Elbib you epitomise the JW mindset. Thank you for illustrating my point.
I suspect you are a member of a similar cult.
Angst and the Jehovah's Witness Mindset
by cofty 41 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
-
-
elbib
cofty,
Talking about global flood (sea-level rise) is the sign of people who are genuinely concerned about the future, not the sign of a cult. For example, (http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf) (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsID=20772#.VtqJ83194rg). (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs339/en/).
-
cofty
elbib why did you lie when you said your cult would not proselytise the Brahma Kumaris cult on JWN any longer?
-
besty
gosh elbib - see the thread title for details of what is being discussed here...
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/posting
How to make posts
The absolute basics ...
Posts must be on-topic
In this forum, we discuss many different topics and it helps if any comments made on a topic are about that topic and not attempts to derail the discussion.
-
Heaven
Excellent observations cofty.
I have seen the angst in the witnesses I know. One woman, friend of my folks, was all worried about the imminence of Armageddon the last time I saw her. That was in 2010. We're almost 6 years on from that day. I hope she realizes Armageddon is not coming. Once I figured out god was a fantasy and so was Armageddon, my nightmares stopped.
I've also seen seething anger, self-righteousness, holier-than-thou, judgmental attitudes as well as a complete resignation that nothing will improve and nothing can be done to improve anything because Jehovah is the only answer - the old 'Pray More + Wait on Jehovah' useless advice/ideal. When an imaginary thing is supposed to be your only resolution, then yes, things are going to get worse. This is basically the same thing as ignoring your problems. And the best way to make a problem worse is to do nothing about it. JWs are captives of their own beliefs. A definite result of what they are fed by the Borg. What one focuses on expands and fills one's life.They are constantly bombarded with destructive images, words, and ideals. Negativity begets negativity.
As soon as a person or group isolates itself, they/it becomes insular. This is unwise - it is not healthy.
The last time I spoke to JWs at my front door, was about 10 years ago. I said to them "My Mom was a Jehovah's Witness. She smoked herself into a chronic illness called COPD. I don't understand...if she had such a wonderful hope in Jehovah, why was she so miserable?"
They have never returned.
-
Slidin Fast
Isn't this the religious mindset in genera? This life is just to be endured. It's just a stepping stone to the hereafter. The adherents have to obey the hierarchy in order to pass through to what ever joys are offered after death. JWs are simply more extreme than most.
One of the reasons that this is the best time to have lived in history is that these shackles are gradually being thrown off.
-
Xanthippe
Angst will continue dominate the thinking of ex-JWs until they give up utopian fantasies. Perfection does not exist and it never will.
Humans are prone to utopian fantasies. Awake used to be called the golden age. The golden age was a belief in medieval times that there was a time in the distant past when the world was a much better place, with peace and prosperity. The Rennaisance era fed into that fantasy with the excavation of many beautiful temples and statues from the classical period. The Greeks were always fighting one another, see The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC). Then they would cart off slaves to cut the stone to build their beautiful temples!
There is a great deal more that must be done to create a better world and further progress is not inevitable.
Yes I'm always beating this drum. So many fantastic organizations need our support to prevent torture, help people in war zones, protect the environment, inoculate the world's children against horrific diseases, save endangered species, etc. It's so easy to throw up our hands in despair and give up. That just means someone else has to do it.
-
LoveUniHateExams
I think the OP has a point.
If JWs aren't scared of everything, then they're encouraged to be scared/suspicious of everything.
Non-JW loved ones asking them to miss a meeting = the devil is behind it!
Don't buy teddies/dolls from jumble sales. They might be possessed by demons!
Fancy that shapely girl/handsome guy from work? Get on well with her/him? Be afraid. Be very afraid. You could end up screwing them on your lunch break.
Deary me, what a miserable little cult.
-
ctrwtf
Eight years since I've left and I still find vestiges of that cynical outlook in myself.
Still, I wonder how much of that is also echoed in society in general. Trumps "make America great again" catchphrase resounds among a populace that has been whipped into a frenzy by the religion of talk radio to think that we're in a downward spiral.
The reality is, as Cofty points out, that we are living in the best days of human existence.
-
freemindfade
I agree with this op whole heartedly. 100%. Letting go of that angst and seeing the world for what it really is is an unimaginable weight off your shoulders. When you are out and go back and listen to any public talk you will see how much of an angst buble the witnesses live in.
Also learning that action instead of "preaching" and useless dogma makes much more of difference in the world