I'm a woman, and I was never a JW, only a Bible student. I started studying when I was getting divorced, hoping I could find some love in the Bible I guess. Definitely not.
However, having a neutral name and an anonymous avatar seems to elicit "respectful responses as though taking to a fellow man" by default, and positively identifying as a woman can invite, scorn, discrimination, disrespect, and being a target of oppression in general, by default.
Governing body member has nervous breakdown due to bethel workload
by Witness 007 20 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Marbles
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LongHairGal
MARBLES:
I see your point. But, I did what I did because I wanted to highlight my experience as a woman in the JW religion.
I also saw too few experiences like mine as a single working woman on the forum. For the longest time I saw many experiences of men/elders who left the religion. I also was of the opinion that some of them left because their noses were out of joint over issues of perceived ‘disrespect’. It was a little more serious for me.
I also want to add that elders (maybe not necessarily anybody on here) were part of the problem I experienced in the JW religion. It was ELDERS who tried to target single women like me to do favors for some older people in the religion - maybe that older sister who regularly invited him and his wife over for dinner!
It seemed someone like me (single with no family there) was viewed as fair game in the JW religion by elders and other Users..Of course, they never got anywhere with me. 😉
Lastly, the elders were the biggest reason I was panned because of my full-time job. If I fell for their pressure to quit years ago, I would be in a predicament today. These people certainly would not be supporting me!!! This cannot be stressed enough!
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Marbles
It sounds like you were used by the elders to "prove" that Geehovah really does take care of the widows and orphans.
On a different note, I've said it more than once here and there- religion attracts pervs because it is sexual fantasy, and nothing more than making a religion out of eroticism, imo. After hassling with the opposite sex so many times over so many years I have lost all desire for them, and rarely even talk to them, to be quite honest. It's hard to see eye to eye with someone who is looking up your skirt with his "third eye." Sexual abuse comes in many forms, not limited to CSA. Sexual harassment on a constant basis is pretty distressing. Weirdly, if it was them being sexually harassed, they would probably actually like it, because "sex makes men happy" and we have the pursuit of happiness as a top priority. -
Marbles
@SlimBoyFat, I am reading the link you posted with the mention of Erich Fromm, thanks. I am one third through it. I believe the link you posted is not his book, though, which is titled Escape From Freedom. The reference to Fromm in your article is from a monograph he published titled, "The Fear of Freedom." The monograph has a slightly different thesis than the one I mentioned. In the monograph he says that people find "freedom" in totalitarianism because it "frees" them from the fear of ambiguity in secular democracies. People find "liberation" in obeying a dictator because they find security in absolutes, and insecurity in the ambiguities of democracy. From the Fromm discussion in your article, one would almost think the entire Watchtower Dogma was set up exactly to create security in totalitarianism versus insecurity in democracy.
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Foolednomore
Reason # 4 and 5 I'm nolonger a Jw. Jw's are sexist and treat women as lower life forms. As a man I don't find that respectful. Jw's know no boundaries, they are so self righteous and arrogant that it is sickening.
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slimboyfat
Marbles it is the same book. Escape from Freedom is the US title and The Fear of Freedom is the UK title. Yes it is about the attraction of totalitarian systems that absolve people from making difficult choices themselves.
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LongHairGal
FOOLEDNOMORE:
Yes, it was painfully obvious about the Witnesses’ terrible attitudes about women.
I really let this Old Testament stuff go in one ear and out the other.. After all, I wasn’t married to anybody there and only had to see these people in public, etc..I also was raised Catholic and had a fairly ‘normal’ life before I got involved with the JW religion. My self-esteem was already established. I knew who I was.
Nothing negative about women that was said in the hall really ‘got’ to me personally.. I also had a full-time job before I joined the religion which I held onto until Retirement. I knew enough not to allow any of these meddling fools or hypocrites interfere with my business or private life!
I guess this explains why they didn’t like me.☺️
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RULES & REGULATIONS
Yes, it was painfully obvious about the Witnesses’ terrible attitudes about women.
“You know, scientists say that the cranial capacity of a woman is 10% smaller than that of a man so now this shows that she’s just not equipped for the role of headship. Her role is one of subjection to the man. Her role is that of submissiveness and that means that she should recognize that she is a woman and be glad to be a woman.” The Value of Our Theocratic Sisters Samuel Herd, Oakland CA 1971
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RULES & REGULATIONS
Yes, it was painfully obvious about the Witnesses’ terrible attitudes about women.
Attitude towards rape:
“Thus if a Christian woman does not cry out and does not put forth every effort to flee, she would be viewed as consenting to the violation.” Watchtower 1964 Jan 15 pp.63-4
Attitude towards domestic abuse:
“He might be extremely physically abusive, even to the point that she feels that her health or life is in danger. He might refuse to support her and the family or severely endanger her spirituality. … some Christians have personally decided that … a separation is necessary. But other Christians in comparably difficult situations have not; they have endured and tried to work on improving matters. … Many loyal Christians have remained with an unbelieving mate under very trying circumstances.” Watchtower 2018 Dec p.14
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Marbles
@SlimBoyFat, oh that's very interesting, thanks.
"Escape from Freedom is the US title and The Fear of Freedom is the UK title."
