Posts by OneEyedJoe

I'll be there barring any (un)fortunate circumstances that prevent it. Stuck in for the missus. I'll probably stand in the back to allow for more sitting room for others and read an e-book.

33

Inactive ones are not JWs

by gone for good in

years ago, the insinuation was often presented, that those who were inactive were actually not witnesses at all.

the point being made was that ''...winesses is a verb, not a noun...''.

i know there were published assertions to this end in the older books and magazines, with possibly even quotes from the likes of rutherford or knorr ,.

OneEyedJoe

In such a case, they would make a record of the person's questionable conduct for the congregation file. When the individual again shows interest in returning to the congregation, they can clarify these matters

You just gotta love that. Even from the perspective of a believing JW this has to seem a little insane - wait until they demonstrate repentance (by coming back to the congregation) and then punish them!

I also love the assumption that they make that the person will eventually want to return!

38

rumor out that governing body is going to adjust the loveing disfellowshiping arangment df yes shunning no.

by poopie in

jw
friends

can anyone confirm they seem to be having disagreement writing dept and service dept some feel that df ok as long as you do not add wholesale across the board shunning regardless of the sin ..

OneEyedJoe

They talk out of both sides of their mouth. They'll do an article about loyalty to the cult and go on and on about how your DF'd relatives are similar to those who have been killed by jehovah and you need to show your firm resolve not to associate with them, then the next day they'll do an article about helping weak ones and they'll tell you to show love to DF'd people.

I would guess it's more about having something to point to to show outsiders that they don't shun, while still enforcing the shunning policy internally. They love to use loaded language and dog whistles to get their message across to the R/F while not setting off alarm bells when outsiders see it.

33

Inactive ones are not JWs

by gone for good in

years ago, the insinuation was often presented, that those who were inactive were actually not witnesses at all.

the point being made was that ''...winesses is a verb, not a noun...''.

i know there were published assertions to this end in the older books and magazines, with possibly even quotes from the likes of rutherford or knorr ,.

OneEyedJoe

gone for good...the WTS plays both sides. I found the quote above when an elder said I wasn't one of jws....and I'll try and look for one of those "not one of Jehovah's witnesses" is what I'm going to search the CD by.
As to labeling jws inactive and treating them like df'd officially, I don't see that happening soon. Every jw has a member of their family that would qualify

Yep, they play both sides - if they're trying to guilt people into not pressuring inactive ones back in then inactive folks are still part of the fold and need encouragement. If they're trying to guilt people into staying in and doing more, then inactive ones are as good as dead.

As far as them changing the policy, I can see it happening for precisely the reason you gave. Forcing a little bit more of a commitment from everyone (since they're probably already slightly shunning their inactive relatives) is a great tool to get them to show increased loyalty. The more they sacrifice for the cult, the more loyal they'll be.

21

Drugs and Alcohol Ruin Your Life

by campaign of hate in

this point was raised in another thread vaguely, and wanted to try and expand on it.. the wt has said (and rightly so in my opinion) "that excessive use of drugs and alcohol can ruin your life".

in my eyes this is a fact.. this is where it starts to get a little suspicious, as they also say (or subtly hint at) "that if you leave the wt you will becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol and will ruin your life".. its almost like a self fulfilling prophecy.

as there are a lot who leave the borg and they do start drinking heavy or smoking, or taking drugs...or whatever.. the wt capitalizes on the fact that people want more freedom, and they subtly ingrain the thought that.

OneEyedJoe

To use an illustration that I've heard about a thousand times in KHs on the topic of raising a child:

Think of it like holding a spring between your fingers, if you hold it tightly then release it all at once, it's going to fly off and you'll never find it. If you release it slowly, you'll be able to hang on to it.

The application is to slowly give your kids more freedom so that they don't fly off the handle when they turn 18 and leave the house. It applies just as well (if not better) to the WT's system of control - keep people so completely repressed and make sure to fill their lives with lies so that if/when they can't stand the control or become aware of the lies they're going to throw away all the good things they've learned and fly completely off the handle.

Add in the constant indoctrination that you can't trust yourself, and that you're not good enough no matter how much you're doing and it's a recipe for someone to wind up completely lost, depressed, and without direction - which can often lead to substance abuse if someone doesn't have proper coping mechanisms. Of course JWs are also prevented from developing coping mechanisms because the answer to every problem is "the new system" or "wait on Jehovah" or similar.

The result is someone with a deep longing to control their life, but doesn't trust themselves to do it. They feel like everything in the cult was a lie, so they throw the good out with the bad. This leaves them with no direction, and no trust in themselves to provide their own direction, and no coping mechanisms for the stress this causes (not to mention the stress of losing their family and support system). If you put someone in a place like that, it's no surprise if they end up turning to drugs to cope.

33

Inactive ones are not JWs

by gone for good in

years ago, the insinuation was often presented, that those who were inactive were actually not witnesses at all.

the point being made was that ''...winesses is a verb, not a noun...''.

i know there were published assertions to this end in the older books and magazines, with possibly even quotes from the likes of rutherford or knorr ,.

OneEyedJoe

Doesn't really help you, but I distinctly remember my congregations COBE saying the bit you mentioned about "wittness" being a verb not a noun. He also added, that that's why we don't inflate our numbers by including everyone who's a baptized JW in our counts - only those who have an active share in the preaching work are considered JWs. He said there's 8 million JWs today, but there could well be 20 million people out there who have studied with us and even been baptized, but if they don't preach regularly then they're not considered JWs.

Like I said, doesn't help you a ton, but this guy isn't the type (and I doubt he has the faculties) to come up with stuff on his own, I'm sure there's been something printed about this at some point. He's an old guy, though, so it might've been 50 years back.

32

Do JW Children Still Call Adults "Aunt" and "Uncle"?

by cofty in

when i was young we were taught to refer to other adult jws as aunt or uncle.. was this also the case in other countries and does it still happen?.

was it just a custom or has the literature ever commented on it?.

thanks.

OneEyedJoe

The only place I've ever heard of this was here. Growing up there was only one person (a close friend of my mothers) that I called aunt, other than my actual aunts and uncles.

15

Pathetic manipulation at the Zone Visit to the Mexico Branch (Central America)

by avaddohn94 in

jw
friends

gb helper robert luccioni paid a visit to the branch that oversees mexico and central america and, you can probably imagine all the "excitement" among the witnesses who were tied in via internet.. this time they really emphasized that none of the information that was shared during such a "magnificent" event was to be posted on social media.

the fact that they are becoming more secretive should alert anyone about the dangers posed by cult-like religions but, truth be told, that is a very difficult thing to understand from within.. still, this picture might be of help!

in the end, luccioni's objective as representative of the governing body was very clear: money!

OneEyedJoe

they didn't mention that the sister walked 20 miles through the jungle and crossed a crocodile infested river to be at the meeting to donate?

Now that you mention it, I'm pretty sure something like that was worked in. Also, I'm sure there was a mention of the kingdom halls that they use, which are often either a hut with a leaky roof or just a canopy with no walls.

27

Why do people "come back"?

by kairos in

jw
friends

i know of several examples of ones that "left the truth" for up to 20 years, only to suffer through the reinstatement process and feel like they are finally back on track.. how does this happen?.

i personally know of one example where a father of three, leaves jws, abandons wife and family, lives as a gay man then comes back 20 years later as a partaking member of the anointed..

OneEyedJoe

In the cases I've known of it's usually some major life event that triggers it - the two most common that I've seen seem to be death of a loved one or a growing family. Either they want to see someone again in paradise, or they feel that their kids need some sort of "spiritual" guidance and the cult is the only place they've ever looked for that so they go back.