| Glossary: S |
STORY: When I was a Congregationalist, the minister would take an eight week vacation every summer. So that people would not be left hanging, he would arrange to send the congregation across the street to the Methodist church for {interfaith} services. No one saw anything wrong with this routine.
The term self-abuse was used consistently in the Society's literature for many years. This word has a strongly judgmental flavor to it. It refers not to the act itself, but to the speaker's righteous indignation toward it. In today's immoral society there are many who do not believe that masturbation is an act of abuse, and many even view it as beneficial.[171] Witnesses inclined to discuss the subject at all with worldly people, who call it self-abuse, stand the danger of sending the discussion off on a tangent, because it is no longer considered {politically correct}. Therefore, when speaking of masturbation, it is better to use the plain and unambiguous English word that has sufficed for centuries. It is significant that self-abuse has not appeared in the Society's publications since 1985, though there have been several articles that deal with masturbation.
[171] In 1994 the Surgeon General of the USA was fired for publicly recommending that masturbation be taught in schools as a part of sex education classes.
NOTE: Just after the text of version 5.1 of the Glossary was completed, I found self-abuse in the literature once again, in [g94 11/8 20]. I decided that rather than rewriting the entry and losing all my reasoning on the point, I would leave it as is and add this rider paragraph, because my personal {opinion} remains that it would be better if the term self-abuse were not used for the reasons just described. Perhaps the suggestion will eventually find its way into the hands of one of the Society's editors and be given serious consideration. I also removed the [obs] tag that was found in the previous version.
Sometimes self-righteousness is mistaken as zeal, and sometimes it is caused by misdirected zeal. A case of a good quality overdone. But sometimes real zeal is presumptuously labeled as self-righteousness by those who feel condemned when seeing their own activity in light of someone else's. (Compare Joh 7:7.) The moral: it is fruitless for imperfect people to compare themselves with others. (2Co 10:12)
STORY: Once I had gone a couple of sentences into my chatty introduction with a householder when the man interrupted me with the point blank question: <<Is this going to be a sermon?>> Clearly he did not believe I came to him to engage in small talk about the weather.
NOTE: If the answer to the example question is ``No'', some people would say ``No, I'm just a publisher.'' Servants of Jehovah should never feel the need to use self-deprecating expressions about their privileges of service as though they indicated some kind of ranking. (Compare {publisher}.)
NOTE: This word is not used in theocratic speech in the sense that it is used in {Christendom's} churches to indicate a religious ceremony. My guess is that the origin of this usage can be found in the literal serving of {emblems} in the Roman Catholic mass, which is celebrated daily. <<My return visit asked me ``What time are your services tomorrow?''>> <<There will be a burial service for Brother Fadeaway tomorrow.>> Not!
Huh? That's the explanation you can give to your kid when you really don't want to talk about it. 4. One TV talk host said: <<Sex is the most fun you can have without laughing.>>
NOTE: Many worldly persons find sex to be a difficult thing to talk about, especially {Fundamentalists} who have wrongly been taught that intercourse between Adam and Eve was the original sin, and that sexual relations are therefore wrong and shameful. If this teaching were accurate, it would conflict with Jehovah's direct command to the first man and woman to ``be fruitful and become many''. (Gen 1:28) In contrast, Jehovah's Witnesses are quite candid about discussing sex, confident in the accurate knowledge that God not only approves, but even encourages persons to find much pleasure in sexual union within the bounds of marriage. (Pro 5:15-19)
[174] I once saw a {bumper sticker} that said ``Feisty women of the world unite!''
Christians who are sensitive to the feelings of others will avoid using words that blatantly discriminate against women. For example, now that many women have taken up police work, the usual term for them is law enforcement officers rather than policemen. And not policepersons!
One persistent problem is the question of how to handle the pronouns he and she and their objective and possessive counterparts. On this the publications of the Society have closely followed the practice described by language expert William Safire in his delightful book Fumblerules, which I quote:
[179] One definition for singing given in an old version of Web Webster is ``to make a shrill whining or whistling sound''.
The singing we do at meetings is an important part of our worship, and should not be treated lightly. It is probably a poor idea for a brother to introduce the song at mid-meeting with words like: <<Perhaps you would like to stand and stretch your legs and join in singing song 190.>> The purpose of the song is not to provide an opportunity to perform calisthenics.[180] Note also from the example that the brother announced only the song number and forgot to say the title and accompanying scripture citation. We sing songs, not numbers.
[180] Many nonetheless consider this break an appropriate time to run off to the restroom.
STORY: We had a circuit overseer who repeatedly pointed out that we should always sing as loud as possible. But loud is not necessarily equivalent to good. I remember standing for the opening song one night, and behind me was a brother who was visiting. He absolutely bellowed the songs. Jehovah was undoubtedly delighted with his unquestionable zeal. But in all my years I have never heard such noxious caterwauling. The brother could have substituted for Roseanne Barr doing the national anthem, if he were a national anthem singer.[181]
[a] See Chapter 15, ``Development of the Organization Structure.''
<<The Society directs that meetings should open with song and prayer.>>
STORY: Once, just after we in the USA began to offer literature without cost I knocked on a door where there was a No Soliciting sign. I always ignore them. There was no answer. I headed up the drive, but a man came out from the side. He had a scowl on his face, but looked at me intently and listened carefully to everything I had to say. I eventually worked my way around to offering the magazines. He looked for a moment, and then, to my surprise, agreed in a friendly voice that he would like to read them. I gave him the literature and continued the discussion with an appropriate blurb about making a donation if he was inclined. Although, like a lot of people, I was still uncomfortable with trying to adjust to the new way of doing this, I thought I had gotten through it fairly smoothly on that occasion.
Apparently the man thought that he'd been had, and that this was the catch. He scowled even more than initially, but said that he'd go into the house and get some money and turned around to go back inside. As he was walking away he muttered half under his breath, as he was passing his No Soliciting sign something like ``I guess these signs don't mean much to you people!'' and disappeared inside the house. He returned with a $5 bill which he handed to me.
Meanwhile, I had done a little quick thinking while he was gone. I thanked him abundantly for his willingness to make a contribution, and then gave it back to him and refused to accept it. Thereafter I continued the discussion about financing the work. I pointed out that I heard what he said as he went inside, and that I didn't want him to think for one second that we were engaged in any kind of a commercial or money-gathering work. I went on to explain in more detail about where the money comes from to support what we do, and assured him that the literature was truly available without cost to persons who agreed to read it. I reminded him that I did ask him whether he would like to read it before offering it, and that he did say yes. I also pointed out that the next time one of Jehovah's Witnesses stops by, the policy will be the same, and if he wants to give his $5, or any amount at all, to that person, in order to support the work, he will be more than happy to see that it gets into the right hands. Then I left. The scowl had meanwhile changed to an expression of dumbfoundedness. Since then the {worldwide work} has gotten along just fine without that man's $5. It seemed to me that even if he never read the literature, it was important to avoid leaving him with a bad impression. It was the ``right thing to do'' at that time.
[183] There are two kinds of people in this world: those who finish what they start, and so forth.
Speculation among Witnesses often centers on what certain features of God's new world will be like. Opinions vary wildly on what amount and sorts of technology might be a part of the new system. Illustrations in our literature send a mixed message. In portrayals of life in the new world there are no overt evidences of technology---no computers, no powered vehicles, not even a wrist watch. But everyone seems to be wearing plaid and flannel and polyester clothing from J. C. Penny,[184] and the houses are obviously modern and have glass windows.
[184] But no {suits} and {ties}!
Speculation is discouraged in the Society's publications because it can lead persons to forming strong opinions about matters they can't possibly have knowledge of. <<What language will everyone speak in the new world? Some people say Hebrew. Do they have good scriptural reasons to believe it? Yes. Can they prove it? No. I believe it will be English. Do I have good scriptural reasons to believe it? Yes. Can I prove it? No. Any in-depth discussion of the matter would necessarily be rooted in speculation, so there is no basis for holding firmly to any view.[185]>> <<``What's the name of that brother who always complains when the brothers counsel him for speculating?'' ``Oh, Brother Willie Blowhard.'' ``No, I think it's Brother M. I. Kluless.''>>
AN ILLUSTRATION: If we had a six-cylinder car that was sparking on only five cylinders, we would not conclude that five is good enough, since the car still goes. We would immediately get the car fixed. Similarly, we have a six-cylinder spiritual feeding program. There are the five scheduled meetings, and personal study. If we miss any of these, we will {limp} along with spiritual hesitations, going ka-chunk, ka-chunk along the way.
In the USA, American style football seems to be enjoying the lead in popularity presently among professional spectator sports, with basketball a close second, and the classical game of baseball,[187] formerly regarded as ``the national pastime'' slumping in third.
[187] My personal favorite!
STORY: A local brother who was at Bethel happened to have Brother and Sister Knorr in his book study and would sometimes ride with them to the meeting. Apparently Brother Knorr was a big baseball fan. One night they were waiting for him in the car and Sister Knorr asked the other Bethelites: ``Do you boys like baseball?'' They all did. She said: ``If you would rather talk about spiritual things on the way to the meeting, then you'd better ask Nathan a Bible question as soon as he gets in the car, or he'll start talking about the Mets and you'll never get to it.'' It's only natural that Brother Knorr would be a baseball fan. After all, his middle name was Homer.
Readers outside the USA may be surprised to learn that soccer is not very popular here. It is played mainly by school children in physical education classes. Even the World Cup, when presented in this country, was upstaged on TV by coverage of the O. J. Simpson murder case.
A little friendly competition is not wrong for Christians. (See the article ``Is Competition in Sports Wrong?'' in [g95 12/8 14].) But great care must be taken by persons who enjoy sports not to get overly wrapped up in the competitive side of it, and to shun the violence that pervades professional sports. (Compare Gal 5:26.) This is difficult to do in an activity where someone must always be the loser, and where often someone who fails to achieve his best at a critical moment is labeled the goat and is sent off bitterly disappointed in humiliation and shame. The intrinsic inferiority of sports as compared to an entirely cooperative artistic pursuit, such as {music}, may be seen in what happens following some large sporting events: the attendees in both the winning and the losing cities go out and burn their cities down. This hardly ever happens following a Schubert Lieder recital.
would be numbered as one song verse, whereas if they were found in the Psalms, the lines would be numbered separately.
AN ILLUSTRATION: Some people allow themselves to be stumbled and then look for pity, feeling sorry for themselves. But if someone did a royal pratfall in the parking lot of the Kingdom Hall, he wouldn't just lie there sad-eyed, whining ``I've been stumbled.'' He would get back up on his feet just as soon as he could, and look around hoping nobody noticed. We should guard our spirituality similarly.
These garments often have a deleterious effect on persons. Some people even change personalities when they put on a sooot.[191] Suit coats are particularly loathsome to wear when it is 115 degrees (Fahrenheit) in Phoenix, Arizona, and close to 130 degrees[192] in a car that has been sitting closed up in the driveway.[193] As I say to my family in such circumstances: <<Does everyone have their nice warm clothes on good and tight?>> No, that example doesn't use the headword, but I felt a need to vent my frustration. (Compare Phi 4:5.)
[192] 46 and 54 degrees Celsius respectively.
[193] While proofing this entry I'm watching a guy on TV frying eggs on a Phoenix sidewalk.
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