Is this a paradox, or what?

Mulan

Many of you know that I have a good friend, who is still a dub, and her husband is an elder. They both talk to us, and I see her all the time, and talk to her everyday. She called this morning to tell me about the dinner they had last night with some old friends. Her husband gave a talk at another KH, and they went to dinner with a group that had been at the KH we all went to years ago. This is how it went?

Norma (a twice divorced weird woman with two adult kids): "I'm on my second divorce. Well my daughter is 24 and has two kids. No she's never been married, but she goes to meetings. My son is being sent to prison for spousal abuse. No, he isn't married, but the woman he lives with filed charges. He goes to the Memorial every year. Do you remember Diane? She just got married again, for the 4th time. This time she married a brothr. I liked her last husband better. He was a nice brother, and rich too. I think he was too nice to her, and she just can't handle that."

Linda: "Do you still see Dave and Marilyn?" (that's us)

My friend: "Of course, I get my herbs from her."

Norma and Linda: "I can't believe you still see her. They are so bad, and talk against the Society so much."
(how they know this I have no idea.......haven't seen either of them for years)

My friend's husband: "I've never heard anything. They never talk like that to us." (nice guy, giving warning looks to his wife, to not take this conversation any further)

My friend: "they still live in the same place and are doing great."

But, we are SO BAD!!! Of course we are married 39 years, 4 kids, all who are married BEFORE they had children. All successful, none in jail!! I just had to share this.

My friend said that the whole time, the women were just filling her in on all kinds of gossip, and it all made her sick. She wanted to defend us in the worst way, but her husband was giving her looks. She is scared to death he will forbid her to see me at all, so she gives in to that pressure. I understand. She would still see me, but it would complicate her life too much, and I don't want that for her. I really think their time is limited in the Borg anyway. So I am patient.

Marilyn (a.k.a. Mulan)

Gopher

Marilyn,

Yes quite a paradox, eh? Faux-Christians like Norma just make me want to wretch! How the hell (sorry) does she come off judging YOU? Hasn't she heard Jehovah hates a divorcing, and he will judge fornicators and adulterers? And yet that type of conduct seems to be the foundation of HER family's behavior.

Amazing. I shake my head when stuff like this goes on, and yet I hear my "ardent/loyal" JW mother spout stuff like "you need to consider that the JW's are the ONLY clean organization in the whole world".

Yeah right. Thanks for posting this, it is by far not an isolated incident.

GopherEven if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
Will Rogers (1879-1935)

Billygoat

Haha - funny story when I think of Norma's words! But I do understand - I'm trying to be patient with my parents and brothers like you are with your friend. I understand the whole "not wanting to make life difficult" issue. I'm the same way - I want to talk to my regular pio brothers (they're both 19), but don't want to rock the boat and make their lives difficult.

Hang in there!

Billygoat

AlanF

This kind of story is common. It illustrates the truth that JWs don't follow the Bible or God, but the Watchtower Society. Loyalty to the Society is everything, and expressions of loyalty cover a multitude of sins. The only unforgivable sin is disloyalty -- not to God, but the Society.

AlanF

bigboi

Mulan:

What gets me is that she couldn't see that she was in fact being a hypocrite. It always astounds me when I hear experiences like this one.

For instance my roommate left the cult when he was like 16. We both know this brother who usaed to be a MS in the congregation we attended at different times. I hadn't seen this guy for like 2 yrs when I decide to give him a call just to see how everything was going. You see, he had just gotten married and now he and his wife were separated before a good 2 yrs had passed. She accused him of trying to sleep with her sister the night of their wedding. All of this happened after he lost his job btw.

So while I'm feeling sorry for this guy and tryin to see if everything's alright with him, he starts to criticize me for my pick of a roommate. I'm like WTF! Given his situation at that time I don't see how in the hell he could criticize anybody! It's all baffles me honestly.

ONE....

bigboi

Mulan

I know what you mean, bigboi. The thing that was funny to me, is that this Norma is such a "LOSER", and always was. Just the type to be attracted to this thing. When her kids were little, she was farming them out to people all the time, because she couldn't "handle it". She married one abusive man after another. Why are they attracted to abusive things??

And Linda, is divorced. She used to babysit my kids, and her parents were friends of ours. She has been inactive for a long time, but her eldest son (21) is marrying a pioneer, and she started going to meetings again, so people will include her in the plans, and actually talk to her. She and her ex husband, were pioneers when they married, and my husband performed the marriage. Her hubby, it seems, is gay. Nice guy, and so sweet. We all loved him, and really thought he was gay, all along. Not a surprise when that info came out. I don't think he is df'd though.

Linda told the group at dinner that she sees my husband and oldest son all the time, because the place where they make their beer, is next door to her salon (she does hair). What she didn't tell them is that when she saw them there, she came in and was very friendly and talked to them, and everyone got brought up to date on kids etc. No talk of dubs AT ALL!!! And they were there ONCE!! (all the time?)

Marilyn (a.k.a. Mulan)

Princess

They are all freaks of nature, perfect for the borg. You forgot to mention Norma named her son Smokey and then changed it to Sonny. She was thinking clearly. I'm so surprised Linda didn't mention seeing me making beer too, she could have come up with all sorts of interesting gossip about an apostate making beer with his daughter. I also saw her a few weeks ago at her salon after my pedicure. Wasn't there an assembly part years ago about getting your nails done? She could have used that. Too bad!

Princess

TweetieBird

Alan, you said, "This kind of story is common. It illustrates the truth that JWs don't follow the Bible or God, but the Watchtower Society. Loyalty to the Society is everything, and expressions of loyalty cover a multitude of sins. The only unforgivable sin is disloyalty -- not to God, but the Society."

You hit the nail smack dab on the head. I have members in my family that do things that are so contrary to the bible but yet they believe it is the truth. I tell my husband that I don't know how they justify what they are doing. It truly is mind boggling.

It seems that some of the worse ones are pioneer and elders. It seems that, to them, the more sins they have the more effort they put forth in "kingdom efforts" like Jehovah is going to overlook their adultery or fornication because they are pioneering. Makes me want to puke.

"By doubting we come at truth" -Cicero

joelbear

Hi all,

I agree that the very concept of "we are god's people but we're imperfect so our lives are basically as screwed up as everyone else's"
is one of the very wackiest think modes engaged in by the JWs.

My mother used to call me with all the stories of the pregnant teenagers, the separated and divorced, the drug addicted, on and on and when I would comment on it, she would say, well, we are still imperfect.

Well, I agree we are imperfect, in fact, I believe perfection is a myth and that the hope for perfection is extremely dangerous.

But I also feel for people whose lives are soooooo screwed up and likely to stay that way since they are just sitting there waiting for god to fix everything. This is what angers me so much about You Know's posts about the end being just next month, or in just a few weeks. It takes away the incentive to move on to a better way of living now.

The organization certainly attracts people with all sorts of problems. I think a lot of them are attracted to it because it means they don't have to really work on themselves and their real problems. Instead this is replaced with the much more nominal acts of meeting attendance and field service. These continually are put forth as the way to prove you are good and for many they are easier than doing the really hard work on themselves.

hugs

Joel

Is this a paradox, or what?

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