I decided to start a separate thread to discuss this prickly topic, after almost posting this HERE:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/post.asp?id=341913&method=reply&site=3
There are many factors to this whole mess of Dubdom, but amongst the scariest to ME is the fact that the minute you question the doctrine, you're kicked out. ON YOUR ASS. GOODBYE. Dust your feet off on the way out.
No Dub here can argue with me about this, because they know it's the TRUTH.
If I believed in God, I feel that this wouldn't be the sort of thing he'd promote!
And no Witness here can refute me. Y'all go stick your heads back in the sand now, hear me? This site is for people who think for themselves. We all got VERY tired of being spoon-fed by a COMMITTEE called the Faithful and Discreet Slave. That group of old guys (I have nothing against old guys, we have some really cool old chaps on this site, thumbs up to them, just these are really stuck up old guys I'm discussing here) think they are the Channel of God.
Now, if that isn't an extremely arrogant assumption to make, I'll eat a floppy disk! One of those big 8" ones, too!
So, these guys VOTE on issues which are responsible for people LIVING or DYING. I particularly love that aspect of the BORG, the person who decides if you live or die must cast a vote about it. Delightful, dont'cha think? For the mothers here: How would you like it if, during childbirth, the doctors surrounding your bed voted on whether or not to abort your child for you? This is exactly the same sort of decision these old boys with their giant delusions of faith are taking upon themselves, and the consequences in both cases are the same: People die as a result of their malformed doctrinal policies. Defend THAT, DUBS!
But the best thing of all about this supposedly "loving" BOrganization is that, if you QUESTION this "loving arrangement of Jehovah", you are booted out. No consideration is given by the Elders as to whether you are currently a member of a very large extended family that would be forced to shun you until you were reinstated. Some very dear friends of ours on this board have recently been DFd, and apparently they are getting the full brunt of this practice right about now. Think about these beloved posters for a second, people. RIGHT NOW they are so alone, and afraid that they will never be able to commune with their own families again.
Just using this as evidence alone, I don't see how anyone with a conscience could possibly support, let alone physically promote, this religion at all. It just doesn't make sense. Perhaps it is a very grand delusion. Hell, if the Dubs got rid of all their heinous practises and could guarantee me a place in Paradise, I'd still be one! (I'd have a tough time with the whole "God" thing, tho, but I'd manage!) But sadly, this isn't the case. No religion offers these guarantees. In fact, the Watchtower offers the exact opposite: A guarantee of a mindless, BORGified hell on Earth if you become a member.
Of course, some people have no choice. They are born into it. It is these people that I feel TRULY sorry for. Luckily a handful of them have the mental aptitude and strength to look around them in a bit more detail and see what's really going on - but they are few and far between.
As always, our thoughts are with OzziePost and Mrs. OzziePost. May the force be with you! We're thinking of you, and the more religious types will keep you in their prayers.
"Until they become conscious, they will never rebel. Until they rebel, they will never become conscious." - George Orwell
(Edited because the title read "Freedom of Though", not "Freedom of Thought". Damn, I always check my posts so carefully, but I guess I didn't check the subject line! )