Posts by Dogpatch

31

How the Watchtower corporation really works (beginning to end)

by Terry in

jw
friends

in 1925, judge rutherford penned an article of extreme controversy titled the birth of the nation.. the editorial committee (russell had created) would not approve it.. .

ruthford moved swiftly to remove them!

he then hid his massacre cleverly:.

Coming Out of the Cults

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

the following article by the late margaret singer (a friend of mine) is used by permission of icsa from their website icsahome.com.. randy.

coming out of the cults.

excerpted from "coming out of the cults," psychology today, january, 1979. margaret thaler singer, ph.d.. most ex-cult members we have seen struggle at one time or another with some or all of the following difficulties and problems.

Dogpatch

I'll be posting some more by permission.

Margaret Thaler Singer, Ph.D.

A Loss for the Family Field: The Death of Margaret T. Singer From Family Process, March 1, 2004; By Lyman C. Wynne The death of Dr. Margaret Singer on November 23, 2003, has evoked an outpouring of grief, admiration, and tribute in the public press. She has been recognized as "the foremost authority on brainwashing in the entire world." Her loss has distressed not only the many victims of "coercive persuasion," but also those family members, professionals, and paraprofessionals who have struggled to understand and cope with what she called the "cults in our midst."

However, before focusing on cults for much of the last quarter century, Margaret had already established herself as a leader in two other arenas of study and treatment. First, during the 1950s she had become a leading researcher in the field of psychosomatic medicine and was elected President of the American Psychosomatic Society as recently as 1972-1973.

Meanwhile, because she and I both had been keenly interested in communication, a phenomenon on the path between health and disorder, we were introduced to one another in 1958. For more than 15 years we commuted between Berkeley and Bethesda/Rochester, a week in each setting most months. We spent many, many hours listening closely to tapes of psychiatrically ill persons, especially those identified as schizophrenic patients. More closely still, we examined communication of members of their families in the contexts of family therapy and standardized research tasks. During these years Margaret became best known as a family researcher and therapist.

For eight years she was a constructive member of the Board of Directors of Family Process.

On a very personal note, I can say that the long-term, close collaboration, bouncing ideas back and forth with Margaret, was an experience of genuine mutuality. Though we worked with speech samples collected in a variety of ways, Margaret's special skill and experience with Rorschach protocols was most productive. Unconventionally, we were most interested in the conceptualization of family members, individually and conjointly, viewed as a transactional process between tester and family member, or family members with one another. Thus, we were able to use the concept of the family as a system within which some aspects melded together relationally, and other, excluded features were outside the family's psychological boundary.

In retrospect, this "family research" was hard work and good fun. In her research, Margaret engendered a vibrant, creative spark that opened the eyes of many a colleague and student. As a clinician she was able to observe and clarify incredibly nasty problems brought to her by a great diversity of clients and consultees. She, and her astutely penetrating insights, will be sorely missed.

From San Francisco Chronicle, Tuesday November 25, 2003

By Steven Rubenstein, Chronicle staff writer. Kevin Fagan contributed to this report.

Margaret Singer, the soft-spoken but hard-edged Berkeley psychologist and expert on brainwashing who studied and helped authorities and victims better understand the Peoples Temple, Branch Davidian, Unification Church and Symbionese Liberation Army cults, has died.

Professor Singer, 82, died Sunday after a long illness at Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley.

"She's one of a kind, the foremost authority on brainwashing in the entire world,'' said lawyer Paul Morantz in an interview last year. Morantz led the effort against the Synanon cult in the 1970s. "She is a national treasure.''

She testified in the 1976 bank robbery trial of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst, who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and at the 1977 hearing for five young members of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church whose parents sought to have them "deprogrammed.''

On the witness stand or in the kitchen of her Berkeley hills home, where Professor Singer did much of her work, she was calm, authoritative, smart, unshakable, funny and unfailingly polite.

She interviewed more than 3,000 cult members, assisted in more than 200 court cases and also was a leading authority on schizophrenia and family therapy.

"I might look like a little old grandma, but I'm no pushover,'' she told a reporter last year, just before tossing back another shot of Bushmills Irish whiskey, her libation of choice.

"My mom spent her whole life assisting other people -- victims, parents or lawyers -- and often for free,'' said Sam Singer, a San Francisco publicist. "Nothing gave her greater joy than helping to get someone unscrewed up.''

She was occasionally threatened by cult leaders and their followers, and she never backed down. Professor Singer liked to tell how, at the age of 80, she frightened off a stalker who had been leaving menacing notes in her mailbox.

"I've got a 12-gauge shotgun up here, sonny, and you'd better get off my porch, or you'll be sorry!'' she hollered out the window. "And tell your handlers not to send you back!''

She was born in Denver, where her father was the chief engineer at the U. S. Mint. She received her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Denver.

She began to study brainwashing in the 1950s at Walter Reed Institute of Research in Washington, D. C., where she interviewed U.S. soldiers who had been taken prisoner during the Korean War. She came to Berkeley in 1958 and found herself in a prime spot to study the cult scene of the 1960s and 1970s.

"I started hearing from families who had missing members, many of them young kids on our campus, and they all would describe the same sorts of things, '' she said. "A sudden change of personality, a new way of talking . . . and then they would disappear. And bingo, it was the same sort of thing as with the Korean War prisoners, the same sort of thought-reform and social controls. ''

"You find it again and again, any time people feel vulnerable,'' she said.

"There are always sharpies around who want to hornswoggle people.''

She dispensed much of her advice over the phone, which always seemed to be ringing with anxious parents, victims or lawyers from around the world, all seeking advice. For decades, she also held court at a large table near the front door of Brennan's bar and restaurant in West Berkeley, where she and her husband, Jerome, were Tuesday night regulars and where she would treat friends and admirers to corned beef, cabbage and multiple rounds of Irish coffee.

She was the author of "Cults in Our Midst,'' the authoritative 1995 study on cults that she revised earlier this year with analysis of the connection between cults and terrorism. She was the winner of the Hofheimer Prize and the Dean Award from the American College of Psychiatrists and of achievement awards from the Mental Health Association of the United States and the American Family Therapy Association. She was a past president of the American Psychosomatic Society and a board member of the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute Review Board and the American Family Foundation.

She is survived by her husband of 48 years, Jerome, and by two children, Sam and Martha, all of Berkeley.

A funeral will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday at the McNary-Morgan, Engle and Jackson funeral home, 3630 Telegraph Ave, Oakland. Memorial donations may be sent to the American Family Foundation, P.O. Box 413005, Suite 313, Naples, Fla., 34101 [Better to send to P.O. Box 2265, Bonita Springs, FL 34133].

From the Oakland Tribune

Former UC educator was psychologist, champion of free thought and an expert on cults

By Katherine Pfrommer, STAFF WRITER

Thursday, November 27, 2003 - BERKELEY -- Margaret Singer -- a professor, psychologist, champion of free thought and world-renowned expert on cults and brainwashing -- died Nov. 23 at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center after a long illness. She was 82.

"My mom was really one of the world's leading experts on cults and she spent her lifetime fighting for people's ability to think and act freely," son Sam Singer of Berkeley said. "She was engaged in one of the most important intellectual battles in the world -- the fight against George Orwell's vision of a "1984" state or cult that would affect people's beliefs and behavior."

Well-versed with the likes of Peoples Temple, Branch Davidian, Symbionese Liberation Army, Unification Church and other groups, Mrs. Singer testified in hundreds of cases in court -- but she also assisted anyone who called her listed home phone number asking for help.

"My mother's kitchen was action central for the anti-cult movement from the 60s up until the beginning of this year when she got ill," her son said. "You couldn't put the phone down without it ringing again. It wouldn't matter if it was Thanksgiving or Christmas day, the phone would ring, ring, ring."

Born July 29, 1921, in Denver, Colo., Mrs. Singer earned her degrees at the University of Denver, obtaining her Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 1952.

In the 1950s, she studied the effects of brainwashing on Korean War veterans at Walter Reed Army Institute in Washington, D.C., where she became fascinated with coercive psychological techniques and persuasion -- what became known as brainwashing.

While in Washington, D.C., she met her future husband, Jerome Singer, in an elevator. The two moved to Berkeley in late 1950s and both became professors at UC Berkeley. The couple was married for 48 years and have two children.

Mrs. Singer noticed the similarities between the brainwashing techniques applied to the Korean War veterans and cult members early on, and described six conditions which were created to take control over a person's mind against their will, her son said.

Among the cases Mrs. Singer testified for were the 1976 bank robbery trial of Patricia Hearst, who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and a 1977 trial about deprogramming members of the Unification Church, or "Moonies."

"She was so helpful, so willing to give her time," said colleague Hal Reynolds, student affairs officer and director of cult awareness program at UC Berkeley. "It was like having a wonderful resource -- who was also warm, witty and tough at the same time. She did a lot for UC Berkeley."

From the Los Angeles Times

Brainwashing Expert Dies of Pneumonia

By Dennis McLellan Margaret Thaler Singer, one of the world’s leading experts on cults and brainwashing – who served as an expert witness in numerous high-profile court cases, including testifying for the defense in the 1976 bank-robbery trial of kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst – has died. She was 82.

Singer, a clinical psychologist and former psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who also was known for her work on schizophrenia, died of pneumonia Sunday in a Berkeley hospital after a long illness.

Singer, who did groundbreaking research on the brainwashing of U.S. soldiers captured during the Korean War, often was sought out by lawyers as an expert witness and by the news media for comment in high-profile cases, including the People’s Temple and the mass murder-suicide at Jonestown, Guyana, the search for the Hillside Strangler in Los Angeles, and the Branch Davidian and Heaven’s Gate cults. Over the years, she interviewed more than 4,000 cult members, including Charles Manson and many of his followers.

Singer interviewed Hearst extensively after her capture in 1975. Kidnapped by the revolutionary Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974, Hearst eventually joined her captors and participated in an armed bank robbery.

Enlisted to determine whether Hearst had been brainwashed into delivering the group’s revolutionary ideology, Singer testified in a hearing outside the jury’s presence that she had studied Hearst’s speech patterns and concluded that on most of the seven tape recordings issued by the SLA, Hearst was reading statements written by her captors.

The judge, although expressing admiration for Singer’s work, agreed with the prosecutor’s argument that Singer’s conclusion should be kept from the jury because the study was “in a field that has never before been accepted as a subject upon which expert testimony can be given.”

The trial, which resulted in Hearst’s conviction, greatly boosted Singer’s stature as an expert in brainwashing.

She was born July 29, 1921, in Denver, where her father was the chief operating engineer at the U.S. Mint and her mother was a secretary to a federal judge.

Singer, who played cello in the Denver Civic Symphony while attending the University of Denver, received a bachelor’s degree in speech and a master’s degree in speech pathology and special education.

After earning a Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 1943, she worked for eight years in the department of psychiatry at the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine.

In 1953, she began working as a psychologist for the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C., where she specialized in studying returned prisoners of the Korean War who had been brainwashed into denouncing the United States and embracing communism.

She did further research, with a heavy focus on schizophrenia, with the National Institute of Mental Health, the Air Force and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

She moved to Berkeley in the late 1950s, becoming an adjunct professor at the university when her husband, Jerome R. Singer, joined the physics department faculty. She was a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley from 1964 to 1991.

Singer, who lectured around the world, received dozens of national honors for her work, including the Hofheimer Prize for Research in 1966 from the American College of Psychiatrists and the Stanley R. Dean Award for Research in Schizophrenia in 1976 from the American College of Psychiatrists.

Singer is survived by her husband; a son, Sam; a daughter, Martha; and five grandchildren.

From the San Jose Mercury News

San Jose Mercury News, Wednesday, November 26, 2003

By Jessica Portner

UC-BERKELEY PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR DID RESEARCH ON BRAINWASHING

Margaret Singer, the world-renowned professor emeritus of psychology at UC-Berkeley who demystified cults through groundbreaking research on brainwashing and testified at trials against the Unification Church and the Symbionese Liberation Army, died Sunday at Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley. She was 82.

A soft-spoken woman and brilliant researcher, Mrs. Singer interviewed more than 3,000 cult members and testified at more than 200 trials, including the 1976 bank robbery trial of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst, who had been kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. The group was a radical band formed in Berkeley during the Vietnam era that abducted the 19-year-old heiress, calling her “a prisoner of war” before she was persuaded to join them in their crimes.

Mrs. Singer also took the stand on behalf of the parents of five members of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. The parents alleged their children had been brainwashed by church teachings.

Richard Ofshe, a professor of social psychology at the University of California-Berkeley, a self-described “sidekick” of Mrs. Singer's, said she was a dream to work with -- unless you were a lawyer cross-examining her in court.

“She was like a little old lady with steel tips in her tennies,” Ofshe said. “I saw attorneys break into tears trying to cross-examine her. It's hard to beat on a little old lady who was a lot smarter than they were.”

The only child of an Irish Catholic family, Mrs. Singer was born in 1923 in Denver, where her father was the chief engineer at the U.S. Mint. Mrs. Singer received a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Denver.

Her fascination with mind-control techniques began in 1952 when she took a post at the Walter Reed Institute of Research in Washington, D.C. There, she interviewed U.S. soldiers who had been forced to make treasonous statements while they were prisoners during the Korean War.

Mrs. Singer's interest in cults grew when she arrived in Berkeley in 1957. It was an ideal location to study the blossoming New Age cult scene of the 1960s and 1970s where Hare Krishnas and the Unification Church were actively soliciting members around the campus.

In a 2001 Mercury News interview about her groundbreaking research on cult leadership and indoctrinating tactics, Mrs. Singer said, “People are basically lonely. They want to join something. The more mysterious it is, the more inviting and intriguing.” She noted cults often recruit members by using flattery, offering friendship, respect, and pretending to trade secrets.

More recently, Mrs. Singer co-wrote “Cults in Our Midst,” a 1995 study on cults that she revised earlier this year with analysis of the connection between cults and terrorism. She won the Hofheimer Prize and the Dean Award from the American College of Psychiatrists.

David Clark, an American Family Foundation associate who has worked with cult-affected families, said that despite her fame, Mrs. Singer would routinely console families whose children had been in cults over the years.

“She understood their plight and realized what a lonely place these families are in because they went through conventional avenues of lawyers and clergy and didn't get more support,” Clark said.

Brenda Daeges, who lives in Bellevue, Neb., was one of those frequent callers. “I was a mess when I met Margaret,” said Daeges, a former member of the Apostles of Infinite Love cult who met Mrs. Singer at a conference. “I tried to get her to help my family. She would let me call her collect. I don't know how many times she saved me.”

Her son, Sam Singer, president of Singer and Associates, a San Francisco consulting firm, said his mother was never deterred by those who sought to stop her. There were numerous break-in attempts at her rambling Berkeley home. Singer said his mother would deter prowlers by threatening to shoot trespassers with a 12-gauge shotgun -- even though she didn't own one.

“She was always extremely cautious because there's a lot of people who tried to hurt her,” Singer said. “She always stood up for what she believed in.”

Margaret Singer

Born: July 29, 1923, in Denver

Died: Nov. 23, 2003, in Berkeley

Survived by: Her husband of 48 years, Jerome, and by her children, Sam and Martha, all of Berkeley.

Services: Will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at the McNary-Morgan, Engle and Jackson funeral home in Oakland.

Memorial: Donations may be sent to the American Family Foundation, Box 413005, Suite 313, Naples, Fla., 34101 [Better to send to P.O. Box 2265, Bonita Springs, FL 34133] .

From the New York Times

December 7, 2003
By Anahad O'Connor

Dr. Margaret Singer, a leading expert on brainwashing who testified in several high-profile cases contending that various groups inappropriately manipulated their members to control their behavior, died on Nov. 23 in Berkeley, Calif. She was 82.
The cause was respiratory failure, said her son, Sam.

In her long career, Dr. Singer investigated and testified about techniques used by North Koreans against American soldiers in wartime and the Symbionese Liberation Army's influence over the kidnapped heiress Patricia Hearst.

In the 1950's, Dr. Singer interviewed a number of American soldiers who had renounced the United States after returning from captivity in North Korea. The soldiers, she found, had been isolated and plied with propaganda, at times under the threat of physical harm.

Years later, she testified in defense of Ms. Hearst in a case that brought Dr. Singer national recognition and helped generate public curiosity about mind control.

Dr. Singer and her colleagues delved into a little known area of psychology at the trial, arguing that Ms. Hearst had helped rob a bank because she had been brainwashed to embrace the values of the Symbionese Liberation Army, which abducted her.

The group, the team argued, subjected Ms. Hearst to intensely stressful conditions, like isolating her from family and friends and locking her in a closet for six weeks, allowing its members to indoctrinate her and force a bizarre behavioral transformation.

Though Ms. Hearst was convicted, the trial bolstered Dr. Singer's reputation as an expert on mind control. In the following years, she repeatedly testified against the Unification Church, led by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

In one case, a libel suit against The Daily Mail of London, she argued that the church was a cult that brainwashed its members by showering them with intense affection, a process she called "love-bombing."

Dr. Singer said that she had interviewed hundreds of members of the church and testified that its techniques for mind control were more powerful than those used by the North Koreans on their war prisoners. The church lost its case.

"This has put us back to the start of the road again," Michael Marshall, an official of the church, said at the time of the lawsuit. "But we shall continue to fight for recognition and to show that we are a genuine religious movement."

Dr. Singer went on to testify as an expert witness in dozens of cases against groups she described as destructive cults. Former members of the groups or the anguished families of members, like some of the people who lost relatives among the Branch Davidians in the Waco, Tex., in 1993, would often seek her advice.

Several members of the People's Temple, with Dr. Singer's help, left that group before 900 people committed mass suicide in Guyana in 1978.

Dr. Singer would often help win lawsuits against groups that former members claimed had lured them into dark, insular worlds that left them psychologically traumatized.

"Her testimony would help people understand the clinical impact of a cult's manipulation and exploitation," said Dr. Richard Ofshe, a sociology professor at the University of California at Berkeley who worked with Dr. Singer for 20 years. "There was a constant stream of people who would go into these organizations and end up in psychiatric emergency rooms."

Dr. Singer's battles made her a target for harassment and death threats. At times, she found dead animals on her doorstep.

Margaret Thaler Singer was born in Denver and earned her bachelor's degree, master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Denver. She became an adjunct professor at Berkeley in the 1950's.

Dr. Singer conducted several widely known studies on schizophrenia and was a renowned family therapist. She spent much of her career at Berkeley, but also taught at the University of Rochester and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, among others.

In addition to her son, Dr. Singer is survived by her husband, Dr. Jerome R. Singer; a daughter, Martha Singer, also of Berkeley; and five grandchildren.

Mercury News Staff Writer Sarah Lubman contributed to this report. Contact Jessica Portner at [email protected] or (408) 920-2729.

from http://www.csj.org/infoserv_profile/singer_margaret.htm

3

Coming Out of the Cults

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

the following article by the late margaret singer (a friend of mine) is used by permission of icsa from their website icsahome.com.. randy.

coming out of the cults.

excerpted from "coming out of the cults," psychology today, january, 1979. margaret thaler singer, ph.d.. most ex-cult members we have seen struggle at one time or another with some or all of the following difficulties and problems.

Dogpatch

The following article by the late Margaret Singer (a friend of mine) is used by permission of ICSA from their website ICSAhome.com.

Randy

Coming Out of the Cults

Excerpted from "Coming Out of the Cults," Psychology Today, January, 1979
Margaret Thaler Singer, Ph.D.

Most ex-cult members we have seen struggle at one time or another with some or all of the following difficulties and problems. Not all have all of these problems, nor do most have them in severe and extended form.

Depression. With their 24-hour regime of ritual, work, worship, and community, the cults provide members with tasks and purpose. When members leave, a sense of meaninglessness often reappears. They must also deal with family and personal issues left unresolved at the time of conversion.

But former members have a variety of new losses to contend with. They often speak of their regret for the lost years and feel a loss of innocence and self-esteem if they come to believe that they were used, or that they wrongly surrendered their autonomy.

Loneliness. Leaving a cult also means leaving many friends, a brotherhood with common interests, the intimacy of sharing a very significant experience, and having to look for new friends in an uncomprehending or suspicious world.

Indecisiveness. Some groups prescribe virtually every activity: what and when to eat, wear, and do during the day and night, showering, defecating procedures, and sleep positions. The loss of a way of life in which everything is planned often creates a "future void" in which they must plan and execute all their tomorrows on their own. Certain individuals cannot put together any organized plan for taking care of themselves, whether problems involve a job, school, or social life. Some have to be urged to buy alarm clocks and notebooks in order to get up, get going, and plan their days.

Slipping into Altered States. Recruits are caught up in a round of long, repetitive lectures couched in hypnotic metaphors and exalted ideas, hours of chanting while half-awake, attention-focusing songs and games, and meditating. Several groups send their members to bed wearing headsets that pipe sermons into their ears as they sleep, after hours of listening to tapes of the leader’s exhortations while awake. These are all practices that tend to produce states of altered consciousness, exaltation, and suggestibility.

When they leave the cult, many members find that a variety of conditions—stress and conflict, a depressive low, certain significant words or ideas—can trigger a return to the trancelike state they knew in cult days. They report that they fall into the familiar, unshakable lethargy, and seem to hear bits of exhortations from cult speakers. These episodes of "floating"—like the flashbacks of drug users—are most frequent immediately after leaving the group, but can still occur weeks or months later.

Blurring of Mental Acuity. Most cult veterans report—and their families confirm—subtle cognitive inefficiencies and changes that take some time to pass. Many former cult members have to take simple jobs until they regain former levels of competence.

Fear of the Cult. Most of the groups work hard to prevent defections: some ex-members cite warnings of heavenly damnation for themselves, their ancestors, and their children. Since many cult veterans retain some residual belief in the cult doctrines, this alone can be a horrifying burden.

When members do leave, efforts to get them back reportedly range from moderate harassment to incidents involving the use of force. Many ex-members and their families secure unlisted phone numbers; some move away from known addresses; some even take assumed names in distant places.

Fear may be most acute for former members who have left a spouse or children behind in the cults that recruited couples and families. Any effort to make contact risks breaking the link completely. Often painful legal actions ensue over child custody or conservatorship between ex- and continuing adherents.

The Fishbowl Effect. A special problem is the constant watchfulness of family and friends, who are on the alert for any signs that the difficulties of real life will send the person back. Mild dissociation, deep preoccupations, temporary altered states of consciousness, and any positive talk about cult days can cause alarm in a former member’s family. Often the ex-member senses it, but neither side knows how to open up discussion.

New acquaintances and old friends can also trigger an ex-cult member’s feelings that people are staring, wondering why he/she joined such a group.

The Agonies of Explaining. Why one joined is difficult to tell anyone who is unfamiliar with cults. One has to describe the subtleties and power of the recruitment procedures and how one was indoctrinated. Most difficult of all is to try to explain why a person is unable simply to walk away from a cult, for that entails being able to give a long and sophisticated explanation of social and psychological coercion, influence, and control procedures.

Guilt. According to our informants, significant parts of cult activity are based on deception, particularly fund-raising and recruitment. The dishonesty is rationalized as being for the greater good of the cult or the person recruited. As they take up their personal consciences again, many ex-members feel great remorse over the lies they have told, and they frequently worry over how to right the wrongs they did.

Perplexities about Altruism. Many of these people want to find ways to put their altruism and energy back to work without becoming a pawn in another manipulative group. They wonder how they can properly select among the myriad contending organizations—social, religious, philanthropic, service-oriented, psychological—and remain their own boss.

Elite No More. "They get you to believing that they alone know how to save the world," recalled one member. "You think you are in the vanguard of history . . . As the chosen, you are above the law . . . " Clearly one of the more poignant comedowns of postgroup life is the end of feeling a chosen person, a member of an elite.

22

crisis of conscience

by inbetween in

when i was fully in, i never even heard of ray franz or his books.. after learning the truth about the truth, what woke me up, was in the first place the inconsistency of doctrine, the missing logic and the bending of the scripture to fit their theology.. personal experiences i took with a grain of salt.

therefore, even though i learned about "crisis of conscience" i did not bother reading it.

personally i did not doubt, that what he wrote would be true, but i thought, it would not help somebody to get out, because, its his personal experience, which proves nothing in the end.

Dogpatch

Hi Joey,

Not that I know of. I didn't know he wrote other books besides Sign of the Last Days, which Commentary Press no longer had an inventory of, but you can buy it at Amazon for $38 new at:

http://www.amazon.com/Sign-Last-Days-When-Jonsson/dp/0914675095/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304648998&sr=1-1

I just noticed my listing for The Gentile Times Reconsidered is $24.95 and the rest are used from $40 to $499 for a new copy!

In Search of Christian Freedom is not even available from others on Amazon.com, though some were selling it for $899 before I put up my store. :-))

Now that I am temporarily out of Crisis, only one is avail. (earlier version) new for $79.95 and the used ones start at about $50!

Vultures. Buy from friendly animals like Dogz.

22

crisis of conscience

by inbetween in

when i was fully in, i never even heard of ray franz or his books.. after learning the truth about the truth, what woke me up, was in the first place the inconsistency of doctrine, the missing logic and the bending of the scripture to fit their theology.. personal experiences i took with a grain of salt.

therefore, even though i learned about "crisis of conscience" i did not bother reading it.

personally i did not doubt, that what he wrote would be true, but i thought, it would not help somebody to get out, because, its his personal experience, which proves nothing in the end.

Dogpatch

By the way, right now I am the sole administrator of all NEW Commentary Press books (Crisis of Conscience,In Search of Christian Freedom, and CJ. Jonsson's The Gentile Times Reconsidered and probably will be for awhile.

Therefore my books will always have the lowest new price. You can get them from Freeminds at:

http://www.freeminds-store.com/books.html

or an Amazon.com at:

The Free Minds Store:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/shops/storefront/index.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&sellerID=A51EU2TKBJ8RY

or on eBay at:

http://myworld.ebay.com/mbsurfer

These are my stores.

For downloads of Crisis of Conscience from Commentary Press, go here:

http://www.commentarypress.com/index-estore.html

At the moment I am out of Crisis but it will be back in stock in 2-4 days at those locations.

Don't pay $45 for Crisis or $800 for In Search!

and please don't rip off Cynthia Franz by sharing the PDF file of Crisis.

Randy Watters

www.freeminds.org

43

WT Is Losing Its Best and Brightest

by snowbird in

jw
friends

they are hemorrhaging the creme de la creme, as it were, and a lot of those thinking ones are coming to jwn.. no wonder there are so many warnings against surfing the 'net.. syl.

Dogpatch

The reasons they are going to schism (not die or disappear) is simple. If you think of it in terms of MONEY or MEMBERS, you simply miss the point.

Christian Science has been around for over 100 years and they still seem to have a good amount of money, but who even knows about them? It is only supported by old people with money to support such stupidity. They need a place to put their butts, feel comfortable in their fantasy, and call it "my religion right or wrong." Does that make them powerful? Do your children have to worry about becoming a Christian Scientist??

NO. IT'S NOT "IN", so it cannot attract youthful members, so when the old people die off, so does the money and ignorant theologies. It would have to become a different religion altogether, with virtually no resemblance to the former. The Watch Tower simply has NOTHING TO OFFER the primal being except “FRIENDS” that will rat on you in a New York minute.

There is no welfare system, with the Watch Tower OR Jehovah; and salvation is completely dependent on your loyalty to their demands.

They currently have no realistic program to make money now that the digital age has arrived and magazines are a waste. The programs they have could be audited by the IRS and they could get in big trouble, should the IRS choose to investigate their religion (or ALL religions) carefully.

There are no charismatic leaders, nor does there appear to be a charismatic leader on the way. They tolerate no youthful, inspiring leaders; younger people drift off rapidly and never come back. The Watch Tower, after 130 years of lies, deception and mind control is truly embarrassing in the 21st century. Going door-to-door peddling children’s-level literature is truly an embarrassment to most. For decades, the Watch Tower has gotten very few converts from going door-to-door; it’s all friends, co-workers and their own children, who go out the back door as fast as they get old enough to leave home.

They are carefully inoculating the masses in every Watchtower about any false message coming from some of the new ones claiming to be of the “anointed.” Even the “overlapping generation” explanation of why the date 1914 failed is being rejected by many Witnesses now. Many are actually quite angry at this new deceptive explanation.

Their messages are an insult to almost everyone's intelligence and ability to think for themselves. The hypnotic repetition of reading paragraphs and underlining the “correct” answers in the magazines and books is a modern-day farce.

The current Governing Body is VERY concerned about the power of the Internet and especially Facebook, which most people will continue to use regardless of what the Watchtower says. It is like telling people they can’t use telephones!

College will continue to be disdained which makes them an obvious laughing stock.

Randy

24

"Recruiting the Deaf" a new "Freeminds" article by Barb Anderson

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

the worldwide recruiting attempt of jehovah’s witnesses to bring their religious message to the deaf using sign language can be viewed as something of a mixed bag.

while they strive to communicate it using the right methods, they convey an illusionary message that is detrimental in countless ways.[1].

jehovah’s witnesses international “deaf ministry” as directed by the watch tower bible and tract society, inc., is no small feat because there are over 200 distinct sign languages in the world.

Dogpatch

The worldwide recruiting attempt of Jehovah’s Witnesses to bring their religious message to the deaf using sign language can be viewed as something of a mixed bag. While they strive to communicate it using the right methods, they convey an illusionary message that is detrimental in countless ways.[1]

Jehovah’s Witnesses international “deaf ministry” as directed by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Inc., is no small feat because there are over 200 distinct sign languages in the world. It’s their “deaf ministry” in the United States and the United Kingdom that this article focuses on. Both countries share the English language, but each country’s sign language is markedly different although the recruiting method is basically the same. Just as Watch Tower translators around the world look to the English version of book, article, or scripture in their work, the sign language that most of the Society’s sign language teams around the world look to for guidance is American Sign Language.

Investigation has revealed that this religious organization has not spared any expense to get their message out to the deaf, although, overall, hearing members directly bear most of the costs. The Watch Tower Corporation provides low cost DVDs filmed at their headquarters that feature expert volunteer sign language translators signing the Bible and Watch Tower literature. But expensive electronic systems are installed in places where Witnesses congregate to help the deaf understand the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses with equipment costs paid for by local Witnesses. Moreover, scouring the cities and countryside looking for deaf persons and conducting personal Bible studies is done by Witness translators at their own expense.

The charitable attitude of the Witnesses to aid the deaf to learn the fundamentals about God is commendable at a time when it is estimated “…that only 1 percent of American deaf children will attend church as adults and less than 7 percent will ever have the gospel presented to them in a way they can understand.”

Link removed (original article replaced with malware)

3

Memories at Herman's Hotel

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

sorry about the double post, it wouldn't let me back in to put in the title.

memories at herman's hotel.

sunday, 24 april 2011 22:49this last weekend i had to cut my work and storage space down due to the landlord wanting some of it back (right!

Dogpatch

the full story at: http://www.randallwatters.org/

15

"The Last Popes of the Watchtower"

by leavingwt in

i just learned of this new book at the free minds store.

i purchased a copy and i'm enjoying it.. .

"for a 1218-page pdf file of the watchtower quotes being made currently that are used to control the masses, download the brand new and very large compendiary, anonymously written, the last popes of the watchtower.

Dogpatch

Yeah, this is a great job done by these guys. Kind of an all-you-need expose'. Plus it can be updated as time goes on!

You know they will keep us entertained in the next couple of years; just like in the 80's right after the Franz incident:

Famous Sayings of the 80s

(The following are sample quotes taken from the book by Randall Watters of the same name as above) Everything quoted directly from Watchtower publications. Famous Sayings of The Governing Body in book form.

This is an excerpt from the book with the same title. These are the statements that, due to their irony and manipulative nature, will be most remembered in future generations. These are a collection of psychologically abusive statements intended to correct and mold the thoughts of Jehovah's Witnesses en masse, as dictated by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Words in bold and surrounded by brackets are key words or phrases used by our editor to summarize the quote, followed by the quote in plain text, then ending with a reference to the Watchtower magazine and date of publication. (WT 11/15/88)

["Jews" = anointed praisers of Jehovah]

..."It will be in those days [yes, in our time] that ten men out of all the languages of the nations will take hold, yes, they will actually take hold of the skirt of a man who is a Jew [anointed praisers of Jehovah], saying: `We will go with you people, for we have heard that God is with you people.'" WT 4/15/86 p. 20

Those who despise Jehovah's teaching include individuals who criticize and complain about Jehovah's clean organization and its rules for maintaining peace and good order. There is only a fine line of demarcation between such and those who are outright rebels. Korah and his supporters found that out to their complete undoing when they dared to be hasty in speaking against God's servant Moses. (Numbers 16:1-40) On this same subject, Proverbs 29:20 states: "Have you beheld a man hasty with his works? There is more hope for someone stupid than for him." WT 5/15/84 p. 17

[1 Jo 2:26 on why the anointed do not need apostates to teach them]

To walk in divine light and not be misled by apostates, we need proper spiritual instruction. (Read 1 John 2:26-29.) Spirit-begotten ones have an "anointing" by holy spirit, have come to know God and his Son, and "do not need anyone [an apostate] to be teaching" them. By his anointing spirit, God "is teaching" spiritual Israelites "about all things" needed in order to worship him acceptably. (John 4:23,24; 6:45) We are delighted that as Jehovah's Witnesses we receive such spiritual instruction from God through "the faithful and discreet slave." WT 7/15/86, p.14

[sipping poison]

Therefore, resolve in your heart that you will never even touch the poison that apostates want you to sip. Heed the wise but firm commands of Jehovah to avoid completely those who would deceive you, mislead you, turn you aside into the ways of death. If we love Jehovah with our whole heart, soul, and mind, while loving our neighbor as we love ourselves, we will leave no room for penetration by apostate thinking. (Matthew 22:37-39) We will not "allow place for the Devil" and will have no desire to look elsewhere. We will not `be quickly shaken from our reason' by some counterfeit teaching. 2 Thessalonians 2: 1,2. WT 3/15/86 p. 20

[don't purchase or read writing of apostates]

We have been forewarned that there will be apostates and people who just like to have their ears tickled. Counsel such as at 2 John 9-11, 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 and 2 Timothy 3:5 allows no room for associating with those who turn away from the truth. Nor do we purchase or read their writings. WT 12/15/84 p. 19

[requirements to be a JW]

What is required if one is to become an approved associate of Jehovah's Witnesses? Such a person must accept the entire range of Bible teachings, including those Scriptural beliefs that are unique to Jehovah's Witnesses. WT 4/15/86 p. 31

[work out salvation]

God has arranged for the "good news of the kingdom" to be proclaimed so that each individual will have opportunity to work out his own salvation. WT 2/1/85 p. 5

[mediator for not ALL men]

What, then, is Christ's role in this program of salvation? Paul proceeds to say: "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men [not, all men], a man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all." 1 Tim.2:5,6. WT 11/15/79 p. 26

[other org. stuff]

Often coupled with `disregard for lordship' is an independent and rebellious spirit that ignores the fact that Jehovah is directing his organization. WT 6/1/85 p. 18

If we always remember our loving God and act in harmony with his Word, we will maintain strong confidence in his unfailing leadership. (Proverbs 22:19) To turn away from Jehovah and his organization, to spurn the direction of "the faithful and discreet slave," and to rely simply on personal Bible reading and interpretation is to become like a solitary tree in a parched land. WT 6/1/85 p. 20

[what not to say in prayer]

Are there things that we should avoid saying when we pray to Jehovah?

Yes, there are. We should avoid saying things in our prayers that sound overly familiar and suggest to others (in public prayers) that we are being disrespectful. Such expressions as "Good afternoon, Jehovah" and "Give our love to Jesus" are not fitting, nor are humorous comments or even jokes in our prayers. Why?

For one reason, when such expressions are used in public prayer, they are likely to shock or offend those listening. (Romans 14:21) But there is a deeper reason why like expressions should be avoided, even in our private prayers. These are expressions that we use in conversation between equals. When used in prayer, they suggest a lack of reverence and respect, and they give the impression that the one thus praying has forgotten his total insignificance in comparison with Jehovah. Genesis 18:27; compare Luke 18:9-14. WT 6/1/85 p. 31

[independent thinking]

How is such independent thinking manifested? A common way is by questioning the counsel that is provided by God's visible organization. For example, God's organization has from time to time given warnings about listening to certain types of immoral and suggestive music, and about frequenting discos and other types of worldly dance halls where such music is played and people are known to engage in immoral conduct. (1 Corinthians 15:33) Yet certain ones have professed to know better. WT 1/15/83 p. 22

Fight Against Independent Thinking

As we study the Bible we learn that Jehovah has always guided his servants in an organized way. And just as in the first century there was only one true Christian organization, so today Jehovah is using only one organization. (Ephesians 4:4, 5; Matthew 24:4547) Yet there are some who point out that the organization has had to make adjustments before, and so they argue: "This shows that we have to make up our own mind on what to believe." This is independent thinking. Why is it so dangerous?

Such thinking is an evidence of pride. And the Bible says: "Pride is before a crash, and a haughty spirit before stumbling." (Proverbs 16:18) If we get to thinking that we know better than the organization, we should ask ourselves: "Where did we learn Bible truth in the first place? Would we know the way of the truth if it had not been for guidance from the organization? Really, can we get along without the direction of God's organization?" No, we cannot! Compare Acts 15:2, 28, 29; 16:4, 5. WT 1/15/83 p. 27

[out of context isn't honest]

Popular Misconceptions

Many people, particularly in Protestant lands, claim that the Bible is like an old fiddle that can be used to play many tunes. They feel that the Bible can be used to prove many conflicting doctrines. They say: `It all depends upon the way you interpret it.' Is this correct?

Admittedly, the Bible can be quoted in attempted support of differing viewpoints. But if statements are taken out of context, cannot the work of any author be made to appear to contradict itself? Would this be honest, though? Jehovah's Witnesses maintain that an honest reading of the Bible does not allow for conflicting interpretations of key doctrines. WT 6/15/85 p. 3

[JWs recognized as excellent Bible students]

Jehovah's Witnesses, who are recognized even by their critics as excellent Bible students, have found that the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures admirably meets the requirements of clarity and accuracy. WT 6/15/85 p. 5

[Catholic "Bible study aid dilemma"]

Where can such Bible study help be found? In recent years Catholic authors have published many books ostensibly meant to help Catholics in their Bible reading. But such authors find themselves on the horns of a dilemma. If such authors truly help Catholics to understand the Bible, the latter quickly discover that much Catholic dogma cannot be found in it. On the other hand, if the authors justify Catholic doctrine, they undermine the readers' confidence in the Bible because they subordinate Scripture to church tradition. Compare Mark 7:13. WT 6/15/85 p. 7

[restored 1st century Christian administration]

So important is it never to raise the voice in bitter criticism of the Lord's organization or its appointed representatives. Jehovah is the omniscient Judge before whom accounting must be made for these and other unprofitable sayings. Matthew 12:36, 37; Leviticus 19:16; Jude 8.

[apostates and opposers]

Is it not true that those who have gone out from us over the years because "they were not of our sort," and who try to induce others to follow the same life-imperiling course, have cut themselves off from the source of solid spiritual food and refreshing spiritual waters? (1 John 2:19) And these senseless ones, far from being generous and openhanded toward those of mankind who hunger and thirst after righteousness, do not see any urgent need for an organized preaching work in our time. They would allow each one to be guided by his own private reading and interpretation of the Bible instead of being brought into a unity of people trained to live and act according to the lofty principles and reminders of God's Word. WT 5/15/84 p. 18

[We can expose lack of logic in false teaching]

With accurate knowledge of God's Word, we can puncture and cut down false teachings, exposing their lack of logic and, in particular, their conflict with the Holy Scriptures. (2 Corinthians 10:4) We do this not out of pride but out of humility and love for God, truth and our fellow man. Happily, with the help of true Christian publications, we can get " a tight grip on the word of life." Philippians 2:16. WT 10/15/84 p. 18

[Predestination is selective]

Predestination, therefore, runs counter to what the Bible actually teaches about God. `But would not limiting God's knowledge of the future undermine his almightiness?' you might ask. Not at all. At Titus 1:2, for example, we learn that "God...cannot lie." But does this undermine God's almightiness? No, rather, it highlights God's truthfulness.

The apostle Paul counseled Christians endowed with the gift of prophecy: "Gifts of the spirit of the prophets are to be controlled by the prophets. For God is a God, not of disorder, but of peace." ( 1 Corinthians 14:32, 33) Such prophets would not speak out indiscriminately but would share their prophetic messages in an orderly way. To do this, self-control was needed. Certainly, then, God is also able to use his foreknowledge selectively, using it only when there is a reason or a purpose for doing so. Compare Genesis 22:1, 12. WT 7/15/84 p. 4,5

[new light on sheepfold-apostates gnash their teeth, but we are not disturbed]

Are we here identifying the "sheepfold" of John chapter 10, verse 1, with the Mosaic Law covenant arrangement? Why, yes! The former explanation of the sheepfold as being the Abrahamic covenant was based on the view that John chapter 10 mentioned directly only one fold, and if that were so, then the Abrahamic covenant would be its logical meaning. However, further study of this chapter showed that Jesus actually spoke of more than one sheepfold. Thus, as we will see, an adjustment in explanation proved fitting.

Such adjustments become necessary from time to time, for Proverbs 4:18 tells us that "the path of righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established." Oh, apostate opposers of truth "gnash their teeth" at such progressive revelations, but this does not disturb us. (Acts 7:54) Rather, we thank Jehovah that "light itself has flashed up for the righteous one, and rejoicing even for the ones upright in heart." (Psalm 97:11) We are confident that you will rejoice to know just what meaning Jesus' illustration of the sheepfolds has for you and all others of Jehovah's Witnesses today. WT 2/15/84 p. 11

Observe from this passage that Jesus speaks of himself as the door of the sheepfold he now mentions, the door into this sheepfold of the Supreme Shepherd, Jehovah God. WT 2/15/84 p. 13

But with this new sheepfold under the Fine Shepherd in mind, note that in John 10:16 Jesus said: "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring." Does this not indicate that he would have another, a second, fold for which he would serve as the Fine Shepherd? WT 2/15/84 p. 15

[former partakers become "readjusted" to being onlookers]

There is another important difference in viewpoint that the "other sheep" class have come to appreciate. Instead of partaking of the bread and the wine as many of them formerly did in some church, they now find their situation "readjusted" to that of onlookers. Why is this so, and do we have Scriptural support for a procedure that allows for onlookers as well as partakers? 2 Corinthians 13:11; 2 Timothy 3:16,17. WT 2/15/85 p. 16

[skipping meetings snubs the gods]

Christian meetings are a way by which we can maintain proper esteem. Since Jehovah and Jesus are present invisibly at these gatherings, grateful Christians will not snub them, as the apostates do, but rather do all they reasonably can to attend regularly. WT 12/15/85 p. 7

["holding to the word"]

..."An overseer must be...loyal." Such loyalty is demonstrated by "holding firmly to the faithful word" as expounded in the publications of Jehovah's modern Christian organization. Titus 1:69. WT 2/1/83 p. 14

[no human is our leader]

A third factor that unites us is that all of us benefit from the same spiritual feeding program. We recognize "the faithful and discreet slave" as the agency that Jehovah is using to provide spiritual food at the proper time. (Matthew 24:45-47) There is no question in our mind that this "slave" is made up of spirit-anointed heirs of the heavenly Kingdom who are found today only among Jehovah's Witnesses. We appreciate what that "slave" and its Governing Body are doing to care for our spiritual needs. And we thank God for the abundance of fine spiritual provisions we have. (Isaiah 65:13, 14) Are we also taking sufficient time to instill appreciation for this arrangement in persons newly associating with the congregation?

A fourth unifying factor, indeed a vital one, is that Jesus Christ, and no human, is our Leader and the one through whom we all approach Jehovah in worship. WT 2/1/84 p. 19

[changes:new light]

Meditation can help you through tests of your faith. For example, occasionally there are changes in our understanding of certain Bible passages or prophecies. "The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established," says the Bible at Proverbs 4:18. Some, however, are disturbed by these refinements. But the "righteous ones" take the time to meditate and absorb these new Biblical truths, instead of hastily concluding that the `faithful slave' has erred. WT 2/1/84 p. 29

[Critical looks from other Witnesses may be discipline from Jehovah]

Discipline may come from someone else. It may come as a look, a frown, a word, a gesture, a verbal reproof. Jesus gave Peter a look that reminded him of the prediction of his grave sin, and he went out and wept bitterly. WT 10-1-87, p. 18

[On questioning the directives of the Governing Body of JWs]

Back in early Christian times, some decisions made by the governing body may have been hard to understand at the time. This was doubtless the case when Paul was sent back to Tarsus or when he was sent to the temple after his third missionary journey. (Acts 9:30; 21:23-25) Yet, Christ was actually behind such decisions. (Acts 22:17-21; 23:11) Today we can be confident that whatever Christ allows to occur among his disciples on earth has some lofty purpose behind it, even as in the first century. WT 8-1-87 p. 20

[On the wicked, filthy, vile opposers of Jehovah's Mighty Organization]

Apostates often appeal to the ego, claiming that we have been deprived of our freedoms, including the freedom to interpret the Bible for ourselves. (Compare Genesis 3:15.) In reality, these would-be defilers offer nothing more than a return to the nauseating teachings of "Babylon the Great." (Revelation 17:5; 2 Peter 2:19-22) Others appeal to the flesh, urging former associates to "take it easy" because the humble work of witnessing from house to house is "unnecessary" or "unscriptural." (Compare Matthew 16:22,23.) True, such smooth talkers may look outwardly clean in a physical and moral way. But inside they are spiritually unclean, having given in to prideful, independent thinking. They have forgotten all that they learned about Jehovah, his holy name and attributes. They no longer acknowledge that all they learned about Bible truth - the glorious hope of the kingdom and a paradise earth and the overturning of false doctrines, such as the Trinity, the immortal human soul, eternal torment, and purgatory - yes, all of this came to them through "the faithful and discreet slave."Matthew 24:45-47.

Interestingly, a circuit overseer in France observes: "Some brothers are deceived because they lack accurate knowledge." That is why Proverbs 11:9 states: "By knowledge are the righteous rescued." This does not mean giving apostates a hearing ear or delving into their writings. Rather, it means coming to "an accurate knowledge of the sacred secret of God" through diligent personal study of the Bible and the Society's Bible-based publications. Having this accurate knowledge, who would become so curious as to pay any attention to apostate mouthings? May no man "delude you with persuasive arguments"! (Colossians 2:24) False religious propaganda from any source should be avoided like poison! Really, since our Lord has used "the faithful and discreet slave" to convey to us "sayings of everlasting life," why should we ever want to look anywhere else? John 6:68. WT 11-1-87, p. 19,20

[On why theologians do not agree with the Watchtower (because they don't go house-to-house)]

It should be kept in mind, however, that for the most part, the theologians of Christendom do not go from house to house, and many Bible commentators tend to interpret the Scriptures in the context of their own experience. A more objective consideration of Jesus' instruction indicates that he was speaking about his disciples' searching out people individually, either from house to house or publicly, and presenting to them the message of the Kingdom. (Matthew 10:7) Their response would indicate whether they were deserving or not. Matthew 10:12-15.

This is seen in Jesus' words at Matthew 10:14: "Wherever anyone does not take you in or listen to your words, on going out of that house or that city shake the dust off your feet." Jesus was speaking about his disciples' making uninvited calls on people to preach to them. WT 1-1-88, p. 23

[Rutherford decides they will be called Jehovah's Witnesses, by God's direction, of course]

As time passed, the Bible Students became even more closely identified with Jeremiah when, in 1931, at a convention in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A., it was announced that the Biblical name for this courageous group of Christians should be "Jehovah's Witnesses." (Isaiah 43:10-12)

...Therefore, it was appropriate that at God's due time, his people should finally qualify for this divinely appointed name"Jehovah's Witnesses." WT 4-1-88, p. 23,24

[Jehovah doesn't illuminate individual Christians]

Jehovah does not illuminate each Christian individually. Rather, Christ appointed the "faithful and discreet slave" class to provide Scriptural study material and timely counsel to Christians throughout the world. WT 8-15-88 p. 28

[Jehovah rides the organization]

The chariot Rider was a glorious representation of Jehovah. How well the chariot represents God's angelic spirit organization! (Psalm 18:10; 103:20, 21; Daniel 7:9, 10) Jehovah rides it in the sense of dominating these creatures and using them according to his purpose. WT 9-15-88 p. 11

The Watchtower is once again instructing Witnesses to brainwash themselves.

Check out this from the 2/1/96 Watchtower:

"Fight the tendency to doubt...If some some tinge of doubt about Jehovah, his Word, or his organization has begun to linger in your heart, take quick steps to eliminate it before it festers into something that could destroy your faith...do not hesitate to ask for help from loving overseers in the congregation. They will help you race the source of your doubts, which may be due to pride or some wrong thinking. Has the reading or listening to apostate ideas or worldly philosophy introduced poisonous doubts?...act quickly to rout out of the mind any tendency to complain, to be dissatisfied with the way things are done in the congregation. Cut off anything that feeds such doubts."

Also in print:

http://www.freeminds-store.com/books/the-governing-body-s-famous-sayings-of-the-80-s.html

15

"The Last Popes of the Watchtower"

by leavingwt in

i just learned of this new book at the free minds store.

i purchased a copy and i'm enjoying it.. .

"for a 1218-page pdf file of the watchtower quotes being made currently that are used to control the masses, download the brand new and very large compendiary, anonymously written, the last popes of the watchtower.

Dogpatch

Yes, it is a compliation written by another who has access and works with quotes, JWfacts, etc.

Randy

PS Don't try and print it out, it's almost 2 reams of paper double-sided! :-))

Randy