The strange case of my JW mom (page 2)

garybuss

WATERBUCKET RELIGION

I used to root for a ball team as a kid. Once I visited the town and met the players. When I grew up I rooted for the same team. One by one the players retired or were traded. Eventually the team was sold to a new owner. Then they moved to a new stadium and finally to an altogether different town which required a new name for the team. A few years ago they changed colors and bought different uniforms. Some of the game rules even changed. Still I was a loyal fan. I really didn?t understand the game that well?but I watched every Sunday. I would defend ?my team? against all critics.

Then I took a trip. I was gone for 3 weeks. When I got home I sat down in ?my? chair to watch ?my? team play ?the game??..but something was strange. It looked different. I had the thought; I?m cheering for and defending a team that: I don?t know any of the players; plays in a town I?ve never been to; for a different owner; in a new stadium; in strange uniforms. The only thing the same was the water bucket. I?m loyal to a water bucket!!!

What about my religion, the Watchtower organization? Let?s go back a few years. What ?present truth? was I defending then? Jesus returned invisibly in 1874. The time of the end started in 1799. William Miller and 1844 was in God?s plan. Man?s first 6000 years ends in 1873. The great pyramid of Gizeh is God?s stone witness. If a dog?s head was shaped like a man?s the dog would think like a man. All Believers go to Heaven. The Church would be raptured. 1914 will see the ?end? of the time of trouble. Organization is not needed. Watchtower is called Herald of Christ?s Presence. The clothes are different. The context is changed. The leaders, players, and group name are different. Focus shifted from Jesus to Jehovah. The Bible is definitely new! Interpretations certainly are different. It?s even a totally different game! Exactly what am I loyal to? Family tradition? Superstition? Where?s the water bucket?

Carmel

Me thinks the "old wine skin" hath worn out! Look for a "new wine skin" and "new wine".

carmel

oscar

Yes I have a super cool jw mom also, she believes it is the truth and goes out in service and to the meetings but she never pushes it on me and that is what makes her so great I think she knows deep down that some of the stuff they say is all cr%^*p she is the type of sister that is not afraid to tell an idiot elder what is on her mind.

BONEZZ

logansrun....I hope she doesn't share her unique beliefs with the wrong dubbs. It could cause her much discomfort if the ol' boy network comes a'callin'.

-BONEZZ

outbutnotdown

It sounds like she just has the JW religion in her life as a social safety net, now. (Which is cool) Maybe she can be a positive influence on some of the less open-minded ones there. People like her are few and far between in that religion, IMO. Most seem to need it to fill a deep-rooted need for acceptance, no matter what the cost to them and the others they judge.

Brad

logansrun

My mother would NEVER say the things she told me to anyone else. And the only reason she told me is because I FORCED it out of her. She said there are other things she has doubts about but said she would not tell me about them.

The thing that bugs me is that she doesn't take things to their logical conclusion. To be blunt, she just doesn't care about truth that much.

I wonder where I got my brains from, really. (j/k)

Bradley

blondie

Sounds like cognitive dissonance to me, logansrun. Quite a few JWs deceive themselves that way.

Blondie

logansrun

I forgot to mention she likes beards on men. She's such a rebel.

B.

Euphemism

I think a lot of JWs are there, or somewhat close.

But there's a certain logic to the behavior of our subconscious. Following beliefs like those to their logical conclusion requires some pretty drastic action. For someone in their 20's, with our options pretty much still open as to how we want to live our whole lives, the short-term pain is worth the long-term gain.

But for someone who's been in the Witnesses for 40 years, it just may not be worth going there. Especially if she isn't particularly passionate about logical consistency (and really, the vast majority of people aren't).

So her mind just stops, and doesn't follow the logical consequences of what it believes. Just as yours and mine did for several years.

Markfromcali

Amazing, isn't it? How she deals with the cognitive dissonance is beyond me.

Remember there's also compartmentalization. Sometimes people have good sound proofing in them rooms, but it inevitably leaks out from under the doors..

The strange case of my JW mom

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