My Big Fat Fundie Wedding

[Caitshidhe]

Of course all JWs aren't the same, but it happens that Boything's family are the particular hardcore fundie flavour of JW that everybody dislikes, including other JWs. Boything grew up going to 'meetings' four times a week for three or more hours at a go, weekend-long conventions of nothing but endless sermons, being forbidden from access to any non-church-approved reading or media of any type, and being told that his own dad is a demon because he's a magician. Their entire community and family are like that. These JWs do exist and they are indeed grand masters of the SHUUUUUUNNNN THE NONBELIEVER stuff. I have no idea how prevalent they are but going by what I've seen and read (and what Boything's dad has talked about, and he looooves talking about hwo ridiculous that shit is), they're certainly not UNUSUAL. They even have their own child sex abuse scandals. It seems far more common for them to SHUUUUNNNN THE NONBELIIIIIEVERRRRRR than it is for them to be a-okay with someone being ANY other flavour of belief, let alone ATHEIST.

It doesn't help that the people involved are more or less without exception terrible human beings. I can count on one hand the number of people who didn't say nasty things and/or shun us: Erin, their brother Ollie, Dad, and a friend of the bride's called Rachel who is just good fun to be around.

These sorts of things happen at fundie weddings of any kind though if you aren't a member of their club. Shitty people in combination with fundie beliefs makes for a wedding that's essentially a self-parody of intolerance.

Also, I TOTALLY should have brought you, Ibbs!!! That would have been great. All the middle-aged women in attendance would have spontaneously generated pearls just to clutch at them.

[Random Gal]

Nothing livens up a wedding like robotic dinosaurs.

[Meshakhad]

Nothing livens up a wedding like robotic dinosaurs.

How about actual dinosaurs?

[erictheblue]

You should have gotten some anti-sexist pamphlets and gone around knocking on each table asking if they had a moment to hear the good news of the 21st century.  And then just left a shit load of the pamphlets at each table.

Or leave this on the tables...

(click to show/hide)

[davedan]

Dry weddings of whatever persuasion are pretty fucking ordinary. I have been to a couple of dry weddings in Bangladesh and they at least make up for it with lots of delicious food and dancing.

[syaoranvee]

The Witnesses use a practice known as Disfellowshipping to keep their lot in line, if two people claim you commited a "serious sin", you can be disfellowshipped.  What this means is that they are supposed to break up all contact with you regardless of family ties or relationships.  EVERY JW is supposed to do this to this particular person.  It destroys a person's family, friends, everything as JWs tend to be apart of tight knited communities and families.  Normally, with a sect of religion you can say a person is an asshole if they do this sort of thing, not the JWs, it is REQUIRED by their sect and if you don't abide by it you risk disfellowshipping as well.

A list of serious sins according to wikipedia for JWs:

Jehovah's Witnesses consider many actions to be "serious sins", for which baptized Witnesses are subject to disfellowshipping or formal reproof. Actions for which a member can be disfellowshipped include: Abortion,[18] adultery, apostasy,[19] bestiality, blood transfusions,[20] "brazen conduct" or "loose conduct",[21][22] drug abuse,[23] drunkenness, extortion,[24] fornication, fraud,[25] gambling,[24] greed,[24] homosexual activity, idolatry, incest, interfaith activity,[26] lying,[27] manslaughter, murder, "perverted sex relations",[28] polygamy,[29] pornography,[30] reviling, sexual abuse,[31] slander,[25] spiritism, theft, and use of tobacco.[23][32][33]

According to Raymond Franz, a letter dated September 1, 1980, from the Watch Tower Society to all circuit and district overseers advised that a member who "merely disagrees in thought with any of the Watch Tower Society's teachings is committing apostasy and is liable for disfellowshipping."[104]

This and the fact that they are willing to allow their own children to die because of not allowing them to have blood makes them a bunch of assholes and a cult and I have no problem calling them that when they use to come to my door. (Spoiler: They stopped doing that pretty quickly)

[Witchyjoshy]

Let me put it this way:

I'm generally respectful of other religions on the basis that I want them to respect my religion, too.

Mormons, Jehova's Witnesses, and Scientology are the exceptions.  I feel no shame about pointing out how these systems are, in fact, inherently harmful, and what vee pointed out is why.

[Caitshidhe]

It probably doesn't help that those three religions are not only objectively harmful, but can also pretty well conclusively be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be complete fabrications and great big piles of bull poop.

[Søren]

I wish i was a woman just for the purpose of trolling JW's

[Random Gal]

It probably doesn't help that those three religions are not only objectively harmful, but can also pretty well conclusively be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be complete fabrications and great big piles of bull poop.

Especially considering two of them were founded by con artists.

[Saturn500]

Wait, was it Mormonism or JW which was founded by a con artist?

[Random Gal]

Mormonism. It's pretty clear Joseph Smith just made up the golden tablets story to get people to follow him.

[Saturn500]

[Lightbulb appears over my head] And so he could have multiple wives! Of course! It all makes sense now!

Mormonism came about because Joseph Smith didn't think he was getting laid enough!

[Caitshidhe]

And wasn't wealthy enough. And didn't have enough people doing exactly what he said. Or believing everything he said, no matter how crazy. (Including--this is true!!--that there were tall Quaker-type people with lifespans of a thousand years living on the moon.) And didn't have enough of the US government after him.

Well, yanno, if you're gonna dream... dream big!

[Radiation]

I have been to two weddings in my life, both of which were Catholic weddings. The first one I went to was when I was a kid and the second one I went to was my cousin's wedding.

It's too bad that you had to deal with that Cait but at least, hopefully, you won't have to deal with that family for a while.