"Are the rules that hard to follow?"

by rebel8 34 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  earthtone

  When I was younger it always amazed and confused me how each congergation is so different.

  One sister couldn't give a talk on the Theocratic school because she had microbraids in her hair. They said it made her look to ethnic! What's!well she is, she's black. lol

  Another sister I know got counseled for wearing a blue jean skirt.

  I go to another kingdom Hall to visit and I saw a sister wearing a blue jean suit (it looked very smart by the way) giving a talk on the school and almost every sister at the hall had some type of hair extension! lol. I was like mama, I thought we couldn't do that.
• 

  monkeyshine

  Only man would enforce such laws. A loving God would understand our situation and understand that He made us like this. He gave us the ability to reason. He made us imperfect. (yes, he did, because I don't except the Adam and Eve story where one sin screwed us all. Right this second there is a baby with flies on his face, screaming in pain and starving to death. Tell HIM that it's because someone ate the wrong apple. Go ahead and tell him that and if he makes it to an adult he'll murder you for being so stupid and insulting his lot in life.)

  When God tells me what to do, I'll do it. If He was so loving and He was actually out there, why not give us 2 seconds of His time, open up the heavens and say "My children, I am here." A loving God would do that for us and not make us rely on imperfect humans for the key to salvation. As for me and my household, we shall serve who we know loves us. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
• 

  Jankyn

  I think that even "good" JWs can't follow all the rules. They just want to follow the rules, and pretend they're following the rules, and so everyone agrees that they're good JWs. After all, if they all agree on something, it must be true, right?

  I certainly think this describes my mother. She can't possibly follow all the rules--if she did, she wouldn't have her children and grandchildren in her life at all, and her health would be even worse than it is. But she wants to follow all the rules, and she pretends that she's following all the rules, until she has even herself convinced that she is following all the rules. The human mind is a magnificent thing; its powers of delusion are remarkable.

  The problem arises when some either can't (and many have described abusive situations that were simply unlivable) desire to and pretend to follow the rules, or won't (as in, "did the math and became apostate") desire to and pretend to follow the rules.

  No one can follow the all the JW rules, not even the best little goody-two-shoes-I-wanna-be-an-elder-or-at-least-an-elderette JW. The difference is that some pretend they do, and thereby allow the organization to control them by controlling both their behavior and their self-image (as so aptly pointed out above).

  Jankyn
• 

  LovesDubs

  I went to a Witnesses Now for Jesus convention in PA a few years back and one of the speakers had a really good viewpoint of the relationship between the Society and the rank and file. Its PARENT and CHILD. And no matter how long a member is a member they REMAIN children in the eyes of the Society. Never allowed to mature, never allowed to grow, never allowed to make their own decisions. Always under the auspices of the Mother Society. Mother keeps them dependent on her, scorns them, rules over them, terrifies them, lords over them...and as long as she is in charge, no one can ever leave the house. No one can ever speak for themselves, think for themselves, live on their own. And if you do...SHAME ON YOU for not loving "Mother" any more. If you earn the disapproval of Mother, you get your God removed from you.

  Once you start looking at it from that perspective, it shames us all for allowing it to happen. The Society is nothing more than an abusive parent.

  Loves
• 

  greendawn

  LongHairGal also don't forget that almost all dubs are not part of the New Covenent and that also adds a Judaic legalistic flavour to their community it's very strange to be in that situation cut off from the vine that is Christ while supposedly being a christian. And it's not just the mentality you must, you must, you must, but they do not offer any real moral or emotional support to their members to carry their heavy burden.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  For a married witness (no need to go out searching for a mate in clubs, bars, shopping malls, no need to be dating, avoiding sex) who doesn't really care for violent movies or other entertainment that uses up all of his free time on weekends, and realizes the commercial drive of all the holidays, the rules are not terribly hard to follow. But for a person other than that to give up free time and overtime at work, give up weekends and 2 weeknights, travel a few times a year to sit all day for 2 or 3 days at a convention or circuit assembly, to do all that- you have to be firmly convinced that it is necessary for your everlasting future. As soon as there is doubt, you ask why you are doing this.

  There is great stuff to do on weekends, or else relax. There are wonderful potential mates to meet at a club or laundrymat or wherever you like. If you get in a golf foursome or go out to lunch with the girls at work, you might find great friends (a good JW would never do that). Even weak JWs rarely do "worldly" things. They just slack off. The WTBTS has a firm grip on you. Yes, the rules are that hard to follow.

  We all have rules at work- How many of us actually never slack off at work, don't shop on the internet during work-hours, don't allow personal calls to last more than a minute or two, etc. The boss understands and forgives these small violations if we are good workers. The WTBTS doesn't truly forgive missing meetings, low field service hours, staying home from an assembly, on-and-on.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  At one congregation, they had (unwritten) rules about how to count your field service time- these went way beyond the organization rules. They seemed to forget that these were unpaid volunteers- why make it hard for them to keep the title of "Pioneer" if that's all they get? At another congregation, they did not allow sisters to have braids, until a few Africans with braids moved in to the area, and they were afraid to say anything to them, so the braids were now allowed. They tell us not to always sit in the same place at the kingdom hall. Women can never wear pants at the meetings or in field service, unless it's really cold out and the long skirt or coat completely hides the pants. At another hall, one elder told sisters that they must always wear stockings/nylons. I told my wife that if he said anything about her lack of nylons, send him to me. Men need to be careful about watching violent sports (football, hockey, boxing), we must all be careful about gossip. If you start to be below average, they want you to increase your service. If you start to be a good publisher, they push you to be a great one.
• 

  Forscher

  Hello,
  
  It was the Pharisees whom Jesus condemned for all their rule making. Others posted examples of the WTBTS condemning them as well which shows the Governing Body is not ignorant of Jesus' condemnation. Thus, they have twice the guilt before God for doing what Jesus himself so roundly condemned. Some years back I sat down and read the bible without my Watchtower in hand. Boy what an eye opener that was! I found that what ever Jesus condemned in the Pharisees, the Society embraced with gusto. My big problem became the multiplication of little rules and regulations and the attitude that only the little people had to toe the line. That was presicely how the Pharisees did things in Jesus' day. What a crock!!
  
  Forscher
• 

  rebel8

  Looking back on this thread, I was copying some good comments to highlight, but then I realized that I had copied every comment! Definitely an intelligent, insightful bunch!

  They tell us not to always sit in the same place at the kingdom hall.

  lol, that is what I was thinking about when I started this thread. As others have said, it's not as though this rule is hard to follow or we just can't find a way to follow rules we don't agree with.....it's that this is a manmade rule coming from someone without authority to make rules. They should just read scriptures that talk about the benefits of fellowship, and let the listeners apply it in their lives as they see fit.

  If God really cares which seat we sit in, he would have mentioned it in the Bible.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  My wife actually worried about sitting in the same place two or three meetings in a row. While she's gotten herself a master's degree and doesn't wear nylons in the summer, while she has no problems with the "matters of conscience" choices she has made, she will stick with a silly rule like how she should not sit in the same place. I hope she gets "awoke" one day.