The big bad "worldly" person

by roxanesophia 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  ziddina

  "...is this how the "worldly ones" are treated?...."

  Yes... And you should hear how they talk about "worldly" people, when they think no-one's listening...

  If you can stomach it, stick around for a few more meetings, and specifically pay attention to any JWs who are on the "sh*t list" - er, are disfellowshipped - and are going to that Kingdom Hall to be "reinstated"...

  Just for the fun of it, try talking to one of them, and see what sort of reaction you'll get, from your 'nice' JW study girl, and the congregation's elders...

  And you thought YOU were being treated badly...

  "... Are JW's encouraged to keep their distance from someone who isn't yet baptized?..."

  Yes... They'll probably 'love-bomb' you to your face, but until you're 'dunked' - and are putting in 10 hours of door-to-door "service" monthly, and have dropped all plans for a normal life - obtaining a college education, financial advancement, planning for retirement - they will see you as a "bad association" who "Satan" will attempt to use to lure them away...

  "...The girl I study with is nice, obviously. ..."

  Yes... She is INSTRUCTED to be 'nice', at this point. But if you don't "advance" - that is, request that the elders go over the 'pre-baptism' questions with you in a timely manner, she will probably stop being so 'nice'...

  "But it really sucks to be amongst people who have the disapproving eyes on you, the whispers, the distrust, etc etc ETC! I'm thinking this is typical JW behavior, but I have no one to ask. ..."

  Dear Roxane Sophia, you have US to ask...

  Most of us were in the religion for decades; some of us are STILL in - though fading...

  [Not me - was bullied into the religion by my parents; have been out for 25 years or so, but just found out about the fullest extents of Watchtower dishonesty within the last year or so, due to this website...]

  We no longer fear the disapproval of the congregations - well, most of us don't - and therefore we have the freedom to answer your questions with a higher degree of honesty and accuracy, since we're not attempting to get you to 'join' any specific group...

  Of course, that's not the way your nice JW study girl would view it...

  Zid - the She-Devil...
• 

  ziddina

  "... As for trying to get close to the opposite sex, or something: Well there's zero temptation there! ...."

  Ruh - Roh!! [Scooby Doo!!]

  Just to let you know - and I'm not assuming anything here, if you know what I mean - but the Jehovah's Witnesses' attitude towards gays is as bad as Rush Limbaugh's... Or that orange-juice chick - Anita Bryant???

  They won't express the full extent of their disapproval in front of you at this point, however... They'll wait until you're baptised before they really let you see the 'inner' Jehovah's Witness...

  The fact that they've succeeded in getting you to cut off all 'worldly' friends is a very bad sign, by the way... For comparison, that is a tactic frequently used by battering mates and boyfriends - isolate the victim to obtain near-total control over her or occasionally him...

  Zid
• 

  VampireDCLXV

  I bid you welcome, roxanesophia.

  What keyser soze said on the previous page is even more profound than you think. After you've discarded all your non-JW family and friends and you've been baptized, you'll be in a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch; a prison for your mind. (Sound familiar?) They'll have you where they want you. Over time, the love of the ppl in the congregation will grow cold, especially if you don't go out of your way to do everything possible that the Governing Body commands you to do via their literature that you must peddle mindlessly from door to door. It makes many ppl lose their minds over time. If you do anything out of turn, you could get EXPELLED from the congregation. Without outside friendships and support, you'll be "stuck" with little or no help from anyone until you go crawling back to them on your hands and knees. We trust that you don't want that for yourself or anyone you love.

  Enjoy what we have to offer here. It's real information and experiences that you'll find here, not WTS puffery and propaganda. Take care...

  V665
• 

  InterestedOne

  If your conductor was your friend before you started studying the JW's, do you feel comfortable sharing with her your true feelings and the research you have done, the way normal friends would?

  I want to tell you something about the "Jehovah is testing you" thing where they set you up between two possible choices: them or the world. I was put in a similar position when I was in college, but it was not with JW's. It was with the "born-againers." They kept hitting me with the question of whether or not I had accepted it, over and over again. Finally I was so exhausted, and one particularly persuasive believer kept saying "why not?" "why not accept it?" Finally I gave in and "accepted" it. They gave me a little party, and I became one of them. That was when I was 20, and I am now in my late thirties. I have only recently begun to undo the damage I did by "accepting" it. When you take a plunge like that, it can put a grip on your mind where you start rationalizing all sorts of things, and you become a little bit insane. It makes me want to cry the way these kinds of people manipulate with "friendship" and emotion and "reasoning" or just about anything else they can use to lead you to "accept" and become one of them.

  The funny thing is I too have a friend/acquaintance who is a JW, and that is one of the reasons I am learning about JW's & even doing a "study" with them. I am learning their particular form of manipulation that is very similar to what I experienced in college. I hope you will not make the same mistake I did.

  I too agree with keyser soze. I actually think the literature itself is harmful. It is not educational but fools people into thinking it is. I recommend educating yourself with something more credible. Develop your critical reading/thinking skills.
• 

  jean-luc picard

  Also, I was told that the memorial actually resembles a satanic ritual of denying the body and blood of christ. REALLY!?

  No I haven't heard that one. I attended over 30 memorials. The're not a lot different from other meetings, apart from the wine/bread and the bigger attendance.

  You seem to want to hear both sides, in order to make a clear decision.Please dont ever change.

  I commend you for that. And indeed, the decision is only yours to make, and here at least you will be respected for your decsion.

  However, you probably realise that the jws do not listen to both sides: "not even eating with such a man".

  Have you heard that expression?

  Maybe you could ask your friend:

  How many jehovah's witnesses are disfellowshipped each year? answer >70000.

  Why are they disfellowshipped? ( Dont accept for an answer " because they dont love God etc. Get concrete reasons.

  How are they treated by jehovahs witnesses afterwards?

  How do you feel about that?

  Do you know anyone who's been disfellowshipped?

  How do you treat them?

  How does that make you feel?

  Dont be surprised if your friend becomes uneasy.

  You will find lots of horror stories if you brouse the forum. Believe me, they are not made up.

  Good luck on lifes journey roxanesophia
• 

  Aussie Oz

  welcome!

  when i was in, it still surprised me a bit how they would talk about 'worldly' people as being like rats, and their children as little rats that all deserved extermination. God will kill them all so they cant breed up again.

  then they would go to work or serve in shops, maybe even an occasional coffee with some of these 'rats' and be ever soooo sweet n nice.

  hypocrites one and all

  run. There are no true friends in the JWs as you will learn as soon as you ask so much as one question they deem sourced from the internet.

  oz