Hi Big G and welcome to the board!
What a great post - I remember being in a similar situation myself. I wanted to go on to university and was constantly discouraged or advised to turn my mind towards more spiritual pursuits. What always emerged was the old theme of - well, the world's going to end soon anyway so what's the point.
The thought of throwing my potential away to spend my time peddling magazines for a religion I did not believe in caused me many hours of despair. I was greatly heartened when an elder's daughter stood up to her father and went to university. Her penalty? From that point on she was shunned by her father. I often wonder if she stayed in the troof or finally broke away.
The irony of it all was that there were several brothers who all held good jobs, and they were not expected to downsize their comfortable lifestyles in keeping with spiritual goals. However, the peons were not supposed to set their sights too high.
This scenario was the final straw for me - I was determined not to be cheated out of the rest of my life and face a life of what might have been. There are so many intelligent people on this board who have suffered because of this and have not been able to fulfil their educational goals. That is a real social crime.
This also reminds me of the way the main Christian religions ruled by fear, as the people were so uneducated that they didn't challenge what they were being fed, despite the often non sensical beliefs that they were forced to uphold. How ironic that the JWs have adopted the same principles of the very same organiations that they revile so much.
FF
Education - How encouraging low self esteem creates better witnesses.
by BigG 39 Replies latest jw experiences
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Freedom Fighter
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seesthesky
it sucks how jwism forced some people to refrain from pursuing higher education! - isn't such force against the law or something?
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coldfish
If only the JW would realise that if some were educated that would mean more money to accomplish the preaching work and more contact with people in 'flasher' professions, like lawyers and doctors.
I was watching a Chinese pastor on TV the other day giving a sermon on the world mission. He mentioned about how God can use businessmen and those with money etc and said that if you do well in your business you could go to China, open up a big factory and employ 500 people, and subtly introduce Christian thoughts and example to them. I thought 'wow, what a great point'.
There are so many varied techniques to spread the gospel but JW tend to view the door to door and pioneering as the only worth doing. (I know they promote informal witnessing, but emphasis is put more on door knocking, and going by dwindling numbers in western countries they should realise that technique is no longer best)
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toladest
My mother actually pulled me aqnd my siblings out of school when I was in 6th grade. To wanted to "keep me away from the worldly influences". She "taught us at home" which consisted of telling us to read the awake. She had always quoted some article about reading the awake being equivelant to a college education. My younger siblings taught themselves to read and write. One of my brothers had a reading disabilty that was finally diagnosed as an adult, but he never had the self esteem to persue help and still can barely read enough to get by. He is in landscaping now.
When I fianaly left the witnesses I started to read on the internet and learned SO MUCH. I was a stay at home mom and had NO self esteem. Don't get me wrong, I am glad I stayed home when my kids were babies, but once they were in school I felt really useless. First, I got a job as a security dispatcher (thanks to my husband working there and convincing the comm center manager to hire me without a high school diploma) Then I decided to get my GED. It felt really good. I did so well that I was offered a scholarship to a local community college. I took a few courses and carried a 4.0 grade average. Eventually, I got a job closer to home in an insurance agency. I have since become licensed as an agent and have beome office manager as well. If I had remained a JW I would never have been able to do all of this. I would still be auxillary pioneering and putting the WTS oh, uh, I mean "Jehovah" first and feeling like a loser with a 6th grade education.
We have instilled in my kids the importance of a higher education. We want their lives to be easier than ours was. We are doing good now, but it has taken 17 years of struggling to get here.
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willyloman
I remember one JW who was only a year away from an engineering degree when he first came into contact with the JWs. He gave up his education to pioneer?, and has been cleaning windows for the last 24 years
Then there's the "prominent elder" who IS an engineer (came in the troof long after graduating from college) and as a result gets a lot of privileges in the organization because he spends a lot of his time at Bethyl consulting and providing pro bono professional services and has the enormous respect of the leadership. He spends all his time telling young witnesses to forego education and pioneer, claiming there are no lasting rewards from a secular education while he enjoys a six-figure income and accolades from his high-ranking dub associates.
Or, there's the young man who went ahead and enrolled in college and became and engineer, which resulted in his congo's body of elders asking his father, an elder, to resign his position. The family was talked about in dub circles, viewed with suspicion as weak and dissed by some of their "friends." Later, the kid graduated, moved away to take a job as an engineer, and was embraced by his new congo where another "prominent elder" immediately seized the opportunity and pushed his attractive daughter as a potential bride. The marriage was arranged and now, partnered to an attractve pioneer sister and newly part of a prominent dub family, the young man was quickly made a ministerial servant. Within a few years, they were at Bethyl where his specialized skills (read "college education") were sorely needed.
Those are two examples; I could go on and on.
Young dub kids don't see the hypocrisy in that?
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upside/down
Yeah,
Talk about a line of BS (not the degree). I was told the same "schtik" when I was a "babe" in the troof.
This "retired" ex-Giliadite "elerette", told me (I was 20 an VERY respectful of older ones) that there were these two sisters of college age and one wanted become a Dub. The father was irate, so the daughter made him a deal that at the end of four years he could put both his daughters to the test and see who was "smarter", if she lost she would go to college. So the one sister went to college and the other just read her "mags". And of course, you know the outcome. And now the father is baptized and ... well you know how these urban legends go!
I was with this same sister out in sevice offering the "creation" book. Part of her "schpeel" was, "and I personally know a professor that make this book required reading material at Harvard." I was a little uncomfortable, because I never think "name dropping" is a way to "win" people to your point of view. Talk about "tyranny of authority"! Well anyway, we were working a nice neighborhood and "sister pompous" proceeded to give her "schpeel" and lo and behold this guy say, "I went to Harvard, what's the proff's name, as he knew LOTS of people on the faculty." This sister stuttered and stammered and I was horrified at seeing her caught in HUGE LIE, and I'm standing there like and idiot. She grabbed my arm and stormed away telling me that this guy was a "goat" and obviously had no respect for his elders. Out of respect I said nothing at the time.
So many experiences like this, outright lying with no consequences. I guess it took me a long time get the courage to speak up, or rather the courage to accept what would happen to me for speaking up! I mean if you lie on such a small level (she only did it because there was no way to verify her story), what else do they lie about. The saddest part (she was probably pathological) I really think she believed her own lie. that's a dangerous person.
U/D
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BigG
Thanks for all your replies to this thread; it is indeed pertinent.
There is a saying that the 'truth will set you free'....well it does...when you finally realise that the borg is just like all the rest you are set free; free to form your own beliefs and free to live your life without guilt or threats.
Cheers; hope to speak to you soon
G
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Darkside Blues
Man am I glad to see that I'm not the only one affected by this!
I can definitely point to being raised as a JW to my low self-esteem, lack of social experience and lost opportunities for growth (and hence having that "30-year-old teenager" feeling.) While I did go away to college and plan to enter grad school soon, I still feel inadequate as far as education and cultural knowledge go. I have a really hard time keeping up with current events and cannot understand politics for the life of me.
I am improving in this regard, but I have a long way to go, and I hope I can reach the top soon!
(BTW, I am new here - this is my first post! ^_^)
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BigG
Has anyone else had similar experiences to the above?
yes i have expereienced the same and have read "your" experience but the names have been changed to protect the innocents.
Jw can not educated and staty jw, education and jw are mutually exclusive. If you ever see such a phenomenon.there must be a very particular explanation for it.
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toladest
Darkside, nice to see you here. It really does help to share what we have been through with people that understand. I hope this site helps you as much as it has me.