Comments on: Brenda Lee DID it!

By: VirusHead

VirusHead — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:53:40 +0000

Some time has passed. When I reread the post and the comments, I realized that I had left something important unsaid – or maybe not so much unsaid as not said in a way that would be understood by a wider spectrum of readers.

I agree that the mockery aspect of this is disrespectful and I would normally disapprove of injecting that attitude into any faith community. I would not normally sanction doing anything like this for another group or another other ritual (although I suspect that some groups and some rituals would not be objected to in the way that some have commented). Bear in mind that the whole point of the ritual is to reinforce that you’re _not_ part of the sector of humanity that could be part of grace. Brenda’s actions were not directed at God/Jesus/Spirit but rather they were directed toward the arrogance of the governing body of the corporation that claims to be God’s voice on this earth and who have used their pseudo-ceremony to reinforce a false “second-class” citizen.

I couldn’t do it, but I am glad someone did it. I think that it was a very important moment for Brenda, and her action was empowering and healing to me, too. In my fantasies, I just thought about what it would be like to actually partake of the emblems, without ever thinking about why they were called emblems and why they never say the words “communion” or “grace.” Even that was so transgressive that I felt a lot of shame for even thinking it.

Unless you had experienced the mockery made of communion in the first place, it is very difficult to convey why I found this to be so hilarious in its transgressive power. Yes, there were antics… but it was a very powerful psychological moment and a little overkill is both understandable and forgivable because there also had to be some distancing lest it feel like she was approving the JW understanding and thus _really_ participating in the spiritual sense.

I’m not sure there would be many, if any, Christians that would say that was a true communion or that God/Jesus/Spirit would approve of using a celebration of grace into a tool of segregation and domination. I could be wrong… nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Remember, JWs themselves say that they are no part of Christendom.

By: jeff

jeff — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:06:29 +0000

The fact that Brenda saw it as her right to partake did not bother me, what I found most upsetting was the way in which she partook.There seemed to be a complete lack of respect for the occasion itself,regardless of what she thinks of Jehovah’s Witnesses the fact remains that they were celebrating Christ’s Memorial as they see fit to do so.To go to a Kingdom Hall and show such distain for Christ’s death as you did left me feeling only sadness.Your aim was obviously to shock those who would have observed you partake,if this was not so you would not have continually drawn attention to yourself by your loud “amen’s” gulping down the wine,open mouth gum chewing,and the other antics that you used during the clip.If we put aside for a momment all your gripes about not being able to partake when you were a jw and how you felt controlled while you were a member of this “soo called cult,” but rather just for a momment reflect on how your actions would have been viewed by your Heavenly Father and His beloved Son, the one who died for “your” sins.
It then becomes obvious that your actions go way beyond a so called right to protest against a religion that you feel has treated you unjustly.
To sully a celebration of Christ’s death in such a way surpasses the divide between religious beliefs and personal injustices,it regretfully attacks and makes a mockery of the precious blood that was spilt for all sinners,including yours Brenda.I’m deeply offended that soo many comments have so far made light of this.

By: VirusHead

VirusHead — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 16:41:12 +0000

I think they assume that many of the early followers would have been of the 144,000.

By: barbara

barbara — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 20:26:40 +0000

I think we are all forgetting the big picture.There are so many religions and faiths that it is ridiculous to single out one and their beliefs I hear alot of jokes and people saying things about JWs’ that it concerns me if we all visitited a different church they all have different ways of doing things.sometimes you can go to a church of the same denomination and find it different than the other.I believe that we should all practice the golden rule when speaking to to others and about others.Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 18:47:15 +0000

So was the early church somehow different? Or do they believe that the early church wasn’t supposed to be taking communion either? I believe Paul even referred to it being taken in one of his letters. Though in that case he was telling them that they were doing it wrong.