by greendawn 31 Replies latest jw experiences
Searcher, I believe that the apparent obssession of the WTS with the money is a reflexion of their strategy. They KNOW that there will be a major defection, followed by a serious shortening of contributions. They are getting ready to it by stocking funds they will need to survive the rocky years that will follow The doctrinal shakedown. It's all about self preservation.
Eden
Btw, the only reason I can think of for a truly massive defection, is dropping the hope of everlasting life on a paradise on earth. No other change would cause a defection of such proportions that might threaten the very survival of the Watchtower Society. Even the most hardcore loyalist would face a major trial of faith.
Eden
I don't know about all present Witnesses. My feelings are so strong that I don't see how anyone can believe the doctrines. I did believe as a child but then I developed reading skills. How anyone can have exposure to a basic school education and not to see the lies and overreaching by Bethel and the KH elders is beyond me? I don't understand how anyone can be a fundamentaist. B/c of the legal background, the overreaching and pathological control over people's lives is more sickening than the actual doctrines. Yet there are many religions just as controlling. People appear to crave these religions.
I noticed even in my local Episcopal Church that many members felt they could not read the Bible themselves. When I suggested it, they declined. Whatever the priest said, instant belief. Of course, she never preached anything outrageous. They would never say to themselves, "I do't agree with her."
I cared about family members of mine that I loved leading such ignorant lives. When I would gently suggest that the Witnesses were not stating the truth about mainstream doctrines or history, it upset them so much. They were on the verge of nervous breakdowns. This unwillingness to even read a neutral source, use common sense, and acknowledge that Bethel and their own interests might be adverse upset me to my core. Deprogamming is not the answer. If I scream at them and order them to not believe, I am as bad as the WT. They were happy with their Witness lives. Friends of mine noted their serenity.
The Internet has helped. My idea is to encourage critical thinking skills in preschool rather than begin in college. This country needs an informed citizenry. When I read posts here or overhear things in the grocery store, it chills me. The people who need to know how our country works don't. This is discussed endlessly on TV, and i newspapers. The rabid antiObama peope are a great example. I understand why they are upset. If you have no objective facts, conspiracies pop out all over the place. Sometimes the ACLU sends college students out with brochures that merely copy the Bill of Rights. They ask the downtown lunch crowd if they agree wih the statements. First, no one realzes that the content is the Bill of Rights. How many Americans know why the Civil War was fought? A TV producer wanted to make the point so he asked students at an upscale high school when the Civil War was fought. The students had no idea. They could not even name the century.
I don't understand why some people know the basics so well while others are ignorant. Reading newspapers and magazines would help. National Geographi helped my family. If you don't know a core of facts, how do you ground yourself. Someone like Santorum or Palin shows up. All those Tea Party lawyers know this is NOT a Christian country. They could never practice law or even pass the bar exam without knowing that the US is not a religous country. Yet they are on TV spreading lies for votes. I might believe them if I were not taught about the Pilgrims and the First Amendment in elementary school. It is very sad.
Cults make you dependent. If asking questions and not accepting blind authority became a cultural norm, there would be far fewer fundamentalists of any stripe. There are parts of Witness culture that should send anyone running for their lives. The inability to ask questions at WT meetings. Preformed questions for each WT paragraph. The blind repetition of the answer in the text recited word for word. The blood donor card freaked me out. If you don't believe in blood, it is your right. The prepared wallet card and the brothers demanding to know if you have it is over the top crazy. The money for the Phillipines relief that must not be restricted. When the Red Cross pulled the same stunt after 9/11, celebrities and politicians screamed foul. I will never donate money to the Red Cross again. Now I read charity filings and confirm that my donation will go to the disaster of my choice. These are signs of pathological control that should frighten anyone in society.
From the posts above I see that more posters argue that the JWs should leave this religion because of its various nefarious beliefs and because it is degrading to remain there given the deceit, manipulation and exploition of the membership. But still I can see that many JWs remain there without any apparent ill effects as if their psychology is totally immune to the negative influences keenly felt by those that chose to leave. So it is still a matter of personal psychology (of psychological type), of individual circumstances, of cognitive ability. And surely there are fairy tales and illusions in their beliefs but this happens in all societies.
In this world people tend to be intelectually lazy and prone to accepting and believing utter nonsense as long as it makes them feel good in some way and in the case of the JWs that nonsense is the paradise that is SOON to be and the ticket the WTS can give them to enter as long as they obey its commands. Eternal life, no diseases or anything unpleasant, total peace and security a perfect nirvana. They surrender their minds and hearts to the leadership and view them with a mix of admiration because they are leading a life saving work and fear because they are close to God and therefore close to the thunderbolts and if they disrepect the honoured leaders God might unleash one or two against them. Through some kind of cognitive block they can't see that these leaders use the Bible not with a view to helping them but with a view to making money out of exploiting them and are extremely adept at doing this, in other words they are a very efficient and copious lying machine on which they stack the label saying "The Truth".
I agree that they have a very twisted view of the world and that their indoctrination makes it difficult for most JWs to leave and then easily and quickly adjust to the world outside, after all that is why they are indoctrinated in that way to deter them from leaving, the FDS has no armies to chase and slaughter them as the Popes once had in order to deal with the restless dissidents that were disturbing them so they resort to mind control methods.
I meet from time to time with a JW (one very enlightened for a JW) who doesn't mind seeing me and I could tell him that he wasted his time serving this org but it would be too cruel to do that, to tell him that his 40 years of full time service are worth nothing, to nullify everything. I rather believe we should give recognition to their work as long as it was done by them genuinely in good faith and caused no harm to anyone. Otherwise they will surely see us as harsh, hostile persons and plain evil apostates.
Handing out mad instructions that may well put in danger the lives of the flock, because of a supposed revelation about an imminent Armageddon. For example, telling the r&f to sell their assets, quit their jobs, drop school or university, forcing everyone to pioneer, collective suicide, whatever - you get the picture.
I think this has all happened excep the suicide.
Doc
If they predict a major defection and it happens it is something long overdue, hopefully that's the feedback they are getting that the internet and the failure to deliver on their promises are overtaking them how long can be people be fooled so blatantly?. And it is astonishing how a handful of devious persons at the top can intimidate and control millions of people all over the world. All the members have to do is refuse to obey them and that will be the end of their rule. There is nothing they can do about it.
I think EdenOne is onto something. I am not inside, but will continue to read the publications, so I can see at least part of what my family is being forced to believe this week. It is pretty evident that they are planning something inhumane.
My mother should stay in, to protect my niece from her abusive father, and from even more potential abuse inside the KH.
Since the gradual hoisting of the now many red flags at Bethel indicates anti-christian actual core guidance, I feel some can now read 2Thess2:1-4 and see not only is a major cycle repeat preparing to unfold in the JW microcosm (Rev8), also by massive debt preparation a major cycle is already preparing to unfold in the world system as well (Rev16) towards an obvious financial solution of global proportions that will not be implemented overnight. (Dan11:42-43).
It all just needs a common proper global trigger event to really catalyze this final cycle..
And as the GB supported the diversion of 3rd UN placement in 1990 as nothing special (Dan11:31b), and went UN NGO instead of explain globalist 8th King implications present there (Dan8:12), and then released the news to world press one month after 911 in 2001, it appears the GB moves right along with major well known globalist pretext creating events two times now, that last one led to the "global war on terror" and the designed shock of the whole event also aided JWs lack of comprehension of what UN NGO really means; (Dan8:13 "transgression causing desolation"), for those even finding out about it, as it's secrecy is Bethel policy.
One has to consider the next global pretext creating event will intuitively also be backed in some covert way by the GB for their UN partners, as obviously a UN NGO reveals Bethel's core endorsement, and it is too ominous for JWs to accept the implications, it is too big too see, hidden in plain sight - but it is all there and it is but another red flag.
Thus one must consider Bethel is actually planning a mass defection on purpose, a mass stumbling event based on the many manmade organizational idols going down in engineered fashion, and JWs with faith diffused from God and Christ to those central idols of Bethel, will have their misdirected faith also go down as a result. Finally the GB will achieve their "negative JW growth rate" goal. It is apparent all this "bad press" creating stumbling of millions must have a design to it, JWs already stumble far more people than come into "the truth", and this next one is the big one, the coup-de-grace and the real purpose of the GB tenure since 1976.
It is too formulaic to all be simply random and accidental oversight and spontaneous hypocrisy. It is masterminded; (2Cor11:13-15). As usual, only an uncommon few see it coming. And it is not "the end" as Bethel claims, but of Bethel itself, it is the beginning of the final super-cycle in many microcosms and the overall world system to go on for at least a decade into 8th King full King North ascension as super-sovereign world king, the objective Bethel aids in their sector of world influence in reality, aiding 4th UN placement now, for the end of that cycle. (Dan11:42-45 final phase)
The GB backs globalist 8th King world phases in tandem two times now in 1990 and 2001, and a final Bethel support, of a final 8th King phase, is now predictable, it may very well be 2014ish in co-deployment. The real enemy is inside the house (1Pet4:17; 2Thess2:3-4, 11-12), the real apostates are within Bethel's walls (Zech3:3), not outside where they keep JWs focused accusing everyone BUT the core Bethel apostates greatly aiding their concealment; (2Thess2:3 apostasy as Dan11:32a apostasy).
All the red flags indicate JWs have a super-event coming on Bethel and the world system context in some manner to aid Bethel's implosion, making JWs think "it's the end of the world brothers!!!" and directing some of them to "the GB safe house", but it will not be the end, but the beginning of the final cycle, and it will take JWs some time to actually wake-up to reality, because the world will keep on going in the Dan11:42-45 final trajectory for some years. (Dan8:14 "evening", Matt25:1-13). It will be the end of Bethel as JWs knew it, not the world.
... and caused no harm to anyone.
Herein lies the problem. You might easily portray my JW family as sincere, etc, but there is a trail of broken families and suicides that takes some mental gymnastics to divert the blame solely onto those affected individuals.
EdenOne,
Thanks for keeping us all up to date too.
gorgia
