Differences between JW's in different countries?

by taoInitiate 11 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  taoInitiate

  This is a quote by Ozziepost in another thread:
  "A coupla years back the Service Department overseer at the Bethel here complained to me that they couldn't get the Australian elders to follow instructions, nor to do what they were told!"

  I think it emphasises something that I've been wondering about. I've heard many stories about people being "hounded" by elders, and almost "driven" out of the organisation. Most of these seem to come from the USA.

  It seems to be VERY different here in Australia. The "laid-back" Aussie Elder just doesn't seem to make the effort to do this sort of "hounding" of the dubs. I know the elders (or anyone else for that matter) in my old Congregation can hardly be bothered to see me to "check" on what I'm doing. I've had a few visits, but they've certainly never been hounding.

  Just wondering how different the effects of the JW top-down pressure is in different countries. As ozzie's quote says, it just doesn't seem to work as well here in Australia.

  taoInit
  Just thinking out loud...
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  TheOldHippie

  Just what I've been trying to tell for such a long time, that the culture difference seems to be real big, and that there seems to be a kind of square-headed US behaviour which would only be met with "the shaking of heads" over here.
  On the other hand, the hard-liners seem to be the winners at least in the short run, just because they ARE hard-liners, and the liberal ones do not want to keep on with the never-ending discussions on "correct behaviour" which the hard-liners carry out all the time.
  That's why I resigned as an elder after 24 years, tired of the hard-liners' constant discussions, while failing to see the problems of the world .........
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  chasson

  I don't think that now it's still the same, but in the 30's and 40's the english's article of the Watchtower and Golden Age were very soften in french's translation by the switzerland's bethel.

  Bye

  Charles
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  Englishman

  It does seem to be a tougher deal to be a dub in the US. I know that most Brits have an anarchic streak in them, in other words they are bloody-minded just for the hell of it, also we are a far more godless society than the US. I guess it's inevitable that Brit-dubs will have this anarchic streak too.

  Englishman.

  
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  Room 215

  Hi all,

  I thinke there's some validity to your obserations. I recollect that the leading Italian dissidents, in one of their newsletters, reprinted a letter to Rome Bethel, praising them for having moderated Brooklyn's rhetoric in translation of a Watchtower article.
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  Pathofthorns

  I would suspect that in the States, like any large and diverse country you have widely varying degrees of fanaticism and intolerance.

  Even in a city where there exist multiple congregations, each congregation can have a different 'feel' to it. I have found that the elders seem to set the pace, and quite often it is the attitudes of the more influential elders. Some halls are more laid back and let things slide, while others are on you for every little thing.

  I do think the local culture of the country and region a congregation is in plays a part, but also more importantly the general attitude of the elder body that rubs off on the congregation. Proximity to Bethel also seems to influence local thinking as well.

  Path
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  ozziepost

  Interesting thoughts from you...

  Mrs Ozzie and I were interested in the 'earnest' attitude of the elders and MS conducting their meeting parts in a visit to Europe. If they are milder than the yanks, then they must be real 'serious minded'!

  Despite what is said by us, we shouldn't forget that the Ozzie elder is still governed by the same directives. He's still taught to apply the same rules. He's still conditioned by the same way of thinking as the elders in other parts of the world.

  In other words, when push comes to shove, he can still inflict great harm on individuals in the congregation.

  Cheers,
  Ozzie

  "If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

  
  - Ron Hutchcraft Surviving the Storms of Stress
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  Prisca

  TaoInit,

  You bring out a good point there. I've read many stories on how inactives were hounded out by persistant elders while I've been shaking my head and thinking "the elders I knew weren't like that". Probably because they weren't. And I've been in quite a few congs.

  Maybe the Aussie elders are more laid back. Maybe they are so busy with their own lives that they don't have the time or the energy to be sticking their noses into other people's business.

  After all, once you miss a few meetings, you get forgotten pretty quickly, so it's even easier for an elder to put aside the thought of ringing or visiting an inactive person if they don't have the time/energy to follow up on active sheep, let alone the inactive ones.
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  JT

  we used to discuss this at bethel all the time

  the further away you got from Bethel, the more laid back or sometimes local the rules became

  for example in the rurals the view of a brother who bought a 2 door car was HE GOT DOGGED,as being not spiritual

  how does he think he can carry the group out in that VETT-

  WHILE IN THE city it didn't matter

  SO each area has it's on set of WRITTEN and most importantly UNWRITTEN RULES
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  freddi

  There are differences in congregations right here in this country. Some congregations don't see fornication as such a sin as others due to the culture. In a culture where it is accepted for a man to naturely cheat on his wife, you have no disfellowshipping. You can be in an English speaking congregation and get disfellowshipped. Then on the next day you can go to another non English speaking congregation just a few blocks away and you are still considered in so called good standing.
  I guess some feel that there are different strokes for different folks.
  Peace,
  Freddi