Internet banned?

by gilwarrior 26 Replies latest jw friends

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  hippikon

  That would be so cool - they won't be able to acept work if it involves using the internet hahaha Just add that to the list of can'ts
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  JT

  If they did ban the net or convince JW's it's demonized, wouldn't they have to get rid of their web site?

  no for in fact they have already addressed that issue

  the KM of 98 instructed all loyal jw to TAKE DOWN ANY SITES RELATED TO JW ISSUES and they gave a number of reasons one being WE HAVE A SITE FOR YOU ALREADY NO NEED FOR ANYONE ESLE TO PUT UP ONE

  so they have for the last 4 yrs told jw that the only acceptable jw site is wt.org
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  AMNESIAN

  In the 50's when television was just starting, the WTS called it "the devil's eyeball." New technology, same tactic. Now the WTS advertises on TV.

  Lol! When our family purchased our first vcr back in the early 80s, it was understood that we would not "stumble" any of the friends by ever mentioning it. "Did you hear Brother PO's family bought one of those recording whachamacallits so they can rent porn videos?"

  Course that was back in the day before the Society started running its own video racket, thereby tacitly making it practically mandatory that every JW household have a vcr in order to keep up with Jehovah's spiritual provisions .

  AMNESIAN (who won't even get into how the maroons foamed when they got wind that we'd also descended into Satan's moral abyss that is basic subscription cable!)

  Edited by - AMNESIAN on 9 December 2002 11:32:10
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  Gopher

  Here's the verse they may use to prohibit Internet usage by their members:

  Ecclesiastes 9:12

  Just like fishes that are being taken in an EVIL NET, and like birds that are being taken in A TRAP, so the sons of men are being ensnared at a calamitous time, when it falls upon them suddenly.

  Did you notice dear brothers and sisters, the bible refers to the "net" as EVIL. Don't get trapped by this Satanic device!

  Edited by - Gopher on 9 December 2002 12:5:3
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  link

  I go along with those who believe that the WTS has a hidden agenda for demonising the internet and it has nothing to do with pornography of apostate web sites.

  The vast majority of active JWs that I know would never believe anything that appeared on an apostate web site if they accidentally logged on to one. BUT....put the exact same information on a site giving factual information such as an educational history site or one publishing a membership list such as the UN site and their eyes pop.

  This is the real problem for the Society, the easy access to real and factual information that they would much rather the R & F never got to hear about in a million years. Apostate lies will always be apostate lies but this is something else and much harder to combat.

  link
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  drahcir yarrum

  Yeah, when you really think about it like the WTS would think about the internet, well it's electronic and we know that demon forces operate electronically. There is no WT filter to keep demonism at bay.

  Yes, I think they could very well ban the internet, at least forums and chats, and make the rank and file publishers see it as a demonic pipeline. They have in the past prohibited the reading of certain books, watching certain television shows and even doing certain dances. What would be so hard about banning the internet?
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  Xander

  Banning the net is impossible, it's simply come along too far without the society putting the brakes on. IE., with TV, music videos, etc, they were able to start out w/ negative propoganda before the technology caught on, so many witnesses never got into it.

  They were too late with the net - it was already a factor of day to day life before they starting targetting it.

  What they MAY do is what several other religions have talked about/done - given their members special filtering software (akin to parental filters) to filter out the 'bad' sights. In fact, all other distributions of such software I'm aware of has clearly been child protection only (IE, porn filters, hate site filters, etc). I'm not aware of any religion yet requiring it's adult members to surf through their gateway software, but the JWs would be the first if it ever happened.

  That way, they can block a site by content alone. If the software sees 'UN' and 'Watchtower' in the same sentence, for example, it won't load the page, et al.
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  link

  Xander,

  With all due respect, I dont see how filters will help because it is not sites with negative information on JWs that are the problem. It is those everyday sites that contain factual information that contradicts what the Watchtower preaches.

  It is the history sites that show beyond doubt that Jerusalem was not destroyed in 607 BCE and the sites that give information on share dealing etc. I confirmed the NGO status of the Watchtower from the UN web site and you cant filter these types of site or you will have nothing left.

  I believe that they will control it by demonising it and I already see advanced signs of this happening in my area.

  link
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  Xander

  Right, what I'm saying is that the filter blocks the pages as they load. It could (theoreticall) preload any site replacing instances of the actual date Jerusalem fell w/ '607 BCE'. Any site - ANY SITE - that has the text 'UN' and 'Watchtower' in the same sentence doesn't get loaded - period.

  So it wouldn't matter if it was an apostate site or official UN site. Obviously, the filtering logic would have to be pretty comprehensive to limit out just information that goes agianst the WTBTS propoganda, but it could be done.

  OTOH, they may just let it go. Almost as bad as freedom of information is people in the org who doubt. Letting the internet issue be - just planting seeds of doubt in the minds of the loyal, as they have done so far - may work well to sift out the potential disloyal ones.

  My bro, when I talked to him about the UN thing (and other stuff) is a CLASSIC example of WT indoctrination. It didn't matter that the society was listed on the UN site, it didn't matter what official sites showed of ANYTHING.

  Internet = satan's world. Note that he does use it, but anything even *remotely* WT related falls into one of 2 catagories:
  'Good' = their great invisible friend in the sky providing for them/fulfilling prophesy/etc
  'Bad' = satan trying to mislead them

  The site or information in question is completely irrelevant. If it brings doubt, it is satan's lies. Remember, he controls all media sources, all governments, all businesses, essentially everything on the net, and his one, single mission he pursues with all his time and supernatural energy is simply to place doubt in the mind of a loyal JW....at least, that's what they believe.

  In short, if something on the net makes them doubt, they were never 'strong' to begin with, and the bOrg just might WANT to let them go.

  Or not.

  Then we'll see filtering software real soon.

  Who knows?

  Edited by - Xander on 9 December 2002 14:29:27
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  Beans