You Will Know By The Love They Have Among Themselves

by Corvin 31 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Undaunted Danny

  SHANGHAIED to SHANGRI-LA LOVE BOMBING The 'No Brainer Container'

  HOW DO CULTS SEDUCE THEIR PREY ?

  "" ......A tactic used most often is the "LOVE BOMBING"...They swarm over you in a sort of ,"COCOONMENT".

  All of a sudden,,you have,,INSTANT FAMILY,,INSTANT PURPOSE,,INSTANT COMMUNITY,,INSTANT FRIENDS.....And you don't have to look inside yourself for answers anymore,,.. because cult leaders, or their designated high disciples,,dispense all your spiritual needs..

  ....A mass delusion,,mass hysteria,,operating under the illusion of a master plan...In military jargon this is known as ,"Cluster F**k"...

  Beware of Love Bombing.... Leonard Brenner Love-bombing is characteristic of most cults. Prospects, recruits and members are drowned in a sea of love and caring. Recently in an evangelical church I heard the pastor describe his visit to two cultic groups in which he praised their love-bombing and urged that his church adopt the same loving attitude towards visitors and members.

  Should the evangelical church practice love-bombing? Is this what Christ meant when he said, "By this will all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another," (John 13:35)? I've heard cult members say, "Of course we practice love-bombing: Who'd want to be in a group or church that practiced hate-bombing?" This attitude highlights a common misconception. >>>Hate-bombing is not the opposite of love-bombing.<<< The opposite of love-bombing is unconditional love. Love-bombing is highly conditional. The cults will love you to death while you represent a prospective convert to their group.

  As a member a tight family love will surround you as you faithfully promote their cause. However, when it is clear that a prospect will not join the group or a member voices doubts, create waves, or leaves the group, all love ceases. Indeed scorn is immediately heaped on these individuals and remaining members are told not to have any contact with them. All time, effort and love-bombing is then directed towards new prospects and the faithful members. Is this the love evangelical churches should practice? Unconditional love is what God practiced when he sent his Son to die for us..... All hands abandon ship! The Watchtower's plagiarizing pirate ship was 'scuttled', before it ever left the docks. It was all the 'blind following the blind'.Their fallacious faith of credulity has been shipwrecked. Shanghaied to Shangri-La. The WT$ has even tried to hi-jack Jehovah's celestial chariot for a joyride..

  " The greatest courage is facing the truth and the truth takes no prisoners" Undaunted Danny
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  justhuman

  Personally I believe that JW's are like any other human beeing on this earth. You find good people and bad.

  The only thing to blame is the Org because of their policy they have destroyed the lives of many people, but most of all their fulure to show real Christian love
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  aojumper

  I remember reading about the Pharisees in the Greatest Man book and thinking, these people are just like this! I left too, for many reasons, Lack of Love being the main thing, I could never measure up to attain the love they said was there.

  Jgnat - I love the Open Mike idea.

  I just did my first Open Mike 2 weeks ago at a comedy club, I opened with JW material.

  K
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  wednesday

  Gretchen, I can really identify with your story, being also a 3rd generation JWS. We had no love bombing either. Also we were the "weak" ones and not good enough for the cong. to associate with, but we dare not have a worldly associates.

  It is a bizzare way to live. I have found that many jws are just plain mean and spiteful people, unless u happen to belong to their circle of friends, have money, position or something they can use. (if that is the case-u can sin, and be DF any number of times and they will still welcome u back) I have also know some loving JWS, but it was not the "truth" that made them that way-they were just nice people-but still they offered no help to our family when it was needed. People i thought were my friends, of 30+yrs, didn't even call to see if we were dead or alive. I dont' see a lot of love there. I also have a theory that JWS tend to "draw" this type of person to them. People who want to judge and enjoy being self righteous. People who are just sort of mean spirited to begin with.

  that's been my general experience, your mileage may vary.
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  LouisaWas

  I do recollect some really good people in the congregation...long ago when the congregation was small, back in the sixties and I was a child. As I grew older and became more aware of things I realized that I was "marked" because my Mom had married out of the truth back in the forties...so we were not really allowed to play with other children within the congregation, though I had cousins in the truth that I played with. Even though I pioneered and did more than Elders kids I was still "marked". While there were some really nice people there were lots of real nuts...scary people who were over the top that you just knew to say hello to and then keep your distance. The congregation seemed to be almost divided into classes...the top of the line JW...the kind of middle JWs like us...then the sorry, good for nothing JW that was just there to keep the seat warm. My Mom used to say, "...there is nothing in this world worse than a half-assed Jehovah's Witness" I can recall as a very small child...about 7 years old being sent out in the service with a pioneer sister that I did not know well. She was new to our Congregation. We were in rural territory and I was afraid of her. We were in service all day and I did not know what to do about going to the bathroom I finally told her I needed to go and she said we would go later. Much later I mentioned it again and she said later. Well..much later while standing on someone's porch I went. I still feel so much humiliation about that. You know she just acted like she didn't see it...we just kept on going and it was never mentioned. I wore soggy underpants the rest of the day. Yet I am the one that feels ashamed about that. I spent many a long day out in service like that...trying to hold my bladder...having to pee in ditches when the opportunity presented itself. No wonder I hated going. Yet at 5 years old I could do my whole little presentation and it made everyone so proud...so I did it. As I got older and had my own children I remember trying to get them ready and get to meetings on time..by the time I got there I was exhausted. I would look around and see the others there and I pretty much concluded they were in the same shape. I did not feel love in the congregation...I felt exhaustion all around me. I about decided that if you missed a meeting they were all jealous because you may have gotten a few minutes of peace and rest. After the meetings you heard lots of complaining....I think because the only legitimate excuse to get out of a meeting or service was sickness. I don't think I saw a lot of happiness, I don't think I felt a lot of love....mostly I saw and felt criticism. They were the quickiest people to critique I have ever seen...and honestly, I was that way myself for a long time and I had to break myself of that because it is a bad way to be. Since I no longer attend meetings my Aunt is always telling me there is no happiness outside of Jehovah's organization. I know she means well...I have to bite my tongue to keep from telling her that I have never seen her happy...she has to be one of the most unhappy, perfectionistic people I have ever seen in my life. I want to tell her I am much more loving, much more forgiving and understanding of others and much happier since I no longer force myself to undergo that scrutiny three times a week and attempt to go through my life like I am walking a tight rope. I like myself very much now...before I thought something was wrong with me and I would never be good enough for anything. I also recall a scripture in the Bible about how to treat Widows and Orphans and an article in the Watchtower about treating wives with unbelieving mates as such...when I went to school I did not associate with worldly kids..but the Witness kids acted like I did not exist. I ate lunch by myself and walked home alone. My Mom was invited over to their Mom's house for lunch either...of course, my Mom was a damned bombshell and couldn't have covered it up had she tried...all the Sisters in the congregation envied her and anytime they could pick on her they did. OH and another interesting thing and this is a hoot. In high school I got a part time job in a department store working behind a cosmetic counter...the brothers had a talk with me about wearing MAKEUP...they made the inuendo that I was trying to look sexy...I told them I was just trying to use the products that I sold and after all...I was 17 and I loved working with makeup which they thought was totally stupid. They pointed out their daughters did not do such (They sure needed it!) .I went on to become a National Makeup Artist.
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  LouisaWas

  I forgot to tell you one funny thing that happened in our family....my Grandmother had a long estranged Sister (because of the truth) that became terminally ill. At this point my Grandmother (who really was a dear person) elected to help care for her and try to mend some fences. When she died much of my Great Aunt's family was to come over to Grandmother's house for food. My Great Aunt's family were all Baptist. Well..our family decided that this was an opportunity to put on a great witness to them as to how wonderful we J.Ws are....so we all went to Grandmother's to make sure the house was spotless and take food...the whole deal. Well..you never heard such squabbling in your life between us all...my Aunt chewed me out because I brought my cake over uniced and was going to frost it there on the kitchen counter and I might get frosting on it (I did not want to risk messing my cake up in transit) and we got into an argument and I went home in tears...other arguments broke out and then we were supposed to be there all smiles and sweet, perfect little J.Ws putting on a good Witness for those awful Baptists.....and just maybe the Elder's would have a talk with me later about where I frost my cakes!
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  moshe

  Welcome LouisaWas, great from-the-heart posts. I remember when my grown daughter was about 9 years old and she cried at bedtime for a friend. We had moved to Florida and she was never accepted by the other girls at the KH- she was tall, blond and had stunning looks , even at 9. Looking back , I realize now the KH girls were all jealous of her. A Kingdom Hall is too small for kids to have a pool of friends - No wonder they bail out as soon as they can.
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  hambeak

  The so called love they have is superficial and totally devoted to the org. Loyalty to family and friends is on the surface only and you will get turned in and shunned if you don't follow the way of the body of elders. Recreation is controlled and get togethers are frowned on if they get to big. TOO MUCH CONTROL
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  BizzyBee

  A Kingdom Hall is too small for kids to have a pool of friends - No wonder they bail out as soon as they can.

  So true, Moshe. You make friends among whoever there is available and it was not always a good match! My best girlfriend at the hall was a snobby show-off and well-to-do and I was poor and painfully shy. Her mother was a 'queen bee' and so the elders were always singling out the daughter for special attention. On the other hand my folks were 'weak.' She and I being thrown together all the time simply because we were near the same age caused my already low self-esteem to plummet.
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  ARoarer

  After walking away and wanting them to let us alone they felt they had to drag us back go accuse us of things we were not guilty of so that they could formally excommunicate us. Kind of like your working in a company as a really dedicated worker, than suddenly you notice the corporation is extremely corrupt and dealing drugs to the workers, So you qietly quit the job. You don't want to go back ever because there is no good future in it for you. Finally after a month or so you get a phone call from the corporation managers 2 on the phone, but only one admits hes on. He asks you if you are coming back or have you really left. We tell him we left the company because it doesn't pay us what it promised and they are dealing in corrrupt things and we no longer believe the company will give us a future. So the company tells you, but then we must fire you and now that you have been fired no other company members can talk to you. You feel a little confused because this once excellent company has been brazen enough to seek you out after you had already left and got on with your life and suddenly wants you to come back to be fired.

  With all that corruption and drugging the members with religiosity, you get the idea you don't want to take this religious mind altering drug with these such loving people who also are addicted to their religiosity. So where is the love? You leave and realize in your heart that you are no longer a person of religiosity, you are a person who has spirituality and you must get away from the jw religiosity and embrace closely the spirituality you have left with.