"Don't think too much...."

by Tornintwo 23 Replies latest jw friends

  • Tornintwo
    Tornintwo

    A couple of middle aged jw sisters dropped round unannounced the other day, they were only being kind I suppose, after some awkward silences I voiced a couple of my issues with the religion, (the safe ones), sort of an explanation as to why I'm no longer attending, namely: everyone else will die, lack of support for young ones, mistreatment/judgementalism by prominent ones who get away with it because 'they're imperfect and we have to wait on jehovah' etc. Well, after sympathizing and telling me horror stories about awful elders and their own kids' issues in the past (how some left the truth, had bitter divorces from fellow witnesses etc) they then begged me to 'come back to Jehovah', 'he misses me' apparently. Finally, the more pushy one summed it up with 'you're thinking too much, it's not good for you', 'some issues you just have to put in a drawer and forget about....'.

    hmm nice reasoning sisters, theocratic school training at its finest! Jehovah's witnesses, please leave your brain at the door.....

  • Saintbertholdt
    Saintbertholdt

    Do you think they counted the visit as time?

    Of course, silly me.

  • FadeToBlack
    FadeToBlack

    If I had a dollar for everytime I was told that I am thinking too much... My usual response is Proverbs 3: 21 and 22:

    My son, may they not get away from your eyes. Safeguard practical wisdom and thinking ability, and they will prove to be life to your soul and charm to you throat.

    Not sure what the 'charm to your throat' thing is all about, but I follow up with - so what is wrong with thinking again?

  • Finkelstein
    Finkelstein

    The biggest fault or centralized working corruption of this religion has to be the false prophetic teachings/doctrines that this organization propagated for so many years, intertwined with its literature proliferation agenda as a religious publishing house.

    The reason people are knocking on someone elses door and the reason they are examined and evaluated upon how much time they are participating in this endeavor.

    This is the single most important factor that needs to be acknowledged and accepted in examining this religion and the publishing house that's operating at the core heart of this religion.

    From there it becomes an easy task to comprehend how and why the Watchtower Corporation derived at its own inherently expressed doctrines.

  • Magnum
    Magnum

    I can relate to that. I've had them tell me the same thing. It just doesn't make sense. Truth should be able to stand up to any analysis, any questioning. At what point is one supposed to switch his thinking off? If somebody is trying to get you to invest your life savings with him, are you supposed to just not think too much when he says or does things that you don't understand or that don't seem right? JWs took from me far more than money. I wish I had done more thinking.

    Recently one told me I was too smart. I said "so you mean sister X is going to make it because she's not as smart as I am - because perhaps she was not born with as many neural connections in hear brain as I was? You mean it's genetics? That's not fair to me. I didn't choose the genetic hand I was dealt at conception. Also, if I'm too smart, then Jehovah must not stand a chance because he's a whole lot smarter than I am according to you.

    some issues you just have to put in a drawer and forget about

    Similarly, I was told to put my questions on the back burner and that I would get them answered soon. That was 35 years ago. All the water boiled out of those pots on the back burner. My questions were never answered. In fact, not only that; they grew in number and intensity.

  • Divergent
    Divergent

    My response would be: "That's ironic... coming from a person who's not thinking at all!"

    Some might feel that this is too harsh though...

  • Muddy Waters
    Muddy Waters

    Yes, I have heard those expressions too: "put it in a drawer...", "... leave it for Jehovah...", "... Put it on the shelf for now..."

    All this talk and blather about trusting the organization. Well, people trusted Moses too & he didn't even make it to the promised land (stupid rock anyway!)

    Solomon also turned out to be, well, not the one to follow after all. The wisest man in the world turned away from his God, Jehovah.

    Satan, once an esteemed child of God, well. Look at how that went.

    Yet we are to blindly and willingly and trustingly surrender our thinking and decision making to 7 imperfect men in New York who say they alone have the only pipeline to God today.

    Let me just put THAT thought on a shelf. And in a drawer. Far away.

  • Divergent
    Divergent
    some issues you just have to put in a drawer and forget about....'.

    As for this, I would say: Well, that’s exactly what the brothers in Australia did by not reporting child abuse cases to the authorities. Guess what happened eventually? (proceeds to highlight shocking facts about the ARC)

  • Simon
    Simon

    I remember raising issues during my JC meeting about lies the WTS had come out with.

    Their response was "if those things bother you then maybe you should just stop reading them"

    Seriously, no attempt to prove me wrong or that they WTS wasn't lying - just "well don't read it !" (their own publications / website)

    "Thus solving the problem once and for all ... but ... ONCE AND FOR ALL !!" (Futurama)

  • Ding
    Ding
    "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain...."

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