CO Visit: ANAL RETENTIVE - Every Human Desire is SUSPECT!
Thinking back over the years about the reduced amount of fun JWs have, a talk by a CO brings home the point about how ‘Anal Retentive’ the Watchtower was and is still today:
The CO stood on the platform, poised to give his presentation on the topic, Every Human Desire is Suspect. He opened by saying that because we are sinners, fallen from perfection, and continuing to degrade in sin, sickness and disease since the time of Adam, that we cannot trust any aspect of our human existence. He used an old line about a teenage JW asking their parent to trust them – and how the JW dad says he cannot trust his own teen child because he cannot even trust himself – that is – with respect to any human desire.
Sex: He went on to list a long diatribe of distrusting and suspecting every human desire as potential for sin, such as making money, buying even needed material items as clothing, eating, drinking, vacation and other free time, etc. - the litany of items was absolutely incredible – for everything known in life was placed at the altar of the Watchtower Code of Pharisaical Regulations. I mean, even sleep was mentioned – such that I wondered if maybe even my dreams could be brought into question. Then, the big one – SEX ...
He stated that each and every sexual "impulse or feeling" is suspect because of all aspects of human existence, Satan the Devil plays on our sexual desires in an attempt to turn us from Jehovah. No sexual thought or act was excluded, for even when having sexual expression between husband and wife, one needs to be careful that it stays in its proper place. I recall that this was said during the time that the Society had prohibited oral sex even for married couples (later they kind of repealed this – probably some married GB man got it on with his wife, and decided to change the rules – just kidding, but they must have had difficulty in enforcing this silly ruling.)
Think about it for a minute: Sex is made out to be suspect and sinful in every way, even to be distrusted among married people. No wonder JWs live in constant guilt, and no wonder they have so many problems with sex. The JWs are never taught to see sex as something positive, something to be cherished, something to enjoy, even waking up feeling very sexual in the morning is something to appreciate. Why can they not talk about all the positive aspects of sex, and then leave the ‘evil sinful’ side to be dealt with mercifully and kindly when and if a JW makes a serious mistake ... why make sex always a suspicious federal case? Because ...
... the Watchtower Society and its Governing Body are simply Anal Retentive – afraid to be human – and take normal pleasure in a positive way in this life – now. No wonder so many JWs are so uncomfortable about sex, and other good things in life – the Watchtower is trying to beat humanity out of people, and make this life a curse, instead of the blessing is could and should be.