what i have realized studying JWs,the bitter truth

by spirituk 35 Replies latest jw friends

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  spirituk

  Well, i have been studying JWs religion ,my cousin is a jw and i have visited him a lot of times.I have watched his way of living and things like that.I have been at the district convention last week.I read so many things from both sides.I came to the conclusion that if someone believes god exists then it is so easy and he should be a Jehovah's witness.Sadly its true and that is why so many people are and every year they baptised even more.

  Stories about jws reducing?wrong.

  Facing problems? false.

  Everybody in the convention had an ipad ,iphones etc with the bible in it. + wifi . outside , very expensive cars like bmw x6 etc.

  At a small talk with others they informed me of their expansion to several language for only in cyprus and greece and i was amazed.People are paid by watchtower to attend seminars to learn foreign languages and to be sent to preach in other countries as employees of watchtower + paid rents and salary.It aint that bad to be a jehovah's witness.You live your fairy tale and then you die :) But ,the only problem i find is the association with wordly people.I think it is very painful for both sides.If they find a solution to be isolated from worldy people no one will have problem.

  Anyways ,i felt like i should share my thoughts with you.

  You are welcome to comment
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  wisdomfrombelow

  Nobody gets a salary to learn a language or move to a different country. It is all done by volunteers. There are some wealth JWs but many more have modest income or are poor.
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  Londo111

  There are much healthier spiritual environments that don’t induce the amount of guilt and fear, and that does not micromanage a person’s life. We’ve seen this religion from the inside, after decades of living it, and have more experience then the image and doctrines that are shown to the outsider.

  If you had to go to a backroom and face a judicial committee, have all your friends and family shun you thereafter, then you would understand.
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  Iown Mylife

  Hello Spirituk, What you have described is what an outsider sees. If you have read "both sides" then you would see why people come out of the cult.

  You see people with ipads at a convention but you don't know how the people in that person's congregation talk about them for having an ipad. Same thing with expensive cars - the people who can't afford an expensive car talk about ones who can - "OH they are so materialistic!"

  You think the Organization pays for rent and salary - you haven't read the little amounts of money and the type of residence provided. If you're a big dog high up in the organization, then you have better accomodations. But many of the workers live with no air conditioning and very difficult conditions. Their faith is supposed to make up the shortfall.

  You think it's so wonderful, a "fairy tale," to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses? Go ahead, be gullible and swallow all that love-bombing and show of happy, no-problem "way of living." When you have begun to have your eyes opened for you, and you decide to leave and be free of religious control, your cousin and the "friends" you made will never speak to you again.
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  LongHairGal

  spirituk:

  What you observed was one small facet where the religion seems to work, at least for the time being anyway and only for some people. Not everybody and not for single women, I assure you.

  I don't mean this as an attack on you, but I will take apart each of your observations (you sound young to me).

  1) They are reducing in the prosperous western world where the money is. However, they are increasing in third-world countries (i.e. places where there isn't much money to donate). In places like this, the JW religion may seem to be a "step-up" for some people.

  2) Facing problems? You bet they are but your cousin is either unaware or would be prohibited from telling you about them since JWs are conditioned to cover-up scandals and bad publicity. They are hooked on secrecy.

  3) As far as "everybody" having I-pads, great cars and the latest toys, this doesn't mean all that much because I have known that many people (JWs included), are in heavy credit card debt and will not deny themselves the latest and greatest.

  4) Them supposedly paying people to learn languages and live in foreign countries with their rent and other things paid, etc. Well, I don't know too much about this but I did hear the Gilead school will no longer be sending out missionaries and that the school is to be converted to another purpose.

  5) As for your observation that the JW religion "isn't so bad and that you live your fairy tale and then you die": in a small percentage of cases this may work or I should say "has worked in the recent past". This is changing however.

  Because of this economy and money drying up (people aren't giving money when they have to worry about themselves), bethel has laid off several THOUSAND people in the last several years and they aren't done yet. The people let go are in their late 40s and 50s.

  Many of them are unemployable in the REAL world and they are too old for most employers to bother with. Hopefully, they have families back "home" who can help them out with cheap apartments and such. However, they are a drain on the congregations and they will have their hands out looking for money. This is one of the reasons I am glad I am no longer there.

  Yes, the religion may seem to work if you are in the right clique, related to the right people and haven't been damaged by the people or the religion's policies. Sorry to tell you this, but there are thousands of people on this forum who would say you don't know what in the world you are talking about.
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  Ding

  Sounds like the WT spin is working.

  You said you are studying both sides.

  Have you read Crisis of Conscience by Ray Franz?

  Have you read Captives of a Concept by Don Cameron.

  Don't join the WT until you have read those two books and can refute them.
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  CADSkin

  Anyone can buy BMW’s and Ipad’s when you have no retirement plans. My in-laws have lived paycheck to paycheck for their whole life. They spend every penny from their 401K on vacations and cars and tv’s. So convinced they don’t need a retirement as it quickly sneaks up on them. Their retirement plan is to buy an RV and wait for Armageddon. I already have plans for building a guesthouse in back of our place as I know exactly where they'll end up.
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  DATA-DOG

  Have you been to JWfacts.com? Will your cousin have an honest discussion with you about the WTBTS without using thought-stopping phrases? Don't get me wrong, as a general rule Jw's are great people. The problem is this, they actually worship the Organization. The reason that this is true, is because they will do whatever the GB say, even if the Bible itself says differently or is silent on the matter. If you get baptized and you do not agree with the "current truth" or ideas, you WILL become a person of interest to the Elders. You are not allowed to believe anything that is different. You cannot hold any private beliefs. There is a letter to the Elders about this, it could lead to you being DF'd for apostasy. Total agreement and compliance with what the Watchtower magazine says, not God's Word, is required.

  Try having a discussion about blood tranfusions with your cousin. JW's do take blood. They do not abstain from blood. They will take blood from your body that has been stored and altered, or blood from a cow that has not been " poured out " and use it. Yet, if you get baptized your cousin will let you die rather giving you a blood transfusion. You will be DA'd by default or DF'd if you even store your own blood for your own operation, because you did not follow JEHOVAH's (tm) view.

  Ask your cousin about organ transplants. If you lived at the time they were banned as being " unscriptural ", would your cousin have let you die? God's word says nothing about organ transplants. Yet if you were baptized, you would be required to follow men's ideas and die, or you would be DF'd. Ask your cousin what they would have done. Would they have followed men's ideas that had zero scriptural backing and let you die because they must obey the Governing Body of the WTBTS. If you can't have a conversation that is open and honest, then there is a problem and it will not get better once you are baptized.

  Go to JW.org and really look at it. It is a commercial for the WTBTS. Look at the FAQ section. Some of those contain lies. A certain image is presented to the public for good PR. They also lie by misquoting sources of information, while at the same time claiming to write only what is true. Why does God's organization need to do that?

  Have you read all the Candace Conti court documents? Have your read the books mentioned earlier? I am a born-in, and I study sooo much more than the average JW, and I can tell you that I have not learned all that I need to know. I can tell you this, looking at the general appearance of JW's is pretty nice. It looks warm and friendly, a " spiritual paradise." Really, it's not. I am all about morality and trying to live a Christian life, the Jw's have that right. Still, your life will be policed like never before. Once you say " YES" to the baptism questions, you belong to them. You no longer have freedom to make your own choices. You see a lot of conditional love shown. If you are obedient to the Elders, who are obedient to the hierarchy, with the GB at the top, then you will be shown love. If you step out of line, then you will get the " tough love " treatment.

  I just hope you REALLY do some more research and ask you cousin some thought provoking questions. There is a lot of good in individual Jw's, as there is in all people in other organized religions. There are also huge systemic problems that are not being adressed because of the lack of humility on the part of the leadership. THAT is what you will subject yourself to.
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  AndDontCallMeShirley

  Sadly its true and that is why so many people are and every year they baptised even more.

  --

  Compare recent baptismal figures with those of just a few years ago. The numbers are dropping.

  WT can get away with saying there's an increase because JWs have short memories and don't read WT literature.

  Stories about jws reducing?wrong.

  Take any ten year period and add up the total number baptized compared to the total growth of JWs (these figures are in the Year Book). You'll see that as many leave as come in, and in a many years/ten year periods, more leave than what come in.
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  sieborg

  yeah spirituk some fairytale, i was disfellowshiped last week and can look foreward to not speaking to my parents fo the rest of my life unless its on quote, " essential family matters" = bullshit.

  Also, hows is this for divine theocratic justice. I was not present for the JC and was judged by an elder who has had a grudge against our family for a numbr of years. impartial, i think not. A total stranger who does not know me and another elder who i have known for years who is a staight down the line company man.

  Jw = controlling cult. dont be fooled by the nicey nicey act before they dupe you into baptism. In the words of the eagles in the song hotel california. ,

  you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

  angry rant over.