Jehovah's Witness leader: God hates tight pants

[Coldwinterskies]

If you're like I used to be, you may think that the JWs are fairly harmless, well-meaning folks who just have weird beliefs about blood donations and Christmas. However, after I married into a JW family, I found out there is just as much snark-worthy fundie craziness in the JW organization as in any of the other fundie groups I used to follow and snark on. The funny thing is that the alarm bells didn't go off for me until I heard that a young JW relative is involved in a Duggar-style courtship - that is when I started investigating the organization, based on what I already knew about "courting" from my interest in the Duggar madness.

 

Here is one of my recent favorite examples of JW craziness:

"Tight Pants Tony", one of the members of the Governing Body (which is the group of men that the JWs think speak directly for God and cannot be questioned), has developed a reputation for being weirdly focused on the idea the God disapproves of tight clothing, to the point he has brought it up on multiple occasions.

 

I don't think I can improve on how this ex-JW blogger summarized his comments:

 

Quote

[female JWs] cannot go jogging wearing “spanx†– which one assumes is any tight-fitting spandex or lycra. ... And once again, “Tight Pants Tony†shared his bizarre clothing obsession – reiterating his belief that tight pants are part of a conspiracy by homosexual fashion designers whose sole aim in life is to drool over the contours of the male figure.

 

 

The JW organization of course responded by trying to hush hush the whole thing with a copyright complaint to YouTube

 

There is a lot more where this came from. The JW organization actively encourages shunning of ex-members. They have also been sued multiple times over the organization's policies that have helped cover up childhood sex abuse

 

Have you guys seen this side of the JWs, or am I correct in my belief that this side of the JWs is not yet well known by most "worldly" people?

[feministxtian]

My stepdaughters were raised JW. They've both left...and are shunned by their mother. The girls don't really care though...they have very little to do with her.

[anjulibai]

My boyfriend in college was from a JW family. I definitely saw some issues with the organization. Some Google people, but a whole mess of crazy. The family mostly left the organization though - they lived too much in the world, though they were never disfellowshipped (what JWs call shunning), as far as i know.

[Trynn]

It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to know hat an organization that doesn't allow life saving procedures such as blood transfusions for their kids is downright evil.

[CelticGoddess]

It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to know hat an organization that doesn't allow life saving procedures such as blood transfusions for their kids is downright evil.

We had a patient who had a GI bleed and she signed the paperwork to get a transfusion. The elders got wind of it and came in full force to talk her out of it. They send 4 elders to "discuss" the issue with her. She rescinded the consent and died. No one will ever convince me that the "good elders" didn't talk her out of it by threatening her with disfellowship.

[Coldwinterskies]

We had a patient who had a GI bleed and she signed the paperwork to get a transfusion. The elders got wind of it and came in full force to talk her out of it. They send 4 elders to "discuss" the issue with her. She rescinded the consent and died. No one will ever convince me that the "good elders" didn't talk her out of it by threatening her with disfellowship.

You are most likely correct. The stupid thing is that they have made numerous revisions to their stance on blood over the years so there is a good chance that the poor woman in your story died for absolutely nothing. Some blood products ARE now allowed even though a few years ago they weren't. With the trend, a few years from now the Governing Body may quite possibly choose to totally end the ban on blood (which they will justify by saying "The light gets brighter" - which is their excuse for how a "new understanding" leads to changes in doctrines) and JW people in the exact same situation as the poor woman you cared for will be able to take blood products without any guilt trip or threat of shunning.

[Coldwinterskies]

My stepdaughters were raised JW. They've both left...and are shunned by their mother. The girls don't really care though...they have very little to do with her.

I'm glad that the girls are dealing okay with that. It is absolutely heartbreaking to me how this organization encourages tearing apart families just because someone chooses not to believe their easily disproven doctrines. In their official information, the JW organization often tries to downplay the fact that they shun people, but when I have tried to ask some JWs about it, they do sometimes admit it happens and try to make excuses for it.

To me, there is NO justification for a mother to abandon her child over a religious disagreement.

When I imagine what it would take for me to stop speaking to one of my children, I think, ok, if my child grew up to be a serial killer, then I would not have a relationship with them anymore. To stop speaking to a child over being gay* or changing religion though? I can't imagine it.

*I have noticed that a common reason for born-in JWs to leave is because they are gay and realize they can't stay in an anti-gay religion. Once again, the JWs often try to downplay how anti-gay they are, but as the crazy comments from Tight Pants Tony about how gay fashion designers are pushing tight pants on men show, they actually do have some very hateful ideas about gay people.

[Coldwinterskies]

My boyfriend in college was from a JW family. I definitely saw some issues with the organization. Some Google people, but a whole mess of crazy. The family mostly left the organization though - they lived too much in the world, though they were never disfellowshipped (what JWs call shunning), as far as i know.

I'm glad that they were able to make a clean break. I have been told by ex-JWs that it is often very, very difficult to escape the organization without being shunned. Sadly, apparently a lot of people stay in even though they think it is all BS because they don't want to lose all their family and friends.

[Coldwinterskies]

It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to know hat an organization that doesn't allow life saving procedures such as blood transfusions for their kids is downright evil.

I always kind of shrugged off the anti-blood stuff because I thought "Well, that's their choice, even though I think they are making a bad choice". At the time I didn't know how much pressure the organization puts on its members to conform under the threat of shunning.

To me, the thing that's even WORSE than that is the child abuse they have allowed to go on. If you aren't already aware of it, I recommend looking into the "Two Witness rule" and how the organization makes no apologies for the kids who have been abused because of their policies.

[DGayle]

Every JW I know, and I mean know as a friend instead of just know by name through someone else, has left and been shunned. Active JWs aren't allowed to have real friendships with non-JWs. The stuff they tell me is sad, and all of them have been cut off from their families One of my best friends is JW, and she only has her sister back since her sister left a few years after by friend. The only contact they've had with their parents is when their parents tried taking their kids away to raise as JWs. My friend and her sister live in fear that their rich parents might try that again. Rich parents can afford attorneys. They can't. According to my friend, there's a rise in JWs trying to get custody of the children of their adult kids who left.

JW stuff is very scary. They're only not as bad as straight fundies because they aren't doing as much to affect laws.

[FloraKitty35]

Jehovah Witnesses are a cult and everyone that I've ever been around is nuttier than a fruitcake.

[LadyPriss]

With regards to shunning family members who leave, my guys parents did that for a few years to him, then were back and forth with their avoidance. Now they welcome him and myself to their house all the time. Their friends all know because we have met several of them in that house, and those friends know my guy is as inactive as it gets.

I rrally think his parents got to the age where theyd rather just not make a fuss. Sure, when we stayed at their house one night I was in a separate room, but I didn't mind.

My guy knew he wanted out at the age of 7, but had to wait until he graduated high school to say he wasn't doing it anymore. They didnt kick him out, but he was encouraged to start getting ready for his own place.

The thing I find really sad about the whole JW thing is the fact that many of these kids cznt get involved with extra curricular sports or activites like scouts or hockey if their parents are really hard core. My guy wanted to be a scout but his group met thursday nights, then they spent saturday door knocking and sunday in service followed by going home and talking about service.

Also, one service I overheard (I was at the house and they were kinda laid up so they listened over the phone-in service they set up on sundays). The elder or preacher or whatever they are called was going on for at least 10 minutes saying that formal post secondary education is not something you think about on your deathbed, so there is no point of going to college.

I know of JWs who send their kids off to the printing ministry that prints Awake/Watchtower in Oakville, ON (Canada). I would love to know the financial details/any inside details of working there.

[Jana814]

Jehovah Witnesses are a cult and everyone that I've ever been around is nuttier than a fruitcake.

Same here!

[Jana814]

It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to know hat an organization that doesn't allow life saving procedures such as blood transfusions for their kids is downright evil.

Agree!

[Inky]

There's a whole website devoted to exposing the system within JW's over covering up child abuse, silent lambs .org. I've never heard anything good about the JW's - I'm sure it's a cult.

My friend (who is catholic) finally had to threaten them with a trespassing charge because they kept coming to her door after she asked them to stop.

DH used to work with a woman who grew up JW. She left as an adult, and told him how much she used to hate being forced to go door-to-door as a child.

They used to go knock on the door of our United Church Manse and try to convert the minister. That was always good for a laugh.

[Coldwinterskies]

Also, one service I overheard (I was at the house and they were kinda laid up so they listened over the phone-in service they set up on sundays). The elder or preacher or whatever they are called was going on for at least 10 minutes saying that formal post secondary education is not something you think about on your deathbed, so there is no point of going to college.

That actually seems very mild compared to some of the crazy things they have said against higher education.

This site gives some examples of how they've said higher education is of "The Devil" and useless because we are so close to Armageddon. They've been saying for decades that the world is ending "soon" (and have falsely predicted "The End" a number of times). They say these things trying to get people to believe it is a waste of time to go to college because Jehovah will brutally kill anyone left alive who isn't a JW when "The End" comes "any time now!".

This is why JWs do so poorly socioeconomically speaking.

http://i.imgur.com/4OaQWPw.jpg

[Coldwinterskies]

My friend (who is catholic) finally had to threaten them with a trespassing charge because they kept coming to her door after she asked them to stop.

If JWs kept bugging me, I would try asking them some hard questions about things like why every reputable historian disagrees with their claims about the year that Jerusalem fell or how they explain why Rutherford had a luxury house that various resurrected Biblical figures were going to live in after Armageddon only to quietly dispose of the house after Rutherford died (most JWs don't even realize the organization did such things because the organization tries to cover up their history in many ways).

I think they rely on the fact that most "worldly" people don't know many details about what the JWs actually believe in. Until I started looking into it, I had no idea about any of this BS. When they go door to door, I think they often look for lonely or grieving people to prey on (that's how my in-laws got mixed up with it sadly). They get these people hooked into the organization before people really understand what they are getting into and how deep the craziness goes. Then, once you are baptized into the organization, you can't leave without losing everyone in the JWs that you care about, so there is good reason to try not to question the craziness even if you start to sense something is not right.

I think if the average person knew enough about the JW beliefs to ask them hard questions, they would probably modify their door knocking efforts because the last thing they want is for the members to think too much about these types of topics.

They have recently been making a big push to promote their "JW.org" site and some people feel that this is an attempt to make it easier for the door knockers to dodge hard questions by telling people to just go to the website to look things up.

[Toothfairy]

It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to know hat an organization that doesn't allow life saving procedures such as blood transfusions for their kids is downright evil.

THEY take the bible literally. My friend is a JB and she said Jehovah will safe her if not its time for her to go

[Trynn]

Yanno, when I'm on my death bed, I probably won't care about all the books I've read either. Doesn't mean they weren't with reading.

I also probably will not wax eloquently about the meals momma cooked me growing up. Doesn't mean I wasn't grateful for them.

In my deathbed, I probably won't care about any number of things. It doesn't mean they weren't important that I have.

I think that what matters in day to day living vs on the deathbed are quite different.

[Trynn]

Oh, and funny story about the JWs. They bothered my mom once, who told them she was seventh day Adventist. Apparently they don't like SDAs, cuz "they know their bible," so the JW didn t knock again for 10 years.

[DGayle]

Oh, and funny story about the JWs. They bothered my mom once, who told them she was seventh day Adventist. Apparently they don't like SDAs, cuz "they know their bible," so the JW didn t knock again for 10 years.

JWs and Mormons HATE each other because they all go door-to-door, so are enemies. I pretend to be the opposite of whoever knows. That always stops them coming. I move before they come back.

[Jana814]

I have a ex-friend who know is a Jehovah Witness. I never cared for them to begin with. So many of their practices bother me, espically the one about no blood transfusions.

[browncoatslytherin]

JWs and Mormons HATE each other because they all go door-to-door, so are enemies. I pretend to be the opposite of whoever knows. That always stops them coming. I move before they come back.

i used to answer the door naked. they never came back after that, either.

[Coldwinterskies]

JWs and Mormons HATE each other because they all go door-to-door, so are enemies. I pretend to be the opposite of whoever knows. That always stops them coming. I move before they come back.

I was surprised to realize when I started looking into the JW religion that Mormons and JWs actually have quite a lot in common. The two organizations use a lot of similar indoctrination techniques (although Mormons tend to be much better educated and there is SOME extent of freedom of thought where you see things like "feminist Mormons", while the JWs try to keep their followers from pursuing education outside of the organization will basically tell you to GTFO if you ask too many questions about their illogical beliefs).

I guess it shouldn't be surprising they are similar since they came about around the same era. It's just that the Mormons are basically a UFO cult (referring to the Kolob stuff) that grew up around a con artist who wanted to trick as many girls/women as possible to have sex with him, while the JWs are a Doomsday cult that is obsessed with the idea that the world is on the verge of being destroyed by Jehovah so that it can be turned into a paradise solely for the enjoyment of JWs.

[Coldwinterskies]

I have a ex-friend who know is a Jehovah Witness. I never cared for them to begin with. So many of their practices bother me, espically the one about no blood transfusions.

Yeah, it is sad that people have died over nothing. Especially when children have died because of their parents' beliefs.

Of course, just like many other fundies, they are also really into the idea that the husband should be the "Headship" of the family and the wife should submit to him. I find that very offensive too since it is such a waste of women's lives. They are forcing women to stifle their intellectual growth and talents for the sake of the delusions of some old white guys + 1 old black guy who live in Brooklyn (the Governing Body)