hi...

by HalfWayThere 12 Replies latest jw experiences

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  HalfWayThere

  Thankyou to everyone for your kind words and encouragement, especially to those that offered suggestions on how to make the process alittle easier. I certainly look forward to getting to know you all better in the future :)

  To Carmel,
  I guess what always made me view the organization as perfect on a global (or international) level was the love that seemed to be shown between the brothers. When i attended District Conventions it would always impress me how kind everyone was to eachother even though most were strangers to eachother. I also travelled to England a few years ago (i live in Australia) and i was shown the same kindness and warmth by the Witnesses i met in the congragations i visited, even though we were strangers to eachother. I could never imagine what other group of people had this same quality, and certainly on a global scale to me this unity and love seemed perfect.

  But as i said in my first post, when you get down to the congragational level it starts to fall apart. Maybe one of my faults was that i expected members of the congregation that i attended (same congo for 15 years) to be perfect too. It always saddened me to see how much gossiping and slandering went on, when this is condemned in the Bible and by the Society. And how close friends that i knew well who had a "good standing" in the congragation would say and do so many "un-christian" and "un-theocratic" things. How could i make the effort to do the right things and live up to the requirements of the Society when i couldn't see anyone else achieveing that? Yeah, i know, nobody's perfect :)

  Anyway Carmel, thats my humble opinion. I apologize if it is still alittle ignorant or immature.

  Owen (HalfWayThere)
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  outnfree

  Dear HalfWayThere,

  Are you sure what you experienced in your travels wasn't just a group of very POLITE people? Polite people in many places will welcome strangers, try to make them feel at home, invite them to join in activites to make their stay more pleasant, etc...

  Worldwide there is definitely great UNITY. We're all taught the same things, we know how we're supposed to act, and we (perhaps naively] expect certain conduct from any brothers and sisters that we meet.
  Yet, I'm not convinced that LOVE -- true, from the heart, love is really there worldwide. I mean, wouldn't it be easier to truly love those you've known for years, with whom you have a history? And if that kind of deep affection cannot be found at the local level, do you really think the friends in Switzerland or wherever feel anything remotely similar?

  There is a bond of union -- Watchtower indoctrination, not LOVE.

  Sorry to be negative. Or is that just realistic?

  outnfree
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  Carmel

  Thanks Halfway for your explanation! I recall in 1953 when we drove across the US to the convention in Yankee Stadium we put a Watchtower in each back side window of the car. We would stop and inquire each evening of who was a JW in town and show up on their door step and ask to camp in their yard. Almost always we would be greeted well and would have a great time visiting. We were indoctrinated to believe that this was unique and that no other group of people enjoyed such fellowship. I can only tell you that it is a bucket load of crap. I've sence had equal or better treatment from a variety of different groups of people. The fact that you share something in common is usually enough for people to trust you and give you the benefit of the doubt.

  I can go any place in the world and have members of my faith welcome me like I was a long lost family member. Unity in diversity is far from a unique feature of the JWs. What is unique is their claim to exclusivity and how conditional that fellowship is. In fact, I think the real uniqueness is their hypocracy!

  Come to my country and I'll show you genuine hospitality regardless of your belief system.

  cheers,

  carmel