What Kind of Witness Were You ? (page 2)

joelbear

From Birth to 10 years of age I was a witness because my parents told me to be a witness. It was like school. They made me get up and go in service, they made me go to meetings. They made me study for meetings.

From 10 to 15 I was pretty interested in it. I thought the people were nice and I liked the idea of a loving united world.

From 15 to 19 I was a rebellious kid who wanted to go to college. I hated the Hall, I hated my parents. I hated being a witness.

From 19 to 23 I was totally devoted. Pioneer, bethelite, committed to helping people learn about God and the Bible.

From 23 to 30 I was completely disillusioned but terrified of losing my family and friends. I voiced my opinion from time to time in hushed tones but was quickly rebuked for any "out of line" talk.

At 30 I left and was no longer a witness.

hugs

Joel

philo

OM: The fuzziness is probably emotion clouding your eyesight. She looks clear enough to me - hot, but still clear.

philo

:You cannot be open minded and be a Dub.

Hmmm. I hate this term. It means so many things and, in the round, almost nothing. A dub is open minded to crap from the GB crap peddlars, but congratulates his discriminating mind in blocking out every other source of knowledge.

philo

Francois

I was an odd witness. I always had one foot in and one foot out. Sorta raised in da troof, my mother was a memorialite and my father was a libertine. I mainly went to the hall on Friday nights to catch a ride up to my grandfather's home in the country about 30 miles west of Savannah. Thus, expectations were low. I fulfilled them.

When I got a litle older, however, I developed into a natural public speaker, and could ad lib for a half hour just reading the label in my underwear.

While in college, I lived with my uncle, a congregation overseer and so I had to pretend some more in order to keep a roof over my head: troof or no roof, that was me. And all this time I clearly saw the hypocrisy, I watched the lies, the favoritism, the bullshit.

After graduation, I grew a beard. And lost my "platform privileges".

"What scripture gives you the right to elaborate platorm privileges?" I wanted to know.

"It's not scriptural, it's an organizational requirement," they said.

"OK" sez I, "what scripture gives you the right to over-ride my conscience with your 'organizational requirements'"?

No answer, unless you think "just because" is an answer. I don't.

From that set of questions came another set of question (to which there were no answers, either) and another, and another, and so on.

What kind of Dub was I? Measured with a Jay-Dub ruler, I was spiritually weak if not sick. Measured normally, I was a normal young man with normal urges, likes, dislikes, and a way above average inability to suffer fools. Thus I walked out and never looked back on that buncha fools.

Francois

Maximus

: Perhaps, in the end, the sum of all things, I am nothing more than a bona-fide jack of ass

Certainly qualifies you to be in my club, Utopian Reformer.

I was perfect--but somehow I never, never, never seemed to make it anyway, no matter what lofty title was attached to me.

Max
Who still thinks Carlo is Father Guido Sarducci, even though he tried to fool everyone by switching his picture to the one of that Danish clown.

tergiversator

I was a true believer since before my mom got baptized (I was 5). She used to say how one of the things that impelled her to finally "take her stand" was me, age 4ish, at a meeting, drawing a picture of a sheep pen and a goat pen and turning to her saying, "We're in the goat pen, aren't we mom? We'd better hop over into the sheep pen." (This was before there was New Lite(tm) on that subject.)

But hey, it's what all the adults kept calling the truth, and it made a good deal of sense for a good many years (at least until I was 14 or 15). I just sorta trusted that everyone had done their research and had their facts straight. I was a witness 'cause it was the truth, and was such a good auxiliary-pioneerin' worldly-kid-avoidin' non-partyin' sort of of kid because I thought I should be, 'cause, y'know, it was the truth.

If I'd been male, I would've been on the fast track toward a lot of fun and ever exciting privileges. As it was, I was the sort of kid that reassured parents that their kids weren't all going to flake out (just, probabilistically speaking, 95% of them). The sort of kid who did very well in school, never gave her parents any trouble (Nope sir, none at all, not me. Just ask them. [8>]), liked going out in service and attending meetings, and, above all, knew it was the truth. The sort of person, if fact, about whom it was said, "Well, if Elisabeth's a witness, there must be something for it then."

In other words, a well-intentioned but ultimately smug, judgemental (and just what did I think of my "flaky" age mates?), supercilious know-it-all who was in for quite a rude awakening when, in fact, it turned out to not be the truth.

-T., of the it's-not-arrogance-if-I'm-right class

sennabrasil94

My parents got into the "Truth" when I was 8 and I got the boot when I was 17 I had no choice my parents forced me so durring this time I was the worst Witness kid, I was a double agent an elders nightmare, and I found a few like me, It was fun untill I got rated out and the Elders told my parents to kick me out of the house as they were going to kick me out of the kingdom hall and I wasent even baptised. Looking back It was fun being a double agent untill my cover was blown, oh well. I got some funny war stories.

Senna

sennabrasil94

This makes me think of a relitive of mine, I have a cusin who became a JW and of her own strengh and faith dissasociated nerself from the family. well her parents got into the borg just to keep the family together, That,s the sacrfice of loveing parents. I think it was far more honerable on there part what they did to keep their family together. than what my cusin did under the destructive influence of the borgs.

Senna

Preston

I WAS THE WORST!!!!!!!!

I virtually worshipped the elders in my congregation. I was super-conservative and would have stepped over my own mother to further their cause. I was also extremely zealous in the ministry and heartly obeyed the counsel and direction of a snotty MS who was in high school and about my age the time I started going to meetings. In other words, I never made any of my own decisions and did everythng that was told of me. I even went a step further by disowning all of my worldly friends and isolating my family (although, not intentionally) I criticized my worldly father for using foul language. JEEZ, I couldn't stand even myself looking back. I was also a team player who assisted in the Theocratic Ministry School. I would have only shown the slightest interest in you if I knew you could give a substitute talk in the congregation. Likewise, I tried to put up with my internalized homophobia to the best of my abilitly, and tried to keep my sexual orientation in the closet. At my highest point of spiritual activity I was THE most Asexual person you ever met, and the elders LOVED it. As long as I wasn't involved with girls or guys that was A-OK. I was doing their bidding anyway! If you were a brother and sister in my congregation you would have viewed me as very zealous and a person that truly loved God and was willing to help you out in any way. What you didn't know was that I was extremely depressed and often entertained thoughts about suicide. I hated myself and never beleived in anything I did. I also secretly mistrusted many people (think Tarvis Bickle from Taxi Driver). Interestingly, going to an acredited University was my wisest decision since it opened my easy to reality. Ironically, the elders in my congregation never complained about me going to a University. in fact, they were very supportive. The good thing about me was that the last two years of my career as a JW, I was 100% reluctant to administer counsel or tell you what to beleive in. I would have called you up just to see how you were doing and wanted to get to know you better. I liked you for who you were, not by how many meetings you were going to. Now, I spend my time with friends, do activist work for the Gay, lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender community and have received my B.S. in Computer Information Systems. I feel better about myself than ever before and have gotten the chance to be proud of my physique for once. Things really are much better, and contrary to what my picture indicates, I do not spend most of my time laying around in my underwear. Seriously...

Quester

bboyneko, That was hilarious!

I was super duper jw, lived, ate,
breathed, slept, watchtower everything.

I eventually got burned out, fell
flat on my face, and well, here I am
Quester

What Kind of Witness Were You ?

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