Posts by Hidden-Window

It's my theory of the moment that the Society sees the writing on the wall w.r.t. field service, and in order to continue to be able to boast about growth, they are moving towards other figures that they can reliably brag about, such as translation and web site statistics.

I would not be surprised if it emerges that they have found a way to count visitors to JW.org and the time those visitors spend on the site as hours of service and return visits.

Since they stopped publishing the statistics of the worldwide work on the Watchtower magazine (although it still appears on the yearbook) I suspected they were preparing for the day negative numbers start to appear.

49

Lowering the standards: The sign of a cult struggling for survival

by Hidden-Window in

jw
friends

many of the recent changes in the jehovah's witness organization are a clear sign of a cult that is struggling for survival.

the internet has change the scenario in a very dramatic way.

many of us who for years struggled alone with doubts and cognitive dissonance thinking that we were the only ones, that we, as individuals were the issue, now know that there is a large community of individuals who see the organization as what it is, a mind controlling cult that is not only false, but also dangerous.. the governing body clearly understands the consequences of this awakening.

Hidden-Window

This affects them all the way to the top. They used to have Fred Franz or even Ray Franz, and Ed Dunlap. Remember the level of writing there was in the older publications. That is all missing. Now they have Stephen Lett or Sam Herd, and someone who homeschooled & pioneered working in the Writing Dept.

Great observation. I remember the level of writing and the issues being covered on the magazines. Since I was intellectually curious since I was a teen, I loved reading articles that were of an intellectual nature. I remember, for instance, when Salman Rushdie was threatened by a Fatwa from Iran for the publication of The Satanic Verses. I first read of that through the Awake! magazine.

Books like The Bible, God's Word or Man's? Revealed that the writers were well versed in History and Philosophy. You no longer see that type of stuff.

Sometimes I think that they are trying to leave as little room as possible for intellectuals, since the more you think, the closer you get to figure out nonsense. As explained on my first post, I was an Elder for some years until I stepped down giving vague reasons (that I had to take care of some personal issues).

I still attend meetings because I have a family that I am not planning to lose. But I will eventually fade.

The point is that there were times a couple of years ago when I could freely comment on the Watchtower study without saying something I did not believe. Now this is less frequent. Almost every article has to do with promoting the WT or why this is the truth, etc. As a result of this, I rarely raise my hand.

49

Lowering the standards: The sign of a cult struggling for survival

by Hidden-Window in

jw
friends

many of the recent changes in the jehovah's witness organization are a clear sign of a cult that is struggling for survival.

the internet has change the scenario in a very dramatic way.

many of us who for years struggled alone with doubts and cognitive dissonance thinking that we were the only ones, that we, as individuals were the issue, now know that there is a large community of individuals who see the organization as what it is, a mind controlling cult that is not only false, but also dangerous.. the governing body clearly understands the consequences of this awakening.

Hidden-Window

While they have lowered the standards within the brain and heart and efforts, the Governing Body just can't help but be their own worst enemy and keep raising the standards as far as dress, grooming, obedience, staying away from independent thought goes.

Can you even imagine from all the things to choose from, taking "overlapping generation" as your way to motivate members?

Can you imagine getting over a million Witnesses to your Zone Meeting and just beating them up over stupid things like sock colors and tight pants? .....and generally forgetting to say positive things about how they are doing?

Totally agree. They are also dumbing down the message.

49

Lowering the standards: The sign of a cult struggling for survival

by Hidden-Window in

jw
friends

many of the recent changes in the jehovah's witness organization are a clear sign of a cult that is struggling for survival.

the internet has change the scenario in a very dramatic way.

many of us who for years struggled alone with doubts and cognitive dissonance thinking that we were the only ones, that we, as individuals were the issue, now know that there is a large community of individuals who see the organization as what it is, a mind controlling cult that is not only false, but also dangerous.. the governing body clearly understands the consequences of this awakening.

Hidden-Window

Many of the recent changes in the Jehovah's Witness organization are a clear sign of a cult that is struggling for survival. The Internet has changed the scenario in a very dramatic way.

Many of us who for years struggled alone with doubts and cognitive dissonance thinking that we were the only ones, that we, as individuals were the issue, now know that there is a large community of individuals who see the organization as what it is, a mind controlling cult that is not only false, but also dangerous.

The Governing Body clearly understands the consequences of this awakening. This is why they are lowering the standards of what is required.

The elimination of the Book Study as a separate meeting, the creation of the laughable 30-hour auxiliary pioneer service, the 15-minute of service reporting, among other loving concessions, show that they are looking for ways to adapt to the new times.

I argue that this strategy will backfire against the Watch Tower. As we all know, lowering the standards also means that members will now find the way to have more time for themselves, away from the religion.

This will help to the erosion of mind control and increase the number of dissidents. This is the age of information. The spreading of the truth about the failures of he Watch Tower is unstopable. What do you think?

33

As I move further away from theWT.....

by Viviane in

i've, over the years, looked into many religions.

obviously, from those that have seen me post here, i've become an atheist simply because i couldn't find any reason to believe in god.

recently, though, over the past few months, a new change has started.

Hidden-Window

I find myself in a very similar situation. The more I read from and listen to Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and a few others, the more I move to your position.

31

Im still young (19)....just reading Crisis of Conscious

by Blackfalcon98 in

hi guys, ive finally got a copy of coc from my local library, im on page 120ish and im really enjoying it!

the thing that gets me now that im enlightened is how little the rank and file know about anything this organazation does!

everything is so secretive and covered up behind a curtain.

Hidden-Window

Crisis of Conscience had caused such a great impact on so many Witnesses... Ray Franz reveals himself as an amazingly honest individual and as a very clear thinker. His two books are worth reading. I deeply enjoyed them. Keep reading...

12

If THAT is Paradise, count me bored....

by bafh in

jw
friends

i happened to attend a session of the summer convention on sunday morning.

one thing that that struck me was how their view of paradise was that we would all be the same.

they kept talking about how nice it would be if we all spoke the same language.

Hidden-Window

I am with you on this. They depict paradise as an extremely boring place: No allusion to technology or science, no restaurants, no universities, no Starbucks where you can sit down to talk or read a good book and, by the way, no books to read, especially because all authors are gone, since they are not witnesses. The list is endless...

86

Words that irritate

by punkofnice in

jw
friends

i have words that irritate me and not always without reason.. my latest hate is the word: 'solutions' as used by so many businesses in their title these days.

y'know, 'something innane business solutions' and such balderdash.. i loathe that word now.

arrrrggghhhhhh!

Hidden-Window

1. "Sense of urgency", as used by the WT.

2. When people confuse then and than.

43

How to Knock Nazi Elders off their high horse

by suavojr in

jw
friends

the borg has many inconsistencies, when the topic is helping humble and honest people achieve their full potential.

consider a working man who works 40 to 60 hours a week and still manages to show up to all the meetings, participate, do all of his assigned work within the kh, but his ministry has slipped to 8 hours per month.

this same man is working hard to move up within the ranks only to get shut down without even knowing.. .

Hidden-Window

Hello everyone,

Having been an elder for nearly a decade, I can tell you of a pattern I noticed both in the body of elders of my congregation and other congregations with which I had contact. There is always at least one elder who has a kind of dictatorial personality and attempts to impose his will on the rest. The worst part is that generally the other elders submit and accept his decisions or suggestions.

There is this absurd concept of "keeping the peace in the congregation" and many elders think that if they contradict another elder, they are somehow disturbing the peace of the body of elders. At times, this concept supersedes common sense and the most elementary sense of justice. This is particulary true in Spanish-speaking congrations for reasons that I will not cover on this post.

In more than one occasion, I had little arguments with elders who tried to make unilateral decisions that I considered unfair to others and in those instances, I was seen as the black sheep among the body. It was very frustrating. I found myself in deeply absurd situations in which lame excuses were being used to remove or not grant privileges. Although I eventually stepped down as an elder due to the fact that I no longer belief this (or any other) is the true religion, the lack of common sense and justice in the body accelerated my departure.

The WT provides general instructions, but elders are the ones who fill the blank when it comes to addressing specific situations. The fairness or unfairness of the decisions depend on their personality. Fairness is not always (if ever) the goal. This is not surprising, because the WT has constantly publish articles in which it hammers brothers who according to them want to insist in getting their rights recognized.

As Ray Franz says, it is hard to understand why people accept this type of treatment, but the truth is that they do, or more honestly, we all did or still do up to a certain point. In my case, I still associate because my immediate family is involved and I do not want to lose my relationship with them, but since I stepped down, I made it clear I am not interested in any privileges.