The wtbts - an appropriate place ?

by A Paduan 6 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  A Paduan

  Considering the manner of the "company men" in the org., would things be worse without it - generally that is, not individually. Without the fear and rules generated by literal understandings of the spiritual writings, would these same folk be simply out of control in the wider society ? Fundamentalism may well control and restrain people who would otherwise be running amock.

  Could it generally limit the amount of abusive behaviour that the wider population of meek peple are generally subjected to; this imagined fear of punishment that is part and parcel of literal style fundamentalism ? Is there an argument there ?
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  garybuss

  I have a never was a Witness friend who told me about a family that was living in an extremely dirty house and wore shabby and soiled clothes. When they joined the Witness group they cleaned up and changed their whole life to what appeared to be a better life to a casual observer. I know the family personally but I never knew them before they became involved with the Witness group.
  I see some Witnesses who have what may be a social anxiety disorder and they likely would need some group like the Witnesses to function socially. They just do not have the ability to function in a healthy social environment. These people suffer from an almost chronic loneliness. Witnessism gives them some relief from symptoms of social anxiety disorders.
  Some people abstain from alcohol and other drugs by immersion in religions and religious, or perceived religious activities like chanting, ritual meetings, and service activities of various kinds. I personally know of two such people who were involved in the Witness group. I would imagine the Witness group would have to have pragmatically helped numerous people who needed support like the addicts. I observe personally that females group members seem to get more control than male members. I'm not sure they get helped more but they do seem to receive a disproportionately larger share of the control effort.
  Interesting thread. Thanks for starting it.
  
  
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  Faith

  That does sound interesting Gary. It makes you wonder. The problem is that the ones with social disorders carry it with them into the local Kingdom Halls. It is a safe place that can protect sociopaths. The meek ones within the org are sitting ducks. I think it just makes a bad situation worse. It may look better on the outside with the rigid structure. I was one of the lowest ones in the org. I was an easy target. The child of a single working mother.
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  garybuss

  Hi Faith, I was an extremely shy child with buck teeth and scared to death socially. We lived an isolated family life and when I started public school I was scared to death. I can still feel my first day at school. I had never been away from my mother before.
  
  The Kingdom Hall was a scarry place to me and the idea of an invisible monster god bigger than the earth watching me and scoring me, scared me to death. I lived a childhood of panic and anxiety. Being forced to be a Witness was the worst thing in the world for me. I grieve for the unwilling children of Witness parents.
  
  1950 out on the Dakota prairie would have been tough enough without having to try to deal with the incredible stress of performing as a Witness door to door book saleschild. School was tough, home was tough, meetings and service was hell. It was so bad I decided to put my kids through the same thing.
  
  
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  Carmel

  Being the child of a sociopath witness is much like being the child of smokers. The kids are blessed with second hand smoke with the parents "exercising their parental rights" while toxifying the kids who can't escape.

  carmel
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  thom

  I'm someone who really has no idea how to interact socially. I avoid it and dread social situations.
  Being a witness allowed me to interact with people that kind of had to interact with me. It allowed me to have some sort of social life, but it didn't teach me anything about how to grow socially. I feel that if I had not been a JW, I may have learned like most other people do as they grow up how to deal with people. So I think I'm worse off for it, not better off.
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  garybuss

  Carmel, I love your line . . . "parents "exercising their parental rights" while toxifying the kids who can't escape." Great analogy.
  Thom, you wrote: "So I think I'm worse off for it, not better off."Me too. I was raised to think if I appeared to follow group directions, I'd automatically be accepted when I walked into a room full of people. Of course, outside of the high control group environment, that did not happen. I'd react to that by trying harder on the group level rather try harder on a personal level. I was used to personal connections with ANY personal commitments and without much personal attention.
  In the world outside the group there's an actual courting process leading into a friendship. As a group member that wasn't required or practiced, so I wasn't even aware it existed.