The Compulsion to Confess

by refiners fire 32 Replies latest jw friends

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  Quotes

  I never confessed, although I had precious little to which I should confess.... that was then, this is now, and you will be pleased to know I am working overtime to make up for lost sin opportunities.

  My ex-wife, on the other hand, was a squeeler.... which I suppose isn't the same as a compulsive confessor. She seemed to take great pride in her stories about turning in her "friends" for the various wrongs they had committed. Strange, she could never figure out why they never liked her or hung out with her after that. She really seemed to think that they should have thanked her for turning them in. Surprise, surprise, they didn't like it.

  But she never told the elder's about (gasp) our occasional (and rapidly diminishing in frequency) "oral sex" activities while married...or the oral sex before we were married, for that matter. Funny, once the wedding ring slipped on, she became totally uncomfortable with oral sex ("don't you know how wrong that is?") but she never confessed about it. I guess she just felt if she stopped doing it, she would be forgiven. Unfortunately, she did manage to stop.

  Beck_Melbourne: do you have any openings in your basement shop of pleasure/pain?

  Edited by - Quotes on 8 August 2002 23:59:24
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  Beck_Melbourne

  Quotes: do you wish to be the Master or the Slave?? Doesn't matter, you can decide later...meanwhile, observe some of my rules:

  1. no entry until previous scars or injuries are completely healed

  2. if you enter the premises in your own attire, please leave in your own attire, my equipment/clothing/appendage are not to be removed from the building - this particularly applies to those with feet fetishes as they must submit to a footwear check on exiting the building

  3. ambulance and medical services are available at your request with an additional cost - this service is compulsory for those with a medical condition or weak heart

  4. group bookings must be made one month in advance

  5. frequent flyer points are available for the "regular" customer who chooses to be suspended from the ceiling - these guests require very little attention, therefore discounts are available

  6. No one is permitted until the insurance and indemnity clauses have been accepted

  There are more of course.....but I don't want to highjack this thread

  Beck
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  Reborn2002

  Beck_Melbourne said:

  1. no entry until previous scars or injuries are completely healed

  4. group bookings must be made one month in advance

  LMAO!

  OUCH! Sounds PAINFUL!
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  larc

  Refiners (or should I call you brother Fire?), I have not been to a kingdom hall in many, many years, but your touching thread has led me to want to go back and confess. Being out so long, I have a lot to confess. I will bet that the local elders will treat me like the prodigal son. After several hours of giving them intimate details of my sins, they will, no doubt, be overjoyed. After our meeting, I will be so filled with contentment, that I will take them out for drinks on me, and get them all drunk. Yes, life is good.
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  Reborn2002

  Funny larc.

  If I went to the hell-ders and confessed the "sins" I have committed since leaving the Borg they would undoubtedly tell me that I had grieved Jehovah's holy spirit and was beyond any form of redemption. [>:)]

  Confessing is just bringing trouble upon yourself. You would not have to anyway. In the JW culture, everyone else was trying to find someone to rat out, to make themselves appear righteous before men.
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  refiners fire

  How very interesting all your comments were. Many thanks.

  Beck "Frequent flyer points for those suspended from the ceiling" LMAO.

  Anyway.. to serious matters.

  I am inclined to always link my JW confession experiences to the cult criteria of "demand for purity" . The demand for purity is an unreasonable demand for a level of purity that is unattainable. Impossible for anyone to measure up to, and therefore a mechanism of Guilt induction. One is guilty before confessing. And after confessing, one is even MORE guilty. (All this is purely my own interpretation of course) Its not enough in dub world, to confess, one has to stop practising the sin. But its not enough to even stop practising the sin. One has to want to stop practising the sin for the right reasons, otherwise your penitence is invalid.One is required to hate practises one finds desirable, or necessary. One isnt supposed to even think about these things, certainly not in a favourable light, an impossible requirement.

  And the actual mechanisms involved in JW confession do not work as theyt are supposed to. One confesses and does not recieve the promised support. The Dubs being a cult, (and a "perfect" arrangement) the blame for this anomoly must switch back onto the member who explains the contradiction by feeling that holy spirit must be blocked from his life, and that Jah is directing the elders to avoid assisting him.

  I always recall when confessing that there was always a sticky probing question, one too many, too personal, and I concealed things from the elders in the confession session out of shame of revealing lurid detail and always walked out feeling as though my entire attempt to clean the slate was invalidated because I failed to answer one question truthfully. Again, a level of requirement that was beyond my capacity to give. (which I link to "demand for purity" and its impossible requirements)

  Confession within the dub organization is a unique experience, no doubt about it.

  Edited by - refiners fire on 9 August 2002 2:58:37
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  DakotaRed

  This idea of confession has always intrigued me, both before and after being a dub. Being raised in the Assembly of God, we confessed nothing to no one and that has stuck with me. However, I find the JWs condemning this act again and again, when applied to the Catholic Church. Yet, do they not also demand the same thing by going to the elders?

  *** w68 4/15 246 What God's High Priest Will Do for the People *** 50 Then the sins of mankind will be really forgiven, not by their going into some confessional box in a religious building and confessing to some imperfect, sinful priest, but by repenting and going to God privately in prayer through his High Priest Jesus Christ and asking forgiveness.

  *** w57 12/15 745 "Confess Your Sins" ***
  Alexander Hislop shows that in ancient Babylon and Greece secret confession to a priest was required of all who were admitted to the Mysteries, with questions on morals being asked that are comparable to the ones asked in the confessional today. The pretense was that confession was needed to purge the conscience of guilt in order to avoid the wrath of the gods. The fact is that it gave great power to the pagan priesthood over the lives of those who came to them and were required to divulge their inmost thoughts.

  I think the very last sentence speaks for itself. Just substitute pagan elders for priesthood.

  Lew W
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  Vivamus

  I confessed. First because I honestly believed the Borg was guided by God. And if so, the elders would help me when I had sinned. I can relate to the feeling that a watchtower article or a speech, was directly addressed to me. The guilt was immense and when I told, I did feel better, for a short while. The constant pressure of not being good enough, thinking back on it, it was sickening.

  At the end, when my faith was gone, I still confessed, but with an attitude, daring them to disfellowship me. And what do you know... they did...

  Viv.

  Edited by - Vivamus on 9 August 2002 3:51:59
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  barry

  Dear Refiner,
  I dont know about youre dub experiance but I put it down to youre Adventist experiance, too much Ellen White and Leroy Froom.
  Barry
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  refiners fire

  Yeah. I hadnt been to a meeting in 5 years when they DFd me. I was living in a flat and there was a dub in the flat next door.(You know how it is, you may be inactive, but the milieu remains a part of your life) Anyway He must have ratted me out for having my girlfriend sleeping over some nights and I got the call to attend a hearing.The girlfriend went along too. It was very enjoyable. I just told them about all the fornication I was committing and how I had no intention of stopping, And that was that. Most enjoyable dub meeting I ever attended.