by minimus 38 Replies latest jw friends
Much. Helped me develop great public speaking abilities. Also, whatever the reason, helped me to abstain from smoking, drug use and alcohol abuse, or disfiguring/mutilating myself with tattoos/piercings.
Everytime I watch those smoke quitting or drug rehab commercials it is impossible to deny the positive effect that the WTBTS people clean.
Add to that conflict resolution in marriage and other social interactions.
A very inconvenient truth for this forum obviously. No situation is all bad.
DY
There were definitely some good aspects to being a JW, though they are few and far between. Was any of the good stuff something that I would be unlikely to have gotten had I not been raised in the cult? Absolutely not.
So yes, you could say there is some good to the JW cult, but that's buying a new car at full price and upon finding out that it doesn't run you say "well at least the heater works!"
As others have mentioned, it may have prevented me from taking on risky measures with unfortunate results.
But,
Then in life sometimes you don't get anywhere without taking risks. Kind of like a catch 22.
I was raised in the religion. Its all I have known really. I realize that there are many negatives to being a member of the religion. There are also many positives in mu opinion. I don't know which is greater. I would have to think about that.
I learned many things and gained some positive qualities being brought up in the religion and living most of my adult life in it. I would say that the biggest positives (to me) is the ability to present myself very well. I learned to study and organize my thoughts so I can present ideas and opinion to strangers, and do so with authority and conviction. This has helped me greatly in my secular life and I am grateful. That's about it. The people in the religion (particularly today) is the biggest problem and also the appointment and use of conspicuously unqualified men in positions of oversight.
I was going to answer this with what I felt were things which helped me at the time, as a young, struggling single mom.
There did seem to be many positive things (at first, anyway!)
-- an instant crowd of friends (you don't realize till later, how conditional is the love and friendship)
-- a sense of purpose and being right, of having all the answers finally (another illusion)
-- a sense of security, of bonding together, being united in a common goal (I've learned this need not be a religious goal, can be political, social, environmental, hobbies, etc.)
-- you represented the true God, the most high of all creation.... you alone (with your brothers and sisters) were the only people on the whole earth who had the only life-preserving message and "truth" ...oh gawd. The mind bending on that last one was so strong....! To think abut having such an attitude as that, to really believe that.... Well. I would say it makes a person a bit .... "presumptuous".... eh, Bro Jackson..???
Blondie, I did not mean to minimize the dastardly and cowardly acts of the organization and its terrible and tragic policies regarding any forms of abuse, or molestation, child abuse, domestic violence, and child sexual abuse.
The WT organization has indeed, been "weighed in the balances and has been found wanting."
