Fear of the worldly people.

StephaneLaliberte

Yesterday, I had a conversation with my neighbor during which I explained the greatest reason why I wanted to raise my kids out of the JWs: The fear (which translate to hate) JWs have for everyone showing no interest in becoming part of their group.

In order for him to quickly relate to what I meant I asked him to imagine, for a moment, he was the biggest racist he has ever known, forced to live in a black neighborhood. How would you feel? You'd look out your window and feel threaten by everyone out there. You'd find reasons to hate everything they are, all the while second guessing everything they do. You'd live in fear. Stepping outside your house, a neighbor would wave at you, you'd be polite, wave back and once in your car (or back in your house), you'd feel relieved and analyse what just happened, wondering if any of it actually represent a threat to you.

This is how JWs, to a large extent, feel about others who show no interest in their religion. They see them as people that God hates so intensely that he will murder them, their wives and kids and perhaps even their pets in the process. Why waist precious time with people who, by being who they are, represent a threat to your salvation?

I did not want my kids to grow up with such an attitude towards others based on religious affiliations. This type of attitude makes no sense based on race, sexual orientation, or gender. Why would it make sense based on personal religious beliefs?

carla

Good post. As a ubm I try not to think about how they view non jw's and particularly those who want no part of jw-ism. If I thought about it more often I would be in the loony bin

Tapioca

Very nice thought experiment. I wonder what other kinds of imaginary situations would be able to set up those important parallels---constant fear, over-thinking, analyzing unimportant details, and the incredible depletion of executive function to keep up the hating. Thinking of anyone else as "other" helps objectify people/groups.

Do you think that your neighbor got a good sense of why you are reluctant to expose your children to such restrictive thinking?

eyeuse2badub

Whether or not they admit to it, the jw religion does try to make jw's a-feared of basically all non-jw's. My mom didn't even want us to be around our 'worldly' family. I missed out on really knowing much about my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. As kids we were convinced that they would deny us "everlasting life" if we got toooooo close. For that I will forever hold a grudge against my mom! But she was a goooood jw!

just saying!

Alive!

The JW mind-set is hard to fathom.

They will smile, be delightful company and can generally give the impression of being ‘lovely people’ amongst non-JWs....

Yet, whilst they pleasantly engage and chat in such a friendly way with those who are not JWs ( at family affairs, funerals and weddings etc...infact any occasion where the non-JW gets to mix with JWs) - they are also believing that the non-JW, from baby to old senior, fall outside of God’s Love. That God will angrily annihilate the non-JW today, tomorrow...because they are not a JW.

Instead of finishing field service and happily going off for coffee as a chatty, laughing group....they should be tearing their clothes in grief, that so many are ‘hated’ by God...and so many never are ‘drawn’ to the religion but are apparently worth nothing.

I was at a summer BBQ a few years ago, with a bunch of JW friends, some of their non-JW family were there and a couple of our non-JW...we’d all shared many BBQs together in the holidays.

Everyone knew each other - it was lovely.

its just that the next day, a high proportion of these affectionate companions would go their separate ways to a ‘meeting’ - to hear and repeat the potential destruction of their wicked BBQ friends....people who’d affectionately all been drawn together the night before, with arrangements for further get together in view.....

Such madness.

Such insane divisiveness.

No wonder so many JWs have mental health issues.

moreconfusedthanever

This is something that I have been thinking about a lot.

My mother in law warned me "Satan is seeking to devour" because I had a non JW friend at my house for lunch.

The thing with non JWs is that they give actual unconditional friendship.

Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

Me as I kept reading through your post:

Spectacular analogy, @StephaneLaliberte. Hope you don't mind if I use that one myself when explaining Watchtower's brand of xenophobia to regular folks.

WTWizard

It is a spiritual incompatibility. In the case of the jokehovians, their faith is so fragile that regular people could destroy it with a feather duster. They simply cannot be around people that are better off spiritually because that would ruin their faith.

Giordano

I wonder if this is more of an age issue then a hate issue.

According to the Pew religious survey something like 65-67% of born-ins stop identifying with the JW religion. Apparently they are more then accepting of the world and their place in it. PIMO's also add to this figure.

Congregations have been ageing and new converts are often troubled with serious issues.

Unfortunately the entire belief system of active JW's is based on four really big lies. Whooper's if you will.......That 'People Living today will never die...... then changed to May never die'. Or at the least they will be resurrected into a paradise earth.

A Paradise earth is not mentioned in the bible. But this lie has also proved to be a great marketing tool.

That Jehovah is a god of love........... which is not sustainable based on the OT bible accounts and the WT's conclusion that billions will die at Armageddon.

And of course only the Society has the Truth. You can't find the 'truth' anywhere else so there is no where else you can go to.

stuckinarut2

Brilliant comparison!

Thank you for sharing.

Fear of the worldly people.

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