2 nails in the coffin due to the internet

ballistic

Unfortunately, my WT library isn't working so I can't post an actual quote (I suppose the Witness god put an electronic curse on it), however - do you remember those really good(?) articles telling us how the witnesses have always used the latest technology in spreading "this good news" to all parts of the world?
There was phonograms, photo dramas of creation, latest printing facilities and the first of it's kind multi lingual photo type setting equipment and so on.
And then came the internet, well I mean the proliferation of internet use as the internet has been around since the 60's in one form or another.
There are two problems as I see it with the internet:
1. Information is free:
If their knowledge saves lives and all they charge is enough to cover paper and ink (as I told the millions of people I called on), why not distribute it freely on the internet and save all those trees?
2. Information (so called apostate) is widely available:
They advise their members not to use internet chat and message facilities due to the possibility they could hear or see alternative views. Now this is a real nail in the coffin.

After years of telling their members that they use all latest available technology to spread god's word, they look upon the internet almost as a tool of the devil. They post a rudimentary official page and warn members not to stray too far from it.

Shouldn't the fact that you are not allowed to listen to alternate view points and test your own beliefs start the alarm bells ringing in the members ears?

What are they afraid of? They spend their lives knocking doors hoping to change other peoples beliefs, some people never managing to convert one solitary goat into a sheep, and yet they are scared that their own faith is so flimsy, it is likely to crumble at the slightest accidental mouse click.

This is it for me; they are scared to test their faith, they are scared to really distribute life saving knowledge freely, and I bet the GB are shit scared of the internet.

JT

1. Information is free:
If their knowledge saves lives and all they charge is enough to cover paper and ink (as I told the millions of people I called on), why not distribute it freely on the internet and save all those trees?

##########
this is sn excelllent point i was in a conversation with a JW and i told him that i thought that they were so little small local group and the guy who was an elder went on to explain they are in over 200 countries and 90,000+ congo and on and on - then i told him that as a
person who believes in technology could i get a subscription to his mag and he started to pull out the old sub form and i told him could he sign me up to get mine off the NET--

you see i told him i get ALL MY SUBSCRIPTIONS to the paper and other printed matter off the net now

he stood there looking like a deer in headlights- told me i could not get the lastest off the net- i asked him did they have a website and what was the address- he could recall the exact name of the url- he was stumbling and fumbling like a loss puppy

it was truly sad to watch this man who just a few min ago was the proud member of a 6mill+ org with branch offices all over the world printing in the 10's of millions of each issue in 100's of lanuages and NO WEB ACCESS TO THE LASTEST PUB

i told him newspapers have update their sites daily and in most cases min by min and you guys can't update in a week

it was so sad watching this guy reach for words-

i told him here in this area many churches are helping thier members to get up to speed on the net by offering classes and esp for black folks- black folks are behind in owning PC and so what is your church doing help it members-

then he went into the it's a personal decision - so i asked him again what is your church doing and he sheepishly said: "NOTHING"

being a black man i can't think of much that is worst than being black and a jw- the greatest cut short i can think of

james

zev

this was what promted me to start looking approx. one year ago.
being told not to look and how dangerous the net was. i am a rather seasoned expert on computers and the net. i build my own stuff and enjoy it as a hobby, passtime, and the abundance of information.

some you have to take with a grain of salt. some of it is rather excellent information.

after hearing over and over the dangerousness of the net and to stay away from "apostate" sites, i had to ask myself, WHY?

why stay away? if its garbage, then surely it will not sway me in my thinking. if it isn't then, maybe it was time to take a closer look at myself and my beliefs.

well...here i am one year later, having removed myself from them totally now and seeing the world and my life in a whole new way.

my boss called this morning and asked me how i was. i said good

then i stopped, and corrected that. i said EXCELLENT! in fact.

why? because even though i just turned my life around in a major way, i have never ever been so happy!

though the nail in the coffin is a good way to say it, for me, i prefer to say, and think, i've just climbed out of the coffin, and am not looking back.

heres to my future ....
free of the things that have made me miserable for so many years.

-Zev
Learn about the Wtbts and the U.N.
** http://www.geocities.com/plowbitch69 **

TweetieBird

Excellent post, ballistic.

James, although I am white, I appreciate what you said about the black brothers and sisters. I live in the South and I think it is even worse for Southern blacks.

Zev, I started out almost the same way you did. I thought to myself, what are they so afraid of? My dad, when he da'd himself tried to tell me that truth could stand up to any kind of scrutiny.

I feel, as others, that the WTS will eventually have to go mainstream to keep the members, therefore, it won't surprise me to see online subscriptions one of these days. I'm actually surprised that they weren't the first to offer it way back when. They've always bragged about being the first to pioneer different things, i.e. M.E.P.S. (I think that is what it was called). Some ex-bethelites can correct me if I'm wrong.

Bang

Christians will be ok after they drink deadly things (such as the wt doctrines), but it seems that's not the case for the WT society, they seem scared that everything is poison and deadly to them.

Bang

Trotafox

CONTROL is the name of the game, folks. They oppose the Net because they can't CONTROL the information on the Net like they do with everything they feed their congregation members. Bragging about their technical knowledge is what they like to do but that was before everyone jumped on board the Internet, including major publishing companies. They have no business bragging any longer. If they continue to do so, the JW's personally are going to wind up with egg on their face at the door just like the one that JT encountered. The WTS is pathetic.

Trot
In case you missed me says Mr. Mouse:

"Wicked men obey from fear; good men, from love".... Aristotle. You can love and obey Christ without intervention from an organization.

patio34

Hi Ballistic,
Very good ideas. I used to think that if I were persecuted and put in a room with an evolutionary scientist, I would lose my 'faith' for sure. It was obvious to me on some level that 'The Truth' was indefensible in that way, but I wouldn't admit it.

Now the information can't be controlled nearly as easily. They just rail about the complexities of 'the information age,' and how burdensome it can be! Ha!

James, good points about racism. But wouldn't a black JW woman have an even more difficult time?

Cheers!
Pat

LB

It's amazing how they fear the "truth" won't stand up to the test. JW's who come here at first look at these posts and think...lies all lies... but then it slowly starts to sink in. Great points made here.

Never Squat With Yer Spurs On

Frenchy

Hey, Ballistic, my cd is acting up too! I re-installed the 1997 version and it worked for only a couple of times and now it crases too! Anyone else out there having problems with theirs?

proplog2

Awake page 4 Why Awake is Published. blah blah
Awake uses New World Translation unless otherwise indicated.
Awake (ISSN 0005-237X) blah blah blah blah

Apake page 5 Would you welcome more information? Write Jehovah's Witnesses at the appropriate address blah blah blah.

NO URL

I have never seen an important magazine without a web address. This is a symptom of the Watchtower's biggest problem. Originally, they were "early adapters" with regard to technology. Now their only means of defense is information control and silence. Even cults try to use every means available to get their propaganda out to the public. The Watchtower is simply arrogant.

2 nails in the coffin due to the internet

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