The JW funeral talk outline - poor taste or REALLY poor taste?

by Mr. Falcon 42 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Mr. Falcon

  So I attended a funeral for a JW who passed away (non-"annointed) and I would have to state that although I have heard the standard funeral talk outline for dozens of funerals I've attended, I never really took the time to listen. Until now. And my god, I was cringing. The outline is essentially broken down like this:

  Talk about the person and what they did in their life (2-3 minutes)

  Hawk JW literature that is conviently kept at the back of the hall. (32 minutes)

  Ramble on about God's War when everyone will be destroyed, offer bible studies (10 minutes)

  sing a song out of the new song book that nobody knows how to sing, conclude with prayer.

  Wow. Well, I'm glad the loved one was mentioned briefly in the beginning. I thought that a eulogy/funeral service is supposed to be about honoring and remembering the deceased person. I had a question for some of you older guys who were JW's back in the day - Were the funeral talks always this tasteless?

  

  Brother Falcon sadly passed away.....

  ...but the good news is that we just received a shipment of Bible Teach books!
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  man in black

  I was a witness from 1975 to 2008 and every single memorial talk that I attended must have come from this same outline.

  Once I went to the talk for a teenage girl that was murdered and while most everyone attending was in shock, this same cult-mindset was still

  used.

  Very poor in taste, and lacking in any empathy toward the surviving family, many of who were not jw's.
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  Mr. Falcon

  lacking in any empathy toward the surviving family, many of who were not jw's.

  Great observation. The outline is disrespectful to other people's beliefs and is confusing to anyone not a JW who came out of respect thinking that they were going to hear a thoughtful rememberance of their loved one.
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  Ding
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  Ding

  Sorry about the blank post above...

  What I intended to say was that in the world of the Watchtower, individuals aren't important -- just the organization.
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  Morbidzbaby

  Yes this is quite normal in Watchtowerland. And, amazingly, they see nothing wrong with it. It's a 45-minute sales pitch, just like every other JW event. The Memorial is nothing more than a very formal infomercial with a smattering of Jesus thrown in for good measure. The whole premise of it is absurd and completely flies in the face of what Jesus actually taught.

  I've been to quite a few worldly funerals...this past winter, I was invited to sing for one and my friend gave the eulogy. It was a LOVELY service and the family was so happy with it. I left feeling like I knew the woman, although I'd never met her.

  Hey Falcon, I see your Alec and raise you a Moe, Larry, and Curly... This is who's REALLY running Brooklyn...

  
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  alanv

  If you really want to hear a funeral service that talks about the individual, then the humanist funeral is hard to beat. The speaker takes time before the service to find out all the good things about the deceased from family members. Also any funny stories that can be remembered.

  It really is very good. I've got my name down for one!
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  Mr. Falcon

  HAHA thanks Morbidz. Although the 3 Stooges at least had a sense of humor, a trait sorely lacking in the current JW administration.

  I was very embarrassed sitting there listening to this very inappropriate service. They may think to themselves that it is real comfort to share their belief of Paradise or whatever with the non-JW family, but the fact is that many of those non-JW relatives most likely believe in some sort of heavenly hope. And you're not going to suddenly convince them that you're belief is right in the course of 30 minutes or so. A funeral isn't a time to be trying to cram doctrine down somebody's greiving throat. It's a time to remember that person and the live that they touched. Can't your salespitch wait until the body is cold at least?
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  DanaBug

  You forgot "love bomb any unbelieving relatives or friends". I actually forgot about that when we went to my grandparents' memorial, so I didn't warn my fiance ahead of time. He thought it was just weird. We went to a funeral last year for a friend who was a devout Southern Baptist. The difference is huge. Real emotions displayed and his life celebrated. It's weird to say, but I actually enjoyed that funeral and I want mine to be the same way minus religion. That's the way it should be, imo.
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  aSphereisnotaCircle

  JW funerals are dreadful.

  They are a good example of what the society thinks of its members,

  nothing more then tools to be used, and used and used, even after death.