Posts by Watchtowers Witnesses

18

Know anything about "Team National" - multi-level marketing?

by Bonnie_Clyde in

jw
friends

clyde and i have a friend who is quite anxious to get us signed up.

it has to do with buying products and services at a discount.

supposedly, a lot of money can be made by getting others involved.

Know anything about "Team National" - multi-level marketing?

by Bonnie_Clyde in

jw
friends

clyde and i have a friend who is quite anxious to get us signed up.

it has to do with buying products and services at a discount.

supposedly, a lot of money can be made by getting others involved.

Watchtowers Witnesses

Many times they are cults - commercial cults. Check out Steve Hassan's website and do as much research as you can.

I also saw the similarities between MLMs and cults. My opinion is that you will find similar practices in such different groups simply because these practices usually work very well. And is the Watchtower really that much different than a business? The people they recruit are basically going to become customers. Customers for the pamphlets, books, DVDs. The Watchtower is similar to a pyramid scheme. It’s all about recruiting everyone you know. Cold calling the public to get them to join. The real product the Watchtower sells is eternal life in a paradise. And they claim to be the only company who can sell you that product.

I feel that there are many ethical problems with MLMs. Typically its all about appealing to a persons greed to get them to join. You will use your social network to find “customers”. But if I believe in a product and want to share it with loved ones, I simply tell them about the product. I don’t try to make money off of them. The line is crossed with MLMs. Research as much as you can about MLMs. My brother tried to recruit me into a MLM and it’s made our relationship somewhat strained. I don’t enjoy having a family member try to make money off of me.

I worked at an RV dealership last winter and one of the biggest motorhomes I ever saw belonged to a MLM distributor of MonaVie acai berry juice. The word I got was he got in on the ground floor and thousands of sellers/dealers were under him and he was getting $$ from all of their sales.

Often if you go to a MLM meeting or listen to the sales pitch of a distributor you will hear similar stories about a successful person in the company. This person will be presented as a example of how much money can be made in the MLM. But how did that person get to the point of making so much money? They made their money of the “suckers” below them. The majority of the people below them make no money and most even lose money in the MLM.

103

Are some of you scared?

by BlackTwisted in

jw
friends

are some of you scared that armageddon may be coming anytime?

lol.

just the thought and the picture in your head that anybody can get killed....>.<.

Watchtowers Witnesses

A Biblical armageddon doesn't scare me one bit. I no longer believe in Judeo-Christian mythology.

What does scare me somewhat is that mankind has developed the technology to create it's own doomsday scenario. Religious nutjobs with weapons of mass destruction scare me.

179

So I just got called a narcissist

by sabastious in

my family knows that i post on this forum (they have a packet of print outs of topics i have started) and they know about my videos on youtube.. they have made a demand that i cease all internet communication with the apostate community and then they will have me back.. i have refused.. they say i am a narcissist because i am ignoring the feelings of my family because they are very hurt by the things i am doing on the internet and speaking out against the religion.. interesting since they had to search out my posts and videos to gather evidence of apostasy.. -sab.

Watchtowers Witnesses

Debator said:

The question is why do you have to be so actively apposed to witnesses?

I imagine the Governing Body is wondering the same thing. Why couldn't it be like it was in the past, when the majority of Ex-JW's faded into the shadows. I bet they loved that. Times have changed, the walls of the Tower are slowly crumbling. The Watchtower CULT is being exposed for what it is. Cue the persecution complex from JW's every time someone speaks out against their forced "beliefs".

I can’t speak for Sabastious, but the reason I’m actively opposing the society is because they are a dangerous cult that the public should be warned about. By speaking out we also make it easier for someone to walk away from the cult and begin the healing process. I know you don’t understand my point Debator, but some day you might see things differently.

Sabastious, Your parents are trying to use guilt and shame to force you to stop speaking about JW’s. Notice the emotional blackmail too. They have been programmed well by the Society. The way I see it is that someone has to stand up against the Society. Instead of just going along with the group, we have to speak out about what is right. We can’t just be another shill for the Cult. It’s certainly not easy to stand apart from the group and face the ensuing shunning. But we have to end the cycle of mental abuse. We are doing the right thing by not playing a part in infecting the next generation with the Watchtower’s mind virus.

44

Bart Ehrman

by Joey Jo-Jo in

hi everybody,.

bought gods problem by bart ehrman's, firs book i have read from this author, he makes some interesting points about suffering(biblical vs the real world), jews view on jesus etc, and that he does not believe in the ot or nt but he does not consider himself to be an atheist.

joey jo jo junior shabadoo.

Watchtowers Witnesses

I have not read God's Problem, but have read Misquoting Jesus and Jesus, Interupted. Both books are by Ehrman. I highly recommend them. Both books were very eye opening.

22

ELDERS want to meet with me?

by Smoky in

its been about 5 years since i've talked to the elders in the my old congregation.

now the elders from my parents congregation, want to come by and talk with me (sheperding call?).

i know one of them, i believe they feel obligated since i llive in there territory.

Watchtowers Witnesses

Most likely it's a witchhunt. Be prepared for the worst case scenario. I would string them along, set up a meeting and then don't go. Continue this for months, or until you get bored of it.

I do remember reading somewhere about the Elders are being pushed to get the inactive members back in

I've gotten the exact opposite impression. They usually are interested in inactive ones when they're looking for a reason to disfellowship or get you to disassociate. Once you’re off the books they don’t have to waste their time on shepherding calls.

66

Not surprisingly, the rumor mill has started...

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

my wife and i have not even been df'd for a week and an old friend on fb (an inactive jw who has active jw friends who used to be friends of mine) says there's a rumor going around that i'm gay.

wow.

really jws?

Watchtowers Witnesses

Doesn’t surprise me one bit. I had a rumor started by a JW family member that I was beating my wife. I honestly believe it was intentionally started to keep the younger woman in our families in fear of ever leaving the cult. "You see what happens when you leave!!! You'll be beaten by your evil apostate husband!!!" There was absolutely no basis in reality for the rumor to be started. I'm a pretty mellow person and my wife and I don't even really argue.

193

Are you afraid of the Ouija board still?

by cyberjesus in

do you think it has superpowers?

who controlls it?

satan?

Watchtowers Witnesses

I used a Ouija board once and it scared the crap out of me. Unfortunately I contacted a demon who couldn't spell worth a damn. I couldn't tell what the hell he was trying to say.

184

At what point did you realize JW's were a Cult?

by Think About It in

most of us x-jw's at one point no doubt defended the jw's when called a cult.

althought being out since 95', when i first came here it took awhile before i could use the cult word to describe the jw religion.

finding out about the pedophile scandal was disgusting, but it was probably finding out here about the wts history and terrible personal experiences of some on this board that made me finally admit that the jw's were a cult.

Watchtowers Witnesses

Keep dodging the question Debator. It shows how pathetic your defense of the Watchtower Cult is. Do you think scientology is a cult?

My definition of a Cult is when it is established as a cult by the human-rights organisation. But Witnesses have been upheld as a religion by the European human rights court and it doesn't get any higher than that in the world.

So that's how you define what the JW's are, you're sighting a worldy government organization as an authority on the subject. Aren't they under the control of Satan, according to the Watchtower Cult?

184

At what point did you realize JW's were a Cult?

by Think About It in

most of us x-jw's at one point no doubt defended the jw's when called a cult.

althought being out since 95', when i first came here it took awhile before i could use the cult word to describe the jw religion.

finding out about the pedophile scandal was disgusting, but it was probably finding out here about the wts history and terrible personal experiences of some on this board that made me finally admit that the jw's were a cult.

Watchtowers Witnesses

When did I realize the JW's are a cult? When I took the time to educate myself about what cults are and how they work. It's that simple. To any lurkers out there still doubtful that JW’s are a cult, all I can say is look into the claims. Read about cults, psychology, the power of group conformity and then see if any of the warning signs of a cult can be applied to the JW’s. The quote below always gets me emotional, in particular the part about the pain that is felt by leaving a cult.

“When our own thoughts are forbidden, when our questions are not allowed and our doubts are punished, when contacts and friendships outside of the organization are censored, we are being abused for an end that never justifies its means. When our heart aches knowing we have made friendships that will be forever forbidden if we leave, we are in danger. When we consider staying in a group because we cannot bear the loss, disappointment and sorrow our leaving will cause for ourselves and those we have come to love, we are in a cult.”

Deborah Layton- Jonestown Survivor