Had to go to a JW funeral yesterday.

Crazyguy

It's amazing how ones shun former witnesses or faders. A couple of people said high to me that know I do not go but the rest no. But the main reason I post is how ridiculous the funeral talk was. Many times they talk about the dead and what a great witnesses they were and they then may give a brief witness. This time the speaker goes back and explains all the basics about Adam and Eve the original sin God sending his son the Paradise earth etc etc. I was kinda floored he would go back to such basics. At the end they all sang song 134 I believe, designed to emotionally to push their doctrine of a resurrection and a paradise.

It's such a weird experience to once have been one of of these really ignorant people and now be looking in through the window so to speak knowing how really stupid and deceived these people are. Yet at the same time most are so arogant that all you want to do is get the heck away from them as fast as possible. Sad really sad.

kairos

My goal is to never enter a KH ever again

Sabin

We got slammed for not going to an older sisters funeral, but I know the bitch knew her grandson was molesting kid`s & said nothing so I would be fucked if I was going to go. I got no time for people like that dead or alive.

smiddy

So true Crazyguy ,

The last time my wife & I attended a K,H. was at a funeral of a sister "friend" in the" truth" ( I hate that word)

It was most bizaar .We had years of association in another congregation ,and they because of new boundary`s were in a new congregation .The brother who conducted the service had no history with this woman or her family as" we" and others in the audience had .

And because my wife and I had faded for about a year we were not included in the get together after the service despite the fact that this deceased sister had a very high regard for my wife.

We never set foot in a K.H.again .

And of course finding this site we have learnt more about the "truth" (TTATT) than we ever thought possible before.

smiddy

Driving Force

There was a funeral talk yesterday in the hall I used to go to, for an older sister who died. I did not attend. When I was a witness, I had a problem with always being positive towards other witnesses and saying to myself I have to love these people, that is the christian thing to do. I am getting over that now, and to be honest I did not like the sister who died, nor do I like her husband. They were fine people, but I just did not like them. And as Crazyguy says this emotional pushing of their doctrine is really unpleasant. The sad thing about this couple is that since they could not/cannot attend meetings or go in field service due to health reasons, he has terminal cancer in the final stages and she was suffering from dementia, and did not even know anymore how to do the most rudimentary of things, the congregation just basically dropped them. No elders visit to offer encouragement. The only people who did anything for them was an apostate ex JW and his in JW wife, in but very critical of the congregational elders. If I had gone, I am sure I would have come out fuming due to the hypocrisy.

I attended a funeral a couple of weeks ago in a Protestant church, for one of the people who were killed in the terrorist attack in Tunisia some time ago. The service was very respectful, the priest talked a little about the deceased and about the terrorist attack, and also praised the local population for the support they gave to the wife of the deceased who was shot in the beech. I do want to repeat the service was very respectful.

TheOldHippie

When my neighbour (man, 65 years old) died a couple of years ago, I went to the Protestant funeral, and the priest told that in my Father's House there are many rooms - one for playing with Barbie dolls, one for playing with electric trains, one for playing soccer - yeah, so much for respectful funerals. I sat there feeling ashamed that I call myself a Christian and hoping the others attending would not think I also believe such bullshit.

The JW funerals I have attended have been 90 % good. The non-JW funerals have been mostly bad, but a fe have been good. One excellent was held by two so-called "street priets" (working among addicts, homeless, and one excellent was held for my father, by a leading protestant Bishop.

So as with most things in this world - generalization is harmful.

steve2

A third generation JW, I went to several funeral services in kingdom halls, including for all 4 grandparents, two parents, a few uncles and aunts, and many JW friends of the family.

Each service followed a very strict template that consisted of a relatively small portion about the deceased person and a much larger portion devoted to witnessing to the captive audience.

When The Old Hippie says "generalizations are harmful" he needs to be told this: I and countless other former Witnesses can be accused of many, many failings but we do not generalize about the JW kingdom hall funerals we have attended fot they are all pretty much the same.

Oh, I stand to correct myself:

One of my mother's brothers faded from the organization and when he died, as much as his siblings wanted his service in the kingdom hall, the body of elders refused. So his service was at a funeral parlor. Each sibling gave a warm, loving talk about their memories of their deceased brother and a friend read selected texts about Christisn love. There was no preaching. Afterwards, there were many spontaneous comments about it bring a joyful celebration of this man's life.

The one exception - a loving, heartfelt farewell - was not in a kingdom hall. No surprise there!

disillusioned 2

I agree that they (the witnesses) use a funeral to preach to the relatives who are not witnesses. Also practically everything that is said about the deceased person is regarding their life as a witness. How they became a witness, how many hours they did in the ministry, how many people they brought into ' the truth'. (It was as if they didn't have a life before they became a witness.) Even when they were dying how they still managed to get out on ministry.

At a recent funeral I attended, the brother asked everyone to raise their hand if they had 'worked' with the sister on the ministry! Many put their hand up. I can't imagine what the 'wordly' relatives thought of this. I felt embarrassed.

hoser

The last jw funeral I went to the elder used it to guilt the inactive ones in the audience by saying that they wouldn't be in the new system to see the deceased unless they were active in the ministry.

Oubliette

TOH: The JW funerals I have attended have been 90 % good. The non-JW funerals have been mostly bad

ALL JW funerals are promotional sales pitches for the religion! ALL OF THEM. 100%.

Had to go to a JW funeral yesterday.

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