A letter that I sent to my very PIMI mother-in-law a few years back.
"Sometimes during my daily morning musings, I think about things that I have often wondered about but not taken the time to really examine. I know that not everyone sees things through my eyes, (and that’s a real good thing) but I sometimes wonder if I’m the only one that’s noticed that we jw’s, from the top down, seem to have an “air” about us, a sort of quiet yet subtle but smug arrogance toward those who are not jw’s.
I long ago realized that if any religion’s “truth" was based on supposition or interpretation then it wasn't worth getting into an argument or debate about and certainly not worth dying over. We jw’s have historically been very ‘hung up’ on doctrinal interpretations that have set us apart.
Did Jesus die on a cross or a stake? Are Jesus & Michael one and the same? Will the people of Sodom & Gomorrah be resurrected? Who is the King of the North or King of the South? IMHO, the wt organization uses such unprovable topics to convince the faithful that their leadership provides greater Bible insights than the rest of Christendom; therefore, this PROVES that we, jw’s, have the truth and ‘they’, other religions, don’t.
But to be fair and balanced, I know that jw’s have not 'cornered the market' on smugness and arrogance. It seems to me that all fundamentalist religions believe that they have the 'truth' and, as a result, have the same subtle smug attitude.
I wonder if it comes from being told repeatedly how "special and unique" we are, that we are the “happiest people on earth”, that we, and we alone, have been “chosen by god”? Is that why we sort of ‘look down’ on ordinary, normal members of our community because they are not jw’s? Is that why we label them with the unflattering label--- “worldly”?
To me, it seems that any form of ‘love’ or concern that we show to non jw’s in our community is conditional------ as long as they will listen when we preach to them...otherwise we don’t have the time for them and we sort of view them of little value...after all, they’re going to be destroyed during the big “A”, right?
A large portion of the information that most jw’s have come to believe about the “world” is what we are told at the meetings and through wt publications. We are told about the way the “world” is, thinks, behaves, etc. The ‘having to believe’ everything we hear at the meetings gives many jw’s the idea that we know more about non jw’s (aka worldly people) than these non jw’s know about themselves, and because we then believe we know more, do we then quietly and unknowingly take on a smug arrogance?
This air of quiet ‘smug arrogance’ is also, in a lesser way, demonstrated by some within even within the congregation. If you are not pioneering, not a MS, not an elder / elder's wife, not a Bethelite, not putting in at least 10 hours in field service, etc. then you are sometimes viewed as sort of weak in the eyes of some jw’s.
As a jw, all you have to do is listen to gb members like Anthony Morris. There doesn’t seem to be a humble bone in his body. The zone meeting a year and a half ago he talked about 23 year old men who are not MS's. He stated that these men are not good marriage material for “theocratic” sisters!
Ever since I have personally relinquished all of my "badges" and "stripes", otherwise known as "theocratic privileges" as an “appointed man” it is very easy to see who I really am. I’m just a pile of dust and no better than others. I have no intention to influence or drag anyone away from their faith, i.e. what they truly believe of their own free will. Choosing a life course should be an informed choice and not something that one inherits from their parents. I know now that real ‘truth’ fears no inquiry and if we cannot openly question what we’ve been taught to believe, why?"
just saying!