Jehovah's Witnesses - The religion for the lazy zealot

by sosoconfused 12 Replies latest jw experiences

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  sosoconfused

  After taking a few steps back and really taking a look at the really zealous people and fairly intelligent people I knew in the J.W. community and adding myself into this lump of people I realized something. For anyone who wants to be seen as a very religious person - completely dedicated to GOD(or atleast give that impression to onlookers), this is the perfect religion.

  It allows you to be extremely dogmatic and zealous about something, with the appearnace that you know what you are talking about. You have an answer (although often incorrect) to every question asked of you and you have it all figured out. The best part is... IT IS ALL SPOONFED TO YOU AND YOU NEVER have to truly search for truth.

  You are told what to believe in a magazine reasearched by someone else.

  If a life altering decision needs to be made, instead of actually thinking about how it will effect you and the ones you love you can blindly make the generic decision you have been told to make. This relieves you of responsibilty and everyone in your church will think it is the best move you could have made - even if it ultimately leads to your death.

  Upon beginnning to wake up I noticed many people of various faiths spend nights at the library or ordering books trying to convince themselves of what is right based on what they know about god. JW's just mindlessly follow the rules of people they never met and if they know something isnt right they just do it anyway
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  Roberta804

  interesting eh? How can people let themselves fall into this mess of thinking.
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  gingerbread

  We are encouraged - if fact as soon as one begins to study - to "make the Truth your own." This doesn't mean to become a serious student of the bible. It means to become fully immersed in the the religion - the organization, the congregation, the meetings. You must surrender your ability to reason and begin to think and feel as a JW.

  Many who have come into the organization with a good education and a professional career will give up their personal power to the religion. We all are trained to become like children - dependent on WT doctrine and policy to govern our lives. Complex issues and questions facing the individual, mankind and even the universe can be answered very simply through a magazine article or a chapter in a book.

  We cease to investigate and reason on our own.
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  AndDontCallMeShirley

  Ironically, the WT often accuses other religions, especially in Christendom, of having a lazy faith, whereby the adherents have no personal knowledge, no faith built on personal Bible study, but are merely parroting the words of their leaders.

  Kettle meet pot.
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  LongHairGal

  sosoconfuised:

  Yes, we took so much on faith! In retrospect, I believe the reason so many people fall for the JW religion is because they are bible illiterate and don't have the foggiest idea of what is in it, except maybe for the gospels. And, they take it on faith that the JW religion has done all the work for them. Presto! So there you have it. Instant faith in a nice neat package.

  So, to your average bible-ignorant person, the JWs seem like scholars.....that is until a REAL scholar enters the room!
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  BluesBrother

  "If a life altering decision needs to be made,........."

  You do as you are told - usually. The first thing to ask oneself is "What do The Society say about this?" An article will tell you what to think about life, death , abortion, what parts of blood may be accepted, divorce,separation, child rearing principles, further education .....even what to wear, what films (in principle) to watch, and what is acceptable music to enjoy.

  It is fine for someone who enjoys being told what to do
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  sir82

  It is fine for someone who enjoys being told what to do

  There is a staggeringly high number of such people in the world, in and out of JWs.

  I've stated this many times, JWs hold no monopoly on manipulating people.

  If the WTS collapsed into a smoldering heap of ruins tomorrow, it would scarcely make a dent in the number of people, worldwide, who need someone to tell them what to do.
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  steve2

  It's called being the Big Fish in the Little Pond. If you are a male and of average to higher intellectual functioning, with a largely supportive circle of family and friends, you may find sufficient rewards within the organization to stay and prosper. However, if you're female, you're excluded.

  As a male, you can aim to have some authority over others, and they'll look up to you and give you warm fuzzies. The convenient thing about belonging to such an organization is it provides certainty and direction. You have a ready-packaged venue for bringing out the best of your qualities and strengths.

  Of course, this works best if you are not too bothered by the organization's insistence that you answer to it, that you put its interests first and stifle any misgivings you may develop. But, in general, if you're not particularly interested in peeling back the rationale for why the organization teaches and believes was it does, you'll quickly find your comfort level, kick back and even feel goosebumps up and down your spine as you contemplate how much the others in your Little Pond view you as a Big Fish.

  Well done, you're a fine example brother. Just try to ignore the sharp occasional conscience pricks from noticing all the brothers and sisters trampled underfoot in your quest for your secure and comfortable zealotry.
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  Julia Orwell

  Robert: How can people let themselves fall into this mess of thinking?

  It's not a simple question to answer. For the born-ins, they know nothing else and take it in with their mothers' milk. For converts, we are shielded from the reality of the organisation until it is too late. We come in because it gives us something we need at that point in our life, or we are wooed by talk of a world free of injustice, and the congregation seems perfect at first. We learn a little bit about the religion, and if we really want to please God, we think this is the way to do it, and before you know it, you're on the treadmill.

  That's how people allow themselves to fall into this mess of thinking: that's how cults work.
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  extractor

  After asking a fairly new JW several Bible questions she couldn't answer, she just looked at me & said, "I don't know. I'm just going on faith." and then just stared at me as if to say, "That should answer everything for you." Sadly, it did.