Apostates' Idealised Image of their Time as a Witness

slimboyfat

I know some apostates become bitter and can see nothing good in their time spent as Witnesses, but I am not talking about that kind of apostate. I am talking about the other kind of apostate who tends to idealise certain aspects of their time in the Witnesses. What motivates such sentiments I wonder?

diamondblue1974

Explain matey using some 'for instances'

DB

GetBusyLiving

I don't have any idea what you mean Slim.

GBL

slimboyfat

For instance, Schnell of "Thirty Years a Watchtower Slave" who talks about how he felt happy as a Witness in his day before Rutherford came along.

For instance, Blondie, who said a couple of weeks ago that the memorial used to be better, more about the Bible and about Jesus, in her day.

For instance, Penton, who states that in his parents' day Witnesses were happier and freer than they became in late 1970s.

For instance, all the posters here who have said at one time or another things like: 'years ago we used to prepare together in groups for the WT study - I miss the old days - being a Jehovah's Witness isn't like it used to be in my day'

upside/down

Maybe it's the only thing we can come away with.

Kinda like in the movie The Jerk, when Steve Martin says, "All I need is this lamp....."

Some people need something for all the hell they went through. Is it too much.

The apostle Paul did it, refering to his prior earned credentials as a Pharisee and law student.

I think most of us are ashamed that we let ourselves get worked for so long... willingly. Not much idealizing going on here... your view is askew.IMO

u/d (of the what the hell do I know class)

love11

Maybe loneliness I used to want to go back when I first was out. I just wanted to have all of my friends and family back. But then, the people that were really my friends ended up leaving and my family never really cared for me anyways. So it all worked out in the end, but it took awhile. Now I can't imagine my life any other way. I love my freedom. I still have good morals and common sense just without all of the guilt and judgement. Life is good... it'd be better if I didn't have a sinus infection! hehehehe

GetBusyLiving

Okay I get ya slim. Even though I'm not all that old I've noticed that things have changed from when I was a little boy even. There was a much more happier, family oriented sort of feeling I guess. Felt like we were all in things together and that the end would come very soon. After 1995, things progressively went downhill I think.

GBL

slimboyfat

GBL exemplifies exactly what I am talking about!

Abaddon

Oh not the bitter thing.

People can go to prison and look back at some experiences as being useful to them - even if they were later proved innocent of the crime they were convicted of. That doesn't mean it was right they were in prison, that they got there fairly, that they were treated humanely.

Your question is curious as, firstly it ignores the obvious context of any good aspects of their involvement.

Why?

Secondly it attached a label to those who see nothing good in their experience. 'Bitter'. You may not have meant to, but by doing this you are using 'loaded language'. The label 'bitter' dismisses the opinion of those who see nothing good in their experience and makes it seem unreasonable. I don't know where you are in your exploration of belief, but if you don't realise loaded language is a technique used by the Witnesses do do the same thing - 'apostates' for example - then you should do.

Why label people in such a way, or was that inadvertent?

Surely it is important that you realise it is as important to realise the negative aspects of our experience of being Witnesses, and how it can influence the way we behave and interact with people, as it is for those who see nothing good in their experience to maybe accept that their ability to speak confidently to groups of people was down to their having been a Witness (for example)?

I can see good aspects of having been in a cult and of having got myself out of it.

I am a stronger person than I would ever have been otherwise. I became more educated than I might have been otherwise. I developed skills; analytical ones getting out, public-speaking one's being in.

I wouldn't change who I am or how I got to be me as if it had been different I would be different and I like me.

I do wonder sometimes how I would have faired in a musical or academically inclined family. My life could have been unimaginably different. There is no way of knowing if today I would be happy being the me I would be in those lost realities.

My marriage was ghastly and solely down to the JW's oppressive social control. However, there are two things that I got out of it (marriage) I wouldn't change for the world, my daughters, and even though they live with their mum (still sort of a JW) I'm happy to say they're out of the other thing as well. They consider themselves hard-done-by having to go to Memorial with their grandmother.

slimboyfat

I think such sentimentality is an apostate defense mechanism.

Think about it - apostates are people who have come to the conclusion that being a Jehovah's Witness is a waste of time because it is not truth after all. They have to rationalise why they spent so much time supporting the Witnesses if it was always not the truth anyway.

Some whacky apostates cope with this by claiming that Jehovah's Witnesses did have the truth but they have lost their way (like e-watchman and other crazies - there are lots of them about)

But more common is the kind of apostate who rationalises his wasting his time on the Witnesses in the past by convincing himself that back in his day the Witnesses were different. They were more loving, they were happier, stuck closer to the Bible - whatever it is that makes the apostate feel more comfortable about their former support for the Religious Order of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Am I on to something?

Apostates' Idealised Image of their Time as a Witness

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