I agree with Outlaw but I was surprised by this when I first left the JWs. Those assemblies and conventions had me convinced otherwise.
Were you suprised at how little the "world" knows about JW's
by donny 30 Replies latest watchtower bible
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daringhart13
The sad thing?
Outlaw is so correct.......that even JW's could care less about missing JW's......
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GLTirebiter
No, I'm not at all surprised. I remember how much I didn't know about the WT Society when I married my Ex (even their proper name). What little I once knew (beyond the Saturday door-knocking) had mostly faded from my memory. I received a rude awakening, to say the least!
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donny
I have been at my employer for some 18 years now and I am amazed at the looks I get when I explain what the Witnesses believe. They have never heard about 1914, or "Christendom" or Jesus dying on a stake or even more shocking, that Armageddon is right upon us. Several have told me that they hear more about Armageddon from other religions rather than JW's.
Donny
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aquagirl
I totally agree with Outlaw.Whe you are in the borg,they make it seem like the whole world is fixated on getting you ,and testing you,etc.When actually,all most people want is to not be woken up early on Saturday mornings.No one cares unless they are involved in the slime that surrounds the dubs.
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dgp
We the worldlies know very little about Jehovah's witness, but the reason is not necessarily that we do not care about you guys.
For starters, Jehovah's witness are very good at avoiding us for anything that's not preaching to us or superficial contact. One of the saddest things about meeting and getting to love and/or simply appreciate a Jehovah's witness is that s/he will avoid you. Only when you try to get close do you realize that they don't want you near them, and that all the politeness and good manners were only superficial. I have found a paradox in the behavior of witnesses: if they really care about you, or love you, you become a temptation and they avoid you. If they know that you only have a superficial relationship with them, then they can sort of get along with you.
The witness I fell for, a coworker, has been working with the same people in the same company for nine years. She says they are all her "acquaintances".
Also, Jehovah's witnesses do not reveal the truth about their religion until you are baptized. As I am sure you know by experience, not many people accept a Bible study. So, the number of people who actually get to know more than the surface is very, very, very limited.
The magazines are very good at hiding what really goes on inside. Why do you think they had a Watchtower for the public and another for you guys? The witness in question was surprised that I knew there were two kinds of magazines. After I made it clear that I knew there were two, she would always get me the study edition, not the public one.
Some people who get to know about you feel that they would rather not get involved. Some people do not really grasp things and they feel that you could leave any minute if you wanted to. Some people believe that only idiots get involved with cults, and that is simply not true. And those of us who know better and would like to help find that there is little we can do because the witnesses don't want to mingle with us.
When I read Crisis of Conscience, my major concern was realizing that the WT was a big lie, but that I would find it nearly impossible to tell that to the witness I fell for. For her, and for anyone else, another concern of mine would be the huge effect that my revealing the truth would have. Maybe this witness would rather stay in rather than lose her children or family, and I wonder whether it would be a good thing to let her know the truth if she would need to continue to live as if the WT was not a scam.
We mistake you for evangelicals, only more fanatic.
Most people don't have a real reason to search the internet for information about the Watchtower. Some would think that visiting the WT's website would be enough. But, since we refuse to take the magazines, why should we bother to read the same damned thing online? Why not search for other things, chat, make friends, et cetera?
It's not that we don't care about you. Most people would be extremely surprised to know what you guys go through. I was shocked to learn those things myself, and I am still shocked to think that so many people would rather bleed to death over a scam. Because the Watchtower is a cult, yes, but above all it is a scam.
If the world knew what goes on when you're in, most of us wouldn't join the organization. Maybe this is why the WT insists so much that "whatever you do reflects on Jehovah". They don't want us to know.
Some of us would really like to get as many of you out of that hell as possible. We have a very serious difficulty: we are not supposed to know much about you, and, therefore, we can't ask questions that would reveal we're in the know.
This website and some others, such as JWFacts or Freeminds, are quite helpful in letting the truth be told. On coming here, some of you find that you were not alone in your doubts or your suffering; and you were inside! Imagine what happens with someone who is out.
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wobble
I pointed this out to a MS who came to shepherd me back shortly after I left, I said that after almost 100 years of "Witnessing" in this area where I live by Bible Students and then JW's the average householder knew jackshit about their beliefs or message.
I asked how could a loving God, or his Son, murder people at Armageddon on the basis of that kind of pathetic marketing ?
It was one of a dozen or so questions he has never returned with answers to, which he promised to do.
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MMXIV
dpg - good insight.
Not surprised at how little they knew because I figured that if they never studied they'd not know. What surprised me was just how little anyone ever even discussed them. I never let on to work colleagues I was a JW in my 20's. I heard one person mention JW's - about some wierd question they were asked when called on at their home - but that was it - in an entire decade. Which I guess is what Outlaw is saying.
Zoiks - spot on. Getting a clear message takeout from commercial advertising takes a lot of effort and refining - even with the help of modern media. Some chat with an average dub who's demotivated, boring and wittering away on some random topic will not give any householder a clear view of what JW's believe - even if they were trying to let the secrets out.
MMXIV
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blondie
Not only what they didn't know but the wrong info they had. I work with a man who thought I was still a jw (other jws label me that still although weak--9 years of no meetings!) and I took him out for lunch and explained a little. He really knew nothing, not about blood transfusions, disfellowshipping (which I explained would happen to me if he said anything to the other jws), and that jws really believe that all non-jws were going to be executed eternally soon, including their minor children. That last one impacted him the most.
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designs
Outlaw as usual hit the bulls eye.
With all of the Bethel homes closing in thrid world countries think how fast the memory of our former apocalyptic group will fade.