What if caffeine was banned for JWs?

by undercover 30 Replies latest jw friends

  • undercover
    undercover

    A post about caffeine and coffee in the "what if the WTS banned alcohol" thread jogged my memory...

    Back in the 70s sometime (I can't remember if it was pre-75 or post-75) a rumor started circulating around our area that at the next convention the WTS was going to add caffeine and caffeine products (coffee, Coke, etc) to the list of banned substances (tobacco, blood). Of course, it never happened, but for a couple of months the rumors were hot and heavy. The rumors were easily believed by a lot of the dubs because of the "up" effects caffeine can give you and besides, the Mormons banned it, there had to be a reason. I remember worrying about it(as a pre-teen or early teen) because the school had just added a drink machine and we would always grab a drink for the long bus ride home(during the days of forced bussing). I was worried about not being able to join in on the fun on the way home...how's that for keeping priorities straight?

    Do any of you guys remember if those rumors circulated anywhere else?

    What if caffeine was banned by the WTS? How would the dubs react? What repurcussions would it cause? Discuss among yourselves. This is Coffee Talk.

  • under74
    under74

    I don't remember any talk about that but I was born in the mis 70s.

    If they banned caffeine they would have to throw the book in and finally declare themselves Mormon.

  • blondie
    blondie

    A lot of JWs would drop dead from the withdrawal.

    Blondie

  • unclebruce
    unclebruce

    I don't know about coffee but dark chocolate was banned for a while (it's made with cow blood ya know!).

    Things I'd like the WBTS to ban outright:

    nintendo/game boy

    sporting equipment

    cell phones

    TV

    Movies

    Computers

    Alchohol

    motorbikes

    pagan wedding traditions (white dress, exchange of rings, hokey pokey dance, cans behind the getaway car ..etc.....

    boats

    hunt'n

    fishing

    camping

    mp3 players

    karaoke

    laughing out loud

    unc who believes in reform

  • damselfly
    damselfly

    <<laughing out loud>>

    Laughter~the gateway emotion to sin.


    Dams

  • karen96
    karen96

    If they banned caffeine, alot more people would be falling asleep in FS!

    Karen

  • Lapuce
    Lapuce

    Tim Hortons and Dunkin Dougnuts would go bankrupt!!!

  • undercover
    undercover
    Things I'd like the WBTS to ban outright:

    LOL...I think each one of these has been on a list of "unapproved" items or practices at one time or another, if not outright banned, unofficially, of course.

    nintendo/game boy - I remember an Awake! (I think) that all but told "true Christians" to not allow these in the home

    cell phones - I remember the WTS trying to clamp down on cell phones and text messaging for teens

    TV - Oh that Devil box...dubs for decades have bemoaned the worldiness that prevails on the boob tube. Funny though, most of em still have one

    Movies - Here in the States, R-rated movies were pretty much banned. They even made a push to keep dubs away from PG-13.

    Computers - Well, we all know you need a computer to access the Internet (except for that short lived period of WebTV) and, of course, the word Interent is ancient Hebrew for "I love Satan and Obey Him at all Times"

    Alchohol - I posted on the alcohol thread how I was told that we should abstain completely...and the WTS has some pretty strong language about over-drinking, but I've noticed that alcohol abuse is pretty rampant in the congregations.

    motorbikes - this one is a weird one. some dubs ride em, some think that they're wrong, but I couldn't find anything against them in the publications years ago when I bought one. I got looked down on by some dubs, but I remember one elder saying he wanted one, but his wife wouldn't let him...so much for headship in that family arrangement

    pagan wedding traditions (white dress, exchange of rings, hokey pokey dance, cans behind the getaway car ..etc..... - yep, can't throw rice...that's pagan, but by golly we'll wear a ring and wear white and veils

    boats - There was a couple of brothers that bought boats in my congregation one time and then when the CO came through he gave a scathing talk about material possesions and how you become slaves to them. Then he used boats as an example...you have to keep them maintained and cleaned...and since we lived some ways away from water, you have to either take a Saturday to pull it to the lake and enjoy it or spend money and have it stored at the marina...not a wise use of time or money for a spiritual person. After that all the boat owners were looked down on as "weak".

    hunt'n - Hell, owining a gun, let alone hunting created quite a stir where I'm from. Some of the old country folks owned guns and hunted, the new city slickers took the WTS at their word and said "no guns, no hunting". Since the elders were mostly city dudes, the dubs who owned guns and hunted had to do it on the downlow

    fishing - Isn't fishing hunting? You're hunting water creatures instead of land creatures. Except where I grew up, where hunting was wrong, tons of dubs fished. It was never even questioned. Brothers got trips together to go the coast to rent charters to fish in Gulf stream waters. One elder, in giving a talk on the New System, said that even though we would be vegeration, we would probably still eat fish, because we all liked it so much

    karaoke - Karaoke got a bad rep in our area. The best I can remember, some dubs went out to a karaoke bar, had fun, but something happened. Somebody got drunk or somebody got loose, I can't remember the details, but later in a local needs part, karaoke bars were deemed havens for worldly vices and that true christains would avoid such places. So after that karaoke was out for our congregation

  • undercover
    undercover
    Tim Hortons and Dunkin Dougnuts would go bankrupt!!!

    Don't forget Krispy Kreme...that's the choice of Southerners.

    I wondered about Starbucks, but figured they'd be okay...most dubs are too cheap to go there.

  • parakeet
    parakeet

    ***Don't forget Krispy Kreme...that's the choice of Southerners.***
    And Northerners! Krispy Kremes with coffee: a match made in heaven.

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