Spiral - "...they are all like selfish children..."
Honestly, I kinda suspect the WT wants 'em that way.
Absolutely they do. Easier to keep them all in line. It does nothing to help them cope in the real world, but the bOrg doesn't care about that.
i resigned from the jw's in my 20's over 30 years ago, i was immediately shunned by my entire family and it's remained that way with a few exceptions ever since.
one of those exceptions was being contacted by a cousin a few years back and during that conversation i discovered that my mother had been and still was the prime mover in my complete and continuing shunning.
i then used what contacts i had left to confirm it.
Spiral - "...they are all like selfish children..."
Honestly, I kinda suspect the WT wants 'em that way.
Absolutely they do. Easier to keep them all in line. It does nothing to help them cope in the real world, but the bOrg doesn't care about that.
i resigned from the jw's in my 20's over 30 years ago, i was immediately shunned by my entire family and it's remained that way with a few exceptions ever since.
one of those exceptions was being contacted by a cousin a few years back and during that conversation i discovered that my mother had been and still was the prime mover in my complete and continuing shunning.
i then used what contacts i had left to confirm it.
Gemmel, I agree with you 100%. Had I ever been treated like that, I wouldn't feel any obligation. And if by some miracle your mother got better and money wasn't needed, they would continue to shun you.
I've seen this scenario a lot in the last couple of years. I know of one drama like this right now. The parents have basically disowned their adult (now "out of the truth" children). Suddenly they are elderly and need help, and there is no one. When I heard this I said, have they had any relationship with their children over the years and was told no, they didn't speak. If that's the case, then why should the children help now? You really do reap what you sow.
But I see that the bOrg is at the beginnings of a HUGE problem. No one has any savings, time, or energy to care for themselves or elderly parents who have been in for decades. No infrastructure or support offered by the bOrg.
And - they are all like selfish children. Most of them give almost no care to their elderly ones, even if they are all still "in". It's as if they don't have the emotional maturity to care. Very dysfunctional. The bOrg has made everyone into children (mentally), and they can't cope with this stage of life, or caring for each other. It's really disturbing to watch (as a "inactive one" looking in from the outside).
it was announced at our clam that there "was no shipment of the october study editions of the watchtower" and that they were asking if people could just use electronic or make their own copies.. is this just happening in ohio, or did you hear the same thing?.
When I was still trying to take my Mom to the meeting (2 plus years ago) the congregation NEVER had any extra study magazine copies to distribute. They wanted me to print for her (which I did) but a couple of times an elderly man that I knew would come and he wouldn't have the magazine, and they had nothing to give him. It was intentional, no copies in stock. Sad for him, because he wanted one and no one was offering to print for him either.
https://missoulian.com/news/local/montana-jury-awards-two-women-m-in-sex-abuse-lawsuit/article_1bcabb7c-7381-574b-a2ba-e011cc0250a6.html.
montana jury awards two women $35m in sex abuse lawsuit against jehovah's witnesses .
a jury in northwestern montana awarded two women $35 million wednesday in their lawsuit against the local jehovah’s witnesses congregation and its worldwide headquarters.. .
ExJWReddit also now has a list of news outlets carrying the story Yeah!
https://missoulian.com/news/local/montana-jury-awards-two-women-m-in-sex-abuse-lawsuit/article_1bcabb7c-7381-574b-a2ba-e011cc0250a6.html.
montana jury awards two women $35m in sex abuse lawsuit against jehovah's witnesses .
a jury in northwestern montana awarded two women $35 million wednesday in their lawsuit against the local jehovah’s witnesses congregation and its worldwide headquarters.. .
EverApostate, you can get the NY times online anywhere in the world. Free for a week or so or special price to sign up.
They also do a daily email news update, I'll watch tomorrow and see if it's mentioned. You can go online and sign up for that too.
it's just a week or two away and still no sign of the usual hype?
very strange.... anyone heard anything about it?
perhaps from those still in to some degree or from relatives/friends still in?.
Don't they usually invite the special ones (aka elders, pioneers, etc.) to attend in person?
my wife (uber) mentioned today an elderly man who comes to the kh and he suffers from a sever stomach complaint which needs surgery and that there is a 'waiting list' at the local hospital.. so i says, "why dont the elders put the $$ together to get his op done privately.
" (ie out of the govt system and 'waiting lists').
her answer was telling.
Excellent response, zeb.
We were always taught that charity of any sort was a waste of time. Teach people the "truth"! Even if they are starving today and die tomorrow, at least they had "the hope"!
Now I know it's just a game. If you do charitable works you end up sharing $$$$. Can't have any of that!
I wonder if the WT sent any "volunteers" to Puerto Rico, or more recently to North Carolina? Do they even pretend to send any help these days?
it really hurt to hear brothers and sisters commenting about this at the meeting yesterday.. "as in solomon’s case, one of the greatest threats to spirituality is friendship with those who do not understand or respect jehovah’s standards.
some may be associated with the congregation but may be spiritually weak.
others could be relatives, neighbors, coworkers, or schoolmates who are not worshippers of jehovah.
The bOrg sure loves to judge people, don't they?
Well, you have to have really low self esteem to put up with that treatment - wait, that is what you signed up for when you got baptised!
This is how I remember being a JW was like, the few "special" people lording it over the rest of us, who were not quite good enough but kept trying.
I think everyone who is awake has that moment they realize they are better than that and deserve more. I know a lot of PIMO put up with poor treatment because of family, but I do think as time goes on less and less are willing to put up with it, and that is a big part of declining membership.
The bOrg just doesn't know any other game to play.
i was commenting on another thread about how local kh attendance is down.
memorial attendance was also way down and the circuit assembly had hundreds less people than what is typical.
my jw family has even mentioned it.
My experience is of value, I think. If you have been gone from a congregation (one congo town) for 10 plus years, your perceptions of congregation size has to be pretty accurate. What was once a dynamic congregation of all age groups with lots of studies has shriveled to the last die-hard families (mostly elderly), and the usual in-and-out types that are odd and have a hard time coping in the regular world. I was shocked when I first visited again. A full hall is now 1/4 full, if that. The town has grown in population around 20% and is building new homes, schools, and new commercial sites, so it's not because of lack of work around town.
when i was a full-on believing jw i had an obsessive fascination with mormonism.
i read, studied and watched their propaganda with strange interest as well as their apostate mormon books.
i have to say, they have a good scam going claiming that "the lord reintroduced tithing" in the modern age.
Pale, the sad thing is I think some of the poorer ones would do it too, just to get status and privileges.
Sad.