Posts by OneEyedJoe

3

Found this article cited on Reddit today, Interesting

by XBEHERE in

jw
friends

in their fantastic book about cognitive dissonance, mistakes were made (but not by me), carol tavris and elliot aronson write about the great psychologist leon festinger who, in 1957, infiltrated a doomsday cult.

the cult was led by dorothy martin who called herself sister thedra.

she convinced her followers in chicago an alien spacecraft would suck them up and fly away right as a massive flood ended the human race on december 21, 1954. many of her followers gave away everything they owned, including their homes, as the day approached.

OneEyedJoe

Funny when that guy that predicted the end only a few years back in the states was in the news, my Jw mom was rolling her eyes and laughing about how moronic he and his followers were. I cautioned her not to laugh to hard because Jws did the same thing, 1870's 1914 1925 (ancient worthy resurrection) 1975. That guy was not very different and the look on her face was sadly priceless. Like huh? It hit home but dissonance hit back and she went back under the spell.

I think you're talking about Harold Camping. I had a similar experience (though it wasn't intentional) when I and a few others were joking around arrogantly (as JWs often do haha) about how obviously wrong he was. "The bible says no man knows the day or the hour!" etc etc. One older woman said "I don't think we should be joking around about that. A lot of people are still sensitive after what happened in 1975." That sentence was probably one of the top 3 things that led me to eventually look at apostate sites online. When they rehashed the new overlapping generation, I couldn't get the question out of my head "How are we any different than Harold Camping?" That's a question that can't be answered honestly and leave you still wanting to be a JW.

3

Found this article cited on Reddit today, Interesting

by XBEHERE in

jw
friends

in their fantastic book about cognitive dissonance, mistakes were made (but not by me), carol tavris and elliot aronson write about the great psychologist leon festinger who, in 1957, infiltrated a doomsday cult.

the cult was led by dorothy martin who called herself sister thedra.

she convinced her followers in chicago an alien spacecraft would suck them up and fly away right as a massive flood ended the human race on december 21, 1954. many of her followers gave away everything they owned, including their homes, as the day approached.

OneEyedJoe

Reading about this was one of the biggest factors that allowed me to break free from the cult - once you understand how even really intelligent people can sometimes get fooled into staying in a cult, it gives you a little more resolve to trust yourself and not just blindly follow because other smart people are doing so. There was one particular elder in my congregation that I appreciated for his intelligence, and that kept me uncertain of the validity of my own doubts.

If you're interested, the book When Prophecy Fails was written about this cult by Leon Festinger himself.

30

Nothing Says, "I Love You!" Like Institutionalized Shunning!

by Oubliette in

why disfellowshipping is a loving provision.

.

may 15, 2105 watchtower, pp.

OneEyedJoe

Let's review?

10

With Jehovah's HELP

by B4Right in

how many times have you said that phrase?.

how often have you heard it in conversation with the friends?.

how often have you heard it in talks?.

OneEyedJoe

It's also a subtle way of reinforcing the idea that leaving the cult will result in failure in all areas of life, as you'll no longer have Jehovah's help.

13

607 article on JW website

by Pubsinger in

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2011736.

i've not bothered to read anything on this for years as i addressed it personally years ago.

but in this official article they appear to be focusing all their argument on the '70 years' part of the debate.

OneEyedJoe

What I am asking is: are they no longer tying 607 to the 2520 years ending in 1914? And just using the 'signs of the times' to support 1914?

They still tie 607 to 1914 via the 70 weeks of years nonsense. I think the reason they fail to mention 1914 is because it would show the obvious bias of the article. When you're trying to convince someone of something you don't want them to know that everything else you're trying to convince them of hangs on that one thing. Also, a lot of JWs don't have a clue about how 1914 was arrived at (or, really, how it was supposedly arrived at) so they don't want to tie it to 607 in an article that calls the 607 date into question.

It's all rather clever - you "prove" something to someone as if it doesn't really matter, so they'll be less likely to care enough to really investigate it. Then, later on, you reference the "fact" that you've "proven" earlier and they'll remember accepting the prior point and not that they didn't bother to really investigate it. They'll just assume it's true because they accepted it at the time. That's how so much of cult indoctrination goes, and why the indoctrination is slow in the case of JWs. They say things that don't seem important, so it's not worth pushing the matter and risking the new friends you have - but when you find out that it was important, you don't realize you never actually had it explained in a satisfactory way.

29

4 New BOEs as of Tuesday 4/28

by Atlantis in

we thank our informant for these documents and hope he/she will remain under the radar safely!.

click the green download button... 2015 april 17, boe (re: meeting medical needs in the foreign-language field).

.. http://wwwb.fileflyer.com/view/gukk6aq.

OneEyedJoe

Great. I've got a surgery coming up - this is terrible timing. Really don't want to get hassled due to this.

I guess they're doubling-down on the murderous blood ban. It really seemed like they were trying to slowly let it die there for a while.

Thanks for posting these.

12

Help prevent sons indoctrination.

by WasOnceBlind in

ok so here is the deal, as some of you who might have read my first post might remember, my parents are jw's while i myself have faded.

i have not told them that i don't believe in the borg and i have done my research and concluded it's a bunch of crap.

the main reason i haven't is because it would break my moms heart and probably send her into a deep depression (she suffers from depression).

OneEyedJoe

Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention - if he challenges you for evidence when you tell him something, give him lots of praise. Teach him that this is not something that's socially unacceptable to do, and should be celebrated. Especially if he catches you saying something that isn't supported by evidence - thank him for helping you to learn something.

When he gets different treatment from your father, he'll be confused and won't like it. It'll make for a stark contrast that will sour him on the cult.

12

Help prevent sons indoctrination.

by WasOnceBlind in

ok so here is the deal, as some of you who might have read my first post might remember, my parents are jw's while i myself have faded.

i have not told them that i don't believe in the borg and i have done my research and concluded it's a bunch of crap.

the main reason i haven't is because it would break my moms heart and probably send her into a deep depression (she suffers from depression).

OneEyedJoe

Sounds like you've got a smart kid. I would just warn you again not to underestimate the power of social pressure over an extended period of time. It's probably better for him to know your father is full of BS before getting pseudo-logical answers from him. Though in this day and age information is much more readily available to disprove things than it was when I was in his position.

In the end, I suspect you'll be fine either way, even if he does end up slightly indoctrinated for a time. When he hits his teens he won't want anything to do with the cult, and if you support that there's almost no way he'll get sucked in. At that point the most important thing is to ensure he has healthy coping mechanisms for difficulty so that he won't turn to the cult for answers.

Sounds like you're doing something right, though, so just keep it up!

12

Help prevent sons indoctrination.

by WasOnceBlind in

ok so here is the deal, as some of you who might have read my first post might remember, my parents are jw's while i myself have faded.

i have not told them that i don't believe in the borg and i have done my research and concluded it's a bunch of crap.

the main reason i haven't is because it would break my moms heart and probably send her into a deep depression (she suffers from depression).

OneEyedJoe

I wouldn't have him ask questions. Your father is an authority figure and your son will feel strong pressure to accept whatever BS answer is given him. Better to explain that some people just believe very silly things (and maybe give examples of things from other religions that everyone will agree are silly). Then nurture his intellect and critical thinking skills and it won't be long before he has no interest in bible study.

Take that for what it's worth, coming from someone without kids. I do, however, strongly believe that had someone, anyone, done that for me, I would never have been baptized.

57

"Normal family affections and dealings" continue - If only?!?

by LHS123 in

i am new to this forum - it is only a couple of weeks since i have allowed myself to acknowledge and research my doubts.

i am trying to be fair by reading both sides of the story and considering jw official explanation of confusing matters.

one of the issues i have been looking at is shunning - and i was shocked to see the misleading information about shunning on the jw.org website: .

OneEyedJoe

It hurt's no matter who you are.

And what's more, it hurts even if you would rather not talk to the person shunning you. It's inherently psychologically damaging, emotional blackmail and is absolutely shameful.