Are they idiots??

nonamegiven

On my years as a JW I have always had doubts. I have dismissed these as me being overly critical or some such nonsense. Now I'm on my way out the door, well I"m out the door I'm just working on shutting it right now. Anyway, what about these brothers and sisters that have been in the "truth" for decades? do they have these doubts as well? How do they dismiss these and keep on going for decades? If they don't have these doubts, are they just stupid?

I'm serious, I know many brothers that are very intelligent, much more so than I but why can't they see any of the issues all of us here are so familiar with?

dedpoet

I would think most of them have, or have had doubts, but they choose to ignore them. I guess if someone has been a jw all their life, they want it to be true, and maybe even need it to be true. They just can't bring themselves to look at things that might prove it isn't.

Shazard

See one problem with beeing intelligent is, that you can cheat yourself! One who is very intelligent can make himself believe that things are like he wants them to be. It is similar to art... one idiot spits on paper and then calls the result "ART" and everybody else mumbles... yess... art... deep thougth, what a emotional grasp of current state of the worlds... mmm... yess... But child will cry - "King is naked" :)

Frog

hiya again nng, i can fully relate to your line of questioning, and know how hard it is to do so after having respected to many you may have been once to close to in the org. the things that i respected though in those persons was their knowledge of their faith, and in the WT interpretation of scripture etc it certainly in most cases wasn't due to any accademic ability on their part. It is then natural to question as you are. The thing is though that those people didn't necessarily solicit your praise or respect in that regard, you freely gave it as you once like them were on the same path, so naturally you admired and possibly aspired to be like them in some ways. It really is you that has changed not them. It is difficult though when you feel like the whole world of possibilities is opening up to you not to feel as though you are moving past them and possibly above them, I struggled myself very much with that very thing, and must have at times come across as being a little arrogant and patronising. I think now that we will always outgrow and grow apart from people throughout life, it's part for the course really. Even though I hold no ill will to most of the former jws i once knew (well all bar a couple perhaps) I know longer respect them or look up to them or envy them in any way, we're such different people now. Somehow in their minds for those that stay it suits their sense or reason, or their lifestyle, or perhaps they're too trapped, or maybe they've just been in it so long that they can't face up to the fact that they might have lived a life that was a lie. All those individuals in the org have their own motivations and reasons for staying or leaving. Despite the damage I know the org does, of which I like many others have been on the receiving end of, I have had to come to the conclusion that for some people being a JW for whatever reasons seems to work for them. I can only then analyse my own thoughts and feelings, and explore my own cognitive dissonance, that's all I am responsible for, and the only thing in which I have power and control over.

all the best matey. frog x

megsmomma

I was recently contemplating this as well. I know of many coming up to the retirement age that have no retirement. I was thinnking it would be hard for them to give up their "hope" of the world ending at this time because they would have to face too many realities. And I agree with all that was said above.

codeblue

Many believe it is the "closest thing to the true religion" and misquoting the scriptire: where else would they go? And you can't forsake the gatherering of yourselves together as Heb. 10:24 and 25 states, because that is a sin.

So they stay... and stay because they have family and friends that are also in that religion and IF they leave they won't have family and friends.

reneeisorym

You believe what you want to believe. I wanted truth more than I cared about anything else. My family cares more about being right/staying in their JW comfort zone.

troubled mind

I had questions and doubts for years . The more doubts the harder I would study the publications , the more time I would spend helping others .(denying myself ) This vicious cycle went on for years . Basically I think I did this because that was all I knew . I was convinced "I" was the problem , that "I" was weak . Isn't that what the meetings really do to the congregation , convince them they are spiritually weak with out the societies "food" thus dependant on them for survival ? I almost completely destroyed my inner voice and self . Putting on the new personality does not mean totally abandoning who we really are . I know that now . As soon as I made the decision to listen to my own conscience things began to look so different. After not attending meetings for a while I could see how unhealthy they had been to me . Constant reinforcement of 'they are right I am wrong ' was no longer holding me back . The next step was getting rid of the library of publications we had acquired over the years . I obtained a new Bible too. This all helped me to break the invisable hold I felt the Jw's had on me . I wondered too why so many intelligent members never saw what I was seeing . Now I realize that many do .... that is why they are so unhappy . But they are afraid to take that first step away . Control and brainwashing does exist in my opinion and it takes a stubborn sense of self to break free .

AK - Jeff

The Watchtower religion works hard to instill a concept that is hard to dispel. They begin by demonizing all entities and organizations outside their own, and creating a society of persons reliant on them for guidance as to how to dwell within society without 'touching the unclean thing'.

They then elevate themselves [the GB and those in charge] as beyond scutiny. Thus the organization takes on a lifelike persona of it's own in the minds of believers. The 'shotgun' style of scriptural proofs presented to keep the flock convinced of the doctrines gets rarely questioned as most witnesses have little education in the languages and culture of the Bible.

Once the concept that God has selected them as 'his special property' is deeply embedded, particulary by use of factual misrepresentations and historical inaccuracies, and percieved 'persecutions' arise due to family opposition to one's joining the group, the hook is set.

From then on any questions are condemned as 'heresy' and 'failure to wait on Jehovah' to act. The isolationism that has been promoted works to keep even those disbarred ones from feeling freedom to investigate closely.

Additionally, the FS is a big tool in this - a witness is constantly fending off logical arguments against them possessing 'Absolute truth'. This makes good practice when one has doubts, and such doubts get routinely pushed aside as 'dangerous thinking', and dismissed, or at least shelved for years, even decades.

I was among those who shoved doubts away for decades - I do not consider myself of grand intelligence, but I am no one's dummy either. I was a captive to strong indoctrination and mind control tactics used by them.

Jeff

nonamegiven

Jeff, reading your post really pissed me off! I think you hit it right on the head. I look back at the last 34 years and see exactly what you are saying. What really ticks me off is knowing that my wife is hooked and my kids are young and it'll be a struggle to keep them free.

Are they idiots??

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