one of the most important techniques in manipulating people is to get control of their guilt.. all totalistic movements, religious or political use this method.
few organizations are better then the watchtower society in mastering this.
the religious cults have the advantage over the political that they can use the ultimate authority, namely god.. a typical example of such manipulation can be found in the january 15, 1997 issue of the watchtower.
[quote]I dont understand how anyone can believe in the JW dotrine. I wonder if its mainly for weak people.[quote]
It’s more likely persons are either “forced” i.e. familial obligations or misled into “buying” into JW doctrine through selective informational conditioning. However, if a truly informed Jehovah's Witness acts like you should “believe” as they do…they’re not weak, just disingenuous.
Flip
i never cease to be amazed at the blatant double standard the org.has.
toward satan`s world.while condemning it on the one hand,they seem to.
have no reservations about using it fully when it seems advantagous.. let me pass along two recent court cases here in japan.
Well for starters Wendy…and I’d be surprised you hadn't heard of this author who wrote, Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada, which told the story of the Witnesses' fight for civil liberties under Canadian law. By James Penton c.1975 while he has still one of Jehovahs Witnesses.
Who incidentally went on to write Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah’s Witnesses, once he ceased association.
Here is just a cursory list of references below which you will find at freeminds, * http://www.freeminds.org/history/conflicts.htm*
American Civil Liberties Union. The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses. New York, January, 1941.
Barmenkov, A. Freedom of Conscience in the U.S.S.R Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1983.
Barna Research Report. How Americans View Religious Groups. Press release, March, 1990.
Beckford, James A. "The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of a Jehovah's Witness," Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1975. Review, Vol. 23, No. 4, Nov., 1975: 33-34.
Bergman, Jerry. Jehovah's Witnesses and Kindred Groups. New York: Garland, 1984.
______. "The Adventists and Jehovah's Witness Branch of Protestantism," Chapter 3 in Alternative Religions, Ed. by Timothy Miller, Albany, NY: State University of New York University Press, 1995.
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Informed Heart. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press, 1960.
Bontecou, Eleanor (ed). Freedom in the Balance, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1978.
Bosmajian, Haig. Freedom of Expression. New York: Neal-Schuman Pub., 1988.
Brinkerhoff, Merlin B. and Marlene M. Mackie. The Applicability of Social Distance for Religious Research; An Exploration. Review of Religious Research, Vol. 28, No. 2, Dec. 1986.
Cox, Archibald. The Court and the Constitution. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1987.
Dershowitz, Alan M. Chutzpah. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1991.
Edgerton, Henry W. Freedom in the Balance; Opinions of Judge Henry W. Edgerton, edited by Eleanor Bontecou. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press Publishers, 1978.
Haymann, Tom. The Unofficial U.S. Census. New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1991.
Hefley, James and Marti. By Their Blood; Christian Martyrs of the Twentieth Century a Continuation of Fox Book of Martyrs. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1979.
Jubber, Ken. "The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Southern Africa. Social Compass, 24(1):121-134, 1977.
Kaplan, William. State and Salvation. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1989.
King, Christine Elizabeth. "Strategies for Survival: An Examination of the History of Five Christian Sects in Germany 1933-45." Journal of Contemporary History, 14:211-23, 1979.
______. "The Nazi State and the New Religions: Five Case Studies in Non-conformity" Studies in Religion and Society Volume Four,
Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1982.
King, Kathleen and Dennis E. Clayson. "Perceptions of Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses and Homosexuals." California Sociologists, Winter, 1984, pp. 49-67.
Kogon, Eugene. The Theory and Practice of Hell. New York: Berkeley Medallion Books, 1958.
Lipset, Seymour Martin. "The Sources of the "Radical Right" in The Radical Right, Ed. by Daniel Bell, Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1964.
Maddox, Robert. "Reflections On Surviving Morton Downey," Church and State, Dec., 1988: 21.
Magnani, Duane. Danger at Your Door. Clayton, Ca.: Witness Inc. 1987
Penton, M. James. Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada: Champions of Freedom of Speech and Worship. Toronto: MacMillian, 1976.
Reppas, Thanasis. So As Never To Know War. Athens, Greece: published by author, 1980.
Semonche, John E. Religion and Constitutional Government in the United States; A Historical Overview with Sources. North Carolina: Signal Books, 1986.
Sibley, Mulford Q., and Philip Jacob. Conscription of Conscience: The American State and the Conscientious Objector, 1940-47. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1952.
Sorauf, Frank J. "Jehovah's Witnesses," subtitle in the Guide to American Law. St. Paul, MN: West Publ. Inc., 1984.
Starr, Isidore. Human Rights in the United States, New York: Oxford Book Co., 1964.
Whalen, William J. Armageddon Around the Corner; A Report on Jehovah's Witnesses, New York: The John Day Company, 1962.
White, Timothy. A People For His Name; The History of Jehovah's Witnesses and an Evaluation. New York: Vantage Press, 1967.
Witt, Elder. The Supreme Court and Individual Rights. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1988.
Wuthnow, Robert. "Anti-Semitism and Stereotyping." in In the Eye of The Beholder: Contemporary Issues in Stereotyping. Arthur G. Miller (ed.) New York: Praeger, 1982.
Yaffee, Barbara. "Witnesses Seek Apology for Wartime Persecution." The Globe in Mail, Canada's National Newspaper, Saturday, September 9, 1984.
Yaffee, Sallot and Barbara Yaffee. "Secret Files Reveal Bigotry, Suppression" The Globe in Mail ; Canada's National Newspaper, Saturday, Sept., 4, 1984.
Young, Phyllis (Ed.) Department of State Bulletin, Vol. 86, No. 2116, Nov. 1986.
i never cease to be amazed at the blatant double standard the org.has.
toward satan`s world.while condemning it on the one hand,they seem to.
have no reservations about using it fully when it seems advantagous.. let me pass along two recent court cases here in japan.
...participate at all in any aspect of lawmaking...
Ummm, I think the WTBTS does, Wendy. When it suits their needs for "religious" and financial "freedoms", the corporation participates rather agressively.
Although if we ask, I suspect we could only scrounge up around 200 posters who could provide sources.
Flip
just wondering who on this board believes in hell (flaming hell that is a commonly shared belief by catholics and others) and why.
i personally think it is bull doody caca.
the entire concept is goofy.
For the life of me, I can’t recall what I was like before I was born, let alone imagine what I would be like after my life passes its “expiration date”.
Flip
i used to like some of the 'kingdom melodies'.
personal favorites were.. 'move ahead, move ahead to maturity...'.
'little gifts from god our children are'-shame they don't get any.. 'life without end at last'-everlasting life with them could wait!!!!.
Being Canadian, I could understand how we northern Jehovah’s Witnesses would readily go along with whatever corporate America i.e. WTBTS would demand of us, such as singing their drivel out load, let alone in public.
However, once I realized Americans who live in a country, they say, symbolizes freedom and democracy, actually sold out their heritage by actually singing “WTBTS Uber Alles” songs the same as us pliable Canadians…the horror!
Flip
ive been thinking a lot about this subjection thing that is so much a part of wt teaching.. i mean, what is the point of it?
who does it benefit?.
why cant couples work out a who does what pattern that suits themselves, why should they pay any heed to the wtbtss edicts about women being in subjection?.
So what you are saying is that the bible is crap…
How should I know...I was discussing the “business” of religion and the deference to those designated by a corporation whose purpose of existence is highly suspect?
I’d rather back an “equal opportunity” corporation than one that suppresses freedom of thought and expression in the effort to protect it’s own financial interests.
Flip
ive been thinking a lot about this subjection thing that is so much a part of wt teaching.. i mean, what is the point of it?
who does it benefit?.
why cant couples work out a who does what pattern that suits themselves, why should they pay any heed to the wtbtss edicts about women being in subjection?.
control.....control.........control......in every aspect of life and thought....
Exactly willy_think!
I seriously doubt the WTBTS actually believes this Biblical crap regarding subjection anymore than the Biblical writers who put it there.
But there’s little doubt that this ancient teaching of one having to differ to those in authority is a handy little thought process that illustrates how authoritarian entities can effectively control others using a hierarchal system.
The WTBTS may not be as adept at using the precept of submission as Islam, but the interest of the WTBTS lay in a different direction.
Flip
this subject has been debated endlessly by witnesses confronting.
fundamentalists quote texts about salvation.
by faith and witnesses counter with james' statements about.
…what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth…
To begin with, the following are possible:
· Loss of family and friends due to a WTBTS enforced manufactured social stigma during and after association.
· Missed life style opportunities because of focusing an inordinate amount of attention sacrificing ones self for a notoriously aloof but extremely prosperous WTBTS corporation.
· Facing the horror that you encouraged family, friends and other human beings to conceivably suffer pre-mature loss of life by following questionable WTBTS dogma.
· Suffering the effects of negative psychoses when everything the WTBTS taught is taken literally.
· Frustration felt when you suddenly realize you gambled a significant portion of your life playing with the WTBTS only to discover “you’re” the “patsy” and the WTBTS is laughing all the way to the bank with your “chips”.
You may say that you weren’t including the WTBTS, Big Jim, but to a Jehovah’s Witness they quote the same as you, only they don’t speak a distinction until it’s too late to leave with honor.
Flip
just to see if people can be bothered to reply to this; if jw's argument for the existence of god is 'just look around you, look at how beautifal and amazing it all is, it must have been created!!
', why do they then not carry that argument on and say 'which means the creator of this amazing planet must be even more amazing, and therefore must have definately been created!!'????.
instead when i asked that question, they just said 'well, u know, if u carry on asking questions like that, u'll end up spinning around in circles, u have to just accept that jehovoid has lived forever', for me it's easier to accept that the world evolved than it is to believe that god has lived forever!!..
To claim that there is no designer of the electron factory is as perverse as saying that the Faber #2 pencil factory was also due to chance.
per·verse
adj.
1. Directed away from what is right or good; perverted.
2. Obstinately persisting in an error or fault; wrongly self-willed or stubborn.
Interesting choice of word, Skimmer,...Freudian slip?
Flip
hello again friends!.
well it was time again for me to take my weekly dose of apostate faeces and see what it tastes like.
decided to check out randy watters this time (we all love him here) and his little testimony on freeminds.org, titled "what happened at bethel in 1980?
StiLLinTruth,:
Also a point about armageddon, in no way am I expecting it to happen during my lifetime.
Whewww!!! That’s a relief!
…ooh…er…hey!…wait a minute!…StLLin Trut, what’s your current state of health?
Flip
