JWs come for a visit! I can't believe it.

by dawg 35 Replies latest social family

  • dawg
    dawg

    SF, I want to answer you first.... and I'll be honest. I really think you've made an excellent point; maybe I should have said something more. You know what sf? You're right, I should have said more, but I guess I was caught up in the moment. We were all having fun and I didn't want to rock the boat too hard. I guess next time I'll deal differently.... I don't know how to answer you as I should have handled myself different and I appreciate you bringing that to my attention.

    Middleman-Your Trojans lost to sorry OSU.... and yet still are ranked higher? A travesty!

    Neverending... you guys smoked? I think some big changes are coming..

    Hope-Thanks

  • sf
    sf

    dawg,

    I'm glad to see that you got the point of my post.

    I appreciate your honesty. Yet...

    Think of my quest (ions) as a wt study...these are not trick questions.

    Give it a try.

    Don't you see that so much time is wasted, each second that goes by, for those trapped children inside this mind/spirit/emotion and bodyf*ck, where the now-known utter nonsense of wt policies, continues to stay silent by those that come here and those offline that KNOW IT IS BULLSHIT?

    Yesterday, precious seconds were again, wasted for those kids. Just something to keep in our minds as we allow now-known utter nonsense to keep being uttered.

    Good day, sKally

  • dawg
    dawg

    skally-I love your passion... please look at previous threads I've made about how I handle the JWs... I usually don't let them get away with jack crap... LOL!

    I got your point, it's well taken... I understand the criticism in this case and its warranted.

    I'll shape up for the next round if they ever come back...

  • neverendingjourney
    neverendingjourney
    Neverending... you guys smoked?

    Yup. All five of us smoked, drank, used "foul" language, and had a great time.

    This kind of hypocrisy is widespread. Back when I was a naive, kool-aid-drinking believer, I was shocked to find out that a congregation elder regularly had small get-togethers which included underage drinking. He had teenage daughters himself. The reason I know this was because my brother invited me along one time.

    There were a bunch of teenagers and young 20 somethings drinking it up, cussing, and watching a boxing match. I was really distraught. I damn near ratted them out to the elders, but I held back. It's hard to put a number on it, but I suspect at least half of all JWs engage in this kind of hypocrisy with some regularity.

  • Awakened at Gilead
    Awakened at Gilead

    Dawg,

    I'm glad for you man... just talking to them is making inroads since tehy aren't supposed to hang out with the likes of us...

    And damn sf, someone criticizing dawg for not being hardcore enough.... that's hard to believe

    Next thing you'll be criticizing me too!

    A@G

  • dawg
    dawg

    That's interesting Never ending... I bet this cookie's about to crumble... big time...

    Awakenedatgilead... I thought it was cool that Sf jumped on me for not being hard core also... LOL! Her passion is in the right place, so I'll take that lashing with joy, looks as if we have another ass kicker joining our ranks. LOL!

  • neverendingjourney
    neverendingjourney

    Dawg,

    Human nature being what it is, JWs, just like everybody else, conduct cost/benefit analyses when making major decisions in life. For a great many of them, the costs of leaving the religion far outweigh the benefits. They tend to find and hang around other like-minded JWs, and a double-life-leading subculture is formed. For them, the benefits of not being shunned outweigh the costs of keeping up this farce.

    In many ways, my life would be a lot easier had I never faded. It’s tough trying to integrate myself into the real world after a lifetime of growing up in a JW bubble. It would have been easier had I just kept going to the meetings from time to time, wrote down phantom hours on my field service slip, and kept the peace. I could have easily found a like-minded, hypocritical JW girl to marry and I wouldn’t be having the pressures of dating “worldly” women (who have no idea what I’ve gone through) for the first time when I’m damn near 30 years old. There would be no awkwardness in dealing with my parents, and I wouldn’t have had to lose the friendships that I spent my entire life cultivating.

    That being said, going to the meetings makes me nauseous. I can’t stand it. I couldn’t put up with that part of the hypocrisy, so I began my fade a little over 3 years ago. For me, the costs of remaining in the religion outweighed the benefits. I didn’t want to live a double life. Other people, such as yourself, can’t keep quiet about the things you’ve learned about the Watchtower, so the costs of leaving the religion and being labeled an apostate by the religion do not outweigh the peace of mind you get by exposing the religion at every chance. Good on you. Unfortunately, most people are like me in that they don’t really care what other people do with their lives that much. If people decide to waste their lives in a cult, that’s their prerogative. I don’t lose much sleep over it.

    I bet this cookie's about to crumble... big time...

    Maybe. When I was a faithful, believing JW, I thought a great purge was needed to weed out the hypocrites. I felt that this would be accomplished, at the latest, during the great tribulation. Now that I realize the truth, I see that a purge would devastate the religion. How so? If I’m right that about half of JWs live double lives, an emphasis by the Society to purge out these hypocrites would leave them with a vastly reduced membership. Who would pay for their kingdom halls, assembly halls, printing facilities, etc., if they lose half of their membership? I think the GB realizes that a true campaign to purge out the hypocrites would be devastating, so they’re not pushing any buttons. As long as double-life leading JWs, like your and my friends, can remain on the outskirts of the religion, living double lives, without being excommunicated, there’s no reason for them to leave en masse.

    For the cookie to truly crumble, the GB has to give them a reason to leave. They have to make the costs of remaining in the religion outweigh the benefits of leaving. If there was a real purge campaign and these folks had to truly adhere to JW standards, then I think that would be enough to push them over the edge. That would get them to make the decision to leave. But as long as they can live double lives with their friends without being disfellowshipped, these people are going to remain on the outskirts of the religion because they don’t want to face the consequences that come with being disfellowshipped.

  • dawg
    dawg

    You're probably right neverending... that was an interesting read

  • bonnzo
    bonnzo

    damn! neverendingjourney, you read my mind. i had no idea i was so transparent to someone i don't know, at least i don't think i know you. but that was creepy. if it was not for family and friendships that i dont want to lose, i'd be outta here. i don't want to start over, so i hang out with weak ones who act the way they want(like me)w/o worry.

  • sf
    sf

    Yes, dawg, I'm well versed in your posts. And I love your passion as well.

    I did not mean to BE critical of anything. I have a feeling you knew this though.

    My questions have yet to answered, by anyone, thusfar. I was hoping active jws would care to take a shot at it.

    A girl can dream, can't she?

    sKally

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