by jambon1 13 Replies latest jw friends
Hey Gary,
trust, if a unexplained pain hit hard,
and you tell her she should wait on the new
system, she ain't gonna be hearin' that mess
even if she has to be the one to dial 911.
How many Witnesses do you know who refuse
the help of a doctor, even though they think
his bein' educated is futile, JW's been talkin' out
the side of their necks for over a century. I feel your fustration
No witness refuses the work of a doctor, but if I start saying that when she is in pain she will view it as being smart alecky and I couldn't blame her.
No matter how logical the argument is, she will go through as much mental gymnastics as she can to protect her beliefs. Even if it seems to click, she will do what she can to justify it. It's just the classic cult mentality coming out in her.
All I can do is continue to plant seeds. Poor girl, she has all her family that she knows in it except for one uncle that she rarely associates with. Her misguided mom is her greatest influence. She's the one who got everyone (aunts too) into that cult.
A friend of mine had this reaction to a Witness who told him that college was a waste of time: "If that is true, why do you have a degree in electrical engineering?" The man never brought up the subject again.
For that matter, when I made up my mind to return to college and get a degree, two elders called on me to ask why. One of them had a doctorate in geology. I couldn't understand why he was talking to me at all. To his credit, he didn't attack my decision. Instead he listened carefully to what I had to say and then concluded that I had given him much to think about.
When I finally graduated six years later, a few Witnesses attended the exercises. They were particularly proud of the fact that I was selected as one of the speakers at the recognition ceremony. The talk I gave was very well received by the two hundred or so in attendance, some forty of whom were friends and family. This is not to say that everyone in the congregation approved my choice. But when people understood that I was not going to let their opinions stop me from going back to college, they accepted it.
I first went to college during the 1970s and dropped out due to a combination of burnout and anticipation that Armageddon was very close. I returned nearly twenty years later with the determination that nobody would dissuade me from getting my degree. I have never regretted that decision. My education did not open up fantastic career opportunities for me as it has for others, but it has given me a sense of accomplishment and pride in what I have learned. I wouldn't have it any other way.
It angers me that the WTS has never ceased its war against higher education even as it has benefited from the knowledge and skills of those who went to college. The only time a college education is spoken of favorably is when the Society is in great need of college-trained experts. Even then, it actively discourages others from seeking that knowledge if they don't already have it. But such is the mindset of most Witnesses that they don't recognize the inherent contradiction and inconsistency of the organization's position.
Quendi
I remember when my wife was getting frustrated with college that she wanted to quit and become a 'student of God's word.' This was shortly after an assembly that discouraged higher education. I rightly pointed out that the elder that she and I studied with had a college degree. She said, "Well he got it before he was a witness." I responded, "How convenient, so he gets his degree while being a 'worldly.' Graduates, comes into the 'truth' and tells others that they are not entitled to a higher education."
Lame....
