New Light

by choosing life 7 Replies latest jw friends

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  choosing life

  I watched a documentory on cults on the history channel last night. What jumped out at me was that they said that cults could not exist if they didn't get people to believe in "new light" and "present truth". The fact that they used those exact words sent a chill down my spine.

  They also stated that cults are apocalyptic and believed heavily that God had chosen them to rule the new world after Armegeddon. They went through the usual modern day cults and some I hadn't heard of, but they said once those beliefs are cemented in the minds of people, there is always a propensity for violence towards themselves or others.

  Personally, I can't see the dubs being violent physically, but definately are emotionally and mentally. Do you think the dubs could ever resort to physical violence against others or themselves?
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  Schism

  Well they can go crazy and kill their families in order to "catapult" them into the "new system".

  Hasn't that happened before?
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  Hecklerboy

  I saw the same program and those same words jumped out at me as well.

  I don't think the JW's will ever become violent. They don't have to. They already have their followers doing anything they say.
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  avidbiblereader

  Matt 10:28 28 “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell

  Matt 15:14 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”

  Which is worse?

  abr
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  Nathan Natas

  I understand what is meant when people say that the WTB&TS is not violent, but there may be some who have been on the receiving end of Watchtower-incited "shunning" who will disagree.

  ...and let us also remember those who laid down their lives in support ofthe "blood issue." Non-violent, but DEAD nontheless.

  For a non-violent cult, they sure have a heap of victims, don't they?
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  Cellist

  JWs nonviolent? What about what happened to Frosty?! lol
  
  But seriously, what about Danny Hazzard's experience? What about all the physically beaten children and spouses? I think that many of the modern JWs are not too far off from violence.
  
  Cellist
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  choosing life

  Nathan

  I agree that shunnning is emotional abuse. And I was thinking the same thing about how many have died for the jws as compared to Jonestown or Waco. There is not just the blood issue, but transplants, vaccinations and violence that could easily have been avoided, like the 25 cent political card in Malawi.

  i was wondering what the total figure would be?
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  lfcviking

  I don't think the Dubs could ever get violent in the sense that it could be clearly recognised in the acts of beatings & physical harm against fellow humans. This would be going against all the principles of Christianity a belief structure to which they claim to adhere to. So by engaging in acts of physically violence against their fellowman (for whatever reason)they would risk loosing their seemingly peaceful & meek identity & thus be exposed as hypocrites.

  The Watchtower is more clever and cunning than this, if it wants to harm people it does it in a more subtle & sinister way like 'Nathan Natos' mentioned- Shunning. This is an emotional abuse that it conducts as routine policy for disassociated & disfellowshipped members. Also the threat of Armaggeddon, this is a mental abuse it uses towards all of its members whether disassociated or not.

  So we see two effective examples of the Watchtowers attempt at intimidation, bullying & control which can be deemed as a kind of violence but not of a physical type. Because of this the Watchtower achieves its objectives of subdueing & controlling its recipients through these said methods and thus would have no need (in my opinion) to ever resort to a phsically violent course of action.

  LFCV