Do you hate elders and ex-elders? (page 2)

bluesbreaker59

No my dad is one currently, and I love him as much as any son has ever loved his father.

BurnTheShips

Do you think they all ended up being elders because they were ambitious and loved to exercise authority over others?

Not all....but some. Most were trying to do the right thing.

Do you really think that all of the elders enjoyed participating in judicial committees?

I think many of them felt a great burden of responsibility. A heavy load. Not a desirable thing.

Do you hate elders and ex-elders?

I still love my dad. And I was getting close to it too. Glad I jumped ship.

Quirky1

I don't hate any of them but I only liked one or two.

All the others were a$$holes or dumb sh#ts.

jaguarbass

Its better to be for something than against something.

I beleive one should question authority, where ever you find it.

Twitch

Naw, I don't hate 'em. I just don't want anything to do with them.

Ex-elders on the other hand are ok by me, for whatever reason they chose to leave.

BFD

Do you think they all ended up being elders because they were ambitious and loved to exercise authority over others?

Not all.

Or do you realize that each elder has his own story and that some became elders under great pressure?

Pressure to please men, yes. Pressure to please God, no.

Do you really think that all of the elders enjoyed participating in judicial committees?

I read some stories about that here. I don't understand the need to know certain details when it comes to fornication. In my own experience to this day I can't figure out what masterbation has to do with smoking cigarettes.

Do you understand that some suffered or are suffering great anxiety about that, but they really believed it was Jehovah's arrangement so they did they best they could with what they knew?

Yes.

If you disagree with an ex-elder or see some character defect in him, do you assume that it's because he was once an elder?

Honestly, right or wrong, yes. Maybe that's my own character flaw.

What about the elders that left the organization because they realized that it wasn't what it said it was?

What if they've helped others out of the religion?

Hate them too?

I don't hate anyone.

Good questions, nvr. I hope I have not offended anyone with my honest answers.

BFD

jwfacts

Elders span all types, from incredibly helpful genuine people, to corrupt despots. Whether a person was an elder or not has no bearing on how I feel about them as people.

AK - Jeff

No - each man has/had his own reasons for seeking the office.

That said - many of them were self-seeking, ambitious men pleasers. They hurt many. Some of the good ones hurt others too due to being under the mind-control of a demanding illicit headship arrangement.

It is understandable why many hold long/hard grudges against those who are/were elders. Note that I did not say it was justifiable, only that it is understandable.

I personally have some very hard feelings toward many of them - not many for any unfair actions toward me when I was in - I was a well programmed drone in those days - but for the insincerity and unkindness with which they so easily slandered my 45 year spotless Jw record, without so much as ever actually asking me what my reasons were for leaving the 'Truth'.

But I understand how those who were hurt repeatedly by those men who were supposed to be 'crags of strength', but proved to be lying nepotistic hypocrites in congregation after congregation. It is likely the same response that some have who have experienced brutality at the hands of a police officer - especially those who have suffered such more than once in more than one place. It is easy to see how they could lump them all into one place, as unfair as that would be.

Jeff

ohiocowboy

There are some Elders and Ex Elders who bend over backwards to be fair and actually show compassion.

Then there are the Elders that bend people over forwards. Those are the ones I don't like...