You have to admit, the carrot is pretty alluring. (page 2)

Splash's cartoon is cute but can be amended for accuracy, there are actually two sticks, one that holds the carrot, and should be obscured by blinkers, and the other is the stick used on the asses' ass, the guilt tripping, the threat of disfellowshipping.

I was never swayed by the promises either, the regret for the incorrigible idealist is, that the efforts were expanded in an useless endeavour, a delusion, to prop up a controlling entity, but it was done in great company. thank you.

AFRIKANMAN

"Very Soon ......" the infamous witness Mantra -

But in the interim we wont lift a bloody finger to try and improve the lot of people on this planet - we will leave that to the worldly people to do while we await the big A which will then kill them off in a horrific manner - by way of thanks for all their "fine works" .....................................

Sabin

I have to say I think you are bang on John, I know for myself it was all about seeing an end to suffering for children especially having grown up watching the Ethiopian`s starving had a profound effect on me, the seals being culled & shit parents all played it`s part. Still does I suppose in a way, I`d still like to see an end to it all, all the bad thing`s that is. What I find so sad about most of the JDub`s though is that they make the one`s suffering now nothing more than collateral damage, I mean it`s like some-one dies & they just say " oh well, they will get a resurrection" they make life cheap. Or the other one that drives me mad is when there is a natural disaster all they care about is were there any JDub`s hurt, other people can die cause now they will have a better chance. There`s no thought for the poor families that are left only if they have a bible study then of corse we have a thought for them. It`s bullshit, wether you believe it or no, the attitude of a lot of them is really heartless bullshit. That kid has been raped "oh well, Jehovah see`s all". So we can go on smiling & not really caring.

LostGeneration

Ironic statement - Jehovah is going to put an end to all of that. (By murdering billions himself instead)

You are correct, the carrot is very real in their minds, the WT wants it that way. Even recent articles telling the troops to meditate on the paradise shows they want them under that illusion.

One of my fave posters who moved on (LeavingWT) used to say something like this when people would complain about not being to wake up friends/family members (loosely quoting here): "You are competing with everlasting life in a paradise earth, what do you have to offer?"

It really shows how if a person actually believes this is going to happen, you don't stand a chance.

LevelThePlayingField

John - you are so right. For people that are that blind, it wouldn't matter how much TTATT you showed them, they would just say, "yeah, but Jehovah knows what's going on...". and they would just keep on 'serving Jah' so to speak. They really just don't get it.

no-zombie

I think that witnesses have evolved over time in regards to their motivations in staying in or joining the Truth. In the very beginning I imagine a high percentage of people became believers because of doctrine. A kind of new age protestant reaction to the established churches. However today most witnesses don't know a lot about the organization's doctrine, its origins or in fact; the bible itself (as compared to times past). This is why 'The Hope' has become so large in the minds of the brothers. A fact that has not gone unnoticed the GB. Like most of you, I've invested a lot of time in building up a collection of older publication and other material to one day show the ones' I care for the errors of the society. But recently I came to the realization that its not going to work. Most witnesses don't care about the teachings any more. And when they don't understand a new teaching (aka 'this generation') they just default to the line, "the GB knows best". As a consequence, my new tack is to only attack emotionally. The child abuse issue, the changing blood doctrine and kingdom halls in Africa (instead of $15k watches) gets better traction than trying to fight it out intellectually.

Syme

How ironical that the Creator promises to cure things that He (in His wisdom) created, like paraplegia or Down syndrome.

How ironical that the solution for starving children in Africa and elsewhere, is to wipe them out altogether in Armageddon.

Just these 2 above thoughts should have been enough to make someone wake up, but, alas, they're rarely enough.

notjustyet

Even their song "Keep your eyes on the "Prize"" proves that the Jws are motivated to make it into the new order for the benefits. The Jw will tell you otherwise, that they are not doing these works for any future benefits.

I disagree as the "prize" is not the "finish line" is it?

NJY

done4good

You may right be with respect to the "have nothing else in life" type of JW. Religion has always preyed on these types of people, and some religions, (like JW), do their very best to make sure people stay in this state of misery.

For any JW with a career, a family, and all of the "normal" things in life, any reference to the "new system fixing things" is nothing more than a way to resolve their cognitive dissonance.They really don't want any such "system" to be a reality.

People naturally learn to accept that the world has problems, we eventually die, etc. When one has a normal and realistic view of such things, he/she will attempt to make the best life possible for themselves, and likely others as well, to the degree they can. No fantasy world needed.

d4g

You have to admit, the carrot is pretty alluring.

stuckinarut2

prologos