Memorial mixed emotions...

by Tornintwo 35 Replies latest jw friends

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  FayeDunaway

  Mark, your avatar particularly matches your post above.
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  MarkofCane

  Thanks Faye

  The mask of truth!
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  blondie

  Once I left I never went back to any meetings, even the memorial. They did not worship god, they made god into an entity to control others.

  Ray Franz felt that you could not accurately worship God in a group especially one larger than a household. He and his wife and a few friends did so privately as part of their weekly worship. He felt as groups grew larger they twisted the original intent of Christ and his followers.

  A Question of Conscience by Charles Davis

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Davis_(theologian)

  Davis wrote about his departure in his autobiography, A Question of Conscience (1967). He criticised what he saw as the Church's abuse of authority, intellectual integrity and conscience and its teaching on celibacy. It was 'racked by fear, insecurity and anxiety with a consequent intolerance and lack of love'.
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  kaik

  I get irritated by my family because they get hyped -up, and will try to inflict a guilt feeling that I was not there. I do not see a point why would anyone outside 144K to bother to go to memorial, even as JW. I remember back in the 1980's and 1990's that there were brothers and sisters, who had second memorial in the privacy and they partake because they thought that WT was excluding them from something that they should be part of it. Back then, I agreed with these people. Since I became involved with Judaism by association in marriage, I understand that memorial does not make a sense for Jewish faith. Jews (or at least the one I am married to) do not believe that anyone can redeem other person for his or her sins. Everyone is responsible for their own sins, and Jesus sacrifice just does not make sense and is not valid in their faith.

  When it comes to Easter, I loved it. In many European countries, it is the second biggest holiday in the year after Xmas. In the Czech Republic it is an equivalent to Thanksgiving in overall atmosphere: entire families get together. The time of the year and the weather is always good to see relatives, because in winter, not everyone wants to travel, and in the summer, many people are vacationing. Easter associates with me one of the warmest memories, special food and baked cakes. JW memorial is far off from festivities that Easter is, and it is rather pitiful as the only holiday they celebrate.
  
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  Alive!

  I guess the concept of Jesus ( Whether he is an extraordinary and complex imaginary projection of our minds outside of our experience of our selves or not ) - calls for us to love and extol something higher than our daily experience.

  I do believe ( actually 'believe' feels like weak word) but I think all this begs a question - what's going on with us organisms?
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  talesin

  When I decided I was no longer going to meetings, that included the Memorial.
  
  There are no mixed emotions for me. After years of being invited, I finally told my parents that "hell will freeze over before I set foot in a KH".

  Why would anyone want to go to a place where they will be shunned? A place that is phony, abusive, and everything an ethical person would feel repulsed by?

  xx
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  Khaleesi

  I'm debating to go to, i don't feel comfortable being part of a "black mass" & rejecting Jesus by not partaking!
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  kaik

  I am still annoyed with conversation I had over the phone with the family last weekend. They just get too much excited but at the same time inflict guilt feeling that I am not there. They accept the WT dogma, and on memorial they just are observers instead of participants of the ritual. It never made sense to me even back then when I was in WT. I knew one elder (he is already DF) that he was partaking at home secretly with his family. JWs outside 144K are just observers, and do not really celebrates Jesus sacrifice.
  
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  Lostwun

  think it through. you still got one more day to decide torn but don't feel pressured or guilted to do something if you really don't wanna. This one will be my first memorial that i miss and i've made my peace with it already. I'm tired of feeling like i need everyone's approval. I don't give a damn and i'm okay with that now.

  At the end of the day, do what you feel is best but make sure its for you and what you want and not for anybody else or obligation.

  Lost
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  Cheeto

  Did anyone notice that the memorial is on Purim this year and not even near the Passover?