WT Society Makes JW's Feel Bad about Themselves - No Self Worth

by flipper 43 Replies latest jw friends

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  flipper

  I have noticed this a lot in attitudes of witness relatives I've talked with over the last few years , as well as other former witness friends I have talked to. Many witnesses feel bad about themselves due to having it drilled into them that we are all " sinners " who allegedly inherited " sin and imperfection " from Adam and Eve . That essentially humans are " born dead " or in a " dying " condition due to alleged " inherited sin " . So then in the Jehovah's Witnesses the premise is built in early on that NOTHING good can come from " imperfect humans " but good can ONLY come due to a blessing from God or some supreme being INFLUENCING us to be good - not that WE OURSELVES CAN be good of our own inititiave .

  I had this odd insight brought to my attention in a dramatic way a year and a half ago when in discussion with my older JW daughter . She mentioned to me , " You know dad, NONE of us deserve to live ! We ALL deserve to die ! We are all so sinful ! It's only a free gift that Jehovah gives us life in the paradise ! Only by Jesus dying a ransom sacrifice for our sins do we have a chance to be brought back in God's favor ! " I felt so sad within myself to see my daughter look at herself in such a negative way. When she was born as a baby - I thought she was perfect ! But to see what religion causes , or how the witnesses view themselves is denigrating.

  Also, in a conversation with my older elder ex-Bethel ( 8 yrs. ) brother about 2 weeks ago when talking about how bad child molesters are he spouted out, " Well you know Flipper, all of us are IMPERFECT CREEPS ! " I told my brother, " Hey now ! I may be imperfect but I'm not a CREEP ! " I continued, " You may be imperfect ! But you aren't a CREEP either ! " I said, " Now child molesters - THEY are imperfect creeps ! " I continued, " Brother - There is a huge difference between someone who is imperfect and someone who committs a felony child abuse deserving punishment for a crime ! Two different things ! " So he agreed sheepishly, " Well, you have a good point. "

  So have any of you seen this or dealt with this in talking to Jehovah's Witnesses . It's like they are SO MOROSE in their view of themselves , their life, which in my opinion translates to having that judgmental , morose attitude towards everybody else in life - especially towards non-witnesses . What I try to do is build up JW relatives when talking to them about life. I try to help them appreciate the here and now- and think about the authentic, family things that are important ! Dwell on ANYTHING except guilt and negativity, try to keep it positive. So what have you seen or experienced in this regards ?? As always I look forward to your input ! Have a great day ! Peace out to all, Mr. Flipper
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  OUTLAW

  Flipper..

  It`s actually a little wierder than that.

  JW`s either have an air of superiority,or low self worth..

  It can change ,depending on the environment they are in..

  It`s like everyone of them,is Frigg`n Bi-Polar!!..

  ....................LOL!!...OUTLAW
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  sd-7

  I experienced depression probably since I was 12 on account of JW beliefs. My mistakes were always the difference between me and my next 'spiritual goal', so I hated myself for them. No matter what goal you reach, there's always another impossible one just beyond it. Now maybe there are those who are more grounded in themselves than I was who didn't have that problem. I don't know.

  Consider, too, the cynicism with which JWs are taught to approach any human efforts to help improve the lot of the less fortunate. Giving to charity is spoken of with contempt (I've seen this at least once in a study article), and any discussion of helping others is seen as a band-aid being put on a cancerous tumor. The belief that humanity's imperfection means it cannot accomplish ANYTHING without a divine hand in the pot is helplessly pessimistic. More than that, one could almost say it dishonors the Creator altogether, since He gave us the ability to do great things--which we have, even outside of Eden. We took a really frakked-up situation and made it much more livable.

  But to a JW, all of it is a joke. We point to disease, poverty, war, crime--anything that shows the worst of humanity. And those things are there, of course, but that is not all humanity has to offer. If it were, none of us could sleep soundly.

  But it's all part of the plan--humans are helpless --> we therefore need God's Kingdom --> hey! It's already been here since 1914 --> The GB is the only one who figured that out --> so put all hope in whatever they say and forget any thoughts, feelings, or talents you might've had otherwise. It's a simple machine, and it works pretty ham well, if you ask me. We paste smiles on our faces, but every one of us is worn out and beaten down--we just don't realize who's holding the stick. All we can see is the carrot.

  Small Along the Watchtower,

  SD-7
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  warmasasunned

  i felt like shit as a jw.... always felt as though i lived my life under a black cloud, the wt was always pointing out how crap we all were in gods eyes and how unworthy.... i dont think i could have felt worse if i had been a nazi camp guard.

  i agree with you on that point OUTLAW...while the majority of jws walked under the said black cloud, there were some who were so pious, superior, always pointing out where everyone else was going wrong... one sis i will always remember, everyone used to look at her side ways she was so big headed, booming voice....jehovah thinks this...jehovah thinks that. this sis suddenly gets dfd for cheating on her husband....then afta whats seemed like a few months returns same attitude divorced from her husband, engaged to the new fella who she cheated with.

  FLIPPER i feel for you over your daughter it must break your heart... hope it all turns around for you
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  Girlie

  LOL@ Outlaw. I remember hearing a talk where a brother made a comment that either most of the friends are on pills or are on their way to getting some. No fault of their own. Being in a religion with such an oppressive climate and an overbearing slave class (how ironic) controlling your every move, it's no wonder many have self-esteem issues.
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  leavingwt

  Isn't it true that most evangelical groups teach that people are worthless and without value, if they don't have God (as conceived by their group)?

  Certainly, however, the JW End Times dogma tends to devalue a person's present condition/existence. How many times did we hear that this wasn't the "Real Life"?

  It's very sad.
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  darkl1ght3r

  I agree. In the same vane, I always bristled at the idea that there are things that we humans were never meant or able to understand so we should just trust God (aka the Governeing Body). In particualr all the sciency questions. Find something that doesn't jibe with the Bible? Well we humans cant understand such things so we shouldn't trust secular sources on those matters. Because men are imperfect and let their selfish agendas get in the way of finding truth. Oh how right they are on that last bit. Hypocrites.

  Goes right along with the "humanity is worthless scum" idea. Well... no we're not. Skrew you Watchtower.
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  cantleave

  Flipper once again you have started a very thought provoking thread. I have seen many very intelligent, gifted JW's who have had their gifts stifled and their potential thwarted byu the Policies of the WTS. This compounded with the teaching that we are too sinful to achieve anything worthwhile anyway makes for an organisation of underachievers with very little self esteem. No wonder their is so much unhappiness and so many who can't be bothered to see that they are trapped in a cult.
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  The Berean

  The problem I have experienced is that until one COMPLETELY severs all ties with those who have the mental mindset of Adamic sin, we are unable to funtion properly in the outside world due to the constant suggestion by those in our environment, no matter how subtle, that we are not in God's favor. Not everyone can break away cleanly from their support group and therefore low self-esteem can become life-long. To use their words: "You can not serve two masters. You will grow to hate one or the other." Putting on an act of tolerance toward those one deplores can only lead to a feeling of weakness and fraud which, in turn, continues the cycle of self-deprecation.
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  leavingwt

  Start watching this video at 2 minutes 30 seconds. Some of you may enjoy it.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KvQWUfvzuk