i'd say about 60? percent would drink without questioning... 30 perecent would eventually drink out of peer pressure... 10 percent would run for the exit...
Do you think Witnesses would drink the "Cool-Aid" if told to do so...like Jonestown?
by Witness 007 79 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Mickey mouse
I wasn't aware that we were presupposing that the borg would spring this without warning. Let me ask you this, if Jones had not conditioned his followers with practice sessions, do you think he would have been as successful in convincing his followers to go to their deaths? I don't.
If someone were to get on the platform and demand people kill themselves, of course people would question it. But if they were conditioned to obey without question even if they don't understand what is asked of them like Abraham (hint - they have already been told this) and then if some scripture was twisted to support an act of suicide as Jehovah's will then yes, some would comply.
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metatron
They would drink the Kool-Aid, as long as they can do it by sipping, over time.
They sip when they break up families
They sip when confronted with the blood issue.
They sip it when avoiding a higher education
And they sip it during every boring, redundant, pointless mind-programming session held at a Kingdom Hall
metatron
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watersprout
Jonestown was very different from the GB... Jonestown was on a compound and they were indoctinated 24 hours of the day. Dubbies have two meetings a week and TOLD to do personal study but the majority probably don't. Many have doubts, but family ties keep them in.
But I do believe their are some that would give their lives if the GB ordered it. Take blood transfusions.... People have given their lives, the lives of their children because of not having blood... That's the GB koolaid.
Peace
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watersprout
When I used to go to the assemblys, the indoctrination was fresh and it seemed to strengthen the dubbies beliefs... If they had assembly's every day on a compound, where dubbies couldn't associate with ''normal'' people and they could only read dubbie books and could only talk about things the GB approved of then yes they would drink the koolaid.
Peace
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diamondiiz
As per today's believes, JWs wouldn't do it. But, if the GB over times changed the believes in a direction that would show suicide was a guarantee to make it into the new world, one could imagine a greater number of JWs doing so. While a major doctrinal change would be needed for a Jonestown senario to take place, IMO many would leave prior to that happening.
To get a better sense of JWs, we can ask ourselves the question, "When we were truely believing WTS, would we commit suicide if GB told us to?"
I know I would NOT!!!
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Nickolas
Yes, it's a different scenario. Metaphorically, many of them have already drunk the Kool-aid. They are living non-lives, with no purpose, no emotion and no joy. They are living their lives like robots, and they will never leave. Psychically dead
Sad to think, as you say talesin, that many are so brain-dead as all that. It's not the case with my wife, who I long to extricate from the Watchtower but who seems happy in it. She's one of the happiest people I know. But I have to agree with NewChapter's take on this question. It rings true from my perspective.
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Shanagirl
I don't post that often but I would like to respondd to this question. When I had stopped going to meetings and was openly telling my close friends at the KH that I did not want to come back anymore because I no longer believed they represented the "Truth" of what is right. I was told that I was going to die at Armeggedon if I left. And my leaving would compare to the actions of those who were destroyed by Jehovah when Moses came down after the 10 commandments. They used the Bible book of Jude to justify why this would be so. I was told that back then those people were deserving of death by Jehovah. I thought about this and as I contemplated what was said to me I realized that they were safely delivering death threats behind the facade that they had Jehovah's way of thinking towards those who leave. I was told by one friend that "because we have Ceasar's laws today, we can't stone to death apostates and those deserving of death" These words stayed with me and I do believe that if some "new light' came out the GB could gradually build the thought control to the point of JW's stoning disfellowshipped ones. They did this slowly with tobacco smoking for a period of time until it became a disfellowshipping offense to those in and still smoked.
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Violia
Yes I do think it is possible , not for all but I agree with the 80%. they have been prepping jws for years to do what mother tells you to do and do not ask questions. hence the df of anyone who questions. Every wts president has run the wts differently. starting in the 70's and really getting crazy in the 80's . look out.