Posts by done4good

37

Most Jdubs are nice people, not really evil - give us all a break from this

by hamsterbait in

.

done4good

I stayed away from this thread for a couple of days, quite frankly, it pissed me off...

Now that I have calmed down a bit, let me explain to you why your premise is plain wrong.

Yes, the JW do some "evil" things. It is unatural, antisocial, and ultimately extremely hurtful to people to shun them, for example. The same can be said for the blood doctrine or any number of harmful things JW do to themselves, and others.

Performing those acts no more makes them evil in of themselves as would have being a German citizen who was manipulated into joining the Nazi party in the 1930s would have been intrinsically evil. The entire German nation then was not "evil". This has been said already, but it bears repeating. Having a black and white view such as the OP is very dangerous, and ends up with bigotry and hatred all of its own. These are the very types of lessons we are supposed to learn from history, or we are doomed to repeat them.

You were a JW once. I was a JW once. At what point did you become "not evil"???

d4g

74

GB Doesnt Believe in 1914 Anymore My reasoning

by thedepressedsoul in

i have heard a lot of talk over the last year or so if the gb will eventually ditch 1914 and some have even made the claim that most, if not all of the gb do not believe in 1914. ive given this some thought and in the past i wasnt sure.

this annual meeting puts 100%, without a doubt in my mind that the gb do not believe in 1914. id even go as far to say that they talked about that date and have a game plan in mind.. here is why i feel this way:.

there were a lot of changes with the parables at this annual meeting.

done4good

Like all authoritarian regimes, the WT is reactionary, not strategic in the long term sense of the word. At present, they have no reason to "dump" 1914, so they will not, however...

The recent rebranding efforts are a sign that they are captiulating to social evolutionary pressures. The dates and esoteric nonsense that used to be the mainstay, are no longer stressed, since most of these can be very easily demonstrated to be untenable. That was much harder to do pre-internet, so there was no reason to move away from that particular "product". It was what made the WT different, and they reached a niche market that way. They have decided to move away from most of the old pseudo logical approach in recent years, not exactly as a deliberate effort, but rather a reactionary one as their own need for survival dictates. They never would have bothered with jw.org if they did finally see that their very existence was threatened without a, (seemingly), meaningful web presence, with all of the outward sparkle that goes with it.

Just as with implementing jw.org, they will not bother to remove 1914, until stressing that date becomes so untenable as to require it for their survival. What jw.org will do for WT is buy it time to complete the rebranding process, and, (hopefully from their perspective), use that rebranding to complete the process of eliminating the esoteric bent of the WT altogether. If they are "successful", they will create an organization that is focused on their particular alternative lifestyle, and nothing more. But again, this is not really a focused deliberate effort, so they will stick to 1914, and some other key esoteric teachings, until at which point it becomes more painful to keep them. They would rather do nothing, if they could.

I do not believe the WT will survive that transition ultimately, at least not in any recognizable form.

d4g

16

Folks, The Word Is "Syncretism" ( Or Why I Agree With The Governing Body)

by metatron in

jw
friends

done4good

Vidiot-It's pretty much a foregone conclusion by now that for a religion to thrive in the Information Age, it has to mainstream, i.e. progressive reform...

...however...

... authentic mainstreaming also involves abandoning stances that have been shown to be fundamentally flawed;

a) shunning/demonizing former members
b) forbidding medical treatments
c) covering up criminal activities of members
d) creationism/Biblical literalism
e) male privelige/mysogyny
f) forbidding association with non-members
(I'm sure there's more)

Sorry, but I dan't see the org reforming those policies any time soon; they have, in fact, reiterated most of them very recently.

With JW.org, JWTV, and the like, the WTS is successfully presenting the appearance of mainstreaming... but that's all it is.

Spot on.

d4g

16

The org uses "Emotional entrapment and manipulation" rather than factual substance....

by stuckinarut2 in

jw
friends

have you noticed just how much the org is now appealing to "emotions" rather than facts?.

we used to be told that worshiping god has an element of emotion involved of course, but that the primary motivation should be logical truth.

now though, they seem to be highlighting the "fluff" rather than the substance!.

done4good

That is precisely what happens when one's beliefs are no longer logically defensible.

28

Whatever happened has a lesson for us!

by Kalos in

when my dad left jws, his stoic remark was: it was not a total wastage; after all i learned something good about the witnessestheir resolve to continue with their original claim that they are the appointed channel of god, even when they know in their heart of hearts that they are not.

why cant i imitate that sort of resolve in doing something worthwhile?

he thus echoed confucius who said: to be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.. a poor choice we made, some obstructions or some resistance are almost always viewed with fear and anxiety.

done4good

I just may have needed to have that experience as jacked as it was for me to be propelled into living the life I always wanted.

Very well put, Sophie.

28

Whatever happened has a lesson for us!

by Kalos in

when my dad left jws, his stoic remark was: it was not a total wastage; after all i learned something good about the witnessestheir resolve to continue with their original claim that they are the appointed channel of god, even when they know in their heart of hearts that they are not.

why cant i imitate that sort of resolve in doing something worthwhile?

he thus echoed confucius who said: to be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.. a poor choice we made, some obstructions or some resistance are almost always viewed with fear and anxiety.

done4good

This is a very good post. To paraphrase it, we learn from all things, good and bad, and those experiences make us who we are. There are rich rewards to be had from such learning experiences that are not always obvious, but allow us to not only become the persons we are, but also allow us to understand others, and life in general, better. The JW experience may have been long and painful, (even after we leave), but there will also be important lessons to be learned from it, that allow us to grow, and help others grow.

To Kate's point, it is easy to sound elitist when drawing attention to ideas and concepts people may not be ready for. Many on here are still very close to the source of the pain caused by JWs, (shunning, many family issues, possible underemployment issues, etc.), so an OP like the one above may present itself as being somewhat condesending, and even confusing. Some may also not have the personality type that cares for such theoretical and philosphical ideas as the ones you present as well. Keep this in mind when posting here, as it is easy to offend such ones. I have done the same myself here, and now try much harder not to, realizing others closer to the source of that pain need this place more than I do.

There are some here, (like myself), who are far enough away from the immediate source of that pain, but yet still deal with some special issues caused by the JW expericence. It is why I still visit here after 8 years. A post like the one above, is for this very limited audience.

Kate, chill out on him/her a bit. This post is meant for those a bit farther away from some of the pain, but yet are still going through long term issues, (maybe for the rest of their lives), related to the JW experience. Try to understand that someday you might just need a post like this.

d4g

28

Should some people actually be Witnesses?

by Apognophos in

it seems to me like certain people actually benefit from joining the religion.

primarily i'm thinking of ones with drug problems who are only able to quit because they are working towards baptism.

another example would be those who are always getting in fights or who have a big ego, and who learn to be pacifistic and humble as a witness.

done4good

Let me ask this question another way...Do some people actually need to shoot heroin?

Religion is much like a drug. Authoritarian religions are hard drugs. JW is heroin. An heroin addict will need something to help them rehabilitate, (such as methodone), which is still addictive and harmful, just not as deadly. The idea is an addict needs to be weened off the most harmful substance.

Leaving JW is no different for some. Many have no point of reference for how to exist without it. Like the heroin addict who tries to quit cold turkey, (a potentially fatal situation), a JW of this type will not be able to function normally in the outside world. They need something to help them find direction. That does not mean they should keep taking the worst possible poison however. Most other religions are not nearly as harmful, (however untrue they are), and might at least serve the purpose of helping one gain equilibrium.

I am atheist, but I know leaving is a process, not unlike detoxification.

d4g

35

The Reason Why JWs Won't Leave The Cult Is Because They Won't Think!

by minimus in

jw
friends

they simply refuse to think, to reason, to ponder.

they are lazy!.

even if they might feel that something isn't right, they won't research an issue or a question.

done4good

It is not that they will not think, or cannot think. It is fear, plain and simple. Fear of loosing their social circle, (big), fear of loosing their identity, (bigger), etc. Fear is a very low level motivator, that works at the lowest levels of Maslow's hierarchy of human needs very effectively. Since the lower needs generally need to be cared for first, (the second Safety level is where most of this fear happens), higher levels, (especially self-actualization where "facts" matter), are of no concern to the believing JW. This is science, and mostly psychology 101.

I know many very intelligent JWs who are not mentally lazy, and perfrom intellectually well in every other aspect of their lives. When it comes to questioning the organization however, the fear kicks in, and all rational thought is suspended.

Most of us did not "think" it through properly either when we were in. It usually takes an event that helps us in overcoming the fear to finally begin to question things properly. Even the "event" itself is more of a process, than a single event.

d4g

101

The Watchtower 11/15/2014

by wifibandit in

http://bayfiles.net/file/1jpu5/qhxxxl/w_e20141115.pdf.

select "premium download".

(thanks breakfast of champions).

done4good

This will cause extreme cognitive dissonance in many. It will have a polarizing effect, which will make the faithful even more zealous, and the apathetic, more likely to leave over time. It will not happen overnight, but these type of bold, manipulative articles do repel thinking type JWs.

This is an authoritarian regime in panic mode.

d4g

36

inactive ones going back...

by monis1 in

jw
friends

i have quite a big group of friends who were all in the cong together when we were teens.

about 75% of them stopped going or were df'd right after high school.

it is a varied group; a couple are staunch apostates, some dont care one way or another, and another handfull are fully "worldly", but still believe it is the truth.

done4good

Personality types have quite a bit to do with this. Do not underestimate that fact.

A person with a preference to be a Feeling type on the Jung, (Myers-Briggs), scale is not likely to think much why they left. Most people, (even those with a preference for Thinking), leave because the "fear" of staying in, (and all staying in might mean at a particular moment), outweighs the fear of leaving. This becomes the tipping point, and pushes someone out of the KH door. The difference with thinking types, is they will try to understand why they left, (what broke or what was always broken). Feeling types might look for confirmation, but that is likely as far as they will go in many, (but obviously not all), cases.

When someone does not perform the necessary thought process of educating themslves, (to TTATT and reality in general), learning to think critically, and applying that education to a critical thought process, they are always in danger of going back, should another emotional wave, (usually of fear once again), force them back in. It is unfair, but it is reality.

d4g