I would like to rant about how I get really upset when I get some weak invitation back to the cult.

by schnell 28 Replies latest jw friends

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  OUTLAW

  Anything I say is just going to fly over my mother's or MIL's head and then she'll get mad, so why bother?

  Good luck having a conversation with a JW..

  The best you can hope for is..

  ..............
  

  WatchTower Canned Responses..
  

  
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  LarryCope

  While I have no family in the WTBT$, I was recently upped at a park by one zealous lady. I listened to her for a bit then asked bout the Kenite Hypothesis as well as Finklestein's view of the establishment of the nation of Israel. This left her in a quandry, so I elucidated both and asked how long she'd been a JW and she said for almost 15 years ( I, myself, have been out for 20 ). I told her I was disassociated, suggested she study thoroughly using comparative Bibles such as the NRSV and NIV and that she should historically research the date 607 B.C.E.
  She took off like a scalded cat and even exited the park ( evil grin )
  
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  OneGenTwoGroups

  Damn, nice OP/rant. Thank you.
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  schnell

  While I have no family in the WTBT$, I was recently upped at a park by one zealous lady. I listened to her for a bit then asked bout the Kenite Hypothesis as well as Finklestein's view of the establishment of the nation of Israel. This left her in a quandry, so I elucidated both and asked how long she'd been a JW and she said for almost 15 years ( I, myself, have been out for 20 ). I told her I was disassociated, suggested she study thoroughly using comparative Bibles such as the NRSV and NIV and that she should historically research the date 607 B.C.E.
  She took off like a scalded cat and even exited the park ( evil grin )
  

  Heh. Unfortunately for them, they do NOT know more about the Bible or Judah and Israel than anyone else on the planet. Yeah, guys, Israel has been studied for over a century, and what we know contradicts the claims of JWism and Bible literalism in general.
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  Virgochik

  Giordano nailed it. It's disrespect, and not believing that you're an intelligent individual who can think for yourself. You couldn't have good reasons for leaving, so nagging, nudging, reminding, or let's call it plain harassment, are acceptable to them.

  I get texts like clockwork from my mother:

  Tuesday mornings, she wants to let me know she's going in service now.

  Wednesday mornings, she texts that she's going to her study now.

  Thursday evenings, she texts that she's leaving for the meeting now.

  Sunday mornings, same thing. "I'm going to the meeting, it'll be a great day." She never says good morning, how are you. No, she's clearly got an agenda, to bring meetings and service to my attention.

  This infuriates me. I want to tell her to stop pushing. So disrespectful. I'm an adult woman and she's still nagging me. Yet, she's eighty two years old, and to tell her to knock it off because I'm happy at my own church and I'm never coming back to the Hall, would kill her. So for her sake I seethe and fume, which is probably harmful to my own health. I'm torn between, am I spineless for allowing her to do this, or am I being the better person for not shattering an elderly lady's hopes.
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  Coded Logic

  I think you should do the same thing you do when anyone else exhibits bad behavior - you should call them out on it. "Hey Mom, I think it's really unfair that you are perfectly willing to impose your beliefs on me but you cry foul whenever I tell you about the sorts of things you believe. How about you take a college course on evolution with me and then afterwards we can talk about me going to some of your meetings?"
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  smiddy

  Village Idiot

  Are you for real ? did you really do that ? Well that would have been a memmorial I would have liked to have been there LOL

  You must have been young a teenager no doubt.?

  I did witness a young teenager give the finger to the whole congregation at one meeting I attended one of the exits was at the front side of the hall and as he went out he made sure everyone saw his gesture during the meeting.
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  rebel8

  What am I supposed to say?

  What I said to all of those dumb invitations is a very truthful answer.

  Surprise, surprise--I haven't received one in years.

  "When are you coming back?"

  "NEVER EVER EVER."

  "Oh, you say that now, but so many have returned to jehulu. They see what it's like in the world and realize we are in Thee End Times. You will too."
  

  "I am so much happier now that I left, and so much healthier too. World events show life has gotten so much better over the millennia. I am absolutely certain I will never return. I have known this since the day I left. It is such a horrible, depressing way to live, with no future. I would rather kill myself."

  This pretty much puts an end to the discussion.

  This is what's right for me, in my situation.YMMV
  
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  schnell

  "Oh you say that now, but so many have returned to jehulu. They see what it's like in the world and realize we are in Thee End Times. You will too."

  My mother said something like this when I was heavily disillusioned. She rationalized that I was entering a temporary phase which she said so many go through. It was tough for her to realize that it is not a phase.

  We had one illuminating conversation where I asked why she got involved with JWs. No surprise, she was at a weak point and an impressionable age. 17, 18 years old. She never was academic or very well read, and bought into this religion because it was simple, it promised a new order, and it was well-timed in her life. She stayed alive through 1975 and apparently didn't flinch.

  I love my mother, but she bought the worst kind of bridge.