The Secret is out....but nobody cares

by MrTheocratic 104 Replies latest jw experiences

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  neverendingjourney

  Don't underestimate the power of indoctrination.

  Nearly four years elapsed between the time I began to have serious doubts and when I finally reached a point of no return. The mere possibility that my doubts could turn out to be unfounded was paralyzing at times. I feared making a decision that would foreclose the possibility of my ever going back.

  A number of my still-in contemporaries (now mostly in their 30s) have been leading double lives since adolescence yet they still go through the charade. One of them is even an elder now. They never learned to question authority and will probably never leave.

  It being "the truth" is a self-evident thing for them. It's true because it's the truth. That's just the way it is. Failed promises, changed doctrine...none of that will change the fact that it's the truth and why would they ever leave the truth?
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  breakfast of champions

  Welcome MR THEOCRATIC. I think your observations are spot on. My wife and I discuss the "friend's" attitudes and behaviors regularly and have come to a similar conclusion as you have.
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  OneEyedJack

  Hey Mr. Theocratic ex bethelite here 200-2005 Brooklyn. Been inactive 5 years or so.
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  DesirousOfChange

  It being "the truth" is a self-evident thing for them. It's true because it's the truth. That's just the way it is. Failed promises, changed doctrine...none of that will change the fact that it's the truth and why would they ever leave the truth?

  I do know of some with that attitude. Fact is, they've never been 'personally' hurt by WT policy or politics.

  The other common BS excuse is, who else is doing the preach of the Good News worldwide? And they have a point........I don't know of any other group counting up millions or billions of meaningless hours of doing nothing productive. )Well.....maybe that could also be applied to Congress.)

  Doc
  
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  EdenOne

  Welcome to this forum, Mr. Theocratic.

  I think there's a split mentality - liberal, prosperous areas, where most people don't buy into the WTS' propaganda, but choose not to leave or rock the boat because they don't want to lose friends and family, and they can live with their doubts, because it's a "respectable" way of life, after all.

  On the other hand, in areas of poverty, unemployment, hard-liner conservative, most take the Bible literally and hang on to every word from the GB as if it were from Jehovah himself. For these, the Devil and the demons are very real, present and active. And they will jump at any and every hint that Armageddon is around the corner. Where I live is a mixed bag, with both types coexisting in the hall. But the liberal ones are afraid of the hard-core loyalists and keep their mouth shut.

  It must be me, but I wouldn't be able to cope with serious doubts (or, rather, knowing TTATT) and stay in as if nothing happened. I just can't conceptualize. But I know some people do it. And they will be among the first ones to shun you if you fall out of the boat, which is really strange.

  Eden
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  flipper

  MR. THEOCRATIC- Welcome to the board indeed ! Nice to have you here. I don't think it's a black or white issue- either this or that- I think there are a lot of variables involved. My wife and I live in a small mountain community out west in California - and among young people 35 and under it's considered a small liberal hippy town - but among people 40 and older it's quite conservative many times.

  It seems to imitate that reality inside the JW organization up here as well. When talking to JW's in my area who are over 40 to 45 years old most of them seem to be VERY strongly indoctrinated or defensive over the WT child abuse scandals ( see my thread where one long time 65 year old elder threw my WT child abuse news release into the trash in front of me yelling at me ) - but the younger JW's 30 and under seem to just follow the organization out of habit when I've talked to them when they're out in service. Just kind of out there counting time, spending more break time at Starbucks, appear to not really realize or know their religion very well or it's history- but just staying in for family because it's tradition that's been carried down through their genetic line - so being brain dead by WT mind control they just follow it to keep JW associations with relatives.

  However there are SOME young people I've talked to who have left the organization after being abused either sexually, physically beaten , or cut off, ostracized, and because they've had to SUFFER some injustice they have walked away or RAN away from this abusive organization. They are the ones who will wake up. If many of the JW's are experiencing the " Stepford family syndrome " where everything just sails along smoothly- there will be no need for them to leave their comfort zone as you state. I truly believe it takes suffering some form of adversity, injustice, shunning to jolt some of these people out of their malaise - or if they SEE someone very close to them experiencing injustice, suffering, or adversity.

  That's why this WT child abuse scandal getting on PBS news hour and the ABC news Nightline show and these WT child abuse printouts are so handy to have in our cars with us. Showing these to long indoctrinated JW's may just in fact shake them, even if a little bit, from the malaise and boredom or apathy they seem to have to get them to realize more is happening on this big planet of ours outside of the kingdom halls and their " Stepford families ". Personally- I'm one who likes to shake the trees a little bit to see what kind of fruit will fall out. If you get my drift. Nice having you here, appreciate your observations
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  fiddler

  I too found this thread to be encouraging to a point and offer my thanks to Mr. theocratic for posting his observations. I still wonder about the same point that Galaxy made:

  any ex jw family members who have learned ttatt still suffer because of those who just remain within because they think it's a respectable way of life. Surely thats a contradictory position ?

  
  

  I hear little snippets about my still in JW daughter and what she does and says seems so contradictory to the 'council' coming from the GB. Her business doings seem to be her major focus in life and she's also into things that would have been on the fringes of spiritism in my day. She stayed home from memorial last year because her toddler was sick...wonder if someone will be 'sick' this year. She gets a lot of her meetings over the phone, a privilege that wasn't available in my day but oh it would have been so nice! Oh, and she's back on anti depressants to help her deal with her emotionally abusive JW husband.

  But she shuns me religiously.

  It just baffles me. I personally don't care if she is JW for community or whatever. I just would like to see her every now and then and take my grandson to the park or something

  
  
  
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  John Aquila

  The late 80s early 90s and forward changed everything. The JWs today never had to contend with 1975. The internet has pulled the drawers off the WT and everyone can see that it’s not as Big and Mighty as it claims to be.

  No one with just a little bit of common sense and curiosity will place all his bets on the WT. There are very few WT zealots left and in 20 years they will all be gone. They can’t pull out another 1975 and 1914 just keeps getting older. The WT is becoming more Mainstream with certain days being real special. Churches have Christmas, Lent, Easter, and the WT will have Memorial day, one day regional convention and special broadcast day.

  I am real curious what the WT will look like in 5 years.
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  snare&racket

  I certainly think many have this mindset, if it's bullshit ...well it didn't take much time and it was a 'good' way to live....

  But this ignorant and indoctrinated viewpoint is very weak and as more time passes and it becomes more embarassing to have JW beliefs.... I believe more people will be brave enough to walk away.
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  Finkelstein

  Even if there are doubts its very hard for people to pull away from such a highly controlling religious organization.

  Sure there might be the occasional bout of cognitive dissonance on occasion but to leave it all and all the social wrangling that resuts from doing so, I think many are weighing out the options to just stay put.

  For people like say my parents who've been JWS for 50+ years, the thought of just leaving it all together is just too much for them to comprehend or contemplate, in spite of the problems the organization may be going through.

  JWS have been designed to support the organization with great amount of arrogance and pride they are the truth, a purer form of godly worship as the entailing mantra. There is so much self assertive arrogance that they have the truth that even the occasional bump in the road isn't going to dissuade people from leaving it.