normal for young jws to have "worldly" friends

by pickle 13 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  dh

  i was not allowed to associate with non jw friends, this was a very strict rule, but i maintained non jw friends the whole time while growing up, i did this in school and on the way to and from school, some of these guys are friends to this day.

  edited to add:

  the hospitality shown to me by the parents of my non jw friends eventually brought home the fact to my parents that a lot of non jw's show far more love and acceptance than jw's do, and that jw's lack basic 'no strings' hospitality, and that is a big part of why my parents will now even call my non jw friends if they need a hand with something or in an emergency when i am away.
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  myauntfanny

  Absolutely not allowed when I was growing up JW, but that was a long time ago, 30-40 years. I guess things have changed some. And even back then I imagine some parents were stricter than others. My mom was the strictest I have ever seen, but she had no friends herself and I guess she didn't think they were necessary.
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  pickle

  even within the congregation. how "friendly" are fellow jws to each other. i get the impression that there is a lot of lip services, but not really genuine and selfless care. could u really trust a fellow dub w/ ur personal issues?
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  Mystery

  I had 2 ?worldly? friends in high school that my parents let me go to the movies with and eventually to football and basketball games etc? The main reason was that one of them was my cousin. I lived in a VERY small town and was kin to half of the people living there. I knew if I did something differently from what I told my parents that it would get back to them. And they knew it to. She was family ? they ran out of excuses when her mom kept asking for permission for me to do things with her.

  The other girl was my cousin?s best friend therefore becoming mine. I couldn?t stay the night or spend much time at their homes, but was allowed, occasionally, to go out with them.