by jambon1 23 Replies latest jw friends
You are only happy because you are partaking of the Devil's feast
It's a tasty feast indeed.
I thought JWs were supposed to be the happiest people in the world? Which way is it? Persecuted and suffering, or more joyful than those evil "worldly" people? Are you trying ot have it both ways?
Actually, we are supposed to be happy while being persecuted, so if you are unhappy, you are either not getting persecuted or you are not getting enough persecution.
Warlock
My husband and I are not JWs, but we did a "study" with a JW couple for about 6 months. Just to see what they were all about. We are avid Bible-believing, non-denominational Christians. To make a long story short, after 6 months of questions that they could not answer, they were told not to continue trying to indctrinate us. We are, however, still friends. One day, we took some morel mushrooms over, because we knew the gentleman would not have time to get out and look for any, and he expressed how much he enjoyed them. We had never been to their home before. His JW mother-in-law invited us in and he was running late for a meeting. She insisted on showing us around her house and wanted to continue talking to us, etc... He seemed a little uncomfortable. I don't know if he felt like he could not leave until we were gone, or what. He acts like he would like to talk to my husband sometime, but just doesn't know how to get away to do it. His wife talks a mile a minute, unless we go out to dinner as friends. Then she slows down and they never mention "Jehovah" at all. It is like the authentic people are finally there! I really love the "real" people they are at that time. But they seem so phony with the "JW" face. They seem to be in a rapid panic. The man is a little more honest than the woman, I noticed. They do not seem very happy. They appear to be over-worked and stressed out. I pray that one day they will find the freedom and peace that is in Jesus. The real Jesus.
I concur, Jambon! I saw plenty of unhappy people at the kingdom hall. Plenty of alcoholics, loads of them were on one form of antidepressants or another, (not putting them down, just seems strangeafter all, you know, they're supposed to be Jah's happy people)
For a group of people, professing to be a happy people, they sure look miserable to me. Marriages are breaking up, left, right and center, kids leaving the "truth".Yet they have the nerve to say, "Look at the "world", look at all it's troubles and problems..."stick with Jehovah and you will be "happy and looked after".
It really makes one wonder, about the religion....is it really God's chosen congregation???
I just finished reading Betty Freidan's memoir. Her great claim to fame was her description of the "feminine mystique", where an outdated definition of roles left North American women in the 1950's deeply discontented. It didn't matter how many times the mass media told them they were to be satisfied with domestic duties, it didn't fit!
Do you think there are lots of witnesses who are facing the same battles?
I see the same dynamic amongst the Witnesses. It is not possible for six million people to have the same ambitions and dreams. People are too varied and talented for all to be content with trudging from door to door. I think the general maliase of the average Jehovah's Witness to be inevitable.
I think there is a real change going on with Witnesses, especially in Western countries with United States at the top of the list. People are not as happy as they used to be in this religion and it's becoming more widespread.
The JW of today is not the JW of yesterday. The movement has increasingly grown stale, and the 3rd and 4th generation Witnesses are not of the same mindset that their great great grandparents where. Instead, they are becoming like many of the other run of the mill religious groups. There is no longer an excitement running through the organization like it used to.
Funny how many complain in the hall about 'the good ol' days' when people whould do so much togeather. For the most part it's THEIR KIDS that arn't doing what they used to. The next generation isn't keeping on with what has been done before.
Drew, that was an excellent synopsis.
My dad used to talk about the comraderie in the early days, how bus loads of JW's would leave the convention in coaches singing on the way home.
How cong. get togethers were the norm, not the exception.
In my hall - there is simply, nothing. Absolutely nothing. Over 100 publishers and NOTHING - no congregation gatherings.
I posted a few weeks ago about an elder who told me they would like to have a cong. picnic but couldn't because Bethel discouraged large gatherings.
"Young ones" in the hall tend to do what typical teens do - hang out with people their own age and do their own thing - which is normal, but if the young people don't see their congregation doing anything on a social level, why should they care?
There is depression endemic I think in the org - no one will tell you they are unhappy, but quite often it's the look on their faces.
Look: They have all of the same rules and regulations and apocalyptic opinions, but the Society has removed the social fellowship they used to get from the equation and they no longer have the expectation that it's just around the corner, no matter how much the Society beats that "deep, deep in the time of the end" drum.
All of the harmful stuff still exists, but none of the good stuff remains. No wonder so many people are getting depressed.
The only "social fellowship" they get is at the Kingdom Hall, which consists solely of 30 second conversations:
Hi Brother x, how are you
Good to see you Sister y. Weathers been bad hasn't it?
Why yes brother x. Oh look, there's sister z waving to me. Goodbye!
When I became a JW in Calif in 1972 the had get-together all the time, gathering a peoples home to socialize. That was fun and we enjoyed the door to door because people would go out to eat lunch after and social and talk. Then in the late 70's it seemed that the Society discouraged witnesses gathering together in more than 10 in a group. Large congregational baby showers, or wedding anniversary parties, or bridal showers were a no no. It need to be smaller groups so no immoratlity happen, and the crowd could be kept under control more easily. That really killed all the social events and it became so boring and depressing. Then came the 80's with the continued social element played down. During the 1980's on to 2000 here is how it was for families: It's so hard when we were witnesses because we were told we are the happiest people in world. Still we had illness, money problems, family problems, depression. When they told us that we were suppose to be happy it just made us more depressed because we felt like failures. On top of that there was the need to get to every meeting, out in the door to door every week no matter how exhausted and tired we were. The 10 hrs goal of preaching each months was excessive. We were exhausted, burned out from 5 hrs of meetings a week plus getting ready for them and traveling to them. Then there was the home Watchtower, Theocratic School, and Tuesday book studies with our kids, and eventually there was no time for fun or recreation with our own family. It was all drudgery, we'd even fall asleep at the meetings because we never got enough sleep. This was how it was with families who had children. Children were kept up far to late to do well in school. We were told the meetings were more important than sleep or sleep for our kids to well. School was only marginally important so long as it didn't interfer with meetings.
Then I remember how I had to take care of my aging parents in my home, I had three young sons, and had to work too to earn money to buy grocerys. My childrens father worked two jobs just to take care of us all. It was a terrible strain and we were all at the breaking point. Then Elders would show up to tell us how our field service had fallen off and we were missing meetings. I was ready to kill them. LOL All they did is poor more pressure on an already explosive situation through the meetings, assemblies, conventions, and Elders visits. Is it any wonder that JW families explode and fracture under the heavy load the Society puts on them?
