by BonaFide 27 Replies latest jw friends
There were 20 in the group from 3 congregations. It was kind of a "special talk" special meal with the speaker and his wife.
No one, I mean no one, not the elders there, nor the pioneers, talked about anything "spiritual." Everything was about work, entertainment, personalities in the congregation, and music. That's it. No one said anything about the talk other than it was "good."
Wow, what a difference from a few years ago.
BF
Nothing...no tidbit of new information to get out of it anyway. NO reason to talk about information you've heard a thousand times before.
Thats refreshing.....sounds like the special talk special meal was miles better than the special talk ever was.
Not surprised in the least. When I was a believing JW I didn't talk about "spiritual" things. It didn't really interest me. I think that's the way a lot of JWs feel--especially those who were born into the faith.
That's great. I noticed such a similar thing when I attended a wedding reception nearly a year ago.
The entire group was JW, so many former Bethelites and so many pioneers were there. They threw down and let their hair down. While there were no drunken brawls or clinking of glasses, there was nothing beyond "the prayer" to remind them that this was a JW event. Private conversations did steer toward "getting out of Bethel before they got rid of us" or similar NEGATIVE COMMENTS. But there were no discussions of serving in a position or doing more for Jehovah, YADDA YADDA.
I think it might even be more than just boring to talk about WT stuff now. Years ago there was an excitement about the teachings and new light. Now no one knows exactly what is the new light, and some of it doesnt seem to make sense, so everyone just avoids talking about it.
Its a social thing now. Talk about the WT stuff at the meetings, then go on with your life outside the KH.
BF
When you're a member of a cult, it's dangerous to talk about the Bible. If you accidentally give a personal opinion on some topic, people will think you're an apostate. So, rather than a discussion, you must simply acknowledge how wonderful the latest magazine is and how wonderful Brother So-and-So's public talk was, etc.
No real discussion, no heartfelt opinions.
The real person must be stifled.
Parrot the party line. Commend your Mother. Talk about how you wish you could do more works.
Awhile back I was in a car group for service with a long-time elder. I brought up a biblical topic. He said, "Bonafide, what are you, stuck in the 90's? No one gets into that stuff anymore."
BF
When I look over the last few years, I see more and more of that. As OTWO said, when WT things are discussed (especially when I was an elder and many of my friends were also), we'd end up talking about negatives. Not doctrine, just how other elders were acting, what sort of crazy things some members of the congregation were involved with or rumored changes. Nothing faith promoting. Even now, when I get together with guys that are still elders, they relax a bit and center any WT conversation around negative stuff. And, these are folks that I think for the most part are still believers.
Come to think of it, many conversations I have had in the KH have revolved around sports or other entertainment. I can't remember the last time any actual Bible topic was discussed.
The last couple of JW "get-togethers" that I was invited to, they didn't talk about anything spiritual.
On one hand, it is diffferent. When I was younger and dubs gathered, there was usually some kind of "spiritual" talk. I remember being invited to get-togethers where a Bethelite was in attendance and we had to endure experiences of JWs around the world or reports on how things worked at Bethel. I remember one Bethelite took notes of some special meeting. The original talk was an hour but he gave a synopsis using his notes that took an hour and 15 minutes. Figure that out.
Some families would play Bible games, instead of Monopoly or some sports game. I remember having to study the WT twice a week before Sunday even sometimes, because my family studied it on Friday, but if I went to a friends house on Saturday, that's when they did it. Every fun experience was attached to a "spiritual" requirement. We had to go in service before we could go to the lake. We had to study the WT before we could visit friends. We had to do Bible reading before playing pick-up ball. Congregation picnics (when allowed) were usually held after the Sunday meeting, thus subliminally forcing everyone who wanted to go to the picnic to go to the meeting. It didn't do to show up at the picnic when you didn't go to the meeting just a couple of hours earlier.
But on the other hand, my peer group never talked about anything spiritual. Our parents and the elders and the pioneers always promoted the "spiritualness" of those gatherings. We just wanted to have fun. We got more than enough JW talk at the meetings and family study. Left to my own devices, I never studied for a single meeting. It's written on 4th or 5th grade reading level. What's to study? Read the paragraph, underline the answer, rinse and repeat. We dreaded all the "spiritual" requirements before we could do anything fun. And it took the fun out of having fun. You couldn't just decide to go have fun...it had to be preceded by a chore.
And that's how we came to view most things JW...as a chore. We have to go out in service. We have to go to the meeting. We have to study. Not too many look forward to those things. It's something that they're conditioned to do.
So now that I'm an old fart, my generation has pretty much taken over the reigns from the older ones. While they may still be indoctrinated enough to keep up the charade of meeting attendance and field service, my generation manages to find time to relax and enjoy life without having to pick up a Bible or pray or invite a Bethelite over to make sure the event will be properly sanctoined by Jehovah. I think all that forcing spirituality on us backfired in that those who lived through it don't practice it or force it on their families. True obsessive JW behavior is being bred out thankfully.
