by minimus 30 Replies latest jw friends
Then there are the people who see the exterior look of happiness of JWs. They are usually upset over something terrible that has happened to them and they see the pretty and happy looking JWs and find them very attractive. They are hoping this pretty and happy "thing" about JWs will make their own life more pretty and happy.
Exactly what happened to me!
HOPE - they do not want to die at Armageddon -- the yenjoy being controlled - or feel the need for it
"It doesn't matter if it is true or not, just if someone is convinced enough to believe it."
Actually because JWs is most a work orinted religion formost they don't care what you believe (sorta like the military). Infact the attitude of the R&F idealy is work hard, believe nothing, question only if you have the rank, and charisma to do so under peer prusher. So a catholic that believes in the trinity, heck even a muslim could lie, and be a jw as long as they gave canned responses. Any time the JWs can be seeded with KGB for years and no one noticed it is obvious. The power of the dark side is strong and some KGB even converted to JWs. Jehovah knows the heart, so when in doubt lie, and pass out watchtowers.
I second Stefanie's comment
Because JWs say they can give them answers. Simple answers.
In one of my classes this week we've been reading Frances Fitzgerald's _Cities on a Hill_, which deals with different communities in the US in the early eighties. One of those communities is Jerry Falwell's church. What she said about their attitude toward education struck me as very familiar.
(p. 158-emphasis mine)
For Thomas Road people, education - in the broad sense of the word - is not a moral and intellectual quest that involves struggle and uncertainty. It is simply the process of learning, or teaching, the right answers. The idea that an individual should collect evidence and decide for himself is anathema. Once Falwell told his congregation that to read anything but the Bible and certain prescribed works of interpretation was at best a waste of time. he said that he himself read all the national magazines, just to keep up with what others were saying, but that there was no reason for others to do so...But what bothers the most pious members of his congregation is not just that the schools teach the wrong answers; it is that the schools do not protect children from information that might call their beliefs into question. When I asked Jackie Gould whether she would consider sending her children to something other than a Bible college, she said, "No, because our eternal destiny is all-important, so you can't take a chance. College so often throws kids into confusion." The purpose of education, then, is progress in one direction, to the exclusion of all others.
I've studied this issue for a while and conclude that, for me at least, I became a JW because I had a hole in my soul and needed to fill it. I filled it, or so I thought, with God. That seemed a reasonable response at the time. I viewed religion with suspicion, for lots of good reasons, and bought into the Witness argument that theirs was a very different brand of religion, or, as the brother who studied with me kept saying, "It's not a religion, it's a way of life."
That's why I've stopped kicking myself for the decision. I had a need and, hey, it worked for me. It's a form of addictive behavior, which is just a way of abusing something that, in moderation, might actually be good for you. Example: a glass of red wine a day is good for your heart. A BOTTLE of red wine a day? Not so good.
I've come to think that religion is like that, too. In moderation, religious beliefs may be beneficial. But once you start to abuse the substance, it in turn abuses you and you're out of control. "Moderation in all things" is one of the first biblical principles bible thumpers lose sight of.
It turns out my need was not for religion but for spirituality... and they are not the same thing. I am learning and exploring that now, and my life is infinitely better.
Cult buster Steven Hassan says,'the methodology of cults is the same,they exploit situational variables and vunerabilitys.
Danny sez's;They 'cocoon' you with love bombing,all of a sudden you have instant family,instant friends,instant community...
...You don't have to look inside yourself for answers anymore,because cult leaders or their high disciples dispense all your spiritual needs.
A mass delusion,mass hysteria operating under the illusion of a master plan.
In military jargon it's known as the," Cluster F**k." ( a.k.a. 'Stockholm syndrome" )
Oh,,,also attributed to P.T.Barnum the world's most famous geek."there's a sucker born every minute"
I joined it because it sounded logical, what little info I got in the beggining, and I didn't really know alot about the bible to begin with. So they feed on this lack of knowledge, twist scriptures around to serve the JW purpose and make you feel that if you don't join then you could die. I started with the thinking, "Well, better safe than sorry."
But the more you're in the more of the REAL truth you see.
What I know sound classic JW but you guy never give any answers just criticize, but I like reading it anyway.
My point nobody says what is an acceptable modern civil religion. I know it is weird but nobody ever makes a gold standard religion however hypothetical to measure any religion either the doctrine sucks or the autocracy sucks. I took a cult test. The answer is you should seriously consider your religion. No **** that?s why I was taking the cult test!
I swear the WTS should do like Chevy and offer different models of religion based on the same platforms. People forget religion is a technology. Just like fire making or flint knapping. One church should treat it as so and just go for it. Think of it God comes in destruction cycles. in-between cycles he expects people to attempt to holify themselves. Can we just you know um upgrade?
Good point willyoman. We were all just looking for spirituality but somehow religion got in the way . I think we all have that desire to have true freinds and people we can rely on in desperate situations ,what we don't need is to be punnished for our mistakes like some little kid or have people skulking around in the shadows trying to find something to charge you with in a religious setting .
