Do J.W.'s deliberately lie to new converts?

by hubert 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  hubert

  When I showed my daughter a story of an old man who was df'd and shunned for asking questions about W.T. doctrine, she said "He must have had a big sin". So, this is what my daughter is being taught, that you have to have a "big sin" to be disfellowshipped and shunned.

  We all know that once baptized, you will be df'd and shunned for MANY reasons, even for just leaving the cult and not only for "big sins".

  So my question is, Do newly baptized j.w.'s KNOW they have to lie and deceive new converts when they start their own study with them in order to draw them into the cult?

  If so, how do they justify lying to the new study if they aren't supposed to lie?

  If someone (like my daughter who does not like to lie) is told to do this, could it make her realize that she is in fact telling lies?

  Thanks...

  Hubert
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  Shutterbug

  No, I don't think I ever outright lied to anyone, but there were times when I didn't tell them everything I knew. Bug
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  FairMind

  Some JW's probably know that they are telling untruths to new ones. Others, like myself before I learned the truth about the truth, actually believe everything they teach new ones. Knowing the truth about the truth is what now prevents me from starting "Bible" studies with interested ones.
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  hubert

  No, I don't think I ever outright lied to anyone,

  But, did you KNOW it was only a "half truth"?

  Is that why you held back? No offense, but I'm curious if it bothered your conscience?

  Hubert
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  Poztate

  NO...NO...They would never LIE..They just have different versions of "TRUTH"™

  There is a version for the people at the door. There is a version for those studying and newly baptised.

  There is the version for the long time totally committed Dub.

  There is the REAL TRUTH found here.
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  Highlander

  As an active JW I was so conditioned to believe that everything we said was the truth, even if part of it was a lie.

  That being said, I believe that most witnesses don't fully realize what they truly tell people at times.
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  MerryMagdalene

  Exactly, Poz. I think they see it as "progressive truth" rather than deceit, just like mother org has taught them. They start things our real dim and shadowy and then let the light get increasingly brighter.

  ~Merry
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  atypical

  I don't think it is deliberate in most cases. they see every thing through a pair of very distorted glasses. Remember all the cute illustrations, like how if you walked out of a very dark room you would not be able to handle bright light all at once? It's that type of thinking that justifies the fact that a new person doesn't get the whole story.
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  jgnat

  Do newly baptized j.w.'s KNOW they have to lie and deceive new converts when they start their own study with them in order to draw them into the cult?

  The trick is that they would never be sent out on their own. An older sister would be there to lead the way. What is the newly baptized one supposed to do? Openly contradict her study-mate in front of the interested householder? Unlikely. I swear a lot of the WT doctrine is held together by peer pressure. A JW is rarely left alone to try and defend their faith.
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  hubert

  The trick is that they would never be sent out on their own. An older sister would be there to lead the way.

  jgnat, so they would be "conditioned" to accept the lies?

  Hubert