After 50 years Zealous Service, My Elder Friends goes Inactive

by James Jack 32 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Watchtower-Free

  
  
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  fulltimestudent

  Wasted lives.
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  pepperheart

  This is why i take and trash as many teaching books and magazines from the carts that i can if i can save just one person from having to go through this then it will be worth it
  
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  sowhatnow

  it always upset me that the WT expects 'satans' system to support elderly ones because they kept people from at least trying to being self sufficient and have some sort of retirement plan, and purchasing a home to live in.

  first some would suggest, to avoid shopping at thrift stores that might be owned and run by any religious organization, or to hold down a job that is working for the government, or with a gun, or for a religious organization [ for ex. painting a church]

  then some say, dont collect welfare benefits if you dont have to, then they make it impossible not to collect them, because your working part time, so you can pioneer, lol

  Ive known people who didnt work full time, [ and sometimes not at all,] pioneered and then complained how broke they were.

  and many still live at home and burden thier parents as well.

  then they expecting people to turn down employment that has roating shifts, or night shifts, where one might would miss a meeting or two. so, Ive known people to turn down work, and run out of unemployment so they dont miss one or two meetings a month.

  then people like my mom say,

  'well god will reward people for thier sacrifice.' oh yea? prove it.

  so many elderly jw's, live in [quite decent] public housing provided by the very government they condemn.

  the scriptures clearly say, to make every effort to support yourselves, and your family. [1 tim 5 :8 is just one]

  I have never seen scriptures to support the idea that the gov body and bethelites should work for free and live in new york and not have a job with pay. elders in the cong work a job, some i knew own thier own buisnesses. [ and hopefully can have some sort of better outcome.]

  I wonder, does the 7 Gov, body members have an IRA? lol. ah, wait, they dont need it. they live in free resort housing provided by unemployed slaves.
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  steve2

  Sentimentality shows many colours in the 21st century. This is just one of them.

  It took a lifetime of dull-minded servitude for this man and his wife to finally put 2 and 2 together. I will lose no sleep and no outrage over their sad predicament - just as the Witnesses lost neither sleep nor outrage over my hapless escape - luckily whilst in my late 20s.

  In fact, he and his wife would have been the very type of servile Witnesses back when I left who would have self-righteously crossed to the other side of the road to avoid me contaminating their precious breathing space.

  My tears for my sad predicament dried up years ago. I had to toughen up to survive. I do not have even one single sad and salty tear for their predicament.
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  RichardHaley

  I see this all the time... except they don't wake up. The local hall is full of them, depending on welfare, disability payments (for imaginary ailments) and any other hand out while spending all their time as aux piosneers etc. Their personal ministry is supported by "satan's system" lol.

  @WTWizard

  someone might have a few dozen rolls of silver quarters, dimes, and halves, a few tubs of rounds, a couple dozen silver bars...
  

  not yet but working on it!
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  James Jack

  I failed to mention that the has Cancer and goes to Tampa for treatments
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  nonjwspouse

  I disagree with steve2. What happened to them was not just a personal choice they made. When a cult practices mind control, then it IS the fault of the cult when a persons life is destroyed due to following the cult directions. Mind control is extremely powerful, even more so if born into the mind control.

  Those who wake up do so in spite of the mind control techniques. As shown on this message board, the varied reasons anyone "wakes up" are so vast, it is not a matter of "Oh they just need to do such ad so to wake up".

  I for one believe the majority of those in have an emotional tether they are controlled by. One that is reinforced their entire lives depending on circumstances, life events, or many, many other factors.

  It is the break through the mind control that is as individual as the person's mind is. Otherwise there would be a formula for waking people up, then the WTBTS would be gone quickly.

  I do feel bad for the old couple. That is part of what makes humans, human. To feel the empathy. When you lose empathy, you become, well, like those that are mind controlled. I don't mean to shed tears, but definitely to feel sorry for their predicament, and hope they can be ok. I also feel anger at the WTBTS at the heartless, evil, mind control directions that ruin peoples lives like this.
  
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  steve2

  When a cult practices mind control, then it IS the fault of the cult when a persons life is destroyed due to following the cult directions. Mind control is extremely powerful, even more so if born into the mind control.

  I acknowledge my response was harsh. I could tone it down. But beyond that, my response is pretty much the same.

  Sure, the shunning policy is imposed on JWs. That said, we all know of JWs who enact it way beyond what is stated and do so with relish. Super-dedicated witnesses are the worst offenders. We hear of their shunning exploits in this forum - and the observation is often made: They go beyond even what the organization requires.

  None of this let's the organization off the hook.

  Besides, it is the oldest excuse in the book to blame an external source for one's actions. The story of the first couple has Eve blaming the talking snake and those tried during the Nuremberg trials protested they were only following orders. And of course terrorists cite Allah to justify their bloodshed. Everyone who does something bad falls back on "just" doing what they've been ordered to do.

  At a personal level, I saw my four grandparents grow old and die, all faithfully serving the organization. My father's parents were softies - loyal but not hardline, whilst my mother's parents were hardline and would turn against so-called "weak" ones as quick as look at them. I have a lot of time for those who have been troubled by the organization's harsh policies, but find it hard to muster much feeling for hardliners who "suddenly" see the light.
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  James Jack

  Watchtower-Free

  
  

  Nice picture. I met Joel Adams at the Elders KM School in 2008. I said "Hey your the guy who did the voice of Satan in the drama", he just did a fake smile and moved on. By the way, that whole week every day, his wife walked around Patterson in a Night Robe talking to her self , looking delusional.