seeker says:
Is it just American-centric thinking, that now that it has happened "here" it really counts?
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the above is the bottom line -- just that simply
What is significant about 9/11?
by Seeker 14 Replies latest jw friends
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ARoarer
Hello Seeker, I have also been questioning the JW response to the significance to 9/11. Some of the answers that come to my mind are the words and pictures that were drilled into our minds at the Bookstudy when we were studying the Revelation Book some years ago. In fact we studied it twice within a few years. The Bookstudy had been in our house for many years and we happened to have the DEAF Bookstudy. I remember the pictures were lavishly translated and described in ways that maybe regular bookstudies did not expound on. But what sticks out in my mind the most is that of the United Nations, and the Anglo-American world powers that were descibed. It is easy for American JW's who have been in for many years to recall that part of the Revelation Book and it's depiction of the Anglo-American speaking like a lamb etc etc. I have been really working at undoing a lot of the messages and programming that came from that book. Logically I can see how the WTBTS could say anything it wants to regarding the Anglo-American alliance because it has had access to the political arena for many years via the UN and also Joint Conferances in countries such as Australia, regarding the political discussions on religious envents and persecution. I think, as I have said before, the Watchtower likes to self fulfill thier own prophecies. So the R/F JW's can see these statements and think oh wow, the Society is really a prophet from Jehovah. That is why I think the reaction I have gotten from former JW friends is that I and my family are worthy of death like Korah because we have rejected God's "channel" or visible representative on earth today. JW's who keep their head in the sand are easily kept in line when they don't use thier critical thinking and reasoning powers. For myself, it was easy to begin to do that, as devout as I was, I experienced first hand the corruption of this "channel" over the policies regarding lies and coverups of pedophiles within the congregation. I began "seeing" with my own eyes what they were doing, and slowly the layers of the JW personality peeled away. Thankfully I and my family have escaped, and the events of 9/11 are really telling as far as the impact that these events DID NOT have on us to scare us into going back. But those old scare messages are always there and I continually must work to logically get rid of them . Just my thoughts
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joelbear
I agree that it is centric thinking. But here is a little bit of a different take on it.
The attacks of September 11 were intrusive to American lives in ways much more fear inspiring than because they were close. They intruded into the normalcy of American life. They intruded into our work places and our major form of transportation.
They fact that they affected things that are "normal" to our every day life makes them much more threatening.
People don't like being afraid. People will do almost anything to avoid feeling afraid. I'm sure lots of inactive witnesses are attending meetings now. I'm sure the same is true of inactive Jews, Baptists, Mormons, etc. etc.
As Julie says, I think it is sad that people have to return to make believe in order to deal with their fear, but I think I understand why.
On a daily basis, we are deluged with the surreal. From political propaganda to movies to sitcoms to hyperbolic advertising, we live in a surreal world. Reality is becoming more and more difficult for people to handle.
Religion is part of the surreal world, so it is not a surprise that people raised on surreal information, turn to it for comfort.
Joel
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Seeker
ARoarer made an interesting point that I think is part of the key to this whole question: The pictures in the WTS literature we all know so well. Think about it:
On September 11, we saw in real-life something that we previously only saw in WTS pictures: Tall buildings crashing down in ruins in the midst of a thriving city. As Tallyman reminded us in the weeks afterward, Witnesses and ex-Witnesses have seen this image before, in apocalyptic pictures off the Great Crowd walking away from collapsing buildings.
I think what happened on September 11 provided a subconscious shock to the our minds. We had seen this before, we realized even if it wasn't a conscious realization, and we knew where we had seen it before. This made our thoughts automatically turn back to the WTS, the place we had seen this image before. In other words, we had something triggered within us, some very old programming that was still there.
I'll bet this is a big part of why 9/11 was so significant to many JWs and even some exJWs. In many ways, it was like witnessing Armageddon the way the WTS had always pictured it.
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outnfree
Seeker,
I do agree that a lot of this is America-centric thinking, and I also agree with Joelbear that many ex-other-religion-devotees showed up in their various churches on Sept. 16 -- I know the church of my choice was packed that post-attack Sunday!
But, yes! ARoarer likely pointed correctly to the ex-JW/inactive JW reason: The pictures from New York HAD been seen before in Watchtower publications -- and the attack was a fulfillment of the visual prophecies those publications made.
In many ways, it was like witnessing Armageddon the way the WTS had always pictured it.
And the reality was terrifying, and disgusting, and despicable!!!! A sneak preview of the waiting horror of Armageddon as preached by the Witnesses.
Let's hope that despite the flashbacks to the literature and the fear that was thus inspired, SOME Witnesses will realize the nastiness of the "hope" they preach and will no longer want to worship the Watchtower God.
outnfree
Par dessus toutes choses, soyez bons. La bonte est ce qui ressemble le plus a Dieu et ce qui desarme le plus les hommes -- Lacordaire