Not a Jehovah's Witness, but studying.

by scoobie 153 Replies latest members private

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  Big Tex

  Often what the Society does, rather than come out and completely forbid something (such as listening to rap, or watching R rated movies or wearing a bikini) is you will read an article in the Watchtower or Awake magazines about that particular subject. Somewhere in the article you will read something like "while the Bible doesn't specifically forbid XXX, what Biblical principles can we use to help us reason the matter", or they might even go so far as say such a thing is left up to your conscience but (and there's always a "but") they'll say "What would true Christians do?"

  So basically what happens is there are a ton of rules, some of which are explicit (no blood) but most are not. It's plausible deniability. That way if anyone criticizes them about being too strict they can reply that there is no rule forbiding it, it's up to everyone's conscience. (By the way, that's what they say about shunning disfellowshipped family members.)
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  shamus

  I have a question...once a person becomes baptized, when do they learn about all the hidden little rules? Is it by trial and error? Or is there a list of offenses that you are given so you know what you are and are not allowed to do? Is a person who is going to get baptized informed of the two witness rule? The rule on rap? etc. etc. And if I were to ask the people I'm studying with about those rules, what will they tell me?

  The 'hidden little rules' come before you get baptized. You have a meeting with elders and go over baptismal questions. No, there is no real 'list' of rules that you can or cannot break. They are thinly veiled in "watchtower" questions from our readers.... and of course if you do something out of ignorance, they would do nothing in most cases. They are fanatical, but not to that extent.

  If you ask the people who you study with, they will be glad to tell you. But once you take the plunge, (baptism), you will never be allowed to think for yourself or question beliefs in a common-sense manner. Example: You have a problem with the doctine of 144,000. You go explain to elder bob that you don't understand it, and would like an explanation. Elder bob will explain it to you. And you had better dammed well tell him that things are cleared up. If you still have serious questions about the doctrine, God help you! They will correct and correct you until you agree with them, or else.

  A lot of things are learned along the way.

  Look, I know that you enjoy these people's company. They will not 'disassosiate' from you. They may not 'hang out' with you as much, but they will hardly call you a 'close friend'. Having been told 'the truth' and not accepted it, you are bound for crow food like the rest of humankind. The thing is they will not ever admit this to you! Once you become indoctrinated, you find out fast what they think of 'the world'. The one thing that they really try to do is limit the time you spend with your family that is not in 'the truth'. It is 'bad assosiation' that will spoil useful cult habits.

  You get pressure every meeting to do more, do more, do more. The more you do, the more miserable you get. It is a horrendous cycle that never stops. The pressures from going to meetings, working in the field service, and getting along with some pretty interesting congegational characters is enough, never mind regular day to day worries. It piles up on you.

  Hope this helps a bit.

  Oh, and don't be afraid to confront them about these beliefs! Again, don't take what I'm saying for granted. Get they're side of the story too, if you need to. We are all a pretty biased bunch when it comes to these people.
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  Nosferatu

  I presume that comment was directed to me? I checked and I don't seem to have a tail between my legs, but thanks for helping reveal the attitude of many here.

  Not necessarily, since you have stuck around (like Sword of Jah and Joker10). However, I've seen it happen on this board many times. It's become the norm for JWs who wander onto here.

  I will never forget watching a W5 prgogramme (in Canada) about Disfellowshipping.

  Shamus, THANK YOU!!! I was trying to remember the name of that program that I had seen many years ago. I recall how all the JWs were excited about it, but it turned out to be all half-truths and lies. I think that program was one of the many reasons I didn't get baptized. It was very real.
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  jgnat

  Shadow, thank you so much for caring enough to check on what my original question was. This is a first for me. I am attempting to understand how the board appears to a JW who still enjoys the Watchtower lifestyle. My original curiosity came from your statement,

  You will certainly get a mixture of information here.

  It came across, kind of like, dry criticism, as if mixture were bad thing. And in reply, you did adopt my word for it,

  The world is a chaotic place. The viewpoints we come across going door to door are chaotic.

  You mention that you are exposed to such chaos in your door-to-door work. Is that your primary exposure to the world?

  From my perspective, I would prefer the word diverse. I personally enjoy the diversity of the board, and the world. I think God created a planet full of diverse creation for a reason. I think diverse is good. Some may see breaking waves on a seashore as chaotic, I see beauty. I don?t just knock on the door of the world, I get on with my world swimmingly. My interactions with the people around me are not solely for the purpose of starting a study.

  From my perspective, the meetings at the Kingdom hall are insular, cut-off. I see social dysfunction that one sees in any closed group, similar to too many fish in a fishbowl. There is a certain uniformity in perspective, and an internal language that only the initiated understand. I dressed and acted like a ?meek one? on my first visit, and managed to fool on of the ?older ones? in to thinking that I was the visiting speaker?s wife. O got the scoop on all the latest gossip. I don?t think she was very pleased, because she rushed up the very next meeting to get things straightened out. My actions and decisions are communicated throughout that small community within the week. Why so much interest? I am fresh and new! Not much fresh and new comes in to that community?and they only associate with whoever comes in. A one-way fishbowl.

  Do you think JW's live some kind of monastic life?

  Uh, yeah! Why are they so scared of the ?world??