by Spiral 29 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I'm noticing what seems to be a higher incidence of the above among the local JWs than in the "general" (read: worldly) population. I don't say this lightly, my wanderings around the fringes of JW society locally is revealing an alarming trend here. The poverty doesn't help (there are good jobs, but you need a degree or qualifications to get one).
Anyone else see this?
hoarding's not something I've ever noticed. JWs i knew were all about appearing neat. My mom vacuumed every day and all of the jw ladies I knew were very tidy. . .I didn't peek in closets.
Anxiety- lots. Migraines. Many. My mom had a mild heart attack when in her mid 30s. Lots of alcohol issues all around. One lady was so thin, nervous, fragile-but she was abuse victim. She missed so many meetings. Family always there.
Armageddon was imminent. You spend decades expecting Armageddon/the end of the world and it makes you wonder how ANY of us are still sane. Or if we are.
@JaniceA: Exactly! When I was in being a good housewife and being neat were paramount. But I've noticed lately that has really broken down where I am (Mom's congregation). So the hoarding just seems to be a huge red flag.
Anxiety was prevalent in the congregation, but now more than ever.
I'm thinking things are breaking down from the inside out, and finally the cracks are showing.
I would not be surprised. But I feel is more of the cause than the effect. It is possible that people flee to faith in order to seek order and structure they lack in their life. Hoarding material stuff as much as hoarding emotions. It is well known that cults would appeal to people with emotional holes. Although we all have them, in some it may be more magnetic than others.
OCD to compulsively clean house I've seen a lot of, probably because of the cult's constant nagging women to keep the house spotless so as not to 'bring reproach on J'.
I had a boyfriend whose mother had ruined so many sofas and other furniture because she kept chucking water on it. She even made me lift my feet so she could wash the bottom of my shoes when I went there. A women in my congregation cleaned her house from top to bottom every single day of the year. Very sad.
Xanthippe She even made me lift my feet so she could wash the bottom of my shoes when I went there.
LoL !! Amazed she didn't make you take them off!( although that fashion is quite a modern thing in the west, come to think of it)
Spiral I think it may be cause and effect in that poverty tends to turn you into a hoarder. Also age-related poverty does, too. Pensioners, knowing they have no chance to go out and earn, tend to do this - and the jw's are definitely an aging 'population'.
Not surprised. The Society has painted themselves into a corner...... dogma wise. The stuff they called the truth wasn't. Their predictions haven't come true.They now have to manipulate the meaning of words to support their theology or at the very least toss out the material that was used to build this religion.
Kingdom Halls are closing or merging.This is happening in rural areas which means it takes more time and expense to attend meetings.
The lack of higher education has taken it's toll. Here in the USA the Pew religious survey puts the JW's as the least educated re higher learning. Good jobs are difficult to come by without education and/or skill sets......like Electricians, mechanics etc. The pew survey also has them as the religion with the lowest income.
Health wise the blood ban has caused thousands of unnecessary deaths. It interferes with cancer treatments and a wide range of other illnesses. Many are not getting adequate care which happens when you can't afford adequate care. Family wise this also happens when you turn your backs on close family members who you have shunned.
Apparently the only health care plan for ageing members is the resurrection.
Their harsh shunning arrangement punishes not only the so called 'sinner' (who may simply want to exit the religion) but it also burdens family members and close friends who are forbidden to love and care for the DA or DF person. This is a punishment for those that choose loyalty to the WTBTS over family members.
Their two witness rule makes a mockery of sexual child abuse. And many of those born in or exposed to this crime carry those memories as adults.
Bethel has dumped their middle aged members........ literally thrown them out all around the world. As well as their paid missionaries. People with no real skill set...... little to no education, little to no social security services. Totally at the mercy of their assigned congregation.
So yes there is a degree of Anxiety, OCD, even hoarding. There's nothing like living a wasted life as a hard working delusional JW loyalist.
Well sure. In their simplest forms those things are all a person seeking control. JWs lack control because they're being controlled so they seek it elsewhere. I kind of got hoard-y at one point, not like the tv show but still bad, my anxiety went wild, as did depression and I've always had little compulsions.
It all pretty much went away by leaving the cult.
I'm thinking things are breaking down from the inside out, and finally the cracks are showing.
Spiral, so much pressure from both the inside and the outside must be almost impossible to bear, and 2018 will only bring more misery and deception.
Hopefully the realisation that being in the bORG can tire you out physically and mentally will make some receptive to TTATT. The GB can lie and just live in an ivory tower, but the rank and file are terrified by so many incomprehensible doctrines, talmud-like rules and all the gossip and social control.
@Giordono, yes, expectation (hope) postponed makes the heart sick (I think that's in the Bible somewhere). False hope is just cruel. It feels like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
