by excaliber 116 Replies latest jw friends
The Watchtower is starting to establish a stronger presence on the internet with discussion groups of there own.
official watchtower DISCUSSION group--(s)---???
bring them on. the watchtower will quickly block/delete any discussion that attempts to question or debate it.
i think its better to have many diverse internet exjw groups--lurkers will then tend to pick those they are most comfortable with.
Yes, Excalibur, we should certainly unite as one, to make a more effective, structured, organised attack, but no one wants to make the effort. It's far easy to sit in a comfy armchair and bitch about the organisation through this forum.
This forum has a purpose. It provides reassuring to us all as we struggle with our past, but that is all it will ever be. Sure, the occasional person may stumble across it and become a little enlightened, but such is limited unless we have a site like jw.org showing the truth. The major problem is we wait for people to find us, just like the diminishing churches - we actually need to 'preach' the truth, but that is a word/action that brings bad memories, as does any concept of organisation. Is organised ex-religlion going to be less traumatic than organised religion?
I fear mostly whom arise to run these organisations. Sure, there are zealous brothers progressing for love of the ministry, but, as in business, they are often sidelined by butt-kissers, who stamp on everyone, form schemes, just to gain power, what is documented in business to be sociopathy. However well intended any movement, it could quickly be taken over by someone who just wants some authority to boost their insecurity. Also, it could quickly loose focus and become a mere social club (not so bad), and not be drawing attention to what the organisation is. It could be like a charity demanding money, but achieving little, due to unproducive workers, wasting money on poor plans and manager's salaries.
We certainly couldn't have some theocratic structure led by holy spirit, as such allows a few power hungry persons to claim themselves unquestionable. Democracy also is flawed as the loudest voice isn't always right. However, whatever the structure, it would be vital to hold any person organising things very responsible.
I would favour that simply each city or country where there are a number of ex-JWs, forms a little group, that together informs newspapers of certain news, peacefully protest outside government buildings, hand out leadlets, etc.. Then these groups could in some de-centralised, federal way, as they feel able and want to, work together, perhaps a rota to wave signs outside Bethel.
We don't really use the Internet at all. I do not condone an organisation like Anonymous, but they show what a loosely-affiliated small group of persons can achieve online, they they are so loosely-affiliated that they contradict themselves, i.e. on woman's rights.
We also often contradict ourselves. Many have not really let go of the Watchtower, as they search for a new religion, not seeing it itself is the problem, that we must stop looking for a father figure/god to save us and make decisions for us in this dark, disgutingly immoral, hard to navigate, overwhelmingly stressful world we can't cope with. I like very much the morals in the Greek scriptures, but the Hebrew isn't the same god.
How can we have unity, when on one hand, some people here only left the JWs and are bitter for having been disfellowshipped for immoral conduct, while others left because they couldn't cope with it not being a moral sanctuary, filled with butt-kissing politicians who cared for power or lazy two-faced fornicators and drunkards who couldn't be bothered to do the ministry?... and now can't be bothered to criticise the organisation.
There should be no requirement to like the Bible. There are born agains on here, hijacking the forum, bashing the JWs for blood, but these naive persons don't read the Bible, because here JWs in having this horrific sacrifice of their children to show loyalty God are being increidbly loyal to the Bible, and so the Bible itself is the source of such horror - if we criticise JWs for following the Bible, we will only make idiots of ourselves. We would do better to criticise the blood issue for what it is; an out of date Bible teaching, yes, from an old book that has no place today in directing our lives than the ramblings of Shakespeare!
Also, wouldn't the same logic mean that we shouldn't be fighting the WTS but joining with other already established groups to campaign against controlling religions as a whole?
Why don't the people who think that everyone should be united think that they should have joined existing groups instead? Why is it that *we* have to be 'united' with *them* ... why not them with us?
Or is it really about some people wanting to be 'in charge' and gain some notional status or position - something they maybe used to have in the WTS ...
I believe, the single most powerful tool against the WTBTS is to educate, really educate the public about the WTBTS. Try to head off the indoctrination before it ever starts.
Others may want power, but some just realise that sitting around bitching on a forum may help us all cope with depression, the knowing others suffer too, not alone, but won't stop the Watchtower. If you did a survery, how many people would know this forum even exists? It needs publicity!!
Many groups simply want to lure JWs into a new set of superstitions.
LOL at Outlaw's GIF of cowboys attempting to round up the free-range kitties. Those kitties may look pretty docile, but you don't want to see them when their claws come out!
The only worse thing than trying to herd cats is using warfare analogies to characterize what is actually an individual decision that each person must make of their own accord (and often only after they're forced to see TTATT by being DFed).
The 'ultimate battle between good and evul (sic)' analogy is soooo JWesque, just like their perma-warning of impending Armageddon, so it's not surprising that some still harbor a persistent tendency to view their situation as 'Chicken Littles', trying to stir up others to tilt at windmills.
The problem is, countering and controlling the trait of hyper-excitability is part-and-parcel of what it means to leave the JW thinking behind, since it's only a slightly-different flavor of the same basic personality trait that allows individuals to be manipulated and controlled by others....
Fact is, we HAVE 'the truth' on our side, and simply sticking to the facts should suffice to convince those for whom reasoning (and not their emotional response) plays a major part of their decision-making processes. That's a problem, since many JWs like to THINK of themselves as logical and analytical thinkers, when they cannot see how WT message relies on playing their emotional responses like fiddles.
Adam
This is how cults start. I can't see the difference between the GB and whatever would control XJW's United or whatever you want to call it.
Besides, as others have said, I'm not at war with the Watchtower. In the end, people have to be responsible for themselves; my job is to educate them, if possible. Besides I can't escape thinking that if the WTBS collapses tomorrow, most of its followers would just go find somebody else to tell them what to do. Which brings us back to the first line in this post.
If the jw go more on the net it will open up the lines of discussion. When that happens truth will kill the religion. The more any one goes on the net the higher the rate of being exposed to the truth.
Excaliber, thanks for your thoughts. To my mind the beauty of internet forums is that nobody has to join anything. We are just individuals from all over the planet who used to be JWs. Some people are healing, some are venting their anger, some are helping others and some are just joking around. Which is fine because humour helps us get past this very intense belief system we used to have.
The strength of this online format and the fact that people can be anonymous if they want to is that we don't have to form an organisation because whenever humans do that we end up with problems. Some people always want to be in charge, make rules, throw their weight around. It's the human condition. In the main internet forums circumvent this problem.
It works and people are lurking and then leaving the borg. They get the support they need when individuals who relate to similar expereinces reply to their posts. I think it's brilliant and I just wish it had been here when I left in the eighties.
