by Hecce 58 Replies latest jw experiences
Hello, Hecce,
You are right, and i wouldn't feel so bitter about it if they all didn't make such a big show of being better than everybody else, and that if you leave, because you can't swallow any more hypocrisy, you are so EVIL.
The entire organization is a criminal cult.
De nada! Thank you for posting.
Marina
In my 30 years experience living as a JW I never observed any actual spiritual change
in anyone. The WT produces people isolated from any understanding of a spiritual experience,
in fact it produces spiritually dead people who live entirely material lives, the WT is famous for
its absolute lack of charity, or compassion, or accountabilty to community, or even to each other
within the "organization". It is fear motivated, hierarchy driven, and motivated by outward show,
of dress , money, status and power. It is no place for the weak, the old or the poor or most of all
a dangerous place for women not protected by a powerful "owner".
Racism and abuse is simply denied.
Ignorance and the fear of education permeates every teaching, while anyone (male only )
who arrives with a profession or an education is idolized.
It is a caste system. It is delusional, lock-step mentality, blind to its faults,
in denial of its own lies, wallowing in its false sense of security.
Very interesting perspective, I appreciate you sharing-
As a white girl who tried to learn spanish in order to help a spanish group get started in my area (I didn't pan out and gave up after a year), I was always impressed with how much friendlier and jovial that the spanish friends were with each other than the bros & sis were in my english congregation (I never felt a part of the spanish hall because I was just learning)....but your experience does put a different spin on it (I was female and never felt superior to the spanish friends), and shows me how the JWs are just as biased as everyone else out there-
I had no idea about how they traped illegals into baptism either...wow
The Spanish friends were different because they arrived already fully formed
by their own culture and their previous religions, which were based on chairty
and helpinbg others in need. However there is a strong cultural bias towards
men being in charge of women in Latin culture. Latin culture is very community
oriented and anywhere in Latin America there is a culture of festivals and celebrations
of so many kinds, I cannot imagine Latins being attracted to the WT except for the
fact the WT as an organization is very similar to the Catholic Church and its "Mystical"
Governing Body" as "Sole Channel of Communication Between Man and God" mimics
exactly the Pope as the Vicar of Christ, and the long list of "forbidden things" are like
the Seven Deadly Sins, so there are many parallels. Pioneers are "Nuns" and Elders
are "Priests", women are in "subjection". Instead of lighting candles, you "hand in time"
"Doing the Rosary" becomes underlining the Watchtower articles, lots of rituals and
lots of fear, to replace mere hellfire, "threat of disfellowshipping" replaces Hellfire.
village girl, welcome back.
I belong to an integrating nationality, so I see these differences in nationally separate congregations as a divise factor.
Divide & Rule?
Any facade of brotherhood, is an attractive force and gives a warm glow of
"these are my people" I "belong" they will never desert me, even
the very term "friends" is used to imply that true friendship exists here,
the comfort of feeling "we are all in this together"
"the brothers" "the friends" its "us" against the "worldly people",
the "outside". The idea of being "outside" versus "inside", or "in the truth"
and "out of the truth" all of these feelings and expressions serve to
insulate and isolate. The need to "belong" satisfies a basic human need.
However, all of the above have nothing at all to do with individual growth,
or morality, or even the worship of God. It does not help us to connect
with humanity or community or see others as anything but a faceless,
nameless mechanism whose exisitence is dependent upon their
approval in the organization. When an individual is disfellowshipped
their importance and their person becomes invisible, they no longer
count and we are able to discard them like a useless appendage.
We are controlled by our own need to be controlled.
The JW finds importance, not in deeds of righteousness, or
in acts of compassion, but in the expansion and maintenance
of the "thing" the structure, the group, the existence of which,
imbues the members with a sense of superior place and personal
exemption from all normal rules of moral conduct and responsibility
to anyone but the organization and its governing body.
This state is immoral, self righteous, and a form of religion that is
false to its power.
It is anti-God and anti-Christ and anti-humanitarian.
Villagegirl, WOW!! Impressive prose and absolutely spot on.
"The growth in the Spanish Congregations is stagnant, it was massive during the 90s but for the last few years mostly children and relatives of the publishers are coming in as new publishers."
My boyfriend is Mexican American, and he sometimes goes to the Spanish congregation when he's busy during his regular meeting time or sometimes just to work on his Spanish. (It needs lots of work... I speak it better than he does and I'm whiter than a Brooks and Dunn concert. :P ) He said the English speaking ones have actually added loads of new people in the past year or so, but the Spanish one hasn't grown much at all in several years.
And there's some anecdotal evidence from me because you know how reliable anecdotal evidence is. ;)
VillageGirl, great post. Looks like you have the organiiiization all figured out:) "Isolate and Insulate", good point.
Thanks for all the insightful comments. The slow growth in the Spanish Congregations is also a result of increased activity from some of the other religions; Evangelicals and even Catholics are attracting a lot of people to their Churches. The meetings are very simple and the dress code is normal attire, so it is very easy for a family to be attracted to those settings.
