The closest JW to me is aging and starting to lose his mental abilities. He no longer has the capacity to witness and does not remember the study material. I wouldn't classify him in any of the categories listed. He simply no longer has the ability. And it isn't coming back.
From What You've Experienced Are JWs Rebelling, Conforming or Not Caring?
by minimus 18 Replies latest jw friends
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BluesBrother
The ones that I know are mainly older ones and they seem as committed as ever, even if puzzled at the recent changes (Group Studies gone, Magazine format and so on) When I had occasion to speak with younger family members they seem to say all the right things, but they would, wouldn't they?
I know one thing...I have not seen a young elder (or a newly appointed elder) in years...
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JWoods
The closest JW to me is aging and starting to lose his mental abilities. He no longer has the capacity to witness and does not remember the study material. I wouldn't classify him in any of the categories listed. He simply no longer has the ability. And it isn't coming back.
This may be a real sad "facts of life" wakeup for many JWs as they grow older demographically. I just read that approximately 36 million Americans are in a least a disabling stage of dementia at this time. That is 10% or more of the population, and even more if you only consider the post retirement age people. The JW community will be hard put to deal with it - their emphasis was always "nobody will ever get that old" or, "if you study the WT, your mind will automatically stay active unlike those old farts that watch Cinemax all the time". Reality has a way of biting hard. Wonder if this is one of the true causes of the Bethel downsize?
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daniel-p
All I can say is what I myself did, and what it seemed like others were doing. I was totally going through the motions. There would be spurts of motivation and dedication, but it never lasted. Like two or three months where I'd get 20+ hours in service per month, study for the meetings, and prepare really good parts on the service meeting. But then it'd get to the point where I couldn't keep it up and I'd slack off, not really caring, and go into a little mini-crisis of depression, anxiety, and self-doubt.
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leavingwt
Will they shun their own families? Check.
Will they allow their loved ones to die, be refusing them lifesaving medical treatment? Check.
THAT is committed ENOUGH to meet most definitions, from an outsider's perspective.
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minimus
They would refuse blood but accept an organ transplant that has blood!
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leavingwt
The entire operation is based upon Guilt and Fear.
So, I don't care how many rules a JW is breaking or ignoring.
If they think WT is God's organization and they think Armageddon is coming (eventually), then they are controlled.
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minimus
Guilt is a good reason for their staying. Ignorance is another.
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WTWizard
The ones in my former congregation were basically conforming. They didn't really feel like going out in field circus, yet they would not drop off the pio-sneer ranks. They seemed to have their lives built around the Kingdumb "hope(??)", going to most of the boasting sessions, and tending to do field circus during the weekends. We had a few inactives (like 15 in a congregation averaging around 85 publishers), but there seemed to be a core of about 50 that never missed a boasting session and was always out in field circus (and donated $20 bills into the Worldwide Pedophile Defense Fund like they were Zero Dollar Bills, when they were having trouble with making their own expenses).
And, when I would dog field circus, they got p***ed. On occasion, I have noticed them having trouble finding a street when I knew where it was. I let them drive right by it, to waste their time--and they wondered why I didn't direct them straight to the house so we could have gotten an extra call (or two--or three) that day. And, they wanted to see me more aggressive at finding calls (and keeping them up to date), going so far as to note when I placed something and hounding me to go back a week later.
The only good news about it is that we had a "problem" with dragging our feet in getting out into the territory. The Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger wants us out within 15 minutes of meeting time: the meeting starts at 9, so we should be in the territory knocking on doors by 9:15. People often show up 15 or 20 minutes, with a cup of coffee in one hand, moaning that they don't want to be out (and yet, why don't they just take the day off--and drop off the pio-sneer ranks and settle for a more sustainable level). I have also seen people waste 15 minutes or more after the prayer ends, discussing who is going with who (repeatedly changing things, so it was impossible to know who is going with who without several inquiries). And there were plenty of warm up breaks (at least I let the heat out of the car to keep them from warming up quickly, wasting more time--while they wanted me to go out so the work could continue.
Since the middle of 2005, I do not know (from what I have seen from witlesses that I sometimes run into, they are still holding together). I do not know what the latest pandemic from the Asleep! magazine is, but I know the witlesses like to use those Asleep! articles on diseases as excuses to slow down or to fake hardship (someone with the March 2005 Marfan's syndrome Asleep! indoctrination syndrome claiming to put in 200 hours a month despite having it as an example to get everyone to put in 200 hours a month with the same condition).