I've had tons of contact with active Witnesses and it didn't take me very long to identify a pattern. Many believing Witnesses are more than a little paranoid. They think everybody's going to turn them in, so they often come on in a way that establishes the contact but in a way that they could defend if they had to.
If the Witness comes on strong and it's a trap (as they suspect) they can tell the elders they were not associating, they were there to admonish, rebuke, and reprove. At first that approach gave me a knee jerk reaction, but after a while I came to expect it and I let the Witness admonish, rebuke, and reprove until they are comfortable knowing I'm not the front guy in a elder sting. In person, they usually drop that after the second contact.
E-mails can go longer and forum rebuking can go on for quite a while. Just remember that mostly those who come in with flame throwers blowing fire are testing. I don't have anything for a happy believing Witnesses. That type would never contact me. Just my .02
Trolling Apologist vs. Informed Apostate - WHO IS MORE LIKELY TO CHANGE?
by BizzyBee 122 Replies latest jw friends
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garybuss
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jgnat
I remember the day slimboyfat posted some numbers on the decline of church membership in the UK, and I had to CHOKE OUT MY AGREEMENT. Boy that came hard.
But absolutely necessary if I were to maintain my integrity.
Change is good.
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jaguarbass
Your right on bizzybee, and curiosity killed the cat. The trap has been set.
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Leolaia
Is there such a thing as an "apostate" point of view when it comes to the details, especially those that are controversial or ambiguous? There is a tendency sometimes to prefer critical evaluations even if they are unfair or unwarranted and some knowledgeable and reasonable individuals who may otherwise be classed as apologists or semi-apologists (well, one who has self-professed as such comes to mind) are just as important as "apostates" who take similar positions for the sake of accuracy or fairness. And then there are "apologists" who are themselves learning things and trying to work through and understand the things they've learned (e.g. the first stage is denial, then opposition, then acceptance, etc.). Of course, there are always trollish apologists who seem to serve no other function than stirring things up.
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BizzyBee
Of course, there are always trollish apologists who seem to serve no other function than stirring things up.
Yes, Leo, I agree with your analysis. The problem from our point of view, is that we just don't know which category to place them until there have been several interactions. One dead giveaway I've noticed is a post that is literally "lobbed" into a thread like a hand-grenade - and then the poster running for cover, it seems, because they don't stick around to respond, only to pop up somewhere else, lob another hand-grenade and skeedaddle (run away) again.
These posters are annoying and waste valuable time that we could otherwise use to discuss important things, like our favorite soup.
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Open mind
Gazpacho..........
with Chicken Lime Tortilla running a close second.
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Hortensia
gazpacho gazpacho gazpacho
although there are other soups that are wonderful too. I finally found a good recipe for just plain tomato soup that doesn't taste like catsup or barbecue sauce or marinara.
I think I misunderstood your original question - I think an informed apostate is more likely to change when they understand the reason to change, whereas the JW trolls seem entrenched in their beliefs and unable to change. However, if they are snooping around a controversial site like this one, there is hope yet!
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Honesty
Mad is a great example of a Trolling Apologist who is already making changes in his life to be more in line with the thinking of APOSTATES.
He has quit attending ASSemblies and is not as beligerent as he first was when he dropped in to fellowship with us APOSTATES.
You should have heard him last year when I first met him via email correspondance.
He was one helluva Loyal Follower of the Faithless Deceitful Slavers on the Governing Body.
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Rosalee
There is one catagory you've missed.
The lurkers who know the truth and are here for curiosity sake.
When they see the response of an active JW shoot down the false teachings seen here, they are reassured that they have the truth and leave this site.
The odd one will end up posting, usually for a short time, never to be seen here again.
The chances of an apostate turning around are 50/50. The thing is, they know the truth and still deny it.
Any serious JW here won't stay long. If they do, then, yes there is a good chance they will be pulled in.