4 ms·

Well, sorry for misspelling, that wasn't intended. I think you deserve some explanation from my side. I don't know what it is about in USA, but here, in Russia

Well, sorry for misspelling, that wasn't intended. I think you deserve some explanation from my side. I don't know what it is about in USA, but here, in Russia, "Jehovah's Witnesses" is just a pyramidal sect. They spam, they visit other people's homes, they annoy you on the streets, and once someone gets to become a Jehovah's Witness, you won't see him again. That's also a reason why I wasn't really surprised by low levels of their incomes. Mostly because after you drop your job, you don't usually earn much.

NathanKP 16y ago
Well I've never visited Russia, but I can assure you that here in the U.S. we definitely work, and don't drop our jobs to become Witnesses. It is just that the culture of Jehovah's Witnesses is one of self-sufficiency without overwork. We don't see the value in working long hours and overtime to make lots of money when it is possible to live a self-sufficient and enjoyable life with a medium to low income. Jehovah's Witnesses definitely do visit people's homes here in the U.S, and some people are certainly annoyed by that, but one possibly little known fact is that if you tell a Witness that you don't ever want them to come back we'll add you to a "Do Not Call List". If you are really irritated by our visits you can easily stop them. I certainly don't feel that we are a "pyramidal sect". We are a sect in the definition that our beliefs differ from those of the dominant world religions, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Pyramidal would imply that some members are better than others or that we have some complex structure that oppresses the common member in favor of an elite class of members. On the contrary I can assure you that every member is treated equally. Naturally some members who are better at coordinating things take the lead in organizing functions and operations but these individuals are not assumed to be better than any other member, and there are no extra perks, pay, or glory going to these volunteers. I'm not sure why you would not be seeing someone after they became a Jehovah's Witness. I know that the Russian government has put major pressure on JW's in violation of their own laws on freedom of religion and as a result local JW's may find it beneficial to maintain a low profile. Another possible explanation is that after becoming JW's many choose to stop associating with former friends who they find to be living lifestyles which are immoral and who they feel might be a bad influence. As for "dropping your job" the only case where I can think of a Jehovah's Witness leaving their employment because they were a Witness would be a situation in which the person was working in the army, or in some industry directly connected to immoral activity. At any rate I'm sorry that you see the ministry work being done in Russia as "spam", and "annoying". We just want to give you free reading material that you can consider and compare with your own beliefs. If you don't like it, tell us and we'll leave you alone. If you do like it, tell us and we'll be happy to explain more to you. In my mind there are tremendous advantages to being well informed and learning about alternative cultures, so I am willing to consider ideas and reading material from numerous sources. In the end, I am the one who makes the decision about how to live my life. Jehovah's Witnesses feel that we have a very beneficial way of life that others can benefit from, so we advocate it. Why not have a serious talk with a Jehovah's Witness? In the worst case scenario we are just crazy people and you wasted your time talking to us. However, you still gained valuable information and a broader picture of the different cultures of the world. In the best case scenario you find our way of life interesting and decide to pursue it.

NathanKP 16y ago

Well I've never visited Russia, but I can assure you that here in the U.S. we definitely work, and don't drop our jobs to become Witnesses. It is just that the culture of Jehovah's Witnesses is one of self-sufficiency without overwork. We don't see the value in working long hours and overtime to make lots of money when it is possible to live a self-sufficient and enjoyable life with a medium to low income. Jehovah's Witnesses definitely do visit people's homes here in the U.S, and some people are certainly annoyed by that, but one possibly little known fact is that if you tell a Witness that you don't ever want them to come back we'll add you to a "Do Not Call List". If you are really irritated by our visits you can easily stop them. I certainly don't feel that we are a "pyramidal sect". We are a sect in the definition that our beliefs differ from those of the dominant world religions, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Pyramidal would imply that some members are better than others or that we have some complex structure that oppresses the common member in favor of an elite class of members. On the contrary I can assure you that every member is treated equally. Naturally some members who are better at coordinating things take the lead in organizing functions and operations but these individuals are not assumed to be better than any other member, and there are no extra perks, pay, or glory going to these volunteers. I'm not sure why you would not be seeing someone after they became a Jehovah's Witness. I know that the Russian government has put major pressure on JW's in violation of their own laws on freedom of religion and as a result local JW's may find it beneficial to maintain a low profile. Another possible explanation is that after becoming JW's many choose to stop associating with former friends who they find to be living lifestyles which are immoral and who they feel might be a bad influence. As for "dropping your job" the only case where I can think of a Jehovah's Witness leaving their employment because they were a Witness would be a situation in which the person was working in the army, or in some industry directly connected to immoral activity. At any rate I'm sorry that you see the ministry work being done in Russia as "spam", and "annoying". We just want to give you free reading material that you can consider and compare with your own beliefs. If you don't like it, tell us and we'll leave you alone. If you do like it, tell us and we'll be happy to explain more to you. In my mind there are tremendous advantages to being well informed and learning about alternative cultures, so I am willing to consider ideas and reading material from numerous sources. In the end, I am the one who makes the decision about how to live my life. Jehovah's Witnesses feel that we have a very beneficial way of life that others can benefit from, so we advocate it. Why not have a serious talk with a Jehovah's Witness? In the worst case scenario we are just crazy people and you wasted your time talking to us. However, you still gained valuable information and a broader picture of the different cultures of the world. In the best case scenario you find our way of life interesting and decide to pursue it.