After leaving the Watchtower I came to the conclusion that I should have known something intrinsically wrong there when I first started attending. One of the first things I noticed at the KH was how bad the music was. I think it was the first meeting I attended I brought a friend and he actually started laughing at the song they were singing. The lyrics had something to do with all of God's enemies biting the dust. A lot of the songs were self praising with lyrics like: "We're Jehovah's Witness".... Myriad and myriads of brothers all dressed in radiant white.....etc.
Kingdom Melodies
by Little Imp 16 Replies latest jw friends
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Little Imp
That's it! It is not only the horrible lyrics that stuck in my mind but the music wasn't much better. In our KG it was a recording of someone playing the piano badly, bum notes and all! You would have thought because it was a recording they would redo it until they got it right unlike live music.
Another thing that shocked me, now I am casting my mind back, is that the speaker on the platform was preaching unkind things about other religions, boy did that shock me. To me being a Christian was about looking for the best in people and even though we are all entitled to have our own views about other people and their beliefs some in a position of responsibility on the platform should certainly not be saying such things to vulnerable people. Surely they should be concentrating on the good things in the bible. Why attempt to take the speck out of someone else's eye when they is a huge plank in your own?
Having been to many different churches during my life prior to the KH I can honestly say that other religions don't do this. OK so there is no perfect religion but at least the others don't bad mouth. They also don't stop you from attending funerals, weddings or any other kind of service in other churches. They have nothing to fear. You only go if you want to go - no forcing.
Also the JWs used to preach lies about other religions, one example saying no-one else knows God's name apart from them.
I attended a funeral in December 2009 where not only did we sing a hymn with Jehovah in it but the preacher also mentioned him by name in the talk. I often used to wonder where they got their inaccurate information from.
I have to say, though, that the JWs have completely put me off organised religion.
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fokyc
Little Imp said: "I have to say, though, that the JWs have completely put me off organised religion."
How true, I have never thought of it like that, I now have no interest in religion at all, completely because of my experiences with the JW's.
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exwhyzee
I know what you mean about the" Kingdom songs". There was usually an (imaginary) "Them against Us" flavor to them. Some almost sounded like military marching songs. It was a song at one of the last meetings I went to that finally made me realize how ridicuilously out of touch the leaders of this organization must be and that the serious doubts I was having about them were not unfounded.I started a thread about it here. The song had lyrics that used the expression "Molested Bees" http://.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/195969/1Angry-Bees
I remember lyrics such as:
"Fear not those who Kill the body, But fear those who kill the soul" or
"Though the world smears us with lies"
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I quit!
It hasn't put me off organized religion but it has made very cautious. If what a religious organization teaches doesn't make sense to me I stick with my own belief. I no longer feel the need to be a lemming and jump of the cliff with everyone else.
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watson
It goes..."Fear not those who kill the body, but cannot destroy the soul.." They've changed that now. Too soul separate from the body sounding..
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WTWizard
I despise those Kingdumb maladies that make the witlesses look superior to worldly people. Yes, we do have some very bad worldly people (like president Osama Obama). But, there are also some good worldly people out there--even a few in congress that are trying to fix things up. You also have quite a few good worldly people in the private sector--and many of them are trying to do their part to improve the lives of others. Some do this by starting and properly running businesses. Some do this by putting bad people out of power. Some do it by putting up beautiful Christmas and holiday decorations for others to enjoy. And some help with charities that help those who, for reasons beyond their control, fall into hardship. For sure, those people do not deserve the designations "urine", "poison", "dogs", "pigs", "bad associations", or whatever vile things the witlesses come up with.
On the other hand, I believe the Kingdumb maladies have gotten worse with the new book. In addition to trying to put a wedge between members and the world, they are promoting idolatry. The songs are praising the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger more than Jesus, or even Jehovah (as the last song book did). They are all but impossible to sing correctly. Some have rated them as being like cult chants, or the singing like dying cats. And yes, there are still those that praise the witlesses themselves and bash the worldly people.
For the record, in contrast to the worldly people, most of the witlesses are either misled or evil. The ones in it for the truth or that were born in without any choice but are uncomfortable with it are misled or are still stuck in. Those in it for power, or because they want to molest children because they want to ruin their lives, are pure evil. Of the leaders, only Raymond Franz was good--and he was pushed out. I would say there is more "urine", "poison", and "pigs" in the Jehovah's Witlesses, including at the top, than are in the world.