Watchtower Society joins Political Lobby ! (page 2)

Amazing

I am adding more and more references to this issues. The most recent is the review of New Religious Movements (NRMs) in Russia by the World Council of Churches. Ity is fascinating for these mainline religions to observer various movements, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses operate as they do. - Jim W.

No Apologies

Amazing,

Very interesting read.

One question, is there any other reference other than the theonet article that can substantiate the Watchtower's affiliation with this organization?

AlanF

Excellent post, Jim!

I think that among the best insights in this article was the following, where I've bolded what I think are the most important statements:

Thus, with the friendly mass media, public opinion favorably inclined toward everything western and "spiritual" and established government connections, the cults began their conquest of Russia with the law on their side. Anyone could come to Russia with even a tourist visa and begin a missionary campaign in order to found a new religious organization later. Religious anonymity and pseudo nymity were widely employed: at first, recruiters often did not identify them selves as representing a religion, con cealed their religious connection, tried to appear as close as possible to the Orthodox Church, or aff ir med their full agreement with it. All these factors produced the desired effect, and the num ber of recruits has skyrocketed.
The first negative reactions came from parents who w ondered what had happened to their children a f ter joining these pre viously unknown religious organizations. They noticed that their children changed for the worst - becoming, as the parents described it, "zombi fied. "
It is important to note that the parents were not naturally biased against "new religious movements" as many cults like to maintain. The cults and their advocates claim that once someone's son or daughter joins an NRM, their parents run to the anticult media, anticult organizations, or a deprogrammer who will scare them with tales of brainwashing and cultic criminality. Thus the parents themselves become anti cultists, provoke their children, and the family falls apart.
However, this tidy scenario does not work in Russia, because when parents began worrying about what they considered harmful changes in their children, they had no access to negative information about so-called "destructive cults ." In Russia there was no anticult media and no anticult movement, and noone had even heard of such an exotic beast as a "deprogrammer": There were only the suffering parents of Hare Krishnas, Moonies, and the followers of the "Mother of God Center" and "White Brotherhood" who began to locate each other, share their experiences, and develop plans for how they might respond.
These parents went looking for help, but nobody would listen to them until they came to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1992. At that time I had just begun work ing with the Moscow Patriarchate. My superiors asked me to help the parents, because they thought that as an American citizen who lived, studied, and worked for 15 years in the U.S., Italy, and Germany I would be the best qualified to help.
Eventually, I arrived at the view that the most important component of the freedom of choice is the freedom of information. Wh en information is withheld a person cannot make a truly informed choice. So, in order to preserve our precious, newly won freedoms, we must try to provide people with all the information about a given group. We must convey to the public the facts that the cults hide about them selves. This simple insight became the philosophy of St. Irenaeus of Lyon Infor mation and Consultation Center at the Patriarchate of Moscow which I founded.

As ex-JWs we certainly know the value of freedom of information -- something that the Watchtower Society and other cults want stamped out.

AlanF

willyloman

Key point, indeed:

Wh en information is withheld a person cannot make a truly informed choice. So, in order to preserve our precious, newly won freedoms, we must try to provide people with all the information about a given group. We must convey to the public the facts that the cults hide about them selves

imallgrowedup

Is there no end to the hypocrisy?!!!!

growedup

Amazing

HI growedup:

Is there no end to the hypocrisy?!!!!

Simply, no, there is no end, unless the religioin is forced out of business.

PS: Check your PMs, I have a proposal for you. - Jim W.

Amazing

I am bringing this back to the top for Puternut ... to add to the overall evidence of Watchtower duplicity. - Jim Whitney

Guest 77

So much for being, NO part of the world and touching the 'unclean' thing!

Guest 77

seattleniceguy

Rocketman said:

They'll do anything to keep themselves afloat, and evidently that includes teaming up with other religions. I'm sure they're not "socializing" with them, though. [ emphasis mine ]

When I read that, the account that flashed to mind was that of the Pharisees who were willing to take Jesus to Herod to try to get him executed there, but were unwilling to go inside, lest they defile themselves ceremonially. SNG

Pleasuredome

Public Committee for the Defense of Freedom of Conscience."

so, the WTS is fighting for something it doesnt believe in, joining up with satan's religious orgs, and getting involved in politics.

any JW lurkers feel embarrassed by this???? i know ****ing would. and if you ever got involved in these things that the WTS gets itself involved in, you'll be out on your arse before you could say 'i'm an apostate'. but just think about this, who going to form a judicial committee for the governing body?

and is any of this information available on the WTS propaganda site JWmedia.com? no, i didnt think it was. i wonder why?

Watchtower Society joins Political Lobby !

Share this