@ Blondie - I agree that's it's always been part of their arsenal. But my contention is that it's going to grow into perhaps their main tentacle of control. Expect more and more articles defaming, abusing and demonising those who leave or consider leaving. They are going to have to lock the compound doors in the lead up to 2014.
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JoinedPosts by passwordprotected
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The WTS need a new tentacle of control
by passwordprotected inthe watch tower bible and tract society was founded on the belief that armageddon is imminent.
in the late 1870s when charles t russell gave up his business interests and began preaching that christ had returned - invisibly, of course - in 1874 and that by 1914 the current system would be over with, a religious model pinched from the adventists and millerites, was established.. 1914 came and went, this old system lumbered on, and the wtbts in the person of russell began re-reading his favourite biblical texts and re-calibrating his 'pyramidological' calculations.
yes, his prophecies hadn't come true, but the bible students lived to predict another end of the world.
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Conference call Sat. March 14-SPIES INFILTRATE THE ORG!
by the research lady inthe watchtower organization states in their book "pay attention to daniel's prophecy"!
on page 274 par.8 "yet others who seemed to accept the good news were really spies for the authorities".
a report from one land reads : "some of these unscrupulous characters were avowed communists who had crept into the lord's organization, made a great display of zeal, and had even been appointed to high positions of service.
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Just where was the holy spirit in the appointment - and successive appointments to positions of greater authority - of these spies? And they wonder why pedophiles are rampant?!
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The WTS need a new tentacle of control
by passwordprotected inthe watch tower bible and tract society was founded on the belief that armageddon is imminent.
in the late 1870s when charles t russell gave up his business interests and began preaching that christ had returned - invisibly, of course - in 1874 and that by 1914 the current system would be over with, a religious model pinched from the adventists and millerites, was established.. 1914 came and went, this old system lumbered on, and the wtbts in the person of russell began re-reading his favourite biblical texts and re-calibrating his 'pyramidological' calculations.
yes, his prophecies hadn't come true, but the bible students lived to predict another end of the world.
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They had their balls cut off years ago.
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The WTS need a new tentacle of control
by passwordprotected inthe watch tower bible and tract society was founded on the belief that armageddon is imminent.
in the late 1870s when charles t russell gave up his business interests and began preaching that christ had returned - invisibly, of course - in 1874 and that by 1914 the current system would be over with, a religious model pinched from the adventists and millerites, was established.. 1914 came and went, this old system lumbered on, and the wtbts in the person of russell began re-reading his favourite biblical texts and re-calibrating his 'pyramidological' calculations.
yes, his prophecies hadn't come true, but the bible students lived to predict another end of the world.
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The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was founded on the belief that Armageddon is imminent. In the late 1870s when Charles T Russell gave up his business interests and began preaching that Christ had returned - invisibly, of course - in 1874 and that by 1914 the current system would be over with, a religious model pinched from the Adventists and Millerites, was established.
1914 came and went, this old system lumbered on, and the WTBTS in the person of Russell began re-reading his favourite Biblical texts and re-calibrating his 'pyramidological' calculations. Yes, his prophecies hadn't come true, but the Bible Students lived to predict another end of the world. Other dates such as 1915 and 1918 were put forward with the same confidence as 1914. The Bible Students had good reason to be 'faithful' to Russell and his teachings, molding and shaping their lives to suit the 'nearness of the end'.
Russell died, and his replacement, Rutherford, picked up his measuring tools and had another look at the Great Pyramid and boldly proclaimed that the date most definitely predicted in scripture, even more so than 1914, was 1925. He published a brochure, gave a bunch of public talks, printed some placards and built a home in California. Once again, the Bible students had a date to pin their hopes on, to build their lives around - or in most cases put their lives on hold for.
By 1926 it was back to the drawing board. Other end-time dates were thrown up, but it wasn't until the late 1960s that the WTBTS had another rock-solid, firmly-in-scripture date to look forward to; 1975. Stay alive 'til '75, was the cry. College was forsaken, operations were put off, dating couples held off getting married, married couples held off having children, bills weren't paid, businesses were sold, homes were mortgaged off and Jehovah's Witnesses collectively put control of their lives into the hands of the Society once again, firm in their faith and belief that this time, this time they were onto a winner.
By now a pattern had surely emerged; the on-going success of the WTBTS in keeping the level of control it has over it's members was mostly down to their confident proclamation that Armageddon was right around the corner; 1914, 1925, 1975. After 1975 the great Society 'hook' was the 'generation' that would not pass away. How long could there possibly be left of this old system? The generation that understood the events of 1914 would still be around to witness Armageddon and the 'new system'. Lives were shaped and molded and planned with the 'Creator's promise' that the 1914 generation would not die out.
Then 1995 came. Suddenly it seemed that maybe we weren't so close to the end of the system after all. And that '1914 generation', well, maybe we weren't right about them after all. Maybe they wouldn't see the coming 'new system'.
For the first time in it's history the WTBTS did not have a date in the near future with which they could control their members. Suddenly, kids started going to college, couples starting having kids, people started planning for their future for the first time. Yes, they were still being faithful to God's channel of communication, a group of men who were admittedly false prophets, but more and more Witnesses were, cognisantly or otherwise, realising they may be in it for the long haul.
But the WTBTS wasn't finished with the 'generation'. Out of the blue the generation flip-flopped back to what they'd interpreted it to be in the 1920s; the remnant of Christ's brothers on earth...at any given time. Should that mean we should start to doubt the nearness of the end of this old system? Er, well, ok, maybe we can see how you could start to doubt, but please don't. You see, it's closer than ever. Honestly. We really mean it. This time.
The reality is, however, this incarnation of understanding of the 'generation' has to be doctrinally coupled with the abandonment of the 1935 sealing of the anointed. With the anointed being unsealed, with the number of memorial partakers increasing by 10% in one year, with the age of the remnant surely falling, suddenly savvy JWs started waking up to the fact that there is no end to this system in sight. For the first time in WTBTS history, the Governing Body do not have a tangible date or time period they can point forward to and thus control their membership.
This is surely deliberate, having been outed as being false prophets as recently as the mid 90s, they can't be seen to be even speculating as to an end date.
They now have a serious problem. Without an end-date to preach, how do they keep control of their members? They've lost perhaps their biggest tentacle of control; dates. How many JWs have been faithful to the Society for decades due to dates; 1975 and any point up until 1995? But without a date to look forward to, how can they be assured of the loyalty and obedience of their followers? They always offered a carrot. Now they need to break out the stick.
They need a new tentacle of control.
In my opinion they are growing such a tentacle; fear of leaving.
With nothing to look forward to, what's going to keep the Witnesses in? Fear. Fear of what's on the outside. Fear of apostates. Fear of doubts. Fear of questioning Watchtower doctrine. Fear of questioning the elders. Fearing of even thinking about questioning Watchtower doctrine. Fear of the internet. Fear of questions.
The Watchtower Society knows that as soon as a Witness starts to question, starts to doubt, starts to listen to family members who've faded, Googles 'Jehovah's Witnesses' on the 'net, starts to ask questions, that Witness is starting to loosen the grip of control the Society has over his or her mind. And we know what happens when we start to free our minds...
How many Study articles have their been recently where those who've left the Organisation are essentially demonised? How many Study articles have we seen where the focus has been on sifting, sorting, refining, articles that have shown 'scriptural precedent' for the numbers ebbing away from the congregation? Look at those who leave, see how weak they are! See how ungrateful they are for Jehovah's channel! See how they turn their back on the fine spiritual food. And have they found other spiritual food of such high standard? Of course not, for there is none.
If you leave the Organisation you're under demonic control. You're showing an ungrateful spirit. You're turning your back on Jehovah. You're choosing death.
I am absolutely convinced that the congregations are riddled with people who are mentally cognisant of the Watchtower's false prophecies and mind control tactics, yet they are so scared of being seen as weak or disloyal that they can't even consider leaving.
The WTBTS doesn't have a date to look forward to other than 2014, and that will bring it's own problems. They will struggle to keep a hold of their membership over the next 5 years. As a result we can expect to see them grow and develop their new tentacle of control; fear of leaving the Organisation.
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What'll go first; basketball or "the truth"?
by passwordprotected instar basketball player bows his head to say grace while his teammates tuck in.
he's a...jehovah's witness..
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@ sri82, exactly. The problem the WTS is facing is that they don't have an end-time date or time frame anymore. This means they have lost that particular tentacle of power. It will have to be replaced by another.
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What'll go first; basketball or "the truth"?
by passwordprotected instar basketball player bows his head to say grace while his teammates tuck in.
he's a...jehovah's witness..
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House votes to require pledges to the flag...problems coming the Witnesses' way?
by passwordprotected inhttp://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090313_16_a1_oklaho6369.
house votes to require pledges .
the bill would make oaths to the state and u.s. flags a daily classroom event.. .
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http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090313_16_A1_OKLAHO6369
House votes to require pledges
to maintain our culture and help them assimilate into America, and into the Oklahoma culture," he said.
The bill would make oaths to the state and U.S. flags a daily classroom event.
By RANDY KREHBIEL AND BILL SHERMAN World Staff Writers
Published: 3/13/2009 3:29 AM
Last Modified: 3/13/2009 3:36 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY — If one pledge to a flag is good, two is even better, the Oklahoma House of Representatives decided Thursday.
The House voted to require that the pledges to both the American and state flags be recited every day in public school classrooms.
The bill by Rep. Lewis Moore, R-Arcadia, began as a requirement for the pledge to the U.S. flag only, but was quickly subject to amendments by Rep. Mike Brown, D-Tahlequah, and Rep. Ryan McMullen, D-Burns Flat, adding the state pledge requirement.
The move touched off a parliamentary donnybrook with the original proponents of the bill momentarily in the position of deciding whether to vote against their own bill.
After about a half-hour of discussion and procedural maneuvering, the measure passed, 96-0.
The effect of the bill is likely to be little more than a lot of school children learning the pledge to the Oklahoma flag, which reads: "I salute the flag of the State of Oklahoma. Its symbols of peace unite all people."
The bill provides that individual students be informed they may opt out of reciting the pledge if they do not wish to participate. Under long-established legal precedent, individuals cannot be forced to recite pledges or oaths or participate in group recitations such as those described by the bill.
Moore said House Bill 2189, which now goes to the Senate, was designed to promote patriotism and loyalty.
"In Oklahoma City, 40 percent of the students are Hispanic, and we wanted
The bill also requires that instruction in flag history and etiquette be given once a year at every grade level.
Moore said that most Oklahoma students already recite the pledge daily in public school classrooms, but some do not.
This bill would ensure that every classroom teacher leads the class in the pledge daily.
"I'd say this much," said Chuck Thornton, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union in Oklahoma. "This is probably one of the more xenophobic Legislatures that we've had."
He said the ACLU in general is not in favor of compulsory flag salutes and has concerns about the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance because of its phrase "under God."
"It would be nice to see our Legislature providing more funding to education so perhaps we could have classes that better explain the Bill of Rights rather than taking time out of the day to recite these pledges," Thornton said.
The bill also could raise concerns among Jehovah's Witnesses, whose religion forbids them to pledge allegiance to any entity but God. A Jehovah's Witness spokesman did not return phone calls Thursday. -
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So let me get this straight
by TheICE ina web site called jehovah-witness.net where x-jw's and jw's who pretend to be jw's come to chat about how bad jehovah witnesses are and how they brain washed them etc, would it not be more productive to move on and forget than to let something most of you obviously hate take so much of your time and effort.. for some being a jw is about not being part of the world, what other religion is there that is as moral as a jw.
i am d'fed but i belive that jw's are the true religion.
sure some of them can be self righteous pricks but there imperfect just like anyone else,we all need to focus on us and not worry about what there doing because we can't change them.. .
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Oh, theICE, since when was it our responsibility to prove anything to you? And don't you dare tell any of us to get on with our lives. You're disfellowshipped but you still believe Jehovah's Witnesses are the true religion? I'm sorry, but that admission puts you in the "you don't get to have any say in my life whatsoever" category, OK?
Good day to you.
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1975 Was Brought Up At the Meeting
by dismayed inso i'm daydreaming through the service meeting last night, (the end of the "supermeeting") and the ms is giving a part on always being ready to defend our faith.
blah blah blah.....you know the drill.
so he invites up a brother to do the demo part.
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Well, as long as they have love among themselves, eh?
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1975 Was Brought Up At the Meeting
by dismayed inso i'm daydreaming through the service meeting last night, (the end of the "supermeeting") and the ms is giving a part on always being ready to defend our faith.
blah blah blah.....you know the drill.
so he invites up a brother to do the demo part.
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Woah, wait a wee minute, didn't Jesus say we'd know false prophets by their fruits? And what's the fruitage of a false prophet? Oh, that's right...false prophecies.