Can a Jehovah Witness explain this?

[Mr. Personality]

And I know I knew this at one time but I forget. Why do the "Kingdom Halls" not have windows ?

Cheaper insurance.

[SHOZDIJIJI]

Friends of ours out of the blue decided to follow the JW path. Following this they cut of all association with us and alot of other old friends. Their kids were no longer allowed to associate with ours and others. It was hard on our kids and hard on theirs as well. To me JW seems more cultish then religion. The segregation is amazing . I've lived in the middle east where Islam rules but there at least our kids could play with the arab kids, no hassle in fact they were welcomed by the kids families....JW seems strange to me like what are they scared of....

My mom, a baptised JW married my dad, a religion non-descript. They had me and I was brought up (mostly) in the JW faith. I had friends both JW and non. The other JW kids were friends with non JW kids as well as each other. I was allowed to skip school events that went against the faith (Xmas concerts, Rememberance Day ceremonies, etc) if I wanted to (I rarely did).

Even when I moved out here with my parents and informed my mom I wouldn't be attending meetings or anything like that, I was friends with JW kids and non JW kids. I can honestly say in all my years being this close to the religion I have never come across the kinds of things I read about on this board sometimes.I never felt segregated from the rest of the world and I've never met anyone who did.

Well I can tell you this our kids have had 1 play date with these friends of ours kids in the last 3 years and it was only because they were with the Grandmother who is non JW.

[Mr. Personality]

Well, while they teach "proper association" in their meetings and whatnot, that sort of thing is more about the parents interpretation of that than the religion's teachings itself.

[Bagotricks]

This is the same reason that most home schooled children in the US are extreme evangelical christians.

Watch "jesus camp" on google video.

When your being taught the earth is 3000 years old and that homosexuals are evil and not worth being friends with...it makes it easier to "control" children and "ideas" and limit "questions" when all the kids that JW's play with all share the same beliefs.

Ever wonder why that Bountiful church group ( multiple 15 year old wives to a 60 year old man ) is waaaaay out in the sticks and the people inside are not really "allowed" to leave, or only go into town with a "escort"?

Had a JW friend who left the church. Life long friends would pretend to not even know her and go out of their way to avoid her.

This type of behaviour reminds me of abusive husbands that keep wives at home all the time.

Gotta be careful, otherwise they might grow a brain of their own and start to question things...

[Mr. Personality]

This is the same reason that most home schooled children in the US are extreme evangelical christians.

Watch "jesus camp" on google video.

When your being taught the earth is 3000 years old and that homosexuals are evil and not worth being friends with...it makes it easier to "control" children and "ideas" and limit "questions" when all the kids that JW's play with all share the same beliefs.

Ever wonder why that Bountiful church group ( multiple 15 year old wives to a 60 year old man ) is waaaaay out in the sticks and the people inside are not really "allowed" to leave, or only go into town with a "escort"?

Had a JW friend who left the church. Life long friends would pretend to not even know her and go out of their way to avoid her.

This type of behaviour reminds me of abusive husbands that keep wives at home all the time.

Gotta be careful, otherwise they might grow a brain of their own and start to question things...

1 - Closer to 6000 years and that's human existence, not necessarily the Earth itself, but you knew that, right?
2 - Homosexuals themselves are not evil, homosexuality is considered a sin. Big difference.
3 - Through my time (until I was 14) of going to the meetings every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, I was not only encouraged to ask any questions I could think of, I was also given study material about other religions. Some materials were published by the Watchtower Society, others were either another religion's publication or completely secular.
4 - To compare JWs to the People in Bountiful is only fair if you compare Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims and every other group who meets one or a few times a week to discuss and study their brand of religion to Bountiful. There are no JW compounds and they do not completely shun the outside world. If they did, you'd never see them and wouldn't care what they did (case in point, no one gave a damn about the Bountiful group until it hit the news even though most people knew they were there).

As to your friend, the question I would ask is had she previously been baptised and was now "disfellowshipped" (much like excommunication to Catholics)? A disfellowshipping would result in much of that behaviour, as would an excommunication for a Catholic (but Catholics don't knock on your door, so it's ok, right?)

Also, I would say that if you leave any group, religion, job, PTA or Minor Hockey Association, there are going to be people who act like that, guaranteed. Also, if your friend spewed forth the sort of ignorance your post did as she left, then I don't blame them one bit.

Thank you for your bias and prejudice. Have a nice day.

[tikbor]

I had a friend who was JW from the time I was around six until she moved from Kelowna at 13. We had played a lot and had sleepovers and everything. Her parents took me to a meeting once (until my mom found out and called in the middle of it to have them send me home) and church one Sunday after I slept over (no biggie). If I mentioned Christmas, my friend got upset, but mostly we had a good time, like little girls do.

Fast forward to my son in grade one - he asked for his friend to come over; friends mom agreed only if she could come ('family rule') which I was fine with. BUT - she was here about half an hour before she started to quiz me on my beliefs and started to push the whole JW thing on me. I tolerated politely but never had her over again and would not have let my son visit his friend at his home for fear they'd try and recruit six year old him.

And please note (re association with the rest of the community) I know of several JW owned businesses where pretty much everyone working for them are JWs (kind of reverse discrimination). Of these businesses, one hired a friend of mine who was not JW (everyone else was). So I wouldn't say there's no segregation or relations with people other than other JWs unless it can't be helped.

[Glacier]

You are describing a common practice in the real world. An ardent atheist is going to prefer to hire one of a similar world view over one that thinks their beliefs are delusional. Chinese run businesses often have all Chinese employees. Sikh businessmen often hire fellow Sikhs. etc. etc. People hire people based on where they think they sit on the political spectrum. It happens, and is usually not intentional discrimination.

This is a common phenomenon within ANY group. We are attracted to those with commonalities. We all have our biases, so why would Jehovah's Wittinesses be any different?

As for the kids part, you wouldn't want your kids hanging out with kids that see nothing wrong with ______ (insert deviant activity you abhor).

Also, segregation is a bit too strong a word to use. Hanging out with folks of like mind or like faith is hardly segregation.

Segregation: the separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group by enforced or voluntary residence in a restricted area, by barriers to social intercourse, by separate educational facilities, or by other discriminatory means.

[newsmediaguy]

They believe that only their religion represents true Christianity, and that all other religions fail to meet all the requirements set by God and will be destroyed,[214] and therefore reject interfaith and ecumenical movements.[215] Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught it is vital they remain "separate from the world."
This is a direct quote from the wikipedia definition of jehovah witness.

Cult pejoratively refers to a religious group whose beliefs or practices could be considered strange or sinister
This is a direct quote for the defintion of a cult.

put these two together and i think we can safely say that jehovah is a cult not a religion. Your daughter is probably better off not getting involved with the family. All they will do is preach and confuse your daughter.

[Big ned]

If you are a news media guy, then you know how accurate wikipedia can be. As a mormon I know that many times my religion is misrepresented by people quoting various internet sites. Most religions are organized because they feel the other ones are lacking somewhere doctrinally. That is not a reason to call someone a member of a cult.

We as Mormons believe we should be in the world, but not of it. In other words, we tend to stay away from those influences that we believe are detrimental to spirituality. I don't attend parties where I know there will be heavy drinking. Doesn't mean I don't go to parties. I don't have any of the 18 people that work in my business, 2 are lds... not because they are lds, but because they are qualified. I think labelling a particular religion because they have different beliefs than what is generally accepted by mainstream christianity is dangerous and a little pathetic. Do they follow the teachings of Christ? From what I've studied of the JW's they do.

[newsmediaguy]

bottom line is religion is the root of all evil and all wars

[Glacier]

put these two together and i think we can safely say that jehovah is a cult not a religion.

bottom line is religion is the root of all evil and all wars

I am confused. First you bash JWs by calling them a cult as opposed to a religion, then you state religion is the problem.

I mean no offense, but your second quote is not true. Ever heard of Joseph Stalin, Minh Hai (Pol Pot), or Kim Jong-il? No religion there and plenty of evil done.

ETA: The love of money is the root of all evil.

ETA2: CULT: pejoratively refers to a religious group whose beliefs or practices could be considered strange or sinister.

Say what you will about Jehovah's Witnesses, but the ones I have had the pleasure of meeting are very nice, peaceful people. So what if they stick to themselves more than you would like, at least they aren't going to start some war somewhere. I seen no reason to call JWs a cult in the pejorative sense.

[Mr. Personality]

They believe that only their religion represents true Christianity, and that all other religions fail to meet all the requirements set by God and will be destroyed,[214] and therefore reject interfaith and ecumenical movements.[215] Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught it is vital they remain "separate from the world."
This is a direct quote from the wikipedia definition of jehovah witness.

Cult pejoratively refers to a religious group whose beliefs or practices could be considered strange or sinister
This is a direct quote for the defintion of a cult.

put these two together and i think we can safely say that jehovah is a cult not a religion. Your daughter is probably better off not getting involved with the family. All they will do is preach and confuse your daughter.

Who decides what "strange" is, and what religion doesn't think all others are misguided?

[Mr. Personality]

bottom line is religion is the root of all evil and all wars

Money and power is the root of all evil and all wars.
Religion is the guise that is used to cover it.

[FunkyBunch]

...what religion doesn't think all others are misguided?

Buddhism, Shintoism, Hinduism etc.

[FunkyBunch]

bottom line is religion is the root of all evil and all wars

Money and power is the root of all evil and all wars.
Religion is the guise that is used to cover it.

And here I thought it was people...