What Happens When Shock Fades in WitnessLand?

by metatron 6 Replies latest jw friends

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  metatron

  I once read the thought that people can't foresee the future because they often are

  unaccostumed to thinking about it and how it could play out. One aspect of the

  Watchtower's future ( is that an oxymoron?) concerns the fading away of their sense

  of shock.

  I was utterly astonished when I first found websites that openly discussed "REFORM"

  of the Watchtower. I was equally surprized by the emergence of "full-frontal nudity"

  in the seventies - and the availability of any kind of porn on the internet - free, in recent years.

  Eventually, it all gets ordinary and banal. Yesterday, Witnesses would recoil

  from an "apostate" or DA'd person in horror. They would loyally shun family members

  if the organization commands them to. They would expect Armageddon immediately

  and entertain no doubt about it. As time passes, doubt and compromise creep in

  and the unthinkable becomes ordinary. I can't imagine anything more destructive

  to a mind control cult than the revolutionary words, "So what?!"

  I'm watching my "loyal" relatives quietly change - possibly without their even being

  aware of it. You talk about investing for retirement , the explosion of technology,

  business opportunities, UFO's, and each time you do, they change a little bit.

  They think a little more, they lose the shock encountered by new ideas.

  I remember a story about an old man in the former Soviet Union who passed

  a long line waiting to buy food. He yelled out "Eighty years after the revolution

  and you still wait for bread!". When that kind of honesty becomes commonplace,

  change suddenly erupts ... and I think many Witnesses have been standing

  in line for bread for a very long time.........

  metatron
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  Soledad

  you are so right. even though I am DA'd, my mother and older sister freely associate with me, they come over for lunch, we go shopping together, etc. my mom even buys me birthday presents---actually she always had, but my status as DA hasn't changed her habits one bit. I think that is because a) I never spoke out in too much detail against the organization and b) she has seen for herself that I haven't changed as a person when I decided to not be a JW anymore. I think I broke the stereotypes that have always existed about people who are DA or DF'd (we become drug addicts, alcoholics, sex crazed lunatics, etc). I have essentially remained the same, just not depressed like I used to be as a JW.
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  minimus

  I like to think of it in this way: There are SO many Witnesses that are either out, on the way out, DF'd, disassociated, in---but not strong, in--but not true believers, that they have produced a group of people that basically don't worry about "the rules". They know that if they do not remain steadfast Witnesses, that still people will talk to them. JW's are big winkers........They know they're not supposed to do this or that but if you don't broadcast it, they won't inquire. If you seem to disagree with a Society thought, you might not necessarily get called on the carpet for it. You might be surprised to know that a few elders and other "mature ones" may secretly agree with you. People regularly say,"Well, I don't agree with that comment that the Circuit Overseer made in his talk"......20 years ago, you KNOW you wouldn't express this.
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  micheal

  I have even heard many expressing that not ALL non jw's will be destroyed at armageddon. But they say god will read their hearts and then judge them. Not so long ago the idea of anyone saying something like that was unheard of. It was very clear amongst the r&f that all non jw's will be destroyed at armageddon.
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  metatron

  I've heard much the same. I don't think they can maintain such a fanatical view of God's favor in the face of growing

  dissension and drifting. Originally, the organization had broader views, especially in Russell's day.

  metatron
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  willyloman

  Excellent post and responses!

  I'm watching my "loyal" relatives quietly change - possibly without their even being aware of it.
  

  Metatron said the above, and it reminded me of a dinner recently at the home of a MS and his former pioneer wife, now the mother of a baby boy; these are 3rd generation JWs from "pillar" families. Other dinner guests included two elders. The couple talked openly about the recent gift from the boy's grandfather (an elder in the congo). The gift? The grandparents opened a college fund and the kids are planning to contribute to it on a regular basis. This was mentioned openly and without apology; no one seemed surprised.

  Michael said many are expressing that not ALL non JWs will be destroyed at A. Two witness women visited their JW parents recently and were talking about changes taking place in the org. At some point the father said the teaching that all non-witnesses, 99.9% of the world population, would soon be destroyed would probably have to undergo some new light. The reaction? "What? We don't teach that!" Assured that "we" do teach that, they were both incredulous. One said, "Well, I never teach that to anyone when I go door to door." They acted like they never heard of such a doctrine. Both are raised in the "truth" and currently active, and one's a former pioneer.

  "JWs are big winkers," said Minimus, in a terrific line worth copying. "Mother buys me birthday presents," says Soledad.

  All true. It is amazing how many JWs "observe" birthdays these days. They acknowledge them verbally, go out to dinner, skate around it as close as possible. One parent buys birthday cards for her grown kids, sends them after crossing out the "happy birthday" message printed inside, and includes a note that says, "I thought this was pretty funny, except for the birthday part. Thinking of you. Have a great day!" How close is that? Then there was the "devout" JW family who took the family patriarch out to an expensive restaurant the day he turned 80. They were, they said, celebrating his "anniversary," NOT his birthday. That said, they all went and had a terrific time.

  It's just further proof that many JWs are beginning to"vote" on various doctrines and beliefs by a form of passive opposition.
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  RunningMan

  Along with a fading sense of shock, comes the fading of urgency. The continual failure of the end of the world, coupled with the removal of any time limit for the end, has removed the sense of urgency that has always been the JWs primary motivator.

  By the way, speaking of "voting", I will be casting my very first ballot on November 5. I hope I don't screw it up. I'm sure I will be the oldest novice voter in the election.