after 50 year in ,20 as elder, i was inaff, happy? never ,only a picture they want to show , the truth is , this destroy some peopel, here the cong dessapeare, after a bigg scandal, many left some move, the result of fornicaition among elders , the real truth, this is a moenymaking company , widh workers fore no money, exelent system I must say, to make money.And fool peopel .
One of my JW friends posted this on Facebook. Totally cringeworthy!
by Divergent 44 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
Magnum
Dang, I just can't get this off my mind. That photo in the OP looks so cultish - so Mormonish.
"No, I don't find it restrictive." What?!?!?!
Because I believed it and gave it my all, it restricted my whole life. It restricted me from learning. It restricted from doing all the things I wanted to do - even simple things like outdoor activities. I had virtually zero free time and always felt I wasn't doing enough - that I was always behind on something like reading, studying, service time, shepherding calls, etc. It restricted me from having weekends, afternoons, evenings. It restricted me from making money. It restricted me from planning for the future. Having been a JW will continue to have a restricting effect on me until I die because it put me in a situation with little time and money and no prospects for retirement.
"Not restrictive"? When I compare my situation now to the situations of my peers (like people I went to high school with), it's infuriating. They're all having fun, they all make great money (like seven or eight times what I make), one is retired, etc. I work a menial job that is destined to disappear soon because of changing technology. I make very little money. I have zero chance of retiring - ever. My retirement will be being committed to a nursing home (or mortuary).
Too see a young punk say "it's not restrictive" ticks me off. What does she know? Well, on the other hand, It might not be restricting her from anything because she might not have a life and maybe JWdom gives her one. She might live with her parents, have an easy little part-time job (or no job at all) and play around in service (riding around and gossiping with friends).
She knows almost nothing about JWdom and life in general. I hope all the construction halts and they have bad money problems and their numbers start to go down. Can't wait to see what the future holds.
-
LisaRose
The person they are really trying so hard to convince is themselves. If they were truly happy/fulfilled/excited about being a Jehovah's Witness, would they really need to go on about it like that? Truly happy people are not bothered by the possibility that some people might not agree with their life choices.
-
Magnum
Very true, LisaRose. My peers that I referred to in my post above are not going around saying "Look at us. We're happy. We're not missing out on anything."
-
Introvert 2
Wow Magnum, just wow. I feel for you man I know where you are coming from. Was labeled a workaholic early on when in. I stuck around just long enough to do damage myself, took years to get back in the drivers seat after I stopped. Went back on and off a few times to test the waters, if anything it has gotten waaay more cultish now than ever. I'm out but still a believer I do my own study on my own time table. Yeah ditto there going to have problems with all their spending money like it's water...
-
SAHS
“LisaRose”: “Truly happy people are not bothered by the possibility that some people might not agree with their life choices.”
Absolutely. JWs always have an inherited need for validation and vindication. They always have to be seen as right, special, and morally superior to the rest of the world. I’ve recently learned that this behaviour is really a form of codependency. They’re all really addicts of the magical WT opium.
-
GrreatTeacher
Wow. Can you tell us a little more about the codependency thing? I'm always interested in good paradigms for understanding JW involvement! -
LisaRose
I am currently reading a book that was recommend by another poster about cognitive dissonance and why people defend bad choices called 'Mistakes were made(but not by me)'.
It explains why people only believe information that validates their choice, discounting information that does not. Not surprising, but what is interesting is the more people have invested in a decision, the more they think they were right and the less likely they were to believe they made a mistake, regardless of whether it actually was a good decision or not.
They gave the example of a doomsday cult, whose leader predicted the end of the world on a specific night. The leader believed she would be lifted into outer space along with her followers. Some waited with her at her home, some stayed at home to wait the end.
Many of her followers quit their jobs, gave away their homes, and dispersed their savings, waiting for the end. Who needs money in outer space? Others waited in fear or resignation in their homes. (Mrs. Keech’s own husband, a nonbeliever, went to bed early and slept soundly through the night as his wife and her followers prayed in the living room.) Festinger made his own prediction: The believers who had not made a strong commitment to the prophecy—who awaited the end of the world by themselves at home, hoping they weren’t going to die at midnight—would quietly lose their faith in Mrs. Keech. But those who had given away their possessions and were waiting with the others for the spaceship would increase their belief in her mystical abilities. In fact, they would now do everything they could to get others to join them.
That is exactly what happened. Despite the fact that the leader was completely wrong, her most ardent followers became even more dedicated to her. Big surprise, she suddenly had a new vision. The faith of the little group had spared the world from destruction. They became even more convinced of their belief and began proselytizing. Sound familiar? The Watchtower was wrong about 1914, but they simply came up with a new theory that the return of jesus was invisible and people believed, because they needed to believe. An impartial observer would see it for what it was, an excuse for failure, but they were not impartial, they needed it to be true.
-
GrreatTeacher
Thanks, Lisa Rose. I believe it. I guess I need to review what codependency is. Is it a need to be associated with something because it provides some benefits that meet their needs even though there are negative consequences?
-
OrphanCrow
GreatTeacher: Thanks, Lisa Rose. I believe it. I guess I need to review what codependency is. Is it a need to be associated with something because it provides some benefits that meet their needs even though there are negative consequences?
Sorry, don't mean to butt in here...LisaRose's post is excellent.
Just wanted to add that the negative consequences are what reinforce the misguided beliefs. The more negative the consequences (persectution and blood sacrifice), the more the adherent pereceives that they are right and everybody else is wrong.