Considering that this particular hoax seems to have been fairly widespread, I think a reasonable argument could be made that they could well have done their full due diligence and still have published it as they did. This is certainly not the case with a great many of their deceptions, though, wherein they either purposely or thoughtlessly misquote or misatribute sources to forward whatever their current goal is.
OneEyedJoe
JoinedPosts by OneEyedJoe
-
10
Baby parts story from 1989 Awake magazine
by OrphanCrow in*this post was prompted by a reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/7eqno4/jehovahs_witnesses_promote_truth_by_verifying/.
so.. the org makes the claim that.
"anyone who reads our publications or views our videos can be confident that the facts were thoroughly researched and are accurate.".
-
-
-
52
Are Beards becoming more acceptable due to decline in membership?
by UnshackleTheChains ini noticed a young brother with a beard being given more privelages within our hall.
when he first grew his beard, he lost his privelages.
but more and more recently he has been helping out a lot more.. the cobe is old school and a stickler for rules, but with the hall becoming more empty these days, and the need for young brothers, he seems to have relaxed on this particular watchtower/man made rule.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
About 10 months ago my brother (this is in Texas, USA) reported to me that he'd seen someone reading the watchtower with a beard in another congregation, but it still wasn't allowed in his congregation. He was sure hoping that it would come to his congregation. I suggested that he just grow a beard if he wanted to, and he started reciting cult nonsense about wanting to help the flock and if he couldn't do that with a beard it wouldn't be worth it, blah blah blah. I further suggested that if anyone prevented him from helping due to his beard it was them hurting the flock not him failing to help. Predictably, this was dismissed without any real rebuttal.
In any event, I do think practicality is winning out slowly - there's a lot of men that want to wear a beard, and beards are undergoing something of a resurgence these days. They're either valuing their personal expression above a bunch of drudgery sold as "privileges" (and if so, it's a shock it's taken so long...) or they're realizing that the shortage of men that care to do the drudgery puts them in a position of power as such a man and they're negotiating perks.
-
15
WTBTS and the CCJW ?
by Crazyguy inapparently they made this new corporation called the christian congregation of jehovah’s witnesses in the year 2001. this is the religious side of the cult and wtbts is the printing side and probably the money side.
since the gb think they are of the ccjw and have even stated their non affiliation with the wt is their a way that jws can use this to their advantage, maybe during a jc etc.?
i for example was baptized before 2000 so with the new corporation formed and the gb going to that side what could be argued during a jc?
-
-
OneEyedJoe
You can argue whatever you want in a JC, but if you submit yourself to a JC then you're submitting yourself to playing by their rules and those are subject to change at their whim. There's an absolute 0% chance that you can go in and admit to apostasy and have them ready to DF you until you start arguing about nuances of corporation structure. If you're saying that you're not beholden to CCJW because it didn't exist when you were baptized they'll just consider it a dissassociation - either way the announcement is the same and everyone will know that you "are no longer one of jehovahs witnesses."
-
25
Can you be disfellowshiped for reading other religious materials?
by paradisebeauty ini am having a conversation with a jw and they say you can not be disfellowshiped for this.
is this true?
i thought you can be disfellowshiped for this.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Can you be disfellowshipped for...
You can be disfellowshipped for anything that 3 elders agree on.
It's probably unlikely to happen if you're privately reading stuff and not telling anyone, but then they're not likely to know about it if that's the case. If you start talking about what you're reading or encouraging others to read also, then all bets are off.
-
31
Picture in latest Watchtower . . . What is it?
by neat blue dog inin this picture from the latest watchtower, what in the world is the guy watching on the left side of the picture??
it looks like a female vampire holding a lightsaber.
am i missing something?.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
It looks like the ice king from game of thrones holding his ice spear.
-
11
matured mentally
by Akid48 ini dont know if any one else is feeling this but after waking up i feel like i matured mentally etc.. im only 13 maybe its just me but i wanted to know if any had this feeling just a quick post..
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Yeah, you mature a lot when you leave the cult - they seek to keep people trapped in child-like thought patterns of good/evil, black/white dichotomy and complete belief in and reliance upon authority figures. Once you start to question, start to realize that there are shades of grey and that no one has authority over you unless you give it to them, that's when the world starts to become so much more complex and interesting. When you start seeing the world more accurately and more critically, it can really change how you think and act in big ways.
Also, I second the congratulations on waking up at 13. It took me 15 years longer than it did you - you're going to do well in this life. Just hang in there dealing with your family for a couple years and you'll be great!
-
38
Is There Any Thing That Would Make A JW SERIOUSLY Question Their Religion?
by minimus ini realize that jehovah’s witnesses have been dumbed down for long time now.
.
still, i think there must be something that would make them really question their beliefs, even their life.. i think that if witnesses were told they could take blood or that disfellowshipping was unloving, they might stop and take a hard look at everything they have sacrificed their lives for.. i know the organization has muddled these subjects before but the i think even die hard witnesses might start to second guess the governing body..
-
-
OneEyedJoe
The only thing that I think could pooooossibly do it for everyone would be if they received "new light" that shone there's no hope for a paradise earth. That's the carrot that everyone's following.
There could be new light that said that it was all a bullshit scam made up by 7 lunatics and some still wouldn't leave - they'd set up a spinnoff group. Similar things have happened before.
-
38
Is There Any Thing That Would Make A JW SERIOUSLY Question Their Religion?
by minimus ini realize that jehovah’s witnesses have been dumbed down for long time now.
.
still, i think there must be something that would make them really question their beliefs, even their life.. i think that if witnesses were told they could take blood or that disfellowshipping was unloving, they might stop and take a hard look at everything they have sacrificed their lives for.. i know the organization has muddled these subjects before but the i think even die hard witnesses might start to second guess the governing body..
-
-
OneEyedJoe
There's nothing that will make every JW that knows it question. The cult finds different footholds in every member's mind. Most JWs probably could be moved to question things if they picked up the right bit of information, but it's anyone's guess what that might be. It's a personal connection...what works for one person is completely dismissed by the next. That's why it's so difficult to wake someone up - you have to know what holds them in first - just telling them what did it for you is unlikely to have the same effect.
-
23
Why Jehovah witnesses don't say, "Bless you" ?
by Issa inbless you, that was a big sneeze you let out sister.. sister- ah, what does "bless you" mean?.
oh, it's pagan.
because people bless the soul of the person so they don't escape from their physical bodies.. sister- right, it is difficult to change the little things, but we can please jehovah by staying away from those things.. .... this is a scenario that happened when i accidentally (naturally) said "bless you" to the jw sister.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
The doctrine, as I understand it, is that saying bless you in response to a sneeze is a pagan or false-christian practice.
The real reason for that rule, and many others like it, is to enforce behavioral control on JWs and to reinforce their alienation from the rest of society. When a JW is around a non-JW and the non-JW sneezes, the JW will be aware that it is considered courtesy to say "bless you" and they will feel social pressure to do so - but they will refrain because of the cult. This serves to reinforce the importance of the cult (through cognitive dissonance - the behavior of not saying bless you serves to reinforce the cultist's notion that the cult is more important than their relationships with non-cultists.) It also alienates them from society because when a JW is in a group of non-JWs and one sneezes and they hear the rest say "bless you" it becomes imminently obvious that they are not like these other people. It's one of innumerable small cues that tells the JW that these people are "other" and helps to make things like the complete destruction of non-JWs more palatable by reinforcing the in-group/out-group dichotomy.
I remember many times JWs giving comments at meetings about how they would meet other JWs while traveling or on the street and they could immediately tell that they were another JW without knowing how - it was often said because they were somehow more pure or something, but more likely it's because of the many very small cues like this. Much of cult control is about creating a community that's acceptable and then shutting the rest out. Some cults do this with walled, secluded compounds, JWs do it with little bits of behavior that act as virtual walls to keep normal people at a distance.
-
6
Scientology opens up H.Q. in UK
by The Fall Guy inhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-41697303.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Scientology uses real estate investments to hide money all around the world. They're likely doing something similar here. It's quite unlikely that they've suddenly expanded and need a new HQ.