Robert7

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Posts by Robert7

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  31

  Am I the only one that didnt realize about the GB?

  by yourmomma in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here is a question for you.

  i'll give a little back ground.

  i was raised in the witness organization however in about 1993 i encountered much hypocrisy and left for about 3 years.

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  Robert7

  You are wise indeed :)
  
  It was THIS topic that made me snap, and broke me out of the faith. I saw SO much talk on trusting the GB 100%, but they are men, are imperfect and can make errors. Completely illogical.
  
  Plus it was bothering me how much devotion the FDS was expecting. Almost wanted as much praise as Jesus or God himself. With this, they turned me Atheist :)
  
  You are not crazy, you are a wise independant thinker. We need more thinkers like this in our society.
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  53

  Awake= "Playstation Games like playing with Radioactive waste!!"

  by Witness 007 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  awake 2008 jan.p.19 "choosing to play violent and immoral games is like choosing to play with radioactive waste.

  the damaging effects may not be immediatley obvious, but they are inevitable.

  exposure in high doses of radiation can destroy the lining of the stomach and allow bacteria from the intestines to invade the bloodstream, resulting in sickness.

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  Robert7

  So with this analogy, people are GUARANTEED to do evil things by playing games. That puts little faith on the individuals, that they could discern the difference between game violence and real violence. 99.99% of people obviously know better.
  
  The WTS has little faith in its people.
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  28

  Jehovah's Witnesses Are NOT Conscientious & They Don't Really Care!

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  witnesses try to make it sound as though they are very very conscientious people.

  they care about you, your spiritual welfare, your everlasting welfare....but nothing could be further from the truth!

  if they truly cared, they would see to it that they reached people to give them the lifesaving truth.

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  Robert7

  If this was TRULY a lifesaving work, two things:
  
  1) People would/should spend ALL available time saving people. Not 4-6 hours a month on off hours.
  
  2) They are damning most people to destruction. By giving an opportunity to say no, they will likely be destroyed in Armageddon. They are better off not giving the message, so they never got a chance, and would be resurrected.
  
  That is IF this were all true.
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  29

  How Jehovah's Witnesses Control Your Mind - Controlling Your View of Truth

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you, newbies or perhaps others who haven't read steve hassan's book - " combatting cult mind control" here are some very important things to remember of how jehovah's witnesses and other " mind control" cults operate .

  it may help you to understand some things to see how we were all faked out at one time in our lives.

  hassan's book states , " in totalistic cults , the ideology is internalized as " the truth ", the only "map" of reality .

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  Robert7

  The other big issue I have with the concept of "the truth" is the complete abuse of the term "truth". COC gets into this but here is my view...
  
  
  Truth, by definition, is true, always true, and cannot be false. Anything truth that is eventually false, or not true, was never true, and therefore was always false.
  
  
  So the expression "current truth" really has no logical meaning. It should be stated "current beliefs", as a true statement has no tense, meaning it is not 'current' or 'former', as truth is just truth. Period. 1+1=2 is always true. There is no "current 1+1=2" or "past 1+1=2". 1+1=2 is true and it is always a true statement.
  
  
  So calling the faith "the truth" is also wrong, as the combined beliefs of the faith are not all actually true, as the WTS even admits it can have errors due to imperfect man (new light). Would be more accurate for them to call it something like "the half-truth".
  
  
  This is part of the logical thinking that the WTS does not want people to have.
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  29

  How Jehovah's Witnesses Control Your Mind - Controlling Your View of Truth

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you, newbies or perhaps others who haven't read steve hassan's book - " combatting cult mind control" here are some very important things to remember of how jehovah's witnesses and other " mind control" cults operate .

  it may help you to understand some things to see how we were all faked out at one time in our lives.

  hassan's book states , " in totalistic cults , the ideology is internalized as " the truth ", the only "map" of reality .

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  Robert7

  Very interesting. I need to read that book.
  
  My experience is that by thinking this is "the truth" it is very strong to overcome any doubts anyone can have. Add on top of this the "don't get bogged down on the little things" mentality that is taught, and you have great mind control. This means you sweep all doubts under the rug, and just keep reminding yourself that this is "the truth". I was controlled exactly with this, even with doubts over the years.
  
  They even convince everyone that the JW doctrine like earthly paradise, 144k, worldwide preaching work, etc, is so much the Truth (and all other doctrines are so wrong), that you are convinced that there is no other organization that believes this and therefore this is the truth. This is circular reasoning!
  
  So they convince you:
  - This is 'the truth'.
  - All doctrines are 'the truth', and even doubters have a hard time finding anything better (Where else do you go?)
  - Everything else that is not 'the truth', is from Satan, and you fear that.
  - Add other things like stopping techniques, friend/family ties, shunning, etc.
  - When you're 'in', all of the above makes 100% sense, as crazy as it seems. (you are brainwashed)
  
  Put it all together, and you really are stuck. This can be very hard to break out of.
  
  
  My way of breaking free from it was internal. I am an independant thinker, and a logical thinker. I have seen enough 'red flags' of mind control that eventually I snaped and had to do outside research, where I learned the real truth. This takes a lot and I think that people who break away will be a slow trickle and not a flood.
  
  This is why the WTS fears education and independant thinking...
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  14

  Did you have any self righteous holier than though in your congro??

  by karter in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  we moved to a new congro when we got married there was a pioneer couple who looked down on anyone who wasn't as good as them.. my wife was pioneering i was working my butt off trying to save some money to buy a house (we did) these 2 looked down on anyone who brought anything nice ,we found out they were running down to the welfare for a free handout at the expense of hard working people like me just to look good.. take away the label pioneer they would probably support themselves.. another solo mum living on welfare used to rave on how she pioneered lets face it having the state pay you to bring up one child she had plenty of time on her hands.. i was working on council houses and helped her get one even helped her move into it ,soon after she married the father of her child (he became a jw) after the help my wife & i had given her we didnt get an invite to the wedding they only invited elders , ms , regular pioneers one of my mates who was a pioneer said '' don't know why they invited me don't even know them''.

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  fast forward after much , much ass licking (you had to see it to believe it ) he became an elder only to be removed a few months later.

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  Robert7

  I saw it, it wasn't too often, but I actually preferred to not to associate with them. For example, once at a gathering, I walked into a conversation where they said "we're discusing field ministry experiences". I just thought 'WTF' and got out of there.
  
  Every religion has those who completely 110% drink the Kool-aid, and the JW's are obviously no exception.
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  193

  Stupidest thing a JW ever told you

  by Nosferatu in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what is the stupidest thing a jw ever told you?

  we all know that they say a lot of stupid things, but what really topped the cake?.

  for me, it was an elder telling me i was progressing really well when my meeting attendance was down and my field service hours were slipping.

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  Robert7

  "Everything said on stage comes from Jehovah himself"
  
  I couldn't believe anyone would be so ignorant to actually believe that...
• 
  19

  The D.O. gave some 'good' advice regarding the internet at the Assembly

  by The Lone Ranger in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the d.o.

  gave us some really good advice at this weeks circuit assembly, he was talking about the dangers of the internet, he gave the usual warnings about teenagers meeting strangers or apostates, and dating websites.. but this time he also told the patents in the audience that there is software available which can monitor every website that is visited and everything that is typed on the computer, i was shocked, he was advising the parents to spy on their children, i suppose it might be ok if the child is 10yo but what if he or she is late teens, and they discover that their parents have spied on them, imagine how that will spilt the family, and for what?

  the cure is worst then the problem.. its simple a case of the wts being paranoid of the interent and they want no one on it..

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  Robert7

  I have a good recommendation for those who want to visit apostate sites, which is exactly as I do. Use a normally unknown browser like Opera.
  
  Remove it from the Windows Start menu, and only open it via Windows Explorer. No one will ever figure it out, and you don't have to worry about history, cookies etc.
  
  To be even more paranoid, use Opera, and delete the history/cookies after every use. This is good too because a relatively savvy person will at least wonder why IE has its history deleted, like what are you trying to hide...
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  62

  Appalling Mind Control Comment from CO

  by betweenworlds in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just came across this comment by someone from a group i belong to .

  we just had the visit of our co...his wife made this comment to me:.

  "'as i was reading the very powerful articles in the last public issue of the wt with study articles...i couldn't help but imagine that the brothers are waving a goodbye to people!'...

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  Robert7

  This concept of blind faith and following was my first 'red flag' that something wasn't right in the Borg.
  
  Blind faith and action, in my opinion, in anything in life is simply dangerous as it gives those in control too much power.
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  11

  Does the watchtower need to loosen up

  by jacethespace in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do most jehovahs witnesses have a problem with having a sense of humor?or should i say a lack of it?.

  i had an intresting experience a while back ive been thinking about after not going to meetings for a number of months and developing my own " independant thinking" and breaking from watchtower control.. i met with an elder at home and had a chat with him and during the conversation i commented on a funny cartoon sketch i saw about religion.he laughed with that strange programmed laughter i noticed before in the tower and then made a comment which got me really suspicous , he said " yeah we have got a sense of humor in the truth as well and can have a laugh".i remember thinking he had said that after encountering something that he found alien to the truth.from me and my own independant thinking seprate from watchtower control.. was really strange the way it was said like he had noticed something good in me thats not in the watchtower and tried to justify himself to convince himself it was nothing.. its things like that that make me sit up and question the watchtower.. and one of my friends in the tower that has been in all his life hes in his forties and i have always found him quite funny beacause he has like this rebelious attitude about him that seems to go against the tower.hes always looking for an excuse to have a party and have fun and get people together in the cong.and for this people say about him that hes on the edge of the truth.actually they just dont have a sense of humor and seem to be anti life.why?.

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  Robert7

  I think this is a case-by-case thing. In my current congregation the brothers and elders are actually pretty cool, and pretty much are loosened up.
  
  I think however this is an anomaly, because most of those 'strong in the faith' that I've seen have a stick up their asses.