THERE IS LIFE AFTER WATCH TOWER

 

A REPORT ON A RUSSIAN TOUR SEPTEMBER 2003

 

 

I had intended to see some ex JWs, but because of a mix-up on the flight arrivals, I missed my contact so I lost the pre-arranged meeting. However, as the theme shows, 'there is life after WT'  and my tour proved very rewarding. I hope you find this account interesting, with a different slant from the normal sordid WT traumas. (See Jude verse 3: a change of subject but a reversal of content in my case)

 

A ten day tour of Moscow,  St. Petersburg and the country does not make me an expert on Russian culture. But I have made a few observations from my short visit. I welcome any criticisms and I apologise in advance for anything that is said here that might offend Russian people.  All is said in good faith.

 

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Before I had even stepped on to Russian soil I spoke to a Russian girl (Masha) on the plane and I asked her about the "babushka"(grandmother.) She told me with great emotion in her voice that the babushka is the bed-rock of Russian society. In ordinary conversation one uses the word sparingly. It is to be treated with great respect. I was honoured, because she told me about her upbringing with her babushka when they spent time together in the family "dasha" (country cottage.) I would say that any study of Russian culture would be meaningless unless one includes those two concepts: yes concepts; because the translations I've given fall far short of the real meaning.

 

Now let me focus on three other very significant words: "gold",  "amber" and "freedom." Russian palaces are gilded in gold and golden church domes sparkle in the sun. But I have used that term as a metaphor.  How that came about was by a little experience that happened to me as the tour group was inside one palace. We were going up a grand sweeping staircase, at the top of which were a man and woman dressed in period costume. They were greeting us as if we were Catherine the Great's guests coming to one of her 10-day parties.  I supported myself on the banister, (as you do). Then I heard a stern rebuke from somewhere behind me, "You're touching gold!" Even the banisters were gilded with gold!

 

That rebuke, almost guttural in tone has been seared into my mind because of the implications in the metaphor. The Russian way of life albeit so different from our own should be treated as untouchable. It is their "gold." So often politicians, commercial giants and missionaries sweep aside any concern for the core values of a society and they want to streamline it for expediency - The Big Mac syndrome. Actually, I found along the motorways that the best food was in the small cafes. One Russian expression I learned there was, if I can put this phonetically "Ochin Kooschk!" "Good food" You know when you want to compliment the cook you put your fingers to your mouth and make a similar expression in English. Hence the rebuke, "Do not touch the gold" applies in many ways. "Try the borsch not the burgers"

 

Most of these people have not heard of Watch Tower and have not seen a magazine or a WT book. So how can they be the nice people that they are? Because there is life apart from WT. What do the men in Brooklyn think Christ Jesus has been doing all this time? These people cannot quote Matthew 24 or wrestle with the beasts of Revelation, (mentally of course) but their faces shine reflecting the "face of Christ"  They could tell us a thing or two! I have written a poem, "Learn Wisdom from the Humble Ones" There is an allusion to one of Solomon's proverbs. The punch line at the end is about the humble Shulamite girl in The Song of Solomon. Accepting the highly allegorical language, I have said, "Solomon, knew a thing or two, He sought her for his Queen" She, remember called herself a "lily" which could mean a common crocus.

 

About icons: an icon is the thing you treasure: the thing you guard. You put it in its own room and each Sunday you carefully take it out and wash it and polish it. Then on Monday you drive to work in it. The cars in Moscow are the dirtiest I've ever seen. (Muscovites please forgive me for saying this.)  So who worships what? Forgive that little levity. Of course what we mean by an icon is what every Russian family has (Whoops! a generalisation). I have worked on passenger liners and seen the cabins of Goanese crew who nominate one of their cabins as a "church cabin" even the captain has to ask permission to go in on his weekly inspection.  So seeing the Russian icons in their own special place was not a new experience to me. But do they worship them? I would be very foolish indeed to make any generalisation here on such an emotional thing. I saw deep respect in their faces as they showed me pictures of monasteries and of godly men. These icons are sometimes very, very old, whereas we change ours every two years! Everything is relative. Travel, as they say broadens the mind and we come home and look more subjectively at our own way of life.

 

 

I was with my friend Dmitry in his dasha and we had a few moments of serious discussion. He showed the same symptoms of withdrawal and retreat as any other person might display in a suppressed society. He expressed himself this way, "I do not like obeying laws, but if disobedience would cause hurt to somebody, then I would obey" He was not showing a rebellious nature, but if we analyse it we will find that it expresses a Christian principle. For a Christian is motivated by love from inside not from laws and fear from outside. He came to this, not by attending five meetings a week. And, if I may digress, for what purpose did we attend? Do you remember in the so-called Service Meetings just before an assembly was due, every item and every word of the paragraph was stripped down and analysed and rehashed. So that the yearly ritual question about the convention facilities was asked, so vital to everlasting life: "How many toilets will there be?"  This went on year after year ad nauseum. I thank God that I had a lateral mind and I could see the indoctrination process at work. This cultures servitude to the organisation not genuine heart-felt worship of God. Igor and his wife and friends including Dmitry shy away from that and seek "freedom" even if it means withdrawal.

 

In the city of Pushkin there stands one of Catherine the Great's palaces. The ruling class lived in obscene opulence. The corridors were so long that you could look along at all the colonnades and arches and see them disappear into infinity. As you go through each arch you come into a new room. ("Room" hardly befits such an area of audience or bedchamber or both sometimes!) But each room had its own style, Chinese, Indian, Mosaic etc and one room was called "The Amber Room" This room alone cost $80,000,000! It is commonly called "The Eighth Wonder of the World" If you search on the internet under Amber Room you will find amazing pictures of it.

 

In some of my poetry I have used this as another metaphor: "No laws and rules by royal command, from "amber rooms' rooms and halls, will Igor and his wife obey, it's neighbour love that calls." With my 10 days experience I can only speculate how general this attitude is. It is of course the melting pot of revolutions as history bears out. At this point I would like to recommend that you read Alexander Dvokin's well written paper "Spirituality in the East and West - A Presentation On The Situation In Russia" You will find it on www.freeminds.org

 

Alexander has invited me to Moscow next year. I did not have the time to see him in September. He is well travelled and has a sense of humour. So I responded to his invitation most warmly. However, I pointed out to him with great respect that such an opportunity was too important just for a chat over a glass or two of Vodka, no matter how pleasant that would be. I proposed that someone from the States come over with me. But that is all I will say at this time, without pre-empting the agenda.

 

However, borrowing Alexander's phrase, 'Spirituality in the West',  how should we in the West analyse our spiritual stance?

 

Firstly, a paradox: by a series of unfortunate experiences, we ex- Witnesses find ourselves in a very fortunate position. How so? Well we have learned the truth from Watch Tower, yes from Watch Tower, BY DEFAULT. If, for example, you have been taught that 2+2 = 5 and then you are suddenly told the truth, then that truth is more impressed on your mind than if you had not been deceived. Of course the same can be said about all cults, but we know the gross evil that WT is indicted of before God.

 

Coming out of WT we should now be joining the world community of Christians. This, of course is an unincorporated body. So if we have not been totally sterilised or spiritually bankrupted by WT then we still have something to share with that Christian community. I would like to think that I am right and that "Igor and his wife" are very much integrated into it. Whilst driving in the country around the very beautiful Lake Seliger we stopped at a small farm. Dmitry wanted to get some fresh milk straight from the cow. We saw the farmer's wife and she did not have any. However, I saw in her, the way she was dressed with her scarf around her head, the typical Russian woman and I wanted to take a photo of her. But she smiled demurely and declined. I withdrew and allowed her, her dignity. Dima told me that her response was predictable and was a part of the "withdrawal" syndrome.

 

We can learn from this. we must not reduce these people to stereotypes and carry them away as trinkets or souvenirs just as we might carry away the typical Russian dolls (the ones that are inside each other). The Russian people are a great nation with diverse tribes covering an area a sixth of the world's land surface. We should respect them and listen to them.

 

When I returned and stood on English soil I went to a DIY store and as I was about to pay, the check-out lady heard a baby cry. I didn't. She said to me, "That baby has lost its mother" She was in fact a grandmother, the typical babushka.  What she did not realise was that she gave me the conclusion to my Russian trip and I then could draw a moral from my experiences.

 

I am studying the letter to the Hebrews. (Hopefully I will write a book about it.) This was written to the first century Christian Jews who were going through a transitional period. The Russians certainly are. And so are we as we get out of cults. And now that we are out let us join Igor and his wife in the Christian community  and  'reflect the face of Christ' (2 Corinthians 3:18) Jesus was High Priest and an apostle. He was "sent forth" to the Jews, but we have a commission to go to the whole world that God loves. We can listen for their distinctive cries for help as the babushka does. By all means, tend to those who have been damaged by the cults but reach out further. For there is life beyond WT.

 

 

And as they say in the best traditions, to find out more, you'll have to read the book!

 

 Christian love to you all.  Charles Stanley

 

 

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