upcoming confrontation with JW, need advice

by Disposable Hero 13 Replies latest jw friends

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  Disposable Hero

  Sometime in June I will be put in a situation where I will be one on one with a witness. (you could say I will be cornered) But I am actually looking forward to this. This witness thought I was a great person even before I studied, but then after I found out about the truth she believes that I'm being misled by Satan so now she is going to talk to me. She has been a witness for many years and knows her witness stuff. I have done lot's of research on the society (library, internet, kingdom hall) so I guess I know my witness stuff too. But this is a situation I have never been in and I am not sure how to approach this. She does not have a computer, but where we will meet, there will be. So I was thinking of asking questions such as "does the society knowingly lie to their own people?" "are people being hurt because the society is protecting themselves and not helping there own people?" And then show the proof.

  should I ask questions about the Bible like "why does the society take the place of Jesus?" "who are the translators of the NWT?" or any question that would make this person really think about there answer.

  Or should I say " I know more about the history of the witnesses than all of the elders in your congregation put together" Then I would prove it. (This actually happend to me while I was asking questions with 2 elders with about 60 years of experience between both of them. I asked the question "was Jesus second coming first taught to be 1874?" The one elder said "No, I don't think so" He was cut off by the other elder quickly and this guy said that it was indeed taught, but then changed to 1914. He had no clue when this change occurred. I thought to myself this is interesting that one didn't know this and the other did not know when the change occurred. Then being my sneaky self I asked " was 1920 the year the prophets of old were to be resurrected and a house was built for them?" The first elder was in over his head and did not say anything, the second elder agreed with the year and that this was taught, but said that there was never a house built for them. I said are you sure? He said he knew his history really well. I could have had lot's of fun at this point, but I choose not to.)

  Since we will have access to the internet, I'm thinking the best site to go to would be the quotes site, if I can only get her there to look at it. Any advice from personal experiences to just plain old commentary would be appreciated.

  You lie so much you believe yourself
  Judge not lest ye be judged yourself
• 

  jerome

  Please supply more details.

  The Bible is a two edged sword wield it for evil and there may be hell to pay.
• 

  Bang

  Good to see you looking forward to it - no need to be anxious.

  Why ask questions? Just tell her how it is.

  Bang
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  Guest 77

  DH, if nothing becomes of your meeting, you will gave gained 'experience.' Why not, good for it and have fun.

  For cautionary purposes, expect the unexpected. You might get hit with a low blow. Make sure you wear your jock strap.

  Guest 77
• 

  cornish

  Witnesses are told not to waste time on those who are not as they say 'Meek and Teachable',or in other words,potential recruits.
  
  When I was a witness someone who was never a witness possed as a potential recruit but said to me ,'I would be happy to become a Jehovahs Witness if I was absolutely sure it is the truth,but I have these serious issues that I need some help with.'

  This approach was not threatening to me as a JW and this guy proceede to tactfully help me on the way to recognising I was in a cult,he had done some good research and used the Watchtowers own material to show the double talk and let me draw my own conclusions.

  Try not to get bogged down on discussions on the trinity etc,the main point in any discussion with a JW should be to get them thinking as an individual and not parroting answers as part of a collective,and to dismantle the illusion they have of the Organization equating to God,and to see it as having no Divine standing,but as just a load of men who have taken themselves to seriously,but you need to be quite tactfull how you go about it.

  One common tactic I used as a JW was that when a subject got on sticky ground I would try to change the subject,For example on a subject of say,has the Society proved itself a false prophet,a witness may suddenly say ,'but we dont fight in wars',but you will have to get back to the subject in hand and not let them do this by saying something like ,neutrality is a good subject,but we are talking about prophets and I think you would agree that it mkes no difference whether a false prophet is pacafist or not,he is still a false prophet so we must clear this subject first.
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  Yerusalyim

  Ask questions like,

  Why is someone's spiritual maturity in the congregation determined by the number of hours they report? WHy report hours at all, did the early church?

  Why are there so many misquotes in TRINITY Pamphlet, can we trust the integrity of the Society if they knowingly twist someones words out of Context?

  What is the signs that God approved the Bible Students over all others in 1919 that is not manifested in other churches? How is it that Babylong the great acknowledged that God was with Bible Students in any special way.

  How many licks does it take to get tot the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie roll tootsie pop.

  
  YERUSALYIM
  "Vanity! It's my favorite sin!"
  [Al Pacino as Satan, in "DEVIL'S ADVOCATE"]
• 

  garybuss

  *
  
  In my experience, to argue with a Jehovah's Witness is like being in a pissing contest with a skunk.
  
  
  gb
  
  
  
  
• 

  detective

  Before you do anything I would quickly get to a bookstore or library and get Releasing the bonds:empowering people to think for themselves by steven hassan. This book talks about planning "intervention" strategies and gives some solid advice on how to encourage the thinking process, not just the defensive process.
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  Pathofthorns

  If this is not a person who is an extremely close friend that you see all the time, there will be little you can do in this visit except confirm their worst fears about you and send them on their way never to talk to you again.

  It is unlikely you will get them to look at anything on the internet or any information you might bring with you. I have found it best sometimes to try to evaluate what will work best with different people, and sometimes it is best to just let them believe you are "weak in the truth" or that you are dealing with "private matters that you would rather not discuss because they are personal" just to keep acquaintances.

  These are the sorts of people you meet up several years from now and you realize they are in exactly the same spot in life that they were the last time you saw them. Except now they are older and further "behind" and getting tired.

  What often is best is to keep a positive attitude, be happy and assure them you are well. I think the best way to help people sometimes is to just not scare them off and be friendly.

  Path
• 

  RunningMan

  Well, every person is different, but in my experience, JW's recognize no authority other than the society. So, the only way to get through to them is with their own words.

  I have compiled five different documents, each one containing nothing but society quotes on a specific idea - such as examples of lying, doctrinal changes, false prophesies, claims of infallibility, and misquotations.

  I can e-mail these to you, or send them as a hard copy. Let me know if you are interested.