Welcome to the board Confuuused! As many have already said, don't let the guilt influence your decisions. Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult, pure and simple. Guilt and fear are two of the powerful tools they use.
Here is some interesting reading on what makes a cult. It's taken from the following website:
www.religio.de/cudef.html
CULT - Any group which has a pyramid type authoritarian leadership structure with all teaching and guidance coming from the person/persons at the top. The group will claim to be the only way to God; Nirvana; Paradise; Ultimate Reality; Full Potential, Way to Happiness etc, and will use thought reform or mind control techniques to gain control and keep their members. This definition covers cults within all majopr world religions, along with those cults which have no OBVIOUS religious base such as commercial, educational and psychological cults. Others may define these a little differently, but this is the simplest to work from. THE 'ORTHODOX BIBLE-BASED CULT'
A group is called a cult because of their behaviour - not their doctrines. Doctrine is an issue in the area of Apologetics and Heresy. Most religious cults do teach what the Christian church would declare to be heresy but some do not. Some cults teach the basics of the Christian faith but have behavioural patterns that are abusive, controlling and cultic.
This occurs in both Non-Charismatic and Charismatic churches. These groups teach the central doctrines of the Christian faith and then add the extra authority of leadership or someone's particular writings. They centre around the interpretations of the leadership and submissive and unquestioning acceptance of these is essential to be a member of good standing. This acceptance includes what we consider non-essential doctrines e.i. not salvation issues (such as the Person and Work of Christ.) The key is that they will be using mind control or undue influence on their members.
An excellent book on this subject is "Churches that Abuse" by Dr Ronald Enroth.
Using these guidelines of definition, Bible-based, Psychological, Educational and Commercial aberrations can easily be identified.
OTHER IDENTIFICATION MARKS
(a) The group will have an ELITIST view of itself in relation to others, and a UNIQUE CAUSE. e.i. THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES RIGHT - everyone else is wrong. THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES DOING GOD'S WILL - everyone else is in apostasy.
(b) They will promote their cause actively, and in doing so, abuse God-given personal rights and freedoms. This abuse can be THEOLOGICAL, SPIRITUAL, SOCIAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL.
HOW THEY DO THIS
1. Their leader/s may claim a special, exclusive ministry, revelation or position of authority given by God.
2. They believe they are the only true church and take a critical stance regarding the Christian church while at the same time praising and exalting their own group, leader/s and work.
3. They use intimidation or psychological manipulation to keep members loyal to their ranks. This could be in the form of threats of dire calamity sent by God if they leave; certain death at Armageddon; being shunned by their family and friends etc. This is a vital part of the mind control process.
4. Members will be expected to give substantial financial support to the group. This could be compulsory tithing (which is checked); signing over all their property on entering the group; coercive methods of instilling guilt on those who have not contributed; selling magazines, flowers or other goods for the group as part of their "ministry".
5. At the same time bible-based cults may ridicule churches that take up free-will offerings by passing collection plates and/or sell literature and tapes. They usually brag that they don't do this. This gives outsiders the intimation that they are not interested in money.
6. There will be great emphasis on loyalty to the group and its teachings. The lives of members will be totally absorbed into the group's activities. They will have little or no time to think for themselves because of physical and emotional exhaustion. This is also a vital part of the mind control process.
7. There will be total control over almost all aspects of the private lives of members. This control can be direct through communal living, or constant and repetitious teaching on "how to be a true Christian" or "being obedient to leadership". Members will look to their leaders for guidance in everything they do.
8. Bible-based cults may proclaim they have no clergy/laity distinction and no paid ministry class - that they are all equal.
9. Any dissent or questioning of the group's teachings is discouraged. Criticism in any form is seen as rebellion. There will be an emphasis on authority, unquestioning obedience and submission. This is vigilantly maintained.
10. Members are required to demonstrate their loyalty to the group in some way. This could be in the form of "dobbing" on fellow members (including family) under the guise of looking out for "spiritual welfare".
They may be required to deliberately lie (heavenly deception/theocratic strategy) or give up their lives by refusing some form of medical treatment.
11. Attempts to leave or reveal embarrassing facts about the group may be met with threats. Some may have taken oaths of loyalty that involve their lives or have signed a "covenant" and feel threatened by this.
Refugees of the group are usually faced with confrontations by other members with coercion to get them to return to the group.
CD
Cognitive_Dissident
JoinedPosts by Cognitive_Dissident
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need Help! not sure what to do.
by confuuused inhi all, hope that someone can help!
i was recently studying with the jw's and i'm just not sure on what to do.. i feel guilty because i canceled study for the time being.
i just have so many questions.
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Cognitive_Dissident
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JW's TORTURES DAUGHTER TO DEATH
by DannyHaszard ingirl's brother testifies father fatally beat her
chicago tribune, united states - 20 minutes ago .
... avenue, chicago.
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Cognitive_Dissident
The Slack's five other children all showed indications of physical abuse. They were taken into state custody and placed with relatives, authorities said.
I wonder if they got placed with JW relatives. Probably. Aarrgh! Hopefully somebody at the state level had some knowledge of the cultic practices of the witnesses and got the other kids in to some sort deprogramming therapy, in addition to the dozens of other kinds of therapy that a kid would have to go through to try to deal with this.
I just can't imagine the emotions that the other kids must be going through. All of the guilt at being forced to take part in that unspeakable act.
"With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." - Steven Weinberg
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Secret Bible on National Geographic
by Hellrider in...has started now.
the episode that aired tonight was about early christianity, all the differing views on jesus, and about all the other messiahs.
gnosticism was also mentioned.
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Cognitive_Dissident
I don't have cable. The only time I miss it is when I hear about shows like this. Although I did catch the special on the Gospel of Judas on the History channel at a friend's house. That was very interesting.
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JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES: DISFELLOWSHIPPING AND SHUNNING
by Lady Lee incanada
library of parliament.
research branch
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Cognitive_Dissident
We can educate the public about such actions taken by the WTS. Every time someone reads about how the WTS treats ex-Members they become "immunized" against the WTS.
Exactly. Think of it like word of mouth opinion on whether or not to go to a restaurant. If you hear from someone you know that the service and food were horrible, you're probably not going to go. Or at the very least you'll be a bit skeptical if you do.
That's my main avenue of action at this point. Whenever I talk to friends about the Witnesses, I usually drive home a couple of main points, protection of child molesters, child sacrifice due to heinous blood policies, and treatment of rape victims. If every one of us can educate those we know about the reality of the Organization, when the JW's come up in those people's conversations, they'll at least be able to put a bug in someone else's ear about some of the majorly destructive issues.
I consider it informal anti-witnessing.
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Your first "worldly" heroes?
by apfergus inone of the first things that i realized after i left the organization was that i could actually have human heroes who weren't bible characters.
now this will give you an idea of how much of a nerd i am, but the first person i began to idolize as a 17-18 year old teenager was richard p. feynman, the mid 20th century theoretical physicist.
of course, now i'm on my way to becoming a physicist myself, although i'm going into the experimental side instead of theory.
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Cognitive_Dissident
Tom Waits
"Are you pretending to love
Well I hear that it pays well
How do your pistol and your Bible and your
Sleeping pills go?
Are you still jumping out of windows in expensive clothes?" -
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A Poll for all to participate in:
by Honesty in.
how many jw's visit this site and remain 'in good standing' in the 'christian (their word not mine) congregation of jehovah's witnesses after six months of perusing various topics?.
i didn't, how about you?
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Cognitive_Dissident
I joined after I made the decision to leave. Joining helped immensely however, in working through the different waves of emotion that came, and still come, after leaving.
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Cognitive_Dissident
See, the two can coexist peacefully. -
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The main thiings that made you grasp the WTS fraud.
by greendawn inwhat were the main things that made you realise the wts is a fraudulent organisation the real aim of which is to conceal important truths from its members while cleverly manipulating them to work for its interests?
they have secrets that they do not reveal to the r&f.
for me it was the way the gb treated the other "anointed" as non entities in the org, it made me realise that they are power lusting self serving wolves with fred franz being the classic example.
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Cognitive_Dissident
My realizations about the lying came after my decision to leave. I left due to the emotional death that it inflicted on me, without fully grasping intellectually what exactly had happened until after I sat and talked it out with others that had been through it. I just knew that I had to get out because it was literally killing me. The full impact and scope of it came later.
But the one thing that I always had the most trouble with, when it came to disconnecting the logic centers of my brain in order to swallow the bs arguments, was the contention that the Bible was the inspired word of God because 2 Timothy 3:16, a scripture in the Bible, said so.
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How "Stupid" are you?
by JH inhttp://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=14964688665927201537
my results .
door knob!.
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Cognitive_Dissident
Right, so this is just me picking nits, or maybe it's irony being wasted on me(and my 39% idiocy level), but you'd think they could at least use proper grammar and spelling while telling me I'm a retard.
alot lower then you
smarter then most people
ain't to dim
I'm sure the ain't was intended. And yes, I'm very sure I'm a nerd.
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The song book
by KW13 in.
lol, i was thinking...how long before folks get sick of the same songs time and time again...will they ever get a new book?.
i reckon some nwa instrumentals wouldn't go a-miss
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Cognitive_Dissident
Maybe George Benson and Prince can jazz up the songs for the next book.
If Prince and Larry Graham redid the songbook, I might consider popping in every now and again just to hear song 171 with funky guitar and slap bass. That song could have a killer bassline.