A question for former jw: Should renewed zealotry be feared?

by Check_Your_Premises 10 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Check_Your_Premises

  I was able to ring some pretty loud bells in the mind of a witness by asking difficult, thought provoking questions. The person obviously was troubled and was having a hard time rationalizing the items discussed.

  Now I see a renewed effort and zealotry. It is obviously the "pendulum" swing I hear so much about. How should I take this pendulum swing though? Is new zealotry sustainable? Should I fear it? What is the best way to react to the pendulum? Do I try to slow it down by continuing to ask thought provoking questions? Or should I get out of the way and wait for it to lose steam? Any ideas what sort of things I should look for?

  I know it is a difficult question since you all don't know the person or the situation. But give me your thoughts, I am sure they will be helpful regardless.

  Thanks so much!!!

  CYP
• 

  defd

  
  
  zealotry
  

  
  

  Is that even a REAL word? If so what does it mean? Never mind I just look it up. It is a real word.
• 

  mrsjones5

  zealotry Dictionary zeal·ot·ry (zel'?-tre)
  n.

  Excessive zeal; fanaticism
• 

  dedpoet

  CYP, I'm not totally sure that zealotry is a word, however I know what you mean

  Actually, my own experience of becoming a jw was in no small part due to the fact that I asked questions when the dubs came a knocking, some of which they had difficulty with but were honest enough to admit that they would have to check the answers. I let them keep visiting me because of this, and eventually succumbed to their persuasions, they just kept on finding the answers.

  Of course, now I'm out I see the answers as the bs they always were, but at the time I was impressed.

  Be careful, my friend
• 

  IP_SEC

  Thats a tough one CPY. I've seen that happen twice. In one instance it fizzled back into inactivity (still a dub at heart though)

  The other one was spurred on to become a more active dub.

  When ppl start feeling scared, they can get scared right back into the fire eh?
• 

  AlmostAtheist

  Do I try to slow it down by continuing to ask thought provoking questions? Or should I get out of the way and wait for it to lose steam? Any ideas what sort of things I should look for?

  Hey CYP,

  I don't consider my opinion on this to be very valuable, since I can't claim any success in talking to JW's or prospective JW's and helping them see the truth about the troof. Maybe you could carefully consider what I offer and do the opposite? (That's what my wife generally does, seems to work out pretty well...)

  I vote for pulling back a bit, don't press it. Since JW's (and most cults?) are encouraged to view ideas that differ from theirs as criticism and attacks, I think more "attacks" might be dangerous. Better to let the person continue to ponder quietly on their own over the unanswerable items you've already presented.

  It seems that few here have said they escaped because of what someone told them, but rather because of a "lightbulb" moment they experienced personally.

  Good luck!

  Dave
• 

  thom

  I tend to agree with AA. It might be better to pull back a little as maybe you've hit a few sore spots and he's jumping back in (to the fire) to try to convince himself he has "the truth". JW's tend to use works (being zealous JW's) to show their faith and convince themselves of it. But you don't know that maybe you've planted some good seeds.
  I was thinking the other day that I never realized until now that an action taken by a brother when I was 10 (in 1975) has had an influence on my thinking ever since. He left in 1975 and was considered by the cong as an apostate. I knew then that it meant he was df'd and I shouldn't talk to him, but since that time what people told me he was thinking had an impression on me. It was a "seed" that sprouted many years later.
• 

  M.J.

  CYP,

  Sorry to hear about the ol pendulum swing. I'm carefully watching to see what happens. I've seen similar things in my experiences. My take is that the dub has rationalized the questions that were troubling. It might be a rather silly rationalization based on selective memory or a false assumption. Perhaps this was reinforced by another "wiser" dub. In any case perhaps it might do good to carefully revisit the questions that were troubling to see the current take on them. I think if you eventually do that you'll get a rather charged, assertive and emotional response to a question that previously was met with bewilderment. Just some speculative thoughts.
• 

  Check_Your_Premises

  Thanks all for your comments and grammar check. I try to use good grammar and correct spelling. I think it is important, but I also figure at some point, if people know what I meant, then who the hell cares. Glad to find out I used a real word. (all preceding bad grammar was intentional. I was testing you. )

  For the other comments; I appreciate them all. I do understand I am probably the best suited to make this call. I am however so grateful to have other perspectives and experiences to draw from.

  I suppose it is difficult to know. Many times two opposing problems will cause the same effect. Pushing to hard can look just like not pushing enough. So I guess if I push and I get more, then the answer is to pull back. If I pull back and I still get more, then the answer is to push.

  Yikes!

  I guess the key, as any good comedian will tell you, is timing.

  Thanks all!

  CYP
• 

  jgnat

  The good news is that renewed zeal quickly loses steam. No-one can keep a steam engine going on bad coal. Sorry, I watched the Discovery special last night, the "Black Market Express". The engine could not make an incline on bad coal, no matter how much they shovelled in to the engines. The fumes killed everyone on the train.

  Next week's article is a one-two punch for struggling Witnesses. Watch for a crash.