I have to give credit for this thread where credit is due- to the poster Black Sheep who used this expression in an answer on another thread recently. So- " thank you ! " Black Sheep.
Perhaps the leaders of the WT society are not victims - they are the ones handing out the mind control to the rank & file - ( I know some differ as to whether the leaders are victims as well ) - however THAT is not the purpose of debate on this thread.
The rank and file Jehovah's Witness members are trained to have relationships based on " conditions of obedience and membership ". Notice this quote from Steve Hassan's " Releasing the Bonds - Empowering People to Think For Themselves " on the last paragraph of his introduction . He states, " I believe that real love is stronger than conditional love. The love that family members and close friends have for a person is much more powerful than any relationship within a mind control cult. Relationships in mind control groups are usually based on the conditions of obedience and membership. Once the member passes the " honeymoon " phase and these conditions are made evident , friends and family have the potential for increasing a positive influence over time. Time is on their side because mind control is never one hundred percent, because the human spirit wants to be free, and because, ultimately, cults DO NOT deliverwhat they promise. "
The " conditions of obedience " that witnesses receive conditional " love " on is based on how many times they answer at the WT study, how regular they are out in field service, and how many meetings they attend ! Once a JW STOPS doing those things - the conditional " alleged " " love " dissappears from other active JW's for them. So as faded or inactive relatives WE have an advantage - we can use " unconditional " love ; real human love and caring to eventually appeal to JW relatives.
And also - As Steve hassan states, " Time is on our side ". Think about it. The WT society will never deliver to the witnesses what they are promising " a paradise earth where members can live forever. " They are NOT CAPABLE of delivering that promise- for it is a lie to keep members locked into the cult and duped. Once our JW family eventually realizes that the WT society NEVER delivered on it's promises - it wears them down emotionally, mentally, and in time it may be easier to accept that they were deceived by a mind control cult. And we can be there to catch them when they fall. Family love is stronger than cult love.
I recently, just this last week sent old family pictures of my grandparents and great grandparents - about 8 each - to my 3 older JW siblings , my 3 adult children , and 5 nieces and nephews with a short letter saying how I thought they'd enjoy having these old family pictures. So- We will see who responds or not. 3 of my 5 nieces and nephews are out of the witnesses, and 2 of my 3 children are still in. What have some of you folks done to reach out to your JW family ? Have you had any results yet ? And do you feel that looking at these people as " victims " instead of " enemies " is a good thing ? As always- I look forward to your thoughts. Peace out to all, Mr. Flipper
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