JWs reading the NT "as if for the first time" (as I was doing back then) find themselves in a situation of cognitive and emotional dissonance. From the perspective of JW doctrine, the NT is almost 100 % "anointed" stuff -- hence not for them. It's not a problem as long as you don't read it, just quote it out of context; not much if you only read it in a hurry because you have to (for the TMS for instance). But if you get any interested into it, it is highly likely that some of the "anointed" stuff will "speak" to you. If you get engrossed into the epistle to the Romans for instance, it will be very difficult to switch it off when you get to chapter 8 because you suddenly realise the consequences... (speaking from my own experience here).

  The JW readers are henceforth in a different position from the average church reader (of course it's for you if you are a Christian, duh). To them, as long as they do not really question WT doctrine, it keeps the ring of "special privilege" and the flavour of "forbidden fruit" -- which are both alien to the texts. The attraction you feel is construed, at least in part, as a temptation, and you can't help questioning your motives. The reading experience is much more of an existential experience than to most NT readers (something oddly close to what Kierkegaard called "religious doubt," in a completely different context).

  Now, is it "normal" to find yourself in such a situation? Probably not, if "keeping in line" with your social environment is the "normal" thing to do. But becoming a JW (if you were not born in) was not very "normal" either. People seeking are likely to keep on seeking and never be really satisfied with "finding"... There is certainly a measure of "narcissism" and other neurotic traits in this kind of quest as in any form of "inner life". So be it.
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  BabaYaga

  Christians who deny the eucharist are the ones who are not normal. If one is to believe in the bible and to follow Christ's teachings and examples, it's a no-brainer... one partakes.

  I like Narkissos' point:

  you can't handle religious texts, words, notions, representations, practices (prayer) daily for years, without some religious "experience" or at least "emotion" emerging here and there. So when someone happens to feel a genuine (even though subjective) connection with some of it (Jesus, God as "Father," Spirit, and so on) there is only one interpretive pattern available in the JW system to make sense of it: you're "anointed".

  Even those who consider themselves to be spiritual but not religious can know this feeling of "direct connection".