I was disturbed that ONLY 3 disagreed. I thought that there was a LOT more dissent in the ranks. Only 22% wouldn't commit to the Yes and still most of them mostly agreed. 5% ! I am disturbed.
JW top a "Belief in demon activity" poll
by inkling 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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WTWizard
Maybe those 3 that disagreed are apostates now. (Or were apostates when the poll was taken.)
As for me, I have realized that there are no demon attacks. Demons do not attack or harass us--Jehovah does that, along with experiences that the witlesses refuse to look for the science behind. That is frequently mistaken for demon attacks. And, with all the threats in the littera-trash that people will be attacked by demons unless they comply with the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger, it's no wonder they attribute every little thump and bump as a demon attack.
I have not had problems with demons. I have all the Satanic music that the Washtowel warns about, that they have printed up washtowels and given a$$embly "experiences" and parts on demon attacks associated with, and no demons have attacked me (yes, i have Led Zeppelin's music). I went out and bought a Ouija board, which stays where I can grab it on a witless call's notice--no demons. I read horoscopes in the newspaper, again without any hints of demons. I have all the sun-worship decorations that they claim are demon-infested, all without demons. I haven't been to a boasting session since the 2005 REJECT Jesus Party, or out in field circus since June 2005, and no demons. And I have bought books that bash religion, and/or the witlesses, without demons.
But that is more than can be said about Jehovah. I have had trouble with Jehovah, always in the form of impedence in my personal life (never the harassment that is threatened with demons), that has intensified upon getting items associated with the witlesses. Kingdumb Maladies, suits for field circus, crap items that have been used by other witlesses (used up in many cases), Washtowels and Asleeps, Kingdumb littera-trash, the Not Well Translated version of the Bible--all of which have caused me this trouble. Plus, going to boasting sessions and out in field circus. Worse than the threatened demon "attacks", the Jehovah attacks do not cease once the "offending" articles are destroyed--which is the clue that they are coming from Jehovah and not demons.
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Witness 007
I'm praying to Satan tonight to send demons to attack the governing body......they are DOOOMED.....you may hear of un-explained deaths and madness soon thanks to Belzebub!
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VM44
Ask yourself this....How do the JWs know that "Angels and demons are active in the world"? From what source do they get this belief?
Is it from direct observation? Or perhaps it come from their extensive "reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence"? (borrowing from Hume here)
The answer to both questions is "No!".
The JWs are on the whole a very ignorant lot. Without The Watchtower to tell them what to believe they would be at a total loss.
The sad thing is, the JWs THINK they are full of accurate knowledge!
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VM44
The JWs hold to a deviant view of the world, The Watchtower World!
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Mary
I'm also a bit weirded out by the fact there are fewer Jews who believe in demons than Buddists...
It's a common misconception amongst Christians that Jews believe in demonic entities the same way Christians do. For the most part, Jews do not believe in a literal 'Satan the Devil' in the same way Christians do. While conceding that there could be dark forces out there, they do not take the figure that was introduced in the Garden of Eden or in the story of Job as being literal.
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Leolaia
One amazing article is this one which says that JWs have no superstitious fear because they "know" that spirits of the dead do not exist:
*** w87 11/1 p. 7 True Religion Dispels Fear—How? ***
Just as the tropical morning sun evaporates the heavy dew of the rain forest, the light of Bible truth dispels all superstitious fear....If there is no immortal soul, there can be no 'spirits' if the dead to terrify persons on earth. The foundation for superstitious fear of the dead thus crumbles.And then a few sentences later, the same article says that "wicked spirit forces, called demons, do exist" and that "demons find delight in misleading, frightening, and harassing humans". So there are still spirits that terrify persons on earth; they are merely those wicked, powerful forces led by Satan himself. The rest of the article went on to explain how a Christian can prevent demon attacks (e.g. by getting rid of idolatry, by worshipping Jehovah, etc.). Do JWs have a superstitious fear of demons? Heck yes they do. The official line is that Jehovah frees Christians from a fear of demons, but in practice, JWs behave almost identically to a person superstitious of an "unlucky" object, if such an object for the JW "opens oneself up to demon influence". "Such objects would only serve to keep us captive in the web of demon influence. The removal or destruction of such objects is an important step toward breaking free of that influence" (Unseen Spirits, 1978, p. 41). "One troubled by demon attacks should be aware of objects or articles that may have been given him about the time such attacks began" (14 March 1963 Watchtower, p. 188). "A socially prominent woman had a hobby of collecting archaeological objects. She had many costly relics from churches, some made of silver and gold, besides a collection of antiquities. On learning the good news she realized that she could be opening herself up to demon influence by the presence of these false religious objects" (1 March 1977 Watchtower, p. 142). "Reports show that the demons often keep in contact with a human through an object, so it is important to get rid of items formerly used in spiritism" (Happiness -- How to Find It, 1980, p. 130).
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inkling
It's a common misconception amongst Christians that Jews believe in demonic entities the same way Christians do. For the most part, Jews do not believe in a literal 'Satan the Devil' in the same way Christians do. While conceding that there could be dark forces out there, they do not take the figure that was introduced in the Garden of Eden or in the story of Job as being literal.
Yeah, I guess this is somewhat new to me, and I am glad it came up.
But didn't the Jews of the Bible take those things literally? Jesus sure did!
(and I seem to recall him being somewhat Jewish...) And, he cast demons out
of Jews of his time, who clearly had no problem believing epilepsy was caused
by demonic possession...
So why did the Jews "grow out" of this foolishness, but most Christians have yet to?[inkling]
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steve2
One of the "remnant" in the local congregation I was raised in, really believed she could tell an individual was demonized by the look in their eyes. I went door-to-door regularly in my teens and it freaked me out when she'd tell me that she knew "Born-again" Christians by the demonic look in their eyes.
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inkling
"The foundation for superstitious fear.... thus crumbles."
"On learning the good news she realized that she could be opening herself up to demon influence by the presence of these false religious objects"Yeah... words fail me.
[inkling]