The Apostate Narrative

by Londo111 3 Replies latest jw friends

  • Londo111
    Londo111

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostate

    Controversies over new religious movements (NRMs) have often involved apostates, some of whom join organizations or web sites opposed to their former religions. A number of scholars have debated the reliability of apostates and their stories, often called "apostate narratives".

    One camp that broadly speaking questions apostate narratives includes David G. Bromley, [ 67 ] [ 68 ] Daniel Carson Johnson, [ 69 ] Dr. Lonnie D. Kliever (1932–2004), [ 70 ]Gordon Melton, [ 71 ] and Bryan R. Wilson. [ 72 ] An opposing camp less critical of apostate narratives as a group includes Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, [ 73 ] Dr. Phillip Charles Lucas, [ 74 ] [ 75 ] [ 76 ] Jean Duhaime, [ 77 ] Mark Dunlop, [ 78 ] [ 79 ]Michael Langone, [ 80 ] and Benjamin Zablocki. [ 81 ]

    Donald Richter, a current member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) writes that this can explain the writings of Carolyn Jessop and Flora Jessop, former members of the FLDS church who consistently sided with authorities when children of the YFZ ranch were removed over charges of child abuse.

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    There are other people, not just JWs, who leave their group have eerily similar accounts. It’s amazing there are those like David G. Bromley who term this as an ‘apostate narrative’ as if all these people were making these stories up. I find that highly objectionable. Our pain is real. Where there is smoke, there is fire.

    Obviously, cults latch onto these people who question stories from “apostates” to vindicate themselves. Of course, even if these folks, many who have never walked a mile in our shoes, were right, there would be nothing satanic or demonic about the phenomena. It is common to all these groups.

  • scotoma
    scotoma

    Freud has been discredited because he developed his theory around what he called stories about young women being raped by family members "erotic fantasies".

    Freud just couldn't believe so many women from highly respected families would be victims of incest.

    So he came up with the Oedipus complex (Jung wrote about the equivalent electra complex)

    Some cult stories are made up some are real.

    The death of Ananais and Saphira in the book of acts was either Urban Myth or a cult homicide.

  • Londo111
    Londo111

    Overall, when the same pattern emerges, across not just many members in a group, but across many groups, it cannot be discounted as ‘narrative’.

  • Narcissistic Supply
    Narcissistic Supply

    The narcissistic suppliers will generally develop Stockholm syndrome over a period of time. In the narcissistic suppliers mind the control and narcissistic abuse becomes conditioned as a codependent.

    They will rationalize all kinds of things even if the narcissistic abuse is not rational or fruitful to them. They may even rationalize that they deserve it if they do not have high self esteem themselves. A person with high self esteem is not going to put up with it. They are going to say no. That’s enough. We don’t have to keep reiinforcing the pathological space and we don’t have to keep giving the narcissist the ability to continue obtaining narcissisitic supply from the same sources. go find new sources of narcissistic supply becomes the battle cry. Go find new a new pathological space becomes the game.

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