Yeah, they're just sad old crusts....it's the assholes who are far below them who abuse the power the worst, though the old crusts do bear responsibility.
ashi
Forgive the Governing Body
by edward gentry 23 Replies latest jw friends
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JT
Ed i know you got issues with Ray franz
but he did makes some excellent points- and one of the points that stand out in my mind is the one that deals with AN ORGANIZATION
HOW THAT after awhile the org takes on a life of it's own it lives and breathes as it were and yet it is only by means of it's people do it live
i recall ted jaraz used to often speak of the org in terms like he was not even apart of it- that it sat over by itself and it make decisionsanyone who knows jaraz can attest to that THE MAN LIVE AND BREATHE ORGANIZATION
and for so many bethelites including myself the org was the most important thing it was as if it is the mordern day jw ARK OF THE COVERNANT FOR THEM
WHAT DOES THE SLAVE SAY, WHAT IS THE ORG VIEW etc
THOSE were buzz words that any good Society man like myself and many others used all the time
keeping to org clean-looking good in the public eye was always my concern and the reason is simple-
in collge my wife and i wanted to know and understand how can folks be tricked and it is call the process of CONDITIONING
if you understand the mental impact that conditioning has on a person - then it becomes clearer how the org works
since most folks love god you are conditioned to assoicate everything with God
disrespect the elder= disrespect god
don't go to meeting= dont love go provisions
don't go and sell books on weekend= don't love god
dont read your mags= don't love god
question the wt = questioning god
and the list goes on and on
they call it "Pavlows Dog"
where the dog was taught to associate a bell with food and each time he heard a bell the dog mouth would water even when there was no food
classical conditioning is very powerrful
when you look at the life of the typical GB or person who has been a jw for 30 yrs
can you imagine after 47,972, meetings 12,000 conventions, 100,000 publications they have read in 35+yrs how well ingrained this stuff is
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case in point i see folks who come here to the net after being out 25yrs and still say:"Sometimes I wonder could it still be the TRUTH"
MAN THAT mind stuff is powerful
james
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Sirona
Larc
I wasnt saying the rank and file JWs should be locked away! I was saying the leaders - the GB - should be. They bear ultimate responsibility for promoting lies, for putting themselves in the position of God, for misleading millions. Just cos we believed it doesnt mean we are ultimately responsible...although I do still feel guilty for encouraging others to join.
I dont hate the individuals as such, but I do think that they should answer for their wrongs. Personally, if I discovered that something I did lead to thousands dying, then in the interests of justice I would prefer to be locked away or even killed for what I did. JWs are a recognised world religion and so are protected - but just imagine if someone set up a church in your town and told the followers that if they didnt refuse to eat then God would condemn them...then one of them dies of starvation...Im sure people would intervene to stop this practice continuing.
Sirona
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Sam Beli
The arrogance of the GB is legendary. A few years ago, after much meditation on that issue, I realized that I shared some of their guilt because I had been a part of their system.
Many, many years ago I had participated in a DFing of a man who had dared to disagree with the GB. This incident occurred in the pre 1975 period. One issue that bothered him was the GB’s conclusion that the year in which Adam was created marked the end of the 6th creative day (according to GB chronology). This year was important in marking the start of the 7th creative day, on all of which hinged the 1975 calculation.
He said that those calculations did not take into consideration the creation of Eve. He wrote to the GB (read Society) about this issue and got a reply that it was their belief that her creation took place in a matter of weeks of months after Adams’ creation, not years (or words to that effect). This was in the days when the Society would still (sometimes) write directly to an individual.
This gentleman had had other issues with the Society and had written many letters to them. Finally, the Society wrote the local BOE and in effect said “this guy has a bad attitude and you should do ‘something’ about it. We met with him, challenged him on an issue or two and he literally walked out in the middle of the meeting.
In retrospect, I think he could see that we were a bunch of Jack Asses, and that he had no chance of reasoning with us at that time. The decision was made to DF him and the dastardly dead was done. It did not cause him a large load of pain, but it sure did effect his wife and cause her much suffering.
A few years ago I called his house (he is still DF’d). The wife answered and I asked for him, but he was not at home. I proceeded to tell her why I was calling – to apologize to him for the awful way in which he was treated many years ago and to apologize for my personal involvement in that horrible act. She seemed dumbfounded. Later, I talked with him. He really did not hold harsh feelings about the matter. He said that he had forgiven me years ago, when I had shown him kindness at a funeral in his family. At that time he was standing off by himself and I went over to him and offered my condolences to this DF’d man. I didn’t know at that time that my gesture was so significant.
The GB has not, it seems, known the joy of apologizing. Christ said that there was much joy in giving and he was correct. GB, it is so easy, once you do it. Try it, you will like it and you can do so much good for so many.
Sam Beli
I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. Solomon