I wonder how many Witnesses actually believe their religion. What do you think?
Do Most Witnesses Truly Believe In Their Religion?
by minimus 26 Replies latest jw friends
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lostinthought
Personally I think most of the ones I know do, but there are a few of us that don't buy all the bs. I have never officially asked them if they believe it or not but when they say something ridiculous from the platform I know that me and some of the others that may not believe will look at each other and then roll our eyes...
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minimus
I think many WANT to believe but I think deep down, they have to know!
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N.drew
I'd like to believe they don't, but my experience with Witnesses that I know proves they do.
I did not hear one negative word about the "one mind" thing. And when the Circuit Overseer said "soon six billion hearts will stop beating" I heard zero outrage.
I do not understand it.
They might be those that were prophesied to be lovers of the darkness.
But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Matthew 6:23
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minimus
Cults do that.
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Amelia Ashton
I was a believer and suffered all the unpleasant symptoms of cognitive dissonance when exiting
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Bungi Bill
Going by my own experience , those who are "new in the truth" probably do believe it all - I know that did once, anyway.
However, the ones that manage to remain with the JWs would have to develop some sort of a coping mechanism in order to stick with:
eg. in public, giving lip service to WTS theology; while privately turning a blind eye to the more extreme requirements of their religion.
These would tend to be ones initially attracted to the JWs by reasons other than doctrinal purity (and there are those around who were first drawn to the dubs by their apparent purity of doctrine - I know, I was one!) . Such persons would likely rationalize the whole thing along the lines of "Whether right or wrong, Jehovah's Organization is a safe place to be in", or "Better to be wrong and in Jehovah's Organization, than right and outside it", and so on and so forth.
So, in answer to Minimus's question, most of those who are "many years in The Truth" probably don't believe it - not the more extreme parts of their religion, anyway (which, let's face it, actually constitutes the most of it!)
Bill.
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undercover
Truly Believe? First you have to Truly Understand it.... and the problem there is that most dubs younger than 40 don't really know their religion (with exception of a small percentage of uber-dubs).
The WTS has systematically dumbed down the religion to the point that most JWs under the age of 40 only understand that they don't celebrate holidays, don't take blood and don't partake at the Memorial. They can't explain the 7 Times, they can't explain 1914, they don't know 1918, 1975 or the current 'generation' teaching. They have no clue about the shifting doctrines, the failed predictions and they don't realize how much under the WTS control they really are. They think they're doing things of their own free will, while being coerced and indoctrinated by the WTS.
Of course, the older ones who should remember a lot of those things, don't either. They've managed to file it away and willingly accept the current WT teaching as 'truth' without realizing that the 'truth' they used to believe is in conflict with their new 'truth'.
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Disillusioned Lost-Lamb
I think there are a few, and I mean few, who truly believe, however I dare you to name one. JWs love to talk about how "good" they are and how "bad" everyone else is. Hypocrites! I've never met more bold-faced liars in my life; they may have believed at one point, but actions speak louder than words.
I think most of the JW populous is there either because they love their positions, are drunk with power, can't leave or haven't figured how to leave.
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Magwitch
I asked my mother recently if she ever, ever once had a doubt that this may be "the truth". She said absolutely never once. She knew when she was baptized in Lake Michigan in 1939 at the age of 8 that this was the only truth there was.