by Scully 19 Replies latest social entertainment
I love it when JWs behave this way in the public domain and show themselves up for what they truly are - a rude, immature and nasty bunch.
Just like that youtube video with that impertinent dub bitch who abruptly interrupted that guy on the ministry and called him an "apostate" then walked away, I welcome stuff like this any day of the week.
Keep up the good work, you faithful witlesses of Jay hoover!
as her father (?) walked her down the aisle (whoever he was, he didn't look like he was having a very good time).
The thought of paying off a $45k wedding was no doubt on his mind.
Christians of all shades and shapes of the belief spectrum can't resist showing the rest of the world what dull-minded hypocrites they are.
I should imagine that this sweet spoilt girl won't be heralded in her local kingdom hall as giving a "good witness" for her faith.
Hi all! So first i want to say I am not a JW. I am actually one of the brides on the episode you are discussing and wanted to share some insight and pose some questions as I am now thoroughly confused about why Celeste did the things she did for the show.
-I was not offended that Celeste didn't enter my church for her religious beliefs, but after reading some posts I see that she could've come in, but not participate in the christian part. She had told us that she was afraid of judgement from stricter JW viewing the show that since the whole service wouldn't be shown she didn't want to appear as if she was joining in the service.
- I am unclear as to the "celebration' aspect of the religion. I thought it was a no-no to celebrate events such as birthdays, and assumed that a wedding would fall under that category, but her RSVP clearly stated to celebrate with them. Isn't that why we couldn't toast with our champagne to each others wedding?
- The wedding took place at Il Villagio, a catering hall in Northern NJ. I believe she had a JW priest(sorry if that is the wrong term) perform the service, and there were readings that reflected JW references that I had assumed were from the JW bible (again sorry if is refferd to differently)
- 1 aspect i will stand by her on though is she did seem to want to respect the JW religion and had every intention of making your community proud. I am unsure if her husband is "a believer" or not, soi won't venture a guess. I hope this answered a few questions and I hope maybe someone can clarify my misunderstandings of your religion since this is my first experience with it.
Welcome 4wedbride,
if you stick around you will learn a lot
also, check out Freeminds.com and JWFACTS
these places are where its at
In my area, in New Jersey, JWs are increasingly opting for the ceremony to take place at the reception venue instead of the Kingdom Hall. It's one way to circumvent the intrusive, annoying need to review the details of the wedding with the elders and to grovel before them for the dubious "privilege" of being granted use of the Kingdom Hall.
Hey, 4wedbride....if I may..
-I was not offended that Celeste didn't enter my church for her religious beliefs, but after reading some posts I see that she could've come in, but not participate in the christian part. She had told us that she was afraid of judgement from stricter JW viewing the show that since the whole service wouldn't be shown she didn't want to appear as if she was joining in the service.
That's just it, its a conscience matter. This is left up to individual JWs to decide whether or not they can step foot inside of a church for weddings, or funerals. JWs are a religion that strongly emphasizes uniformity, although they'll often mask it as world wide unity. There is very little room or tolerance from any deviation of Watchtower policy. With subjects such as the theme of this thread become a question that a practicing JW has to ponder upon, they have to take into consideration the feelings of their fellow JWs. (1 Cor 10:32) The post that I mentioned about a friend of mine not inviting me to her wedding was the result of her being exposed to the views expressed by more conservative JWs when it comes to entering a church. She never considered that it might not bother me to step foot into a church, but then again JWs more open minded such as myself are typically forced to keep their views to themselves for fear of getting marked, and ostracised.
You might ask why JWs have these views towards churches and followers of other faiths. Let me be very blunt and candid to you regarding this subject. The WT teaches that we are deep within the conclusion of this system of things. (Matt 24; 2 Tim 3) The WT also teaches JWs that the "faithful & discreet slave" spoken of by Jesus at Matt 24:45 applies strictly to the WT's leadership, and that salvation beyond this system of things depends on individuals being actively involved in supporting Jesus only true followers making up that faithful and discreet slave. With that being said, ALL other religions are considered part of false religion and condemned to everlasting destruction. The WT teaches JWs that all other Christian denominations make up Christendom which is major part of Babylon the Great, and destined to be turned on by the Wild Beast which represents human goverments.(Rev 18)
There's a lot more, I mean a lot more, but what I typed pretty much sums it up. To put it in a couple sentences, JWs believe the Great Tribulation and Armageddon, is right around the corner, and that they need to prove to Jehovah and Jesus that they're True Christians associated with Christ's brethren the annointed Watchtower leadership, as opposed to counterfeit Christians that make up all who are involved with other denominations who by their teachings and practices dishonor God and Christ. That being said, many hardline JWs will refuse to step foot inside a church. Churches are considered havens of filthy practices and dispicable teachings. (Rev 18:2) Not all JWs share these beliefs towards nonJWs, and I believe the WT recognizes this which is why they leave the decision up to individual JWs when it comes to going to a wedding or funeral in a church. However because of the emphasis of uniformity which the WT incorrectly describes as unity, more open-minded JWs are often pressured to take the hardline approach.
Thanks for the background, but i don't think it is fair to label my church as "havens of filthy practices and dispicable teachings" since from the few readings done at Celeste's wedding it was almost cut and paste from the readings i got to choose from for my ceremony. Your religion does get a negative light shone on it which is unfair, but perhaps it may be because of the use of such language as quoted above towards a faith that some one holds dear to their heart and believes to be true. We all have a maker and when our time on earth is over we will get judged by that maker. I don't agree with or believe in Scientology or Judiasim, or Islam, but I respect a persons right to practice that faith without insult, and furthermore I would never judge a person based on practice of a different religion. Extremeism of any faith usually leads to dark places so the point I make is Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged!
and
Let He Who is Without Sin Cast the First Stone
I am not without sin so I will leave it at that. I do appreciate your openness on the background of this religion. Thank you again for your candor. I will check back often for updates and more information.
4wedbride,
Just so you know, the expressions expressed towards the Catholic church aren't ours, but George was simply relaying what the Watchtower Society has said in the past.
Most who post on this db are ex members of the JW religion, and bear you and your religion of choice no harm.
More importantly, how did your wedding go? Did having a film crew make it easier or harder to organise?
Believe me, i take no personal offense from those educating me on JW beliefs! I love that you are responding and respect that you hold true to your faith, as I do to mine. I mostly feel bad for Celsete and the extreme amount of criticism she has recieved over the show. As for my wedding it was all i had dreamed about and more!! We had a great day, great weather (cold, but it was november!) and I got to marry the love of my life andf share this great experience with the whole world through the show! The filming focused mainly on the guest brides perspective so all I had to to do ont eh day of my wedding was a pre and post interview with them and just go about my wedding day as usual. The crew follows the guest brides every move so being a guest was harder, plus being asked to critique someone with very different tastes than you and knowing they want the fur to fly was vary hard. I tried to be open and honest, but polite on my reviews of the other weddings. I would have loved this experience wether I won or lost since i got to meet some great gals that i still keep in touch with. as for the planning of the wedding it was all done by the time i agreed to be on the show. I couldn't really change any details, even if i wanted to. We all were finalized in our casting in late Oct and my wedding was nov 24th, so what you saw was what i planned before knowing i was going to be on national tv! I would reccomend this experience to anyone! Thanks again for your feedback and answers!
