NOT on JW.org: Huffington Post interview with Director of new movie about Jehovahs' Witnesses and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.

by Balaamsass2 14 Replies latest social current

  • Vidiot
    Vidiot

    Two things struck me in particular...

    ...the first:

    "...as their entrenchment in response to upticks in departures and increasingly dangerous questions from members will ultimately approach a point of hyper-legalism whereby the entire Jehovah's Witness infrastructure chokes on its excess of rules and regulations."

    A spot-on description of what's taking place right now.

    While the WTS has been bending over backwards to give the outward appearance of mainstreaming, they have very recently and strongly reinforced their internal positions on the GB's authority, transfusions, the two-witness rule, 1914, creationism, etc.

    The Org is clenching its collective fists even more tightly around the things that define JWs, just as Gregario predicts.

    It reminds me of something Julian Assange of Wikileaks believes; that the more leaks of confidential information an authoritarian regime experiences, the more it tries to control/restrict the flow of confidential information in an effort to prevent the leaks, until eventually, the regime effectively cripples - or chokes - its own ability to properly function.

    x

    ...and the second:

    "This kind of perceptual shift, however, challenges over a century of increasingly insular and absolutist Watchtower Society doctrine, so I don't believe reforms will ever happen in earnest."

    Far more telling is that he, like more and more of us, is convinced that progressive reform - i.e. authentic mainstreaming - is no longer possible.

    And if authentic mainstreaming isn't possible, how can the WTS survive in the Information Age?

  • cultBgone
    cultBgone

    Planning to see this! Thanks for the links.

  • The Searcher
    The Searcher

    Sadly, I feel that such documentaries will only have a limited and almost exclusive benefit for non-Witnesses.

    As soon as most Witnesses hear or see a report featuring ex-Witnesses "moaning & groaning" about their personal experiences in the Org, the Witness DEFCON 1 kicks in - "apostate, apostate!" and they'll shut it off.

    To reach everyone concerned, change the format from personal viewpoints and criticisms to one where JW.ORG's changing doctrines & practices can be forensically examined and taken apart. They have no answers for condemnation coming from their own literature! (or the Bible) To do that, experienced ex-Witnesses would need to be sourced to explain in terms that all could understand.

    I hope the film has greater impact than I imagine.

  • AndDontCallMeShirley
    AndDontCallMeShirley

    They have no answers for condemnation coming from their own literature!

    I completely understand and agree with you Searcher. The problem is, JWs don't think rationally. My best JW friend disowned me because I quoted from the literature! I was an "apostate" simply because I quoted from an older WT article that disagreed with current WT doctrine. It highlighted how WT's "truth" today becomes yesterday's silliness in the blink of an eye, and he didn't like seeing it in print.

    This documentary will help two groups of people: 1) JWs who are already on the fence and need a little nudge in the right direction, 2) those who may be considering becoming a JW (or know someone who is) and can steer clear of the madness with a warning shot.

  • paradisebeauty
    paradisebeauty

    I like this, and it is true:

    No one has a monopoly on the truth and a healthy discussion about religion needs vagueness -- room to contemplate the wonderment and mystery of the unknowable.

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