danny you have been fearless in your exposing jws for the cult they are and the harm they have done and are doing.
keep up the good work.
but please be careful in what you do as this board and recovering xjws need people like you who are fearless in exposing the wt.
Of course, Insomniac, you may differ, but please don't misunderstand. When I say "support" Danny, I do not mean support his action, his hatred, his compulsiveness. What I mean is support him as an injured human being who needs healing. He should not be excused from the consequences of his actions. As to condemning him as a human being, I feel that is far beyond my moral authority. I am so done with judging others. And so we do differ.
BTW, happy birthday!
danny you have been fearless in your exposing jws for the cult they are and the harm they have done and are doing.
keep up the good work.
but please be careful in what you do as this board and recovering xjws need people like you who are fearless in exposing the wt.
The article is interesting but tear gas is not pepper spray.
BTW, I think we all support Danny, and hope for the best for him. Likewise, the vast majority of us are shamed and outraged by this act. Recommendations that he receive counseling are aimed at his healing, not condemnation. We judge the act, not the man. The act reveals a monster within, partially created by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, but one for which Danny also bears responsibility.
my turn to have a fave topic!
love, reign o'er me.. love, reign o'er me, rain on me.. .
love, reign o'er me.. love, reign o'er me, on me.
Magic Bus (too much)
even if they aren't running, who would you like to see as the next president?
?
Bill Mahr (sp?)
ive wondered this from time to time, especially in trying to figure out how i finally broke free and in looking at the stories of others.
if you asked me a few years ago, i probably would have said either seeing too much hypocrisy or suffering the last straw of spiritual and/or emotional abuse.
but i know in my case and others, even that wasnt enough to break the mental shackles.
to stop attending meetings, you have already broken some mental shackling...
Not necessarily. Some stop attending meetings due to illness, discouragement, disfellowshipping or just being burned out. But most of these remain shackled because they still believe it's the "truth". So they wander in a fog. That's what happened to me. But because of being away from the meetings for say, several months, mentally many people begin to consider points of view unthinkable when an active JW. It could be perhaps that political activism or voting is not so bad when you want to see a war end. Or maybe homosexuality isn't a choice. Or maybe abortion should be up to the woman whose body it is. Whatever the issue is, the salient point is that the mind is now taking deeper breaths. No shallow Kingdom Hall breathing. And as it does so, the person begins to realize that it is quite possible for them to come up with their own conclusions to things that may well be just as valid as someone else's.
As an active JW, power of reason is rarely used in day-to-day life with regard to any serious matter. All things are directed by the WT. No matter what it is in your life that you have to make a decision about, somewhere (check the WT index) there is counsel written that the JW accepts as divine for all practical purposes. After all, it was written by "Christ's brothers", "the genuine prophet of Jehovah." You are trained and accept that you must not "rely upon your own understanding." You must check the WT publications. Otherwise you are thinking for yourself and risk coming up with a conclusion that is contrary to the Society's direction. This, you are taught, is a lack of submission, being (oh dear God!) presumptuous. Bad witness! Especially if you hold an "appointed" position in the congregation is this a serious matter. So, as a matter of policy JWs are trained not to think for themselves.
So now, as they begin to "discover" this power of reason it makes them feel empowered, but it's severely atrophied at this stage. Like a muscle, as you begin to stretch it, it hurts, but it hurts good. So gradually, day by day, you begin to realize you really can make your own decisions.
Hopefully, at this point, you do not return to the meetings. Because, thanks to the internet, it's just a matter of time before you run across JWD or SilentLambs or Crisis of Conscience. Now the shackles, if not broken, are severely weakened. A few chapters of COC will probably do the rest. And they are free.
ive wondered this from time to time, especially in trying to figure out how i finally broke free and in looking at the stories of others.
if you asked me a few years ago, i probably would have said either seeing too much hypocrisy or suffering the last straw of spiritual and/or emotional abuse.
but i know in my case and others, even that wasnt enough to break the mental shackles.
Yes, Blondie, I completely agree, that without knowledge, the hold continues - for years - even without any meeting attendance. I went back to a former Bible Study who never got baptized and hadn't been to a meeting in two years - to tell him about some of the things I had discovered, especially the UN affiliation. I felt I needed to let him know I no longer recommended the life course I had recommended to him when I was an active JW. Even though never baptized, and even though no meetings for over two years - he told me in a phone conversation several days later, that he almost stood up and asked me to leave his home!!! Such was the grip this concept still had on his psyche! It was still God's organization to him! And I was speaking against it. Never mind that I had served loyally for decades within the org and he had never even joined it! But when he spoke with another former elder he had studied with in GA, he was advised to listen to me! That turned him around. Then he read COC. So again, a general pattern to unlock the grip seems to be: 1.) Being away from meetings for a significant period of time (whatever that means for that individual) followed by 2.) Powerful information to demonstrate the very difficult to accept fact that they have been conned. It's true, as we all know. Contemplating leaving the org when you're in, is like contemplating stepping out into the nothingness. Once you're free of the constant drone of the meetings for a period of time, your mind starts to peek outside the box. Once that happens, if you stumble across the right information, the fog will clear and you will see a new way. Exit is accomplished. Otherwise, you will remain in the fog, clinging to the concept, neither fish nor fowl.
purplesofa, .
thanks for sharing this book with me.
although i'm sure this book is accurate and these things have happened within the governing body, it did happen a long time ago and even the "annoited" are imperfect men.. after alot of thought and prayer i chose to stay a witness- an active witness to my ability which is now limited.
Hugs to you, Leslie. Regardless of the outcome, you have discharged an important responsibility. She can never say, "Why didn't you tell me?" Like the others here, I was so excited to see that your mother would share her own concerns about the WT with you. And then - when you told us she accepted COC -- and read it!! It appeared she had left the WT in the dust! We were all so excited and happy for you! I'm glad you have shared this with us, because I think it helps us all to have greater appreciation for the power of this cult to control peoples' thinking. Sadly, it well illustrates, and tends to support my thoughts that knowledge is not the key to helping someone exit, or to breaking the mental grip of the WT.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/143570/1.ashx
If my theory is correct, had your mom read COC after having not attended any meetings for six months, the result may have been exactly the opposite. Because of the constant reinforcement at the meetings that "This is God's Organization", even the extreme power of COC is easily dismissed by that simple rationalization. "They're imperfect men." I really believe the antidote is for someone to stop attending meetings for a significant period of time. Their brain starts to return, slowly, to normalcy. It's at that point, that knowledge becomes important. But how to get them to stop attending? I don't know the answer. As to her feeling offended, I think that was predictable. When we sent out our letters, one of our closest friends emailed us to let us know how deeply we had hurt her. She made the comment, "How dare you try to destroy my faith!" And all we had done was to share the facts of the UN escapade. Really, they see it as an attempt to destroy their world, or their entire personal identity. How can they see you as anything other than an enemy? It's really horrible, isn't it? But Leslie, you have done what you can, and for that we all applaud you. You have our love and respect.
Lenny
ive wondered this from time to time, especially in trying to figure out how i finally broke free and in looking at the stories of others.
if you asked me a few years ago, i probably would have said either seeing too much hypocrisy or suffering the last straw of spiritual and/or emotional abuse.
but i know in my case and others, even that wasnt enough to break the mental shackles.
I know it’s easy to generalize or oversimplify this, but here’s the reason why I don’t think knowledge is the key. For JWs who have been in for decades, they have first hand knowledge of the changes and shifts and double standards. In the confidential company of a close friend, they may even make an isolated comment about it. Many of us have written letters to our friends on the inside upon leaving, including many facts and evidence of gross hypocrisy and lies. This is powerful knowledge. And I know many of the ones we sent letters to read them. But here’s where the problem is with knowledge being the key. It seems no matter what they are presented with, whether its court records of pedophilia payoffs by the WT or illicit relations with the scarlet colored beast, either of which would be sufficient to cause any intelligent person to at least start asking questions under normal circumstances – their steadfastness remains intact. At the core of their mental powers there is a mantra that never ceases it’s endless loop: "It’s God’s Organization." This single thought seems sufficient to vanquish and absolutely evaporate the most powerful reason and evidence. And it really doesn’t make any difference how intelligent they are. This, I believe, is the central concept that is drilled into their consciousness endlessly at the meetings, from the opening prayer to the closing prayer. On the other hand, if they haven’t been to meetings for a few months and then come across this stuff, it seems the odds are remarkably greater that they will at least give the information , or knowledge, serious consideration. It’s at that point the knowledge becomes important, because to even consider the possibility that the WT is false requires a huge hook to hang your hat on.
this is a true story!
the other day a buddy of mine told me that his friend was getting ready to go through a divorce from his wife.
she had been goin' out on him.
This is a true story! The other day a buddy of mine told me that his friend was getting ready to go through a divorce from his wife. She had been goin' out on him. But she wanted to try to get back together, so they met for dinner. During the dinner it came out she still was messing around and he had had enough. He got up from the table, looked at her and said, "There are two kinds of people in this world. . . . . . . . .and you're neither one of them!"
ive wondered this from time to time, especially in trying to figure out how i finally broke free and in looking at the stories of others.
if you asked me a few years ago, i probably would have said either seeing too much hypocrisy or suffering the last straw of spiritual and/or emotional abuse.
but i know in my case and others, even that wasnt enough to break the mental shackles.
I’ve wondered this from time to time, especially in trying to figure out how I finally broke free and in looking at the stories of others. If you asked me a few years ago, I probably would have said either seeing too much hypocrisy or suffering the last straw of spiritual and/or emotional abuse. But I know in my case and others, even that wasn’t enough to break the mental shackles. I think now, if it was one thing, it was when I stopped going to the meetings. After several months of no meeting attendance, even though my wife was still going, slowly my mind began to peek outside the box and consider other versions of reality. I really think the mind control is most readily maintained by demanding attendance for those five hours per week. Not only the steady drone of indoctrination with fully scripted meetings, but also the reinforcement of the idea just by the presence of so many we hold dear and respect. Even more than the literature and the field service, I really think it’s the meetings. What do you think?
