Jws must believe what the wts teaches or face being marked or ostracized (at the very least). Is there hypocrisy and unfairness in this because while almost all jws willingly believe that the wts is God's organization, quite a few do not believe all doctines, practices and policies leaving things in God's hands. As long as private views are not challenging to the cong, jws are not sanctioned for such views. But all jws MUST swallow the official belief.
Should JWS be forced to believe?
by Fisherman 4 Replies latest jw friends
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zeroday
But all jws MUST swallow the official belief.
Cultism 101 nothing suprising here...No thinking allowed...
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oompa
Fishman: As long as private views are not challenging to the cong, jws are not sanctioned for such views.
Not sure I get where you are coming from on this....If it is a private view then of course no one else knows about it...do they? So of course they are not sanctioned for it cause nobody knows about it. It is when private view are expressed, but of course then they are no longer private. Also, some private views are discussed with others who you know have the same view...and you are right there are lots of Dubs that don't believe a lot of things. My dad recently told me we are supposed to be "of one mind and thought" and that is not exactly what the scripture says, and I said it does not say EVERY thought has to be in complete agreement does it. But he pretty much thinks it does. Two years ago I asked one elder in my hall "Is there not any room in this org. for an original thought?" and I was being serious. He almost laughed and said "of course there is." But I really dont think so.....my elders just gave me a LOT of room...........oompa
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Fisherman
oompa if you were ever a jw then you know that "private" views are expressed not only by elders but also by the flock. I use the word private in my post instead of another adjective to describe beliefs or conclusions about the wts that are not the wts official stand. I use the word private because such belief is not open to public discussion although privately held and privately talked about. You may like another word but my point is that jws do have other beliefs not official wts teachings.
JWS may cautiosly express private views knowing that they could get in trouble. But it depends on who made the expression. If a leader made the private expression to a jw and that jw complained about the expression, as long as the leader is solid in the wts he would not get in trouble, but he would never be that open with that jw again. The jw could be considered spiritually inmature. On the other hand if it was the elder that heard the same private expression , he could cause trouble for the jw.
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WTWizard
There is only one way to force someone to believe something that is wrong. You need to make sure that person never sees what is correct. You repeat the lie, perhaps with ever-changing variations, enough times and force that person to repeat it from door to door, enough times. As long as the person doesn't get to find the truth or the time to realize that it is a blatant lie, they will have no choice but to believe it. Coercion is used to keep the people from reading sources that present alternate viewpoints.
Once a person has been exposed to alternate viewpoints, it becomes a matter of forcing the person to shut up about it. The person cannot be forced to actually believe the lies once they are exposed. What can be forced is to make the person recite the lies and pretend to believe them, under force and threat of force. Embarrassment, hounding, forcing the person to repeat the answer until the official lie is recited correctly, shunning, and cutting people off are the means they use (how many times at a meeting do you have a question with a lie for an answer, and the people are unable to guess correctly the correct lie and the conductor keeps repeating the question until he has to give the correct lie?).
All of which is wrong. People need to investigate, independently of the Establishment, if they are to get the real truth. As long as someone with a financial stake in the answer is in charge of the information, they are not going to be trusted to divulge the real truth. And the Watchtower Society only makes money and exerts power when people believe in their lies. The lies are damaging to people that follow them (look at all the ruined lives that living these lies causes, wasted time in field circus, and needless deprivation of opportunities for fun they cause). Thus, forcing or attempting or threatening to force a person to live according to a lie is morally wrong and should itself be harshly punished, especially when so many innocent people are hurt by all the lies.