|
(Cont. from Page
16/10/94G).
The Witnesses
have the illusion of wisdom, while in fact they have esoteric pieces of
knowledge. And they feel good about themselves only in relation to "worldlings";
their relationship to God and to "his organization" is a constant source of
guilt and anxiety. It may not be calculated to have this effect, but even the
speech counsel the Witnesses receive keeps them off balance: Be confident, but
not overconfident. Increase your vocabulary, but don't use multisyllabic words
to put on airs. Express warmth, but don't be over-emotional. Not only does
advice like this encourage extreme and debilitating self consciousness;
it increases the individual's dependence on the Society, which alone can assure
him whether he has passed its tests.
(Pg.166). What is required is dedication to God, loving concern for the
salvation of one's neighbour, and accurate knowledge of the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6).
Even when something is anticlimactic, at a
large convention, it was made to feel, at least in retrospect, climactic as, for example, at Yankee Stadium in August, 1950, where the Witnesses were
reminded of the old belief that God's faithful Abraham, Joseph, David
would rise from the dead before the end of the world. This aroused tremendous
expectations, which were heightened by the speaker, F. W. Franz, when he
suggested that among those gathered together were the "Princes of the New
Earth." (Pg.167,168).
This is yet another of their
"lying signs and portents". (2 Thess 2:9,10).
|
Chapter 10. |
Leaving: 1955. |
On the Saturday of that week, a Witness I
knew and loved died. And the circumstances surrounding his dying made me
understand that when I left... it would be because God didn't live in my
religion... Mike died at a party at a Witness' house…it was his heart that
killed him. He'd had two heart attacks; on the morning of that party, he'd been
out preaching for the first time since his convalescence. He was talking about
his delight in being able to go from door to door again... when he clutched his
chest and began to gasp for air… A respected elder from Watchtower headquarters
launched as Mike's gasps began to sound, horribly, more like the final
rattle of death into an interminable story about the people he'd known
who'd been taken unaware by death ("I knew someone else who died like that," he
said, looking at Mike). Three‑quarters of the Witnesses present set themselves
to clean up the room in order to "give a good witness" to the police when they
arrived. Mike was pronounced DOA. The cops were given a speech about our hope in
the resurrection. Mike himself was ignored (except by the police, whose attempts
to resuscitate him were heroic); grief was shelved (Mike's wife was sedated).
The Witnesses congratulated themselves on the way the police had seemed to be
impressed by their decorum and their calm; in their zeal to "give a witness,"
the actual fact of Mike's death seemed almost forgotten. I can't remember anyone
crying out in love or horror or praying. The task of
telling Mike's young daughter that he had died was delegated to me. As an elder
drove me to her house, he recited all the Scriptures I might use to comfort
her... I looked at the elder in a vain attempt to find some trace of sorrow or
anger on his face as he continued to offer memorized words of comfort. He had
already buried Mike in some recess of his mind; his concern was how to keep
Mike's daughter from "going overboard with immoderate grief" (his words she was 12 years old). I
have hated very few people as much as I hated that man, then. "See if you can
take Mike's daughter out preaching with you tomorrow morning," he said. "It'll keep her mind from selfishness.
(Pg.200-202).
So the first JW
'elder'
from Watchtower headquarters launches into an interminable story about death,
doing nothing for Mike as he lay dying at his feet, while the second
'elder' advises that
the grieving daughter should be taken preaching the following day to
"keep her
mind from selfishness"! This deplorable
incident typifies the callous nature apparent in every JW my family and I have
ever met. "Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into
the fire. Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men." (Matt 7:19).
(Cont. on Page
16/10/94I).
16/10/94H.
|