by Dubby 24 Replies latest jw friends
there is this elder I know in florida who is unemployed.
he is pioneering during these unemployed times, and brags (sets the example) that he has been offered many jobs, but declined them all because he would have to work on sundays.
this mentality of their is like a disease and cascades all to conform!
I don't call them "Liberal", I call them Alternate Reality Cult Members.
Despite belonging to a cult in which EVERYTHING is black and white and the most insignificant aspects of conduct are tied in with everlasting salvation or death, they play by their own rules.
On paper, they will die at Armageddon. Yet, they happily remain members.
As Jeff said, if they ever open their minds, they should be among the easiest to get out. However, as they're playing fast and loose with the restictive rules, being a cult member is a lesser burden to them. So...if they never run afoul of the Judicial Machinery, they may never have a reason to examine their beliefs, critically. This, ironically, could make them the least likely to be reached.
-LWT
So...if they never run afoul of the Judicial Machinery, they may never have a reason to examine their beliefs, critically. This, ironically, could make them the least likely to be reached.
-LWT
Leaving, I came to this conclusion many years ago, even before I left. The weakest were the strongest is the way I used to put it. They attend one or two meetings a month, are chronically irregular publishers, never answer at the meetings or enroll in the TMS. But they are the ones who never miss the Memorial, Sprcial Talk, etc. and are ready to kidnap their babies out of the hospital if a blood issue looms. They wouldn't stand for the national Anthem or salute the flag if you put a gun to their head.
I agree LWT. Those who have effectively split their mind to play both sides are harder to reach.
I have some familiarity with hippie/liberal west coast JWs as well as fundie/conservative red state JWs. This may seem counterintuitive, but it can be quite difficult to help the liberals see the light about the organization.
Liberal JWs can rationalize the craziness among the right-wingers by saying "they just aren't doing 'The Truth' correctly." In other words, a JW raised in a liberal congregation thinks that the JW org is like liberal, reasonable, etc.--and the fundie/judgmental/hypocritical stuff is an anomaly. Of course, those of us who have been around the block know that this is not the case.
On the other hand, those of us who grew up in hyper-conservative areas/congregations often have years of bad experiences that eventually lead to an awakening.
And often it takes a bad experience to awaken a JW to the cold hard facts about this religion. It is very rare for a JW to be in a reasonable congregation, have good friends in the congregation, and have a peaceful JW family life...and all of a sudden decide to question his/her beliefs. Rather, most JWs don't start questioning their beliefs until something happens to THEM--for example, if THEY are the victim of an elder's vendetta, or if THEY have a family member or close friend DF'd. And this sort of thing is more likely to happen in fundie/conservative congregations.
