Logic Lures Them in, Emotions Keep them In

by jgnat 52 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Big Tex

  NG

  One thing I learned from my experiences with the Witnesses, is to not sit in judgment on others. I had enough of that from them, and I hated it. So what kind of hypocrite would I be if I did that to others now? No, it would mean that I had learned nothing and all that pain and heartache was wasted.

  See, I'm a big believer in free will. I believe our lives are the sum total of our choices. And nowhere is that more clear than the issue of spirituality. No one on this planet can say for an absolute certainty they know the mind of God, or even that he exists. Spirituality is, at least in my mind, the ultimate choice. Either you believe, or you don't. Either way, it's a choice. We decide for ourselves. And I guess that is one ancillary point I was trying to make with that quote earlier in this thread. What do we do if we see wrong? Do we stand by and watch it happen? Do we object? Either way, it's a choice and that choice begins to define who we are and what we're about in this life.

  I see you on a journey just like the rest of us. Forgive me, but I suspect your sometimes combative nature hides (protects?) something fragile underneath. It's an effective defense; I know because I used it myself for many years. But it also isolates and makes it difficult for those who want to help to come near. You didn't ask for it, but I will offer this advice: wherever you go and whatever you become in this life, keep an open mind and an open heart. In that way you are in a better position to receive what God has to give you.

  Be well.
• 

  refiners fire

  The 'religious experience' of Guy Chevreau, it happened at the Vineyard church in Toronto.
  Book "Catch the Fire".

  The night before, Chevreaus wife, Janis, had failed to cook a proper meal because she was totally 'slain in spirit' and couldnt function for laughing.
  She served greasy fish and chips,"tossing" pieces of fish in the families general directions, and laughing her ass off.
  Chevreau was grossly annoyed.
  Next day:

  "I came forward for prayer...I went down yeilding to feelings of weakness and heaviness.I lay there thinking 'the guy that prayed for me had a pretty heavy hand, did I get pushed'?
  When I came forward for prayer the next time, I was in a bad mood.
  Again I lay there,I said. "God I dont care if this is you or not, Im so tired Im just going to lie here a while".
  The third time Janis was on the floor , loony tunes,again. Randy prayed over me, very gently, very quietly, and I went over feeling too tired to stand any longer.
  As I lay there I started weeping. Wailing if the truth be told, for 40 minutes." Guess what happened next? "Later that afternoon I heard in my spirit, a spoken commission from the Lord, clearer than Ive ever heard the Lord speak before" JGnat / a classic conversion scenario there. Entirely typical.
• 

  jgnat

  Big-Heart-the-size-of-Texas, it is great to sit back and hear you speak from the heart. I believe this is what is meant by sharing our personal testimony. So much more powerful than some script from a book.

  Refiner's Fire, you and others have refined my thoughts somewhat, on what I thought was destined to be a three-post wonder. The WT logic is skewed for sure, but the WT appeal is certainly more cerebral than the typical Cult. The bookishness is surface only, for anybody who has read widely. I can see it's continued appeal in third world countries where literacy and education are limited. Thank you for adding your thoughts.
• 

  Big Tex

  So much more powerful than some script from a book.

  Ah jgnat, you'll never know what you missed by listening to manuscript talks being read in a monotone all day for 3 or 4 days. It was not only mind numbing, but butt numbing as well. But then, that's sort of the same thing.
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  refiners fire

  Yes, it appears a zombified state of boredom subconsciously registering a monotonous liturgy also works fine in brainwashing the masses . Not a very exciting method to be sure. Not much in the way of "having your ears tickled". Not very clever of the cult drones to NEVER consider that there might be other more varied information out there. but effective none the less. It worked for Jim jones. Drone on the speaker system while the members sweated under the sun until they fainted from boredom and/ or fatigue. Its more a mothod applied by a cult that doesnt give any kind of a damn about human feelings and suffering at all. Its impossible that the guy who started the fatigue brainwashing technique wasnt aware that his audience was dying of boredom......he just didnt care.
• 

  pamkw

  Funny that you call it a religion. I was always told not to call it a religion. Religion was bad, jw was good. It was a way of life not a religion. Never could figure out the difference myself. It's as big a snare and a racket as they accused others of being in the past.
• 

  Prisca

  Drone on the speaker system while the members sweated under the sun until they fainted from boredom and/ or fatigue. Its more a mothod applied by a cult that doesnt give any kind of a damn about human feelings and suffering at all. Its impossible that the guy who started the fatigue brainwashing technique wasnt aware that his audience was dying of boredom......he just didnt care.

  Sounds like being at a district convention during summer.
• 

  pamkw

  So, now I read the whole thread and see other people sort of brought up what I said. When I was a child we were not allowed to call the jw a religion. It was a big no no, and a kh was never called a church. Now they do it all the time. As far as good things in the jw, I have very few good memories. My mom made two bad decisions that affected my life directly, one was becoming a jw and two was marrying the person she married. The only good thing that came out of it is the person I am today. I like me now, and I had to live through those things to get them. But I see little good in the so called way of life, religion, canned life of a jw.
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  refiners fire

  Pris.

  Well there was a SCHEDULE in place you know? Who had authority to change the schedule? Who would dare? All perfectly understandable.

  Ultimately its the responsibility of each person to say :

  "Im mad as hell and Im not going to take this anymore"......stand up....go to your window.....OPEN your window and shout "IM MAD AS HELL AND IM NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE".
• 

  bluesapphire

  So is that what this board is all about? To raise objections and draw attention to the 'faults' of JWs?

  I am not being argumentative ... I'd like to know.

  And I feel I have every right to draw attention to the good of JWs.

  Do we not have the right to draw attention to the faults of JWs the same way they draw attention to the faults of every other religion on the face of the planet?

  Do we not have the right to draw attention to the good in other religions?

  Do we not have the right to draw attention and warn others about the fact that once you join the JWs, you will have no honorable way to leave?

  I'm not beign argumentative ... I'd like to know.