3. Finally, many elders and dubs in general, have fine tuned their cognitive dissonance. They hear but they don't understand, see but they don't get it (to paraphrase Jesus and Isaiah). In an elder's meeting once, the CO asked the boys why they thought meeting attendance was down dramatically. Most knew the meetings were boring, that the friends were too buy making a living and keeping up with day to day problems of life and were finding the meetings irrelevant and that there were too many demands being made on people. But at this meeting, the responses all fell into platitude territory: lack of appreciation, not studying/going out in service/associating enough, and all that crap. In other words, the elders gave the CO what they felt were "safe" responses. Those who knew the answer also knew better than to be forthright. This describes perfectly how this organization is run and explains why nothing will ever change. There is no freedom of expression, no room for dissent. And the suggestion box is closed.
Elder's comment
by CaptK 23 Replies latest jw friends
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JT
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JT
3. Finally, many elders and dubs in general, have fine tuned their cognitive dissonance. They hear but they don't understand, see but they don't get it (to paraphrase Jesus and Isaiah). In an elder's meeting once, the CO asked the boys why they thought meeting attendance was down dramatically. Most knew the meetings were boring, that the friends were too buy making a living and keeping up with day to day problems of life and were finding the meetings irrelevant and that there were too many demands being made on people. But at this meeting, the responses all fell into platitude territory: lack of appreciation, not studying/going out in service/associating enough, and all that crap. In other words, the elders gave the CO what they felt were "safe" responses. Those who knew the answer also knew better than to be forthright. This describes perfectly how this organization is run and explains why nothing will ever change. There is no freedom of expression, no room for dissent. And the suggestion box is closed.
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JT
3. Finally, many elders and dubs in general, have fine tuned their cognitive dissonance. They hear but they don't understand, see but they don't get it (to paraphrase Jesus and Isaiah). In an elder's meeting once, the CO asked the boys why they thought meeting attendance was down dramatically. Most knew the meetings were boring, that the friends were too buy making a living and keeping up with day to day problems of life and were finding the meetings irrelevant and that there were too many demands being made on people. But at this meeting, the responses all fell into platitude territory: lack of appreciation, not studying/going out in service/associating enough, and all that crap. In other words, the elders gave the CO what they felt were "safe" responses. Those who knew the answer also knew better than to be forthright. This describes perfectly how this organization is run and explains why nothing will ever change. There is no freedom of expression, no room for dissent. And the suggestion box is closed.
this sums it up very nicely and what is most interesting is this TYPE OF MINDSET flows from the top down
in rays book he pointed out that this is often times how members on the gb respond, he mentioned the time the society sent out a letter to THEIR MOST TRUSTED MEN co, do, branch guys and local heavies
asking them to BE HONESt and tell them what they thought
many elders felt this was a good spirit and felt that WE COULD TALK FREELY and many of them did expressing concern about the counting of time, the meetings the young folks etc
only to find out that this information was used TO BLACK BALL THEM later
so when i see someone ask a question like this thread it is so vital that a person NOT LOOK AT IT FROM A "NORMAL' prospective but the prospective of one who is involved in a High Control group
to attempt to explain the actions and thinking and reasoning of a person in a high control group in my view is a waste of time esp if it is done from the angle of a "normal" person
case in point- college education- Most parents would die for their child to be accepted into a college for a Dr or Law degree-
yet recall the Koren Elder who told his child that he would kick their "A$$" out of the house for going to college
now most folks don't even kick their kids out when they get INTO TROUBLE and here we have a jw elder a leader and the wt using his example as one to FOLLOW as a good thing
so the way a person in a high control group reacts even to proofs, facts and evidence has been seen here over and over again
this is truly what makes wt and other high control groups so dangerous to thier memebers
take all of us here on this site HOW MANY OF US WOULD HAVE LET WIFE, CHILD, HUSBAND DIE
for not taking bloood?
while there are those here who would say i would have never let my child die for blood
think about others including myself who would have viewed this as TEST OF OUR FAITH
yet now I along with so many others look back and it RUNS A COLD SHIVER DOWN OUR SPINE
to think that we would EVEN CONSIDER LETTTING THEM DIE AS A GOOD COURSE TO CHOOSE
so whether he knows it or not, the need to fall in line is much stronger often times for those in high control groups
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DanTheMan
The sad result of "considering" hundreds of paragraphs in the pubs over the years that go something like this:
1. Jehovah's people are happy. Why? Because they live according to Jehovah's righteous standards as set forth in his word, the Bible. Therefore they don't experience the pain of drug abuse, marital breakdown, unwanted pregnancy, and the host of other ills that worldly people do. 1. a. Why are Jehovah's Witnesses happy? b. What worldly problems do Jehovah's Witnesses avoid because they live according to the Bible's righteous standards?
The Borg beats the JW'S ARE SO HAPPY AND THEY DON'T HAVE PROBLEMS LIKE THE WORLD DOES drum so incessantly that the only way a JW can survive in this environment is to just chant along with them. All the more so if you are one of the local managers, who are chosen solely because of their unquestioning loyalty to the company. So of course all that stuff on Dateline et al was just apostates stirring up trouble, it may have happened here and there but if it's a REAL problem, Jehovah will deal with it in his due time. Aren't we blessed to be part of such a wonderful organization?