JWD

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Posts by JWD

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  19

  Why Japanese become JWs

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have posted some of the following info in various other threads i`ve.

  started which touch on the matter of jws in japan.however,people continue to ask me `why japanese become jws?`,so i thought i`d put.

  down a few of my observations for anyone who might be interested.. as you may or may not have noticed,japan has(had) the fifth largest number of jws in the world.

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• 

  JWD

  Japan is a nation which traditionally is made up of villages.The
  culture of the village is one where trust relationships are built
  slowly, but once they`re in place there is a strong tendancy towards
  blind loyalty.This same dynamic applies to ALL areas of life,from
  buying a car to religion.When people make a decision, it tends to
  be based more on trust towards the person recommending the step
  rather than concrete,objective analysis of the merit of their
  choice. For the Japanese JWs, that means strong loyalty ties to
  those in their congregation, but not necessarily a great amount of
  knowledge of the WT teaching.I never cease to be amazed at how
  little `doctrine` many Witnesses have a handle on despite having been in the organization for a relatively long time. I`ve met sisters who`ve been JWs for over ten years and even pioneered much of the time and still don`t have a very good handle on the WT teaching!! Makes you wonder what they are telling people in FS. Actually the answer is that they are parroting pat phrases which have been drilled into them and using the `friendship` dynamics to actually get people in the org. The upshot of all that is a fairly ignorant JW population
  which shows blind loyalty to the org. mainly based on a strong
  commitment to the JWs around them in their congregation.Also there
  is a strong tendancy for them to become inactive after moving to
  a new area and joining a new congregations where they don`t have
  those personal ties and are viewed as an outsider. JWD
• 
  19

  Why Japanese become JWs

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have posted some of the following info in various other threads i`ve.

  started which touch on the matter of jws in japan.however,people continue to ask me `why japanese become jws?`,so i thought i`d put.

  down a few of my observations for anyone who might be interested.. as you may or may not have noticed,japan has(had) the fifth largest number of jws in the world.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JWD

  Fredhall,

  Thanks for reading my thread. By the way, what is that picture along
  with your signiture?

  JWD
• 
  95

  Org. Re-orging in JAPAN

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you who haven`t been following it,the wts is in a downward spiral here in japan.fs hours are down,memorial attendance.

  is down,pioneers are down,studies are down,donations are down,number.

  of congregations is down and the number of publishers continues to.

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• 

  JWD

  Don`t know if I mentioned it but Ray Franz`s book ,`Crises of Conscience` came out in Japanese earlier this year. It`s selling
  slowly but steadily.Due to the nature of the content it took some
  time to complete the translation.It was particularily difficult to
  get the older WT publications in Japanese.The oldest ones I`ve seen
  are some of Rutherford`s books.It`s rumored that Russell`s Studies
  do exist in Japanese, but they would be as rare as hen`s teeth.So,
  some of the photo copies had to be put in in English together with
  a partial translation into Japanese.

  Steven Hassen`s, `Combatting Cult Mind Control` has sold over
  2 million copies in Japanese. One other book that made some waves is
  a book entitled , `Jehovah`s Witnesses and Mind Control`.It came out
  in 1994 and has sold nearly 20,000 copies.It`s caused quite a few
  waves.Talking to the author I found out that he had gotten a death
  threat from an apparent JW. He turned in a copy of it to the local
  police in the Tokyo area to be kept on file in case anything should
  happen to him or his family.

  The video, `Battling over the Children` dealing with JWs and child
  custody cases is in Japanese. The Japanese title is `Chisana Higaisha`
  which literally means `the little victims`.

  If anybody needs any publications,videos etc. in Japanese,let me know.I have access to most anything, both pro and con. JWD
• 
  22

  Episodes of Craziness

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  over the last ten years or so i`ve seen and heard things which when.

  looked at objectively can only be termed `craziness`.however, in some.

  cases these episodes of craziness might be viewed as wonderful testimonies to a strong commitment to jahovah.

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• 

  JWD

  The name of the game in the Watchtower maze is definitely CONTROL.
  And they are loathe to give up control even when someone opts out of
  their little kingdom.

  A friend of ours,sister`Y`,sent in her letter of disassociation.
  Shortly thereafter she approached a `study` and tried to explain what
  she found out about the WT and why she left.She then received a visit
  from her former elder telling her that `You know that apostates aren`t
  allowed to speak to those in the truth, so abide by the rules!` What
  the nerve!! She`s out, but he`s talking to her like she still has to
  play by their rules!! When I heard about it, it was beyond belief that
  the elder thought his game of control continued EVEN AFTER PEOPLE
  LEAVE... More craziness...

  On other occasions I`ve known elders to go to someone who has left
  and demand that they return some item. For example the NO BLOOD card,
  the pioneer ID card and even on one occasion the book Reasoning from
  the Scriptures. Several ex-JWs say they felt intimidated by the elders
  demands despite the fact that they were already out of the dark
  castle called the Watchtower. Just lots of Craziness if you ask me...
  JWD
• 
  95

  Org. Re-orging in JAPAN

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you who haven`t been following it,the wts is in a downward spiral here in japan.fs hours are down,memorial attendance.

  is down,pioneers are down,studies are down,donations are down,number.

  of congregations is down and the number of publishers continues to.

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  2. 
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• 

  JWD

  Don`t remember if I mentioned it or not, but a branch of the Japanese
  police force which is charged with maintaining `public order` has
  developed a task force which keeps an eye on cults. The branch is
  called the `Koan` (literally `public safety`). One of the groups on
  their list is the Watchtower. The Koan regularily sends detectives
  around to various people who are known to counsel Jehovah`s Witnesses
  and asks for information on any recent changes or new movements within
  the WT. They collect that information and analyze it.
  The Bethel headquarters here is very aware of whats going on and issued a directive to all elders not to co-operate with the Koan.

  There is an extremely heightened awareness with regards to image and
  legal matters. A while ago I talked with an elder from Chiba near
  Tokyo and mentioned that a certain letter to the elders listed the
  name of an individual who was considered very damaging to the WT.The
  elder was very quick to point out that `individual`s names` were
  never specifically printed in those letters. After arriving home I
  pulled out my copy of the letter and re-checked it and sure enough it
  listed his location, but not his name. Naturally, everyone who knows
  anything knows who it was refering to. So, apparently commiting
  actual names to print is avoided in view of future legal reprecussions. JWD
• 
  22

  Episodes of Craziness

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  over the last ten years or so i`ve seen and heard things which when.

  looked at objectively can only be termed `craziness`.however, in some.

  cases these episodes of craziness might be viewed as wonderful testimonies to a strong commitment to jahovah.

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  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JWD

  JAVA, are you a coffee lover? I am. Here in Japan they have some pretty good coffee. They go in for a lighter roast, but tend to get
  the highest quality beans from all over the world. A cup of coffee
  (no refills) at a coffee shop will generally run anywhere from $3 to
  $5 a cup. The more spendy places might go as high as $8. Starbucks
  has swept into Japan and become quite the rage. They`ve opened 200
  shops around the country and are going for 500. There is a French
  super market called Carrefure nearby with a Starbucks. Sitting there
  drinking coffee makes you wonder what country you`re in.

  Now for the more crazy ones. The sister`H` which I mentioned earlier
  who burned her husband`s `apostate` literature told her husband one
  day that she was praying asking Jehovah to destroy him. Shortly after
  that the husband was diagnosed with cancer. He died last Fall. I visited the house the day he died and was overwhelmed by the LACK of
  any emotion.No tears.No actual recognition that any thing had even
  happened. They have 5 kids and only one is out of the org. She was
  the only one there that showed any sign of `human-ness`.She cried,
  talked about her father affectionately and was polite towards me.
  The rest of the family sat around eating and making small-talk. It
  was just weird !

  Sister `D` DA`d and tried to tell her daughter what she had found
  out about the org. The daughter refused to listen, refused to eat
  anything her mother made, refused to let her mother touch her laundry,
  and finally told her mother she would `laugh when Jehovah destroys you
  at Armaggedon!`.The daughter then left home (she was still in high
  school) and has been `missing` for 4 years.The mother and daughter
  were very close before the mother left the org.

  The org. succeeds in destroying natural human emotions, feelings of
  affection towards those you would normally love. JWD
• 
  22

  Episodes of Craziness

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  over the last ten years or so i`ve seen and heard things which when.

  looked at objectively can only be termed `craziness`.however, in some.

  cases these episodes of craziness might be viewed as wonderful testimonies to a strong commitment to jahovah.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JWD

  Early one January I was shopping at a local supermarket and when I
  went to the check-out I noticed that a sister who I know was working
  the register. When I stepped up to the register to pay for my stuff
  she looked up at me and seeing who I was got that `terrified` look in
  her face that JWs get when they see someone they aren`t supposed to
  associate with. I decided to try to be as normal as possible and since
  it was still the first part of January for the sake of making some
  small talk I asked her, `So, did you have an enjoyable New Years?`.
  Well, she was in panic mode and blurted out , `I don`t get involved
  in idolatry!!` To which I said,`Neither do I. I was just wondering
  how you spent the end of the year vacation.` Realizing what she said
  she just looked down and ignored me. More craziness....

  Japanese JWs have their own unique set of taboos. One such taboo is
  not being able to wear black at a funeral. The reasoning is that someone might get the impression that you were involved in ancestor
  worship.If you`ve ever lived in Japan you know that Japanese wear
  black clothing to many special occasions i.e.weddings,graduations,
  piano recitals as well as funerals. Naturally, the prohibition is
  only with regards to funerals.So, black is okay anywhere EXCEPT
  funerals.

  Another unique prohibition is the calling of church pastors `sensei`. The fact that Christian church members call their pastor
  `sensei` is viewed as a proof that Christendom is wrong since the
  Bible say ,`You shouldn`t call anyone teacher(rabbi)`.The equivalent
  of that is the word `sensei`.Here again is another major inconsistency due to the fact that the term `sensei` is used for
  school teachers and doctors as well. The JW himself(herself) is
  allowed to use the term when refering to anyone EXCEPT pastors.
  It`s just more craziness.... JWD
• 
  22

  Episodes of Craziness

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  over the last ten years or so i`ve seen and heard things which when.

  looked at objectively can only be termed `craziness`.however, in some.

  cases these episodes of craziness might be viewed as wonderful testimonies to a strong commitment to jahovah.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JWD

  It`s always seemed strange to me that you can eat cake,lite candles
  and give people presents 364 days a year, but not on the day they
  were born. If it`s such an evil thing to do shouldn`t it be wrong
  to do at any time? I mean is it okay to kill people on some days and
  not others? Can you steal on certain days, but not on others? Does
  real SIN change with the calender. Here in Japan it is common for
  JWs to go out of their way to do something special for someone NEAR
  their birthday, but not ON it!! Maybe former President Clinton joined
  the Governing Body to help them decide when `celebration` is not
  really celebration !!

  One more uniquely Japanese episode of craziness. In Japan at New Years time people say `Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu`, which means
  something like `A new year has opened, congradulations!` For several
  days after January 1st every living soul in Japan says that when they meet someone, so naturally, the organization forbids JWs to say it.
  They claim that it has overtones of `idolatry` hah!! (It was probably
  the same brilliant Japanese scholar who massacred the Japanese version
  of the NWT who came up with that idea). Anyway, since the person has
  to respond when someone says ,`Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu`,they say
  something which is completely out of place. They say `Kyonen Osewa Ni
  Narimashita` which means I was very indebted to you last year. By
  substituting one set phrase for the usual set phrase they feel like
  they have been faithful to Jehovah. It`s a joke. The only thing it
  does is make people feel awkward and out of place by making them say
  something which makes them stand out as being a bit odd.
  Just more craziness...!!! JWD
• 
  22

  Episodes of Craziness

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  over the last ten years or so i`ve seen and heard things which when.

  looked at objectively can only be termed `craziness`.however, in some.

  cases these episodes of craziness might be viewed as wonderful testimonies to a strong commitment to jahovah.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JWD

  Another episode of craziness.

  Episode #6

  Here in Japan there is a custom called `Otoshidama`.It is the custom
  of giving a small envelope with money in it to children at or around
  New Years. The whole New Years festival is considered by Japanese JWs
  to have religious overtones, so most New Years related customs are
  boycotted. The `Otoshidama` custom is avoided by most JWs. Then one
  day I heard about sister `M`.She had 3 children who were of the
  `Otoshidama`(envelope with money in it) receiving age, so when New
  Years rolled around relatives came and gave them the little envelopes
  with money in it. Normally, people reciprocate by giving the same type
  of envelopes with money to the children of others, but sister `M` did
  not. When asked by her non-JW husband why she didn`t give any
  `Otoshidama` to the children of their relatives, she said it would
  mean being involved with a `pagan custom` and wasn`t permitted for
  JWs. So, the husband asked,`If that`s the case then why are you letting our children receive `Otoshidama`?` To which the wife replyed
  `If others want to involve themselves with the pagan custom, it`s not
  for me to stop them`. Thus she felt no qualms about allowing her kids
  to receive the `Otoshidama` money while maintaining at the same time
  that giving it would be a compromise...? Figure that one out. JWD
• 
  22

  Episodes of Craziness

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  over the last ten years or so i`ve seen and heard things which when.

  looked at objectively can only be termed `craziness`.however, in some.

  cases these episodes of craziness might be viewed as wonderful testimonies to a strong commitment to jahovah.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JWD

  Over the last ten years or so I`ve seen and heard things which when
  looked at objectively can only be termed `Craziness`.However, in some
  cases these episodes of craziness might be viewed as wonderful testimonies to a strong commitment to Jahovah. After much thought I`ve
  chosen to view these incidents as odd, un-natural... crazy. I could
  give names and dates of the following incidents, but for the sake of
  privacy, I won`t. Read them and judge for yourself if you think they
  represent `Normal` conduct. And if you have similar episodes to pass
  along, well, feel free.

  Episode#1
  A young lady who was receiving opposition for attending meetings at
  the local KH learned to devise ways to get to the meetings.She would
  say,`I`m going shopping` and then head off for the KH before her
  husband noticed.On one occasion she went into the bathroom and crawled
  out the window and scurried off to the Kingdom Hall.After her husband
  realized that she had gone, he followed her to the Hall and after
  convincing the bros. to let him in asked where his wife was.Everyone
  pretended that they didn`t know.The husband went to the bathroom
  where his wife was hiding in one of the stalls.Two sisters were standing guard on either side of the stall.They lied and told the husband that she wasn`t there. Perhaps they were thinking of Rahab?

  Episode #2
  The husband of Sister `H`, who had been in the Truth for 18 years,
  started to collect books which were critical of the WT.In the
  beginning he tried to talk to the sister about the information in
  the books, but she invariably refused to listen,so he gave up.One
  day after work he came home to find his wife making a bonfire in
  their front lawn. She had pulled out all the books and critical
  literature which he had collected and piled it in front of the
  house in his absence and started a fire. Perhaps it was a burnt
  offering to Jehovah? Ironically, shortly before that the WT had
  run an article which talked about the intolerance of the Catholic
  church in medevil Europe and included an illustration of them
  burning books with opposing views.

  Episode #3
  One Sister `Y` was confronted by her husband with a book which had
  been written by a journalist exposing problems within the WT.Sister
  `Y` took the book and tore it into tiny pieces and scattered the
  pieces of paper like confetti all over the house.

  Episode #4
  When Brother `K` told his elder that his parents had made him watch
  a video which criticized the org.,the elder asked him WHY HE DIDN`T
  THROW THE T.V. OUT THE WINDOW!

  Episode #5
  The grade school daughter of one sister brought a cake home from
  school.It was a round cake.Fearing that it was a birthday cake the
  sister decided to cut of the round edges and make it into a square
  cake! After doing so, she declared that it was okay to eat it now
  because it was no longer a birthday cake ...???

  Have any other episodes you`d like to pass on...? JWD