by What Now? 48 Replies latest jw experiences
I was born in the truth and had no close friends, not a single one all through my teen years. And it wasn't for lack of people my
own age. No one bothered with me. On the rare occasion I did happen to be among my peers, I felt like an outsider, wishing, hoping
that I could be part of their group. Weekends were often spent alone.
Doubtful
The young people operate on a clique system. You're either in a certain social circle, or you're alone, very similar to High School life
I agree with you. Unless you have shared history with the youth, you'll always be on the outside looking in
In the three years since we’ve left our old hall, no one has kept on touch with us.
I am facing the same thing here. My JW friends have stopped contacting me. We used to hang out atleast once a week when I was active. Whenever I call them now, they are giving excuses to avoid me. I never thought their love was conditional. I have stopped attending meeting since Memorial.
There are LOTS of true friendships outside the WTS.
True friendships aren't ended by disagreements over religion or a decision no longer to submit to the authority of a group of men who claim to speak for God.
From another post on a similar subject:
Social interaction in the WTBTS flows back into the Witness practice of creating an insular, isolated community. The congregation is your family, more so than your blood relatives. The congregation is your support. The congregation loves you more than the parent or wife or child who is an unbeliever. The congregation has your best interests at heart, worldly friends will tempt you into sin and death. They justify it by stating that Jesus said he would come as a sword to divide the family, and then shift the blame by stating that the rift is caused by the actions of the unbeliever (Wt 1/15/75, p. 29).
The goal (with varying degrees of success, obviously) is to create a dependancy on the congregation. Once social ties outside of that are weakened or lost, it makes it significantly difficult to leave because there's nowhere to go and no-one to go to. That isolation and social dependancy is one of the primary tools used by fringe cults to indoctrinate and maintain followers, because it creates a circular, self-sustaining thought process - the outside viewpoint that the Witnesses are wrong is taken by the Witness and used as evidence that it is right, and any stife or attempts by friends and family to get the person to leave feeds back into the conviction to stay.
True conditional friendship!! I had known people from when I was 8 years old. During my years there I was known for organising parties, get togethers, going away, unassigned territory etc. I left the faith when I was 29. NOT ONE has remained my friend. I was one of those Jdubs that pretty much had only witness friends. It was tough!
True Friendship Only Found In the Organization?
Pffft
Undercover has it right... the friendship is conditional and they are just your co-workers.
By the time I get done with all the JW activities, the last thing I want to do is spend more time with the people I just spent time with.
Maybe I am just a loner, but I only had a handful of what I call REAL JW FRIENDS. I was always suspicious of everyone, maybe the reason is that
as an Elder you get to read peoples 'Letter of Introduction' and even as you pick up the letter you ask yourself, 'what kind of baggage is this person carrying?'
No way would I do business with a JW, too risky. I found worldly business dealings more straight forward and honest.
my experience is that i thought i had great friends in the JWs
until i self destructed,
all alone in my flat, still a JW, inactive and lost, not one single fucking so called friend from 20 years past till then called round, not even a phone call, not even a passed on message.
None of them worth spit.
oz
