The Watchtower - taking the "personal" out of choice

by truthseeker 12 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  truthseeker

  When is a personal choice not a personal choice? When it's Hobson's choice.
  

  Dictionary.com defines Hobson's choice as this:

  An apparently free choice that offers no real alternative.

  This is exactly the kind of choice that the Watchtower gives you all the time, while stipulating that their brand of religion gives you freedom as a Christian.

  Take for example, the matter of staying at a hotel for the assembly. Witnesses already spend considerable time and expense going to the assembly, surely you think they would be permitted to stay where they wish.

  Unfortunately, that doesn't go down well with Watchtowerites, who demand that you stay at their listed accomodations.

  OK, so how about going out for lunch. Can we do that please?

  No - the Watchtower Public Policy Program forbids you, a grown adult, to pop over to Wendy's for a cheeseburger.

  OK, so now I have to stay where they say, and make my own lunch - could I at least have my own lunch outside the convention facility?

  No - the Watchtower Think Tank in charge of Preventing Independent Thought and Activity board strongly recommends that you stay inside their stuffy convention faciltity, for the whole of the session - lunch included.

  The way they go on and on about hotel accomodations, lunch and where you spend it, hardly qualifies as the "pressing onto maturity" that Paul described.

  Grown men and women are being treated as kids.
• 

  AlmostAtheist

  I was debating the controlling aspect of the bOrg with a current JW on another forum. He made it clear that they do NOT control him. He can choose to do whatever he wants to do, but as a JW, what he "wants" to do is follow the organization's direction. It's their unity that makes them all "like" doing the same things. At the same times. In the same way.
  
  Yeah, ok. Whatever little robot, beep-beep.
  
  Dave
• 

  Daunt

  It's just like 1984. They can choose to not follow big brother but when your whole life is geared and influenced with emotional and mental force it's pretty hard not to do the same exact thing everybody else does. Everybody has a choice, just that some groups make the choices for em.
• 

  Confession

  During the Service Meeting on Wednesday, our local Pharisee Elder gave the part about attending the convention. With reference to name badges, he really drove home the point about needing always to wear it. He attempted to define every situation in which you might be tempted to remove it. For instance, he said...

  When you go to a restaurant, it's not uncommon for some of us brothers to want to take off your suit coat. Well that's okay, but you shoud, then, remove your name badge from your suit coat and pin it to the front of your shirt.

  He then asked the congregation when would be the ONLY possible time it would be acceptable not to wear your name badge. Another elder raised his hand, was called on and replied...

  ONLY if you decide to go swimming in the hotel pool.

  Then he emphasized the point the Kingdom Ministry made about children sitting with their parents. He asked the audience what age the Society has told us that a person is still considered "a child." A sister answered "18." He looked up with a disappointed expression on his face and said...

  No, actually older than that. The Society has told us that raising our children is a twenty-year job. So if you are age 20 or under, you should be sitting with your parents. You should simply ask them where they are sitting, and then go put your books down next to their seats.
• 

  Odrade

  LMAO!!! I think that guy must have been a clone of my Dad. He probably really WAS disappointed that the audience thought an 18 y.o. could sit elsewhere. Sheesh! the nerve of some people! Thinking they are grown up already!
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  lilbit

  No, actually older than that. The Society has told us that raising our children is a twenty-year job. So if you are age 20 or under, you should be sitting with your parents. You should simply ask them where they are sitting, and then go put your books down next to their seats.

  OK so a 19 yr old married couple has to sit with their parent. Um what if the couples parents dont sit together do they have to sit a apart to be good little dubs?
• 

  Gill

  I was nineteen when I got married and had still never sat anywhere but next to my control freak parents, because it was instruction from the control freak bOrg!
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  New Worldly Translation

  Good point about married couples lilbit. That's the trouble with making hard and fast rules is everyone has different circumstances and there'll be loopholes when the rule is analyzed. Instead of making things clearer it causes confusion and then people, yes even dubs, think it's a stupid rule and ignore it. I don't think the org. will ever learn though.

  It makes me laugh when the org put all these rules in the WT or KM etc and then qualify it all by saying they are not being dogmatic and they are only suggestions. The mere fact it's in print in publications supposedly inspired by God's word that are meant to be guiding the congs means that they are being dogmatic. If they are only suggestions keep them to yourself or just tell your friends that it might be a good idea if we did this or that. If the assemblies are wonderful places with a great united brotherhood then people will want to stay on campus or just nip out to the local Wendy's and proudly wear their name badge. The fact that JW's don't means that a lot of them are sick of being bullied in matters of personal decision.

  the Watchtower Public Policy Program forbids you, a grown adult, to pop over to Wendy's for a cheeseburger.

  I'm thinking the WBTS has shares in Wendy's as well as all those Kool-aid shares. Not exactly a balanced diet is it.
• 

  HappyDad

  New Worldly Translation,

  You make a good statement here.

  That's the trouble with making hard and fast rules is everyone has different circumstances and there'll be loopholes when the rule is analyzed. Instead of making things clearer it causes confusion and then people, yes even dubs, think it's a stupid rule and ignore it. I don't think the org. will ever learn though.

  It makes me laugh when the org put all these rules in the WT or KM etc and then qualify it all by saying they are not being dogmatic and they are only suggestions. The mere fact it's in print in publications supposedly inspired by God's word that are meant to be guiding the congs means that they are being dogmatic. If they are only suggestions keep them to yourself or just tell your friends that it might be a good idea if we did this or that.

  You should listen to Ed Dunlap's audio tape of his experience with the so called "Governing Body". He was the Gilead Registrar and was the author behind the book "Commentary On The Letter Of James".

  http://www.jwinfoline.com/Page/audio.htm

  Your statement is very close to how Ed felt. He was another victim of cult mentality and DF's for being true to his own conscience.

  HappyDad
• 

  sweet tee

  This is pathetic! I go to trade shows and seminars all the time and no one tells me when to wear my d*$m name badge or who to sit with. Even if they serve lunch I still leave if I want to eat somewhere else. The main problem with faithful dubbies and why they put up with this crap is that they have so little exposure to the real f'ing world. Why do these control freaks have to comment on every freakin aspect of peoples lives? If my teenager wanted to sit with another family I wouldn't have a problem with it. Who wants to be under their parents armpit all the time? Give me a break. No wonder most dubs children opt out at 18.