Ray Franz on Fear Among JWs (page 2)

OUTLAW

Coco..Good thread,like thats a surprise!..LOL!!..Prisoners do as they are told by thier captors..Or..Face the Consequense`s...........................OUTLAW

compound complex

Thank you, dear friends, for your insightful comments. Much food for thought here, yes?

Hey, Mr. Flipper:

All's well here - I appreciate your asking!

Take care all.

CoCo

The harsh reality of the situation strikingly reveals the hollowness of public relations statements of the organization, whose representatives, when interviewed by the news media, express difficulty in understanding 'why anyone would be concerned about reprisals,' 'why it is that persons who cannot agree do not simply leave quietly,' who insist that there is no "badgering," no "emotional harassment," in this "very open organization," which is free from "spiritual policemen." There are hundreds, thousands of persons who know how contrary to fact those statements are. They know that to express any disagreement, no matter how respectfully made, or to engage in any discussion of a viewpoint that differs with any of the organization's teachings, even in private conversation among close friends, is to invite investigation and trial by a judicial committee. They know that it is almost impossible to withdraw quietly, that the view is, in effect, "you cannot quit, we must fire you." Why? Because by so doing the person who has conscientious concerns about the organization's course and teachings is then placed "off limits" to all other members. There is no danger of these members conversing with such ones and beginning to think about matters that the organization declares to be unthinkable.

yknot

All so very true....

gubberningbody

Exactly. What's confirmatory for me on this is that I concluded that this was the case long before I looked at anything negative on the internet. My reply once to someone (before I was baptized) was ..."If someone is so galactically stupid that it takes them 30 years to figure out that something isn't the truth, then they have absolutely nothing to say."

Now I know a bit more about the gradualy process of unconscious indoctrination whereby those engaged in the same don't realize that they are engaging in it themselves.

compound complex

ibid., pages 384, 385.

Unlike the shepherd who would leave the ninety-nine to help one strayed sheep, a shepherd who would patiently and gently treat and nurse a sick sheep, the efforts Witness elders make in these situations are often in the form of a confrontation. If scriptures are used at all, it is generally in an accusatory way, not in a healing way. "Do you or do you not accept the organization as God's one channel?" is virtually always the question put, the prime issue on which the results of an interrogation hinge, the criterion by which one's Christianity is judged. The strange situation that results is as if the shepherds were to say to the flock:

If any of you sheep do not like the way we feed and shepherd you, you are perfectly free to leave.
Any who want to go, however, should come to us so that we can first brand you as rejected and spray you with a substance having the odor of wolves, so that the rest of the flock can identify you and avoid
you. And please have the decency to leave quietly without any bleating.

Blithe Freshman

CoCo-

The harsh reality of the situation strikingly reveals the hollowness of public relations statements of the organization, whose representatives, when interviewed by the news media, express difficulty in understanding 'why anyone would be concerned about reprisals,' 'why it is that persons who cannot agree do not simply leave quietly,' who insist that there is no "badgering," no "emotional harassment," in this "very open organization," which is free from "spiritual policemen."

My son was in a JC, admitted to his problems and regretted he had not been able to overcome them.After the part were they tell you , you have returned to your vomit and are Df'd , he made the fatal statement, "he would continue to read his Bible & pray to Jehovah for help on his own". Apparently that thought needed silencing. The phone calls started immediately warning us and others in the congregation he was possessed , speaking as from the demons & apostate. At the time he was a troubled teen, but not apostate.

This so increased my fear to have my thoughts known, since I had serious doubts. Being DF'd and walking out of the JC without being asked "the question", was my goal and such a relief .

Blithe

compound complex

Dear Blithe,

Thank you for sharing the sad reality as it affected you and your son. I infer from your comments that you are speaking of two different occasions before judicial committees. I believe what follows on the same page [386] of ISOCF applies in your respective situations:

[...] men and women who genuinely love God and his Son and his Word and who have
conscientiously dissented from certain organizational laws or teachings have been robbed of their proper influence among friends and acquaintances, stripped of their good name
and reputation, cheated of the affection and respect that they earned honestly by a whole
lifetime of conscientious service to God and his fellow man, have even seen their own families
torn away from them. Yet all this has been justified by organizational "law."

Wishing you and yours the very best toward healing and recovery.

CoCo

Blithe Freshman

Yes 2 separate Jc's several years apart.It created a tear in the fabric of our family that is only recently begun to be mended. The son I spoke about was sincere in his beliefs. But always treated with suspicion. I didn't understand back then. After his JC I saw more clearly.

Thank you , we are all healing. Blithe

JimmyPage

What are you guys talking about? Why, just the other day I had all the elders over for drinks and I mentioned I had some doubts about the organization. They slapped me on the back and said, "No biggie. Never be afraid to express how you feel around us. In fact, we were just considering appointing you an elder too. The rest of the congregation is going to feel so comfortable coming to you when they have questions about their faith, too. You're only human and we think they'll relate to that. So, same time next week?"

Ray Franz on Fear Among JWs

Share this