I think the GB and R&F have these elitists traits because some people "need" to believe that their existence and purpose in life has greater meaning than other people. Whatever causes this need, I just don't know because it could vary from person to person but believing that they are serving a greater pupose is addicting to them and they just can't help themselves. Also, they believe they are more deserving of Gods approval because they believe they work harder to attain it than anyone else. Compassion, sympathy and mercy are not compatible traits with an elitist attitude because they think that people get what they deserve and since they think they work harder in attaining Gods approval, they deserve his blessings and others don't.
SAHARA
JoinedPosts by SAHARA
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What causes the authority complex the WTS has? Or even common JWs? What drives the need to control others?
by miseryloveselders inhttp://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/194364/1/witnesses-cant-take-the-heat.
in the thread above, several posters made the point that if xjws could walk away from the religion without losing their family and close friends, then they wouldn't even bother worrying about the wts afterwards.
they would simply move on in life.
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What Hinders the Governing Body From Learning From Their Mistakes? Could Delusions Of Being Jehovah's Chosen Ones be to Blame?
by frankiespeakin inwe all suffer delusions but some are worse than others, and if the governing body's delusions of believing they are spoke person for jehovah are deep then they can not learn from their mistakes,, at least not when true honesty is involved.
this delusion will color things so heavily and cause them to play loose with the truth even to their own selves that learning from mistakes is out of the question for them,, i think this pathetic double get more generation time new light,, kind of gives you an idea that they ain't all right up stairs so it looks like we will be able watch them go from one blunder to another as they seem to be on auto pilot because of this delusion they have...
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SAHARA
I think that ssop said it best. Yes, the governing body knows that their religion is a fraud but just like Ray Franz said, they are victims of victims so they were decieved too. These people have been JW's their whole lives and were brought up in the faith. They moved up the ranks, most likely believing what they were taught. But once they've gotten high enough in the Org. to know that there are no messages being delivered to the Governing Body through angels or whatever, they may have become atheists or agnostics and don't really believe the bible at all, but they know that the rank and file does. They keep up all the pretences because they would destroy the spiritual lives of millions. They don't blame themselves because they didn't start the religion or the deception but have been placed in a position that Ray Franz was put in, but seeing what happend to him, they became willing acomplises to protect their own power, authority, etc., because after all, it's not a bad gig, it's about self preservation now. People commit suicide or do all kinds of crazy things when their world view is shattered. The governing body may be protecting the rank and file from themselves.
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If I'm so intelligent how did I get drawn in to it all?
by Lozhasleft ini consider myself an intelligent woman...maybe not strong on the 'common sense' front, but academically i've done pretty well...so...how on earth did i not see through it all when i was studying in the beginning???.
i remember worrying about their 'sales pitching' styles and their arrogance of believing they had the 'truth' ...but still i got involved and became totally immersed in it all.
i feel like i sacrificied our whole family to them, who now shun me.. yesterday, my new son in law, he's a lawyer, asked me how i could have believed it wasnt a cult (topical word this week here) he said he didnt understand how i could have been persuaded to believe it all and trust them with so much and for so many years...... i feel ashamed of myself that i did and that i brought all this upon our family...anyone else relate?.
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SAHARA
Well, I would guess that everyone has their reasons why they joined this religion. I've seen two of my uncles and my father in law drawn into the Organization through their aggressive wives. They seem to have the same temperment as I of being very melow, considerate and generally thoughtful people and so I presume they joined to please their wives because they were very nominal in their Catholic faith. Since my wife was baptized over 2 years ago, I can totally understand how the spouse of some one who committed themsevles to this religion could be pulled n Personally, the need to be spiritually united with my wife is powerful, but for some reason, I was able to see though it whereas my uncles and father in law did not.
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Witnesses "can't take the heat"
by Olin Moyles Ghost inhave you ever heard a witness say something like "why do apostates have to keep talking about the wts/jw faith?
why don't they just go on with their lives?
if they've found something better, why don't they just focus on that instead of us?
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SAHARA
garyneal said - "I recall one year, I wanted to take my wife out on a special New Year's Eve date while we were home visiting relatives over the holidays. It fell on meeting night (Wednesday) and since her mother is so devout, my wife followed suit. No advanced warning that she wanted to change her plans to favor her mother over me. She just changed them".
I hear you garneal, that kind of thing happens to me all the time, I mean all the time. When my mother in law is around, my wife turns into an 5 year old little girl holding her mothers hand every where she goes...
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Witnesses "can't take the heat"
by Olin Moyles Ghost inhave you ever heard a witness say something like "why do apostates have to keep talking about the wts/jw faith?
why don't they just go on with their lives?
if they've found something better, why don't they just focus on that instead of us?
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SAHARA
JW's also seem quick to cry persecution just for disagreeing or being critical of their doctrines and beliefs. If that qualifies as persecution then JW's and the Watchtower are the biggest persecutors of the Catholic Church, other than maybe the KKK...
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2010 DC - not going (yay)
by Soldier77 inso without giving too much info away so that someone might id me, i have to travel a long distance to get to any dc.
so i'm making plans to take a trip to the states to spend time with family, and my mother asks me about attending the dc.
i said, look, i have limited time when i take a trip there and you want me to spend three days sitting on my ass listening to the same ole bullshit?
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SAHARA
I'm confused... I've tried really hard to understand the mind set of JW's and from time to time, I get thrown a curve ball. You mean to tell me that there are many JW's who don't believe but still follow, and still try to get others to follow??? WTF is that all about??? I mean, I know that some JW's stay in the Org. to please family or to keep from losing relationships with friends and family but why would a JW's who does not believe whole heartedly try to get people join or become more active? Is it to keep up pretences of still being gun-ho or what? Why do you think your mother would do this solder77? Is it simply the mind control thing?
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I didn't know what a JW was, until I fell for one
by headoverheels inwhen i fell for him i was completely unaware of his upbringing as a jw and only became aware once he decided to leave a few months back.
being raised without much of a religious basis, besides the typical western christian exposure, i have researched, read, attended groups, read in this forum, to try to better understand him, and jws, but i am feeling at a loss here.
he just recently left the jws and now i am experiencing this struggle with him; i am wondering how much of our problems can be contributed to this transition.
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SAHARA
I really think you should run for your life. Just the fact that his family are still JW's means that the possibility of him returning and giving up his mind to be controlled by the Org. will always be there. Just imagine some tradgedy that befalls him. One of his family member dies and the rest of the family put the pressure on him about returning to the Org. so that he can be with his loved ones in the New System. Maybe he loses a job and has a hard time getting employment, then he starts to blame everything on this wicked system of things. There are all kinds of situations that can trigger his reinterest in the Org. Maybe by then you'll be married or have kids. God help you then. I'm a man married to a JW and all of this has happend to me. Trust me, you don't want this...
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When you were an active JW what did you really think about Orthodox Christians?
by SAHARA ini know that many of you here on this forum are atheists or agnostics and so maybe your opinion hasn't changed.
even if that is the case, i would still like to know from all of you, how did you look at or think about other professed christians who are not jw's?
did you consider them to be inferior?
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SAHARA
I know that many of you here on this forum are atheists or agnostics and so maybe your opinion hasn't changed. Even if that is the case, I would still like to know from all of you, How did you look at or think about other professed Christians who are not JW's? Did you consider them to be inferior? Did you consider them to be stupid, just decieved, theologically lazy, hypocrites or what? Did you have that elitists attitude that many JW's "seem" to have? Were you taught to gauge people and evaluate what beliefs they may hold to look for opportunities to witness to them? In other words, just how much of your daily thoughts were directed to trying to witness or improve on your witnessing abilities? I'm curious to hear from you if only to try to understand the mindset of active and sold out JW's. Look forward to reading your responses. Thanks.
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Where is God's Organization now? Why?
by wannabe inwhere is god's organization now?
" {john 7:15,16 nwt}.
but i have called you friends, because all the things i have heard from my father i have made known to you" {john 15:14,15 nwt}.
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SAHARA
sabastious - Listen to this when you have time if you'd like to research another possibility you may not have thought about. Maybe you'll be surprised by this as I was, maybe not, who knows...
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My story and help needed.
by frigginconfused ini have been posting here and there for a few weeks but never introduced myself.
i will do that now because i really am in bad shape and in need of someone to listen.. i was raised in new york in the projects during the crack boom in the 80's.
my dad was an abusive drunk non believer and my mom dragged us to meetings.
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SAHARA
frigginconfused - Honestly, I think one reason why "nothing is being done" is because no one, no Christian especially in the first few centuries, expected humanity to go on this long without Christs return and Christians everywhere have dropped their gaurd. This is one reason why the Watchtower Society still appeals to those disgruntled people who find Othodox Christianity to have fallen asleep and in spiritual darkness. This is a flawed rational in my view, but I understand why they think that. Lets face it, 2000 years of waiting and waiting have made Christians complacent in living out and teaching the faith, while JW's have not had to deal with that yet. But as time goes on without the end coming, they will gradually become more mainstream. I don't pretend to know all the answers but I believe that zeal doesn't change anything either...