Was today's WT study an indictment of us who still attend the KH?

by compound complex 41 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

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  soft+gentle

  I did not stay for the watchtower as my son was unwell after the public talk so I took him home via the coffee shop and a short visit to Gap. I did discuss with a jw relative that facebook seems to be saying that inactive ones are mentally diseased. I was assured that the study article does not say that inactive ones are mentally diseased but that apostates are!!!! reassured I also lost interest in preparing the WT. In hindsight I ought to have been there to say something...I think I would have said that such polemic was used ardently by christendom during the inquisition but that nowadays we have to be careful as religious polemic can often be interpreted as hate speech and is not tolerated very well.

  glad I wasn't there to comment as my ambivalence towards wt teachings tends to make me say more than I ought and would have confirmed budding mentally disease.

  I agree compound complex that this wt is an indictment of those of us who still attend KH.
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  OUTLAW

  007

  00CoCo

  ....................;-)...OUTLAW
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  nancy drew

  i guess we all have to deal with it in our own way I'm not very good at concealing what I'm thinking and people became suspicious and then my closest "friend" went to the elders because she was "concerned" my husband had already been talked to about something he said so finally we were called in for preliminary questions. We realized that was our que to scadoo so we left and never returned and moved away.

  I personally could never go there again it would make me sick.
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  designs

  nancy-

  That's really the essence of the problem, 10 20 30 years a faithfulness and then questioning something calls for a trip to the woodshed.

  Adios never felt so good.
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  sizemik

  Helping family out is as good a reason as you can get . . . especially if you helped them in.

  It's not easy . . . but it can be done. And it's definitely worth the effort. Once you burn the bridges . . . it's a longer way forward than if you show a bit of patience and cunning.

  As Black Sheep would say . . . make sure you're the last one to leave, and ignore the BS while you're there . . . especially the "indictments"
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  Quendi

  As I have posted elsewhere, I fully understand CoCo's reasons for his continued association with the WTS and Jehovah's Witnesses. I was disfellowshipped and lost practically all the friends I had in the organization. I still communicate with a few, but as far as the rest are concerned, I might as well be dead. I occasionally get second-hand messages from some saying they wish I would come back, but as it has been six years since I was expelled I think most of them realize now I will not return.

  I was also one of those ardent sycophants who toed the WTS line and gladly spread its propaganda. My reasons for doing so were that I sincerely thought I was doing Jehovah's will and that any doubts, difficulties, and problems I may have had with dogma, doctrine, and practice would be resolved in due time if I were only faithful and patient. Being disfellowshipped and constantly frustrated in my efforts to be reinstated taught me otherwise. The sheep's covering was ripped off and I got to see the ravenous wolf underneath. Now I wouldn't enter a Kingdom Hall even if I were surrounded by enemies and it alone offered escape.

  The "spiritual paradise" the WTS tells its adherents they inhabit is actually a spiritual police state. The organization has always been xenophobic, but now it has decided to create a climate of fear and suspicion among the rank and file. The combination of warning against internal enemies and that the end of the world is imminent is a very effective one. Yesterday's Watchtower study clearly demonstrated that with its dark message and supporting comments made in different congregations as others have posted.

  I hope CoCo and others like him succeed in rescuing their loved ones. I wish my closest friends would abandon the WTS as well, but I have little hope of that happening. It would take a monumental scandal that would touch the very highest levels of the organization for them to open their eyes and get out. I have shared my reasons for refusing to return with my friends to no avail. They tell me I have succumbed to arrogance and pride, and prefer listening to embittered apostates rather than Jehovah's duly appointed organization. So we have gone our separate ways, but if matters should turn out otherwise and the WTS is racked by scandal or suffers a defeat of some kind, my friends will find me more than willing to help them.

  Quendi
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  OUTLAW

  but if matters should turn out otherwise and the WTS is racked by scandal or suffers a defeat of some kind,

  We read about WBT$ Scandal,right here,every day..

  JW`s ignore anything negative about the WBT$..Anyone who makes a fuss is DF`d..

  Life goes on in Watchtower World..

  ....................;-)...OUTLAW
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  Mickey mouse

  As ever they are speaking out of both sides of ther mouths.

  If they want apostates to leave the congregation, they should not not be asking of parents what they are demanding in the WT article to be studied in a fortnight.

  GB, you can't have your cake and eat it! Let your people go, without recrimination!

  
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  DaCheech

  Actually, if they keep on getting harder on the stance, maybe it will raise some eyebrows on the governental side
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  Scully

  CoCo

  There was a period of about 18 months where I was questioning whether or not JWs had The Truth™ before I finally had had "enough!" of their mental and emotional cruelty and just couldn't bring myself to attend any longer. Like you, I felt the need to get my immediate family out before I could cut the three-fold tether of Meeting Attendance™, Field Service™ and Association™. With my illness, though, Meeting Attendance™ and Field Service™ faltered, and subsequent to that Association™ was drying up quickly. We had a core group of "friends" who, little by little, gradually stopped including us in social events. I have to admit that, during this time I was doing my own research, and coming to the realization that this was a cult and that escape was necessary, yet I never tried to influence anyone other than Mr Scully. The criticisms that I felt comfortable enough to verbalize to Mr Scully had nothing to do with doctrine, and everything to do with the lack of love we were experiencing from our local congregation. He couldn't dispute what was happening, and nobody in the congregation could deny what they were doing either - so it was fairly easy to get him on-side. Having a mental illness (even an easily treated, temporary one) gave me a bit of leeway if I ever had a meltdown or an unseemly outburst. Once we decided it was time to leave, we started exploring doctrinal issues.

  One of my biggest fears during that time was that I would be discovered and exposed as a thought criminal, and it was articles similar to the one from Sunday's study that induced a certain level of paranoia. "They know!"

  So while I applaud your noble and generous efforts to help your family and loved ones to escape - I do hope you'll be able to remain under the radar, so to speak, for as long as necessary. Perhaps in your case, you can incorporate some criticisms and blame the 'outbursts' or 'crazy talk' on your recent strokes... which in some cases have been known to reduce a person's inhibitions. If this is something you've experienced already - including memory lapses, or memory loss, or emotional lability - perhaps some seeds can be planted. Of course, you would be profusely apologetic for upsetting people around you, and wish there was some way you could control the meanderings of your thought processes... our loved ones can sometimes be very patient and forgiving in cases of serious brain trauma. You know your loved ones better than anyone, so you can test the waters to see what you can get away with, or not, as you see fit.

  As always, my very best wishes to you!

  Your friend, Scully