i spent an hour and a half last night on the phone with my mothers boss.she has worked for him for years and i have known him since i was a teenager.
he called because he could not believe she was not coming out here to see her oldest grandson graduate from high school.
he said i offered her a plane ticket and everything i could think of to get her to come and she refused.
Yes, shunning is the great anti-witness. I know the JWs in my family would love for all the "worldly" members of the family to convert to the WT. Do they realize they NEVER will after seeing the shunning with their own eyes? When JWs come to my Grandmother's door now they get an earful! I'm sure when they leave they're sorry they came.
Do they have any idea how awful this religion looks to our "unbelieving" family?
this one has an important article on the faithful steward and the governing body.
cannot find one anywhere.... .
thank you in advance!.
Is it just me or is paragraph 15 lifted from a previous article?
IMO the whole point of this article is to keep any "new annointed" in check right out of the chute.
i sure wish those doctors would finish that pill that lets you forget something you just experienced.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4fngsny3ni.
Oh my God!
i am hoping you can help me.
i have a very dear friend of over 20 years, who was brought up jw.
our children are friends and we have vacationed and been like sisters all these years.
Sorry to hear your sad story. I know your friend means well and I'm sure she cares for you. But she will be discouraged from being your friend if you don't join her religion. When I was a JW I had friends who weren't. When my JW friends found out, they pressured me to get rid of the "bad association". Sadly, I did, thinking I was doing the right thing. Since then, I have learned that cults operate that way.
You might try asking your friend if she thinks that God will kill you if you don't join her religion. It may make her think. That was one of the things that always bothered me as a JW. I knew there were many good people who would never join that religion, yet the official teaching is that God will execute everyone who doesn't.
You could also ask her what made her rejoin after so many years out, and what made her leave in the first place. That kind of self-reflection is important for anyone who is involved with a manipulitive organization such as the Watchtower Society.
Best wishes to you.
i am very much in favor of being truthful and honest about jehovahs witnesses.
and that is why i want to be on the record to say that, in general, most of the jws i knew were really nice people.
i had many friends.
Great blog!! Thanks for sharing it.
my wife & i received a memorial invitation a couple of days before the event,from my neice.her mother who is no longer associated was also given an invitation.
her grandmother who was never associated with witnesses was never given an invitation.
the witness has little contact with her mother unless she want`s something eg.mind the kids while she does her own thing .
Sad story, but so typical.
i've decided to write a series of articles aimed not at jws or ex-jws, but non-jws caught in the "crossfire" between the individual and the organization.
too often the loved ones of ex-jws feel like they're on the sidelines when it comes to religious issues.
i wanted to help the woman who's husband still won't decorate the christmas tree, the man who's wife will cook a ham but won't hide eggs for the kids on easter, or just anyone wondering why their significant other is being shunned by his/her family at the behest of a book publishing corporation.
Great!
another one of my second cousins killed himself today.
he was 42 and still a jw.
he called 911 and shot himself while talking to them.
My condolences to you and your family.
Life in any high control, authoritarian organization like the WT is stressful for many followers. I don't know if it's enough to affect suicide rates or not. Either way, suicide is very painful for all involved. Take care of yourself during this difficult time.
TSA = Transportation Security Administration
if the threat was not always just around the corner would anyone join?
what would be the point?
they teach that everyone gets a resurrection onto a paradise earth and are judged on how they; then behave:so if you knew the end would not come in your lifetime ,why would you bother trying to be good now?.
You have asked multiple questions so I have multiple answers.
I think the threat of Armageddon right around the corner causes many to stay JWs, if they believe it. I don't know if it causes people to join, since reasons for joining a cult are complex and varied and often involve social relationships.
As far as being good out of fear of punishment or promise of reward, that may motivate some. However, I think that part of maturing as a human being is to get beyond that. That is appropriate for children. It shouldn't be for adults, and certainly not for anyone who is trying to have a spiritual life. I am reminded of the Muslim saint Rabia of Basra. The story goes that she walked the streets of her town with a flaming torch in one hand and a pail of water in the other. She said she was going to use the fire to burn down paradise and the water to douse the flames of hell. She wanted to love God out of a pure heart, not for fear or gain.
Whether one believes in God or not, having a sense of values and following them contributes to the quality of life of those who do it.
