Of course you're happier.

by kwintestal 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  kwintestal

  I got to thinking about the WT study this week (I read Blondie's version of it) and the statement that Jehovah's Witnesses are the happiest people on earth.

  There are 2 groups of people in the JW faith and in any other for that matter, those who were born and raised who know no other religion, and those who were converted.

  It's somewhat understood, by most, that JW's target those who are emotionally and spiritually vulnerable to convert, therefore they are unhappy.

  Those who were raised as JW's are told and given repeated examples of how everyone else is unhappy. When they hear these examples where unhappy people add the JW faith into the mix and suddenly they are transformed into the happiest people on earth, they become convinced that EVERYONE not a JW is like that.

  The constant reminders that JW's are the happiest people on earth, for the convert trigger the memory of their poor emotional or spiritual state prior to entering the JW faith, and for the lifetime JW trigger the memory of the previously poor state of the convert.

  Additional thoughts anyone?

  Kwin
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  czarofmischief

  I think you are right. Jw's really aren't allowed to really feel unhappy. It's a kind of let-down to the group to admit that the "spiritual feeding" program is actually starving them. that the "spiritual activity" is as meaningless and hypocritical as the very worst of Israelite sacrifices. That "spiritual advancement" is actually an exercise in self-delusion.

  The relentless drumbeat for more, more, more of the same, same, same... it nearly killed me. I shudder when I think about how miserable I was on the inside - feelings that I couldn't admit having, opportunities that I couldn't admit had passed me by because of my adherence to the religion. Girls I could have loved, friends I could have had, jobs I could have taken... always, the drum of Armageddon beating in my head.

  Thank God for setting me free from them. What utter folly and madness!

  JWs suffer from depression, mental illness, stress-related illnesses, and I bet most of them are actually suffering from the strain of maintaining a belief structure that just doesn't work. But all the time, they recall the time when they were allowed to feel honest with themselves, and would admit that their lives were messed up, until the dubs taught them the art of self-deception.

  Victims of victims...

  CZAR
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  stillajwexelder

  They seem to me to be amongs the most unhappy people - perhaps not on earth - but in the USA - I know of other religions who seem far happier
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  euripides

  It is a terrible cognitive dissonance to be raised in this religion and told that everyone else is unhappy while in fact YOU become the unhappiest person, and suffer further when you need to break free of this imprisonment. So what's keeps those in who obviously elect to do so is the illusion that they are happy, their being convinced it is true. These people need to be saved from themselves, because they are trading in one form of self-enslavement and misery for another. There is nothing to be done for these people, other than to keep trying to show them that the higher principle of self-awareness is a greater good worthy of pursuit, instead of the lead role in a cage.

  I don't really know of happy witnesses, how can they be when life is waiting for worldwide cataclysmic destruction. I thought the book "Good News to Make You Happy" had just about the most perverse title because I thought it was anything but.
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  shamus

  JWs suffer from depression, mental illness, stress-related illnesses, and I bet most of them are actually suffering from the strain of maintaining a belief structure that just doesn't work.

  Bingo!

  How can the WTBTS still say that they are the happiest people on earth when so many are on AD's?
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  Narkissos

  Very interesting thread and posts.

  I remember a "pioneer sister" telling me once that she never felt as depressed, lonesome and desperate than in the assemblies where everybody had to look happy.

  Of course JW meetings are not the only place in the world where a social obligation to look happy imposes further stress on people -- which only the most sensitive and honest will acknowledge.
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  hillbilly

  Czar........ you wrote in a few words what my brain tried to verbalize for years......Thanks!

  ~Hill
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  kwintestal

  It's a kind of let-down to the group to admit that the "spiritual feeding" program is actually starving them.

  Plus if you ever admitted it, you'd be told that you are at fault and shunned by the group for being weak, making you feel worse and worse.

  How can the WTBTS still say that they are the happiest people on earth when so many are on AD's?

  The WTS would say that they are on the AD because of the events that are going on around the world, the worsening conditions. But I thought that the WTS is a shield from all that. Wasn't it they who said that they would see all these bad things happening in the world, and yet you will not be afraid because God will protect you because you are a JW? Obviously that isn't working as more and more are getting depressed and experiencing anxiety.

  Kwin
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  MungoBaobab

  It is a terrible cognitive dissonance to be raised in this religion and told that everyone else is unhappy while in fact YOU become the unhappiest person, and suffer further when you need to break free of this imprisonment.

  True that, euripides. I wish every JW at every door would ask every prospective convert:

  -Are you married? Because becoming a JW can shatter your family life. Even if it doesn't, if your spouse does not also join you'll be the odd man/woman out when it comes time for couples to socialize. Don't count on being invited out.

  -Are you single? As if it's not hard enough to find decent companionship, you will have about 6 prospective mates you will have regular contact with. Even if you do find someone, you will not be allowed to spend any time alone with your fiancee without a chaperone until your wedding night. I hope romance isn't a priority.

  -Do you have a hobby that brings you joy? Wouldn't your time be better spent underlining answers in Watchtower literature?

  -Do you interact with people who aren't JWs? Don't be too friendly, they're bad association soon to be killed by God. Same goes for your family, btw. Same goes for you if you don't get baptized.

  -Ever feel like hopping a jet to somewhere far away and losing yourself? Don't forget a pocket-sized library of Watchtower literature to preach to people along the way.

  Man, the WTS sure knows how to crush the human spirit.
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  under74

  You hit it right on Kwin. Narkissos brings up a good point about JW meetings not being the only place....So, I'm just going to throw this out even if I'm completely wrong- The front you describe is very American. It's a kind of Wal-Mart/Disneyland complex...you're pressured into being happy and this doesn't work so you have to fake it for the sake of the greater good.