by stuckinarut2 50 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Nice replies! Thanks!
Yes, the FOG (fear, obligation, guilt) tactics certainly contribute to the situation.
Also, its true that the BITE method is used so cleverly by the GB. As many here will know, it stands for
Behaviour Control
Information control
Thought control
Emotion control
The weakest ideas and beliefs
will always require
the strongest forms of protection
-Michael Sherlock
Your entire thread is somewhat flawed. When you say "Witnesses" to you mean the "Rank and File" and Local Elders? I ask because the WT magazine says that Dubs cannot interpret the scriptures, only the GB can.
Dubs, except for the GB, shouldn't even be doing "research", they should only read the GB's research.
DD
Because Satan is such a cunning adversary that he can fool even the most meticulous and skeptical researchers into swollowing his BS.
For starters, we know for a fact that he has had digital copies of WT publications altered in such a way as to embarrass the organization. Then he got his servant, apostate Bill Bowen, to get together with other bitter apostates and fabricate a slew of false sex abuse accusations against Jehovah's servants. As you can see, there is no slimy abyss to which Satan will not stoop to decieve God's people!
To be succinct about it: what would be the point of conducting research if all the 'evidence' is either phony or altered?
Well said rainbow_troll!
By classing any information that is negative about the society as "satanic propaganda", it renders it abhorrent in the minds of witnesses....
The truth is...... Jehovahs Witnesses cant handle the truth ...... and thats the truth.
Edit to add : Jehovahs Witnesses have been conditioned to not think for themselves , they have been conditioned to only believe what the GB tells them to believe .
They claim they only believe the Bible ....,nonsence ,....why else would they change what they believe the Bible says when the GB says they have new light on a belief .....and then they change what they previously believed the Bible said.
km 9/07 p. 3 Question Box - "Does "the faithful and discreet slave" endorse independent groups of Witnesses who meet together to engage in Scriptural research or debate?—Matt. 24:45,47. No, it does not."
The implications of this directive has flown over many/most J.W.'s heads - accept the org's reasonings without question or discussion.
If the Vatican issued such a decree, J.W.'s would be jumping for joy at being able to show Catholics what 1 John 4:1 commands Christians to do - "TEST the inspired expressions, to see if they originate with GOD."
I rest my case!
stuckinarut2 - "If 'the Truth' is the truth, why are witnesses so scared of research?"
Because deep, deep down, they're scared it's NOT "the Truth".
Know how I know?
'Cause that was ME.
The cult instills self-doubt in people. They repeatedly stress scriptures like Jeremiah 17:9 (the heart is treacherous, who can know it) that cultivate a fear of trusting oneself. Combine that with an encouragement of what is presented as rational ignorance (i.e. why waste time reading apostate literature when you know it's filled with lies? It's not worth the effort) and you've got a pretty powerful thing going - a fear that you're not strong enough to resist being misled (or, in my case, that your motivations for research are actually selfish so you'll inevitably find things wrong with the cult as a way of justifying a desire not to put in the work) and a rationalization for why you're smart not to research. Then there's also a desire to avoid indulging those evil apostates by reading anything they write. Those three things are what held me back, at least.
As far as actual biblical research - I was never afraid of that. I just didn't care and couldn't be bothered. I wasn't interested in the bible at all, and I had more than I wanted of the bible's nonsense force fed to me several times a week for my entire life. And in the bits that were forced on me I already saw problems that took a lot of effort to rationalize. Because, after all, my heart was treacherous - I told myself this was a failing on my part - I just didn't understand and couldn't no matter how hard I tried. So why would I want to do more research into the bible when I'd just come across more problems (that I now know are actual faults of the bible) that would only demonstrate to me the extent of my lack of understanding?
