The irritating slant to almost everything negative I have seen on Witnesses

by free2beme 23 Replies latest jw friends

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  free2beme

  When I left the Witnesses, a person from work gave me a video about the Witnesses that his church uses. I thought it would be interesting, so I set down and watched it. What I found was another example of one church taking about another, to then counter with points that support their way of thinking. I read some books on the Witnesses, and again I found authors saying something negative about the Witnesses and countering with their interpretation of the Bible. Now I realize that people do go from the Witnesses and often join other churches, I also realize that the nature within a person is to support yourself by putting down another and stepping on them to lift ourselves higher.

  The thing is, I think the Witnesses could easily be shown to be a wrong religion, by their actions alone. The idea of using them, to do a "we will show you how they are wrong, and set you on the right path." Is so annoying to me, and something I find to be the most negative slant I have run in to, when reading and watching things on the Witnesses. There have been some that are not this way, and they just go into talking about some of the hidden truths to the organization and the way things are done. I like those, and there have been a view. I especially get irritated though when I see the preaching, or when people make things up about what they "Supposedly heard" from someone.

  Face it, the Witnesses are just not that hard to expose for what they are, and preaching and trying to use them to convert people to another religion is just not necessary. Did others feel this way when they read things or watched things on the Witnesses.
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  bigmouth

  Absolutely, yes. I have had such a gutsful of the dubs that I only have to smell a fundamental type Christian and I feel sick. The 'born again' or charismatic ones seem to put in a lot of effort to knock other religions.
  I notice that very few ex-dubs ever go anywhere near another religion after escaping.
  
  BTW, funnily enough, if I come across someone spouting off about what Witnesses believe and they get it wrong, I'm quick to put them right! Ha! What's going on there!?
  Pete
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  The wanderer

  In all honesty, I must agree. To my way of thinking all of these
  religions and churches employ outstanding spin doctors and
  propagandists in order to "enlighten" the ignorant masses.
  
  

  Respectfully,

  The Wanderer
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  Justin

  Much of the old "anti-cult" material written by Evangelical Christians was actually to protect their own people from being involved in cults, rather than to convert cultists, but it had to appear as an evangelizing effort. There is no telling how many Evangelicals might have become JWs if this campaign had not been waged.

  As for materials that are written by Ex-JWs, I think they feel the need to justify their own departure from the organization, and the more crap they uncover the more justified they feel. We see this over and over again on this forum. We can see the need for such justification. Think of the consequences if we have been wrong to leave!

  I agree that it's hard to find objective material about the JWs, and probably nothing is totally objective. But there are ex-JWs who have become well educated, and with the proper mentoring can be encouraged to distance themselves enough from their subject to present it fairly.
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  MinisterAmos

  I'd say you are experiencing the after effects of the "where else would you go syndrome" Just because something is ruined beyond repair you don't have to get a new one when you throw it away; sometimes we forget that doing NOTHING is a viable option. It is certainlt better than doing something we knoe is harmful both to ourselves and to others.
  

  I would NEVER suggest a religion to another person although I know it is considered chic to "try on" the various frou-frou ones.

  Nope, the only thing I am good at is the anti-witness. I will do everything in my power to show the Dubs just how ignorant they are for listening to a bunch of dying old men in Bklyn
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  Quentin

  I think it's evenhanded, as far as ex-jws go. There are those with an ax to grind and those who want to help others get out alive. None of us got up one morning and said: I don't want to be a jw anymore. We all took one right between the horns while getting our teeth kicked in.

  Those who've never been in and write expos do so for money. The more sensational the more money in their pockets. Those books I leave on the shelf.
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  earthtone

  I may not want to go the KH anymore, but I hate when people who've never been starting doggin witnesses. I feel like they can't really relate to how it really is. As far as ex-JW's being negative about the organization, I understand how they feel and just try not to let the bitterness of the situation get to me. I much rather move on with my life. I'm not saying I don't reflect on the past or crack jokes like the rest, but I've decide not to let it consume me.

  I don't know if I'll try another religion out, in general the thought of church (organized religion) makes me sick.. I rather focus on my just being a good person and a positive member of society.

  And that's my 2cents, keep the change.
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  LongHairGal

  Justin:
  
  The most objective views of the JW religion I ever read were clinical observations from secular sources (I can't quite remember what). I know what you mean about nothing being totally objective.
  
  You simply can't compare a view of an ex-JW to somebody who never was. Some ex-JWs need to "justify" why they left maybe because they are not quite sure if they did the right thing but after enough time passes, even they won't care because they will be so relieved.
  
  Others just want to expose everything and let the whole world know what is really going on there. The more secretive the religion, the more it DESERVES for the world to know what it is all about, IMO.
  
  I guess it is a cathartic experience. People need to talk.
  
  LHG
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  Bstndance

  BTW, funnily enough, if I come across someone spouting off about what Witnesses believe and they get it wrong, I'm quick to put them right! Ha! What's going on there!?

  Yeah, I hear stupid things like: "you can't drink alcohol, can't see a doctor" and it gets on my nerves not because I want to defend the cult, but I don't want people to think I had a strange childhood. Wasn't there a movie where there was a little boy that was a JW and he couldn't have candy or go to a carnival or something.
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  grey matters

  Some of the weirdest stuff I read is not "anti-witness" literature, but the old Watchtower teachings themselves. Most recently, I have been reading about Russell's fascination with Egyptian pyramids and their measurements and how he thought that somehow tied in with Bible prophecy. True, they don't believe that at this point. But what I don't like is that we were presented with little snippets of belief from the likes of Russell and Rutherford, and taught to hold them in reverence, without being shown the whole picture. Talk about not being objective.