Posts by amac

JWs, on the other hand, spend a lot of time finding fault with and focusing on what is wrong with both 'worldly' people and other religions. Yet, when any suggestion is made to judge the WT by the same standard, you can almost hear the mental brakes screech and smoke, and they often react in great anger.

I'd have to agree with you there. However, I guess I would have to say that I don't think JW's have an exclusive on this. We are all guilty of this to some degree (well, most, I'm sure there are some true "free thinkers" out there.) For example, look at one of the threads on war in Iraq and you will see members of both side of the argument (me included) who throw on the mental brakes.

I guess all I'm saying is that I understand that people (including JW's) are going to have preconceived notions of what is right and resist statements that say otherwise. Some resist a little more than others. I can't really fault them though, as I've done it in the past and will more than likely do it again (hopefully not as bad though.)

12

Question

by Gadget in

jw
friends

one thing i always wondered, but no one was able to answer.

when you preach to others, you encourage them to read the watchtower ect to gain knowledge about the bible, but wittnesses aren't supposed to read any other religious material.

i know this is because if they read it they might find the real truth, but how do wittnesses justify asking others to read material when they won't do the same themselves?

amac

Here is the official WTS response. Basically, it is "we know we have the truth already and we aren't searching for something else."

Sandy, I feel and felt the same way. I remember an older one in the congo would reply with:

"Well, I found you by going door to door to give you this literature, so if you want to give me your literature you will have to go door to door and find me."

I always thought that was the stupidest, rudest answer.

82

What is the WTS's motive?

by careful fader in

can anyone help me understand the motive of the wts?

i don't think it's money .

the gb lives at bethel in a pretty low standard of living.

amac

Randy Watters thinks otherwise, as well as many others in this forum.

Well if validation is all you needed to keep going, it looks like you got it. Rock on!

I am still in the process. But devotion becomes "stupidity and blindness" only after seeing and denying the evidence of abuse and deception by this cult.

Ummm, I think you're getting your threads mixed up...that's from a different thread.

20

What Is Our Responsibility in Life?

by cruzanheart in

yesterday sword of jah read the letter i sent to the elders about my dad's death and responded.

he was very kind, even though i called the elders pharisees and the c.o.

stupid and insensitive (i should've been less kind).

amac

Great points by everyone, not much I can add besides an "amen!"

On a side note, besides all the flack that SOJ gets on this site, he/she seems to be a decent person to me.

82

What is the WTS's motive?

by careful fader in

can anyone help me understand the motive of the wts?

i don't think it's money .

the gb lives at bethel in a pretty low standard of living.

amac

gcc2k -

I remember when the WT publications CD came out, and how we were reminded that a comparable encyclopedia from secular sources would cost $70 or $80, so we should keep that in mind when making a contribution for the CD. What they didn't tell you was that the development of the CD was done in-house (zero cost), the publications are owned by the Society so there are no royalties (zero cost), and the marginal cost of producing a CD is well under a buck, probably closer to $.25, again since they are using volunteer labor. I'm sure many people paid through the nose for those CDs and continue to do so each time there is an update.

Good point. I never really thought about that aspect.

82

What is the WTS's motive?

by careful fader in

can anyone help me understand the motive of the wts?

i don't think it's money .

the gb lives at bethel in a pretty low standard of living.

amac

Gerard - At the rate you're going, you will waste just as much time on this religion on digging up useless information and posting to this site. If you were never a JW, why are you here?

46

IQ and JWs

by Freedomrules in

jw
friends

do you think there is any correlation between intelligence and membership?

most jws i've known aren't that bright, and it seems that most that leave are really intelligent.. just an observation.

any thoughts?.

amac

I agree to some extent. I don't see pedophilia as a major problem in the JW religion, but I do see the lack of reporting it as the major problem. But maybe a lot of JW's agree, I don't know.

Nevertheless, to exercise your philosophy, maybe it's not that they refuse to think, but just that they think differently. To state your example, couldn't a Christian say that a person in India refuses to think and learn about Christianity?

46

IQ and JWs

by Freedomrules in

jw
friends

do you think there is any correlation between intelligence and membership?

most jws i've known aren't that bright, and it seems that most that leave are really intelligent.. just an observation.

any thoughts?.

amac

As a JW, I could understand perfectly why "worldly" people were not interested in our message, and did not scoff at their stupidity and blindness the way almost every other JW I knew did.

I don't mean any offense by this, as you are to be commended for the knack of being open to the way other people think...but I guess the extension of this example would be that now you are an ex-JW, can you understand why others are a JW, and not scoff at their stupidity and blindness the way almost every other ex-JW does?