I was just looking at another thread about lying. It reminded me of a discussion I had a while back with my husband, who has been a JW all his life (DFd now). I brought up lying and this term "theocratic warfare," which I had never heard before, but found online. He acted like he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about, even after I explained it. Was that just another example of it, or is it at all possible that he really doesn't know about it?
Could a JW lifer not know about theocratic warfare?
by RebelWife 17 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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Nathan Natas
How knowledgeable is your husband about the beliefs he claims to hold?
Just as there are plenty of "Easter Christians," there are plenty of "Memorial Witnesses" who have been associated with the WTB&TS for years but have never gotten past the book of Genesis, so to speak. Is your husband an elder or a ministerial servant? If he's not, after a "lifetime" of involvement, I would say you have your answer right there.
On the other hand, "theocratic warfare strategy" is all about denial and lying, so maybe he was answering you in a very Zen way. Could you hear the sound of one hand clapping as he spoke?
There have been recent examples of elders saying under oath in court that they "never heard of" certain well-known JW publications. Unfortunately in at least one such case, the title of the book was incorrectly stated by the attorney asking the question, and since no book by THAT title has ever existed...
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sir82
I would not be surprised.
The actual term "theocratic war strategy" has not appeared in print for 50+ years, and that term is never used in talks.
For the past several decades, the talks, literature have been heavily "dumbed down", nothing of much substance is covered at the meeting or in the literature anymore.
To most JWs, "lying" is a sin. They would think the only time it would be acceptable would be to protect fellow JWs in times of outright violent persecution ("tell us where they are hiding!" "No!"). Few JWs would make the leap from "lying to protect a fellow JW from violent harm" to "lying to protect the reputation of the organization".
They don't experience it in their everyday lives, they likely have never seen or heard the term "theocratic war strategy", even the concept is rarely if ever discussed in meetings....it's no surprise most JWs give you a blank stare if you mention it.
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slimboyfat
I certainly never heard of it, and I think apostates make way too much out of it.
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watson
The term "spritual warfare" is used a lot. In a war, you do what you have to.....Ask him about that one.
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RebelWife
Thanks, y'all. He wasn't an elder. I know he wanted to be. I don't think he ever had any titles, but other than that, I think he was pretty heavily involved from birth. As far as the term itself, I EXPLAINED it to him. But even if I explain what something is, it doesn't click a lot of times unless I use the right term. (That goes for stuff outside the JW category, too.)
We try not to talk about his religion or any aspects of it because we always fight about it and the fights are so awful. Next time we inadvertently get into it, I'll ask about "spiritual warfare." I just wonder about things sometimes, and it's a lot safer to ask my questions here. -
gaiagirl
I suppose it would depend on when their "life" began, certainly people who were JWs between the '40s and the '80s would know of it. I left in the early '90s, so don't know how much emphasis has been placed on it since then.
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BFD
The first I ever saw the term was here. I was in from 5 years old in 1965 and given the boot in 1977-78 I don't remember.
BFD
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blondie
In the 2/1/07 WT they quoted this:
>>"Every lie is an untruth, but not every untruth is a lie"
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GoddessRachel
I never heard of it until I read it here, and I was born in, raised a JW, baptized, and stayed there until my early 20's.
I think it's talked about by apostates because it's a shocking concept in reality, but JW's either don't realize it exists, or don't understand how shocking of a teaching it is. How can you teach people that lying is wrong, that Jehovah God ABHORS lying, but then turn around and tell them that sometimes it's OK and even preferred to lie. How can people not be disgusted by this?
It's just another example of how brainwashed JW's are. They have no idea what they even believe! That's why apostates talk about it so much. All we can do is shake our heads at all the BS that JW's (including us when we were JW's) fell for.
Rachel