Posts by breakfast of champions

43

Favorite Quotes

by brotherdan in

jw
friends

we all talk about the negatives about the ugly face of the watchtower that i thought i would start a 'happy' thread.. what are some of your favorite non-wt quotes?.

here's a good one to start:.

you cannot be, i know, nor do i wish to see you, an inactive spectator.

breakfast of champions

"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

Think About It

Bumping this great quote/thread!

61

CO is chasing me . Meeting him tomorrow.

by Ancientofdays in

this week is the "special week", co is back.. he phone called me this morning asking to meet together.. i replied "i don't refuse people who want talking to me, but my condition is that you must be alone, and we meet in public space.".

he agreed and we will meet tomorrow in a cafe.. .

this week he already met with my wife in the kh, and he told her "i believe your housband is apostate !!

breakfast of champions

ANCIENTOFDAYS - I suppose you don't really care what the outcome of this is, so what the hell, meet with the CO. He asked for it!

I found what you said here interesting: I would meet this man out from his role

This is really it, isn't it? When and elder or co or whoever talks with you, you aren't really talking with a person, your talking with a role carefully constructed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.. Funny thing is when you take away the role, you have a guy cleans office buildings at night.

Also your choosing to have this "talk" in a coffee shop (as opposed to the KH or your living room) serves to erode his CO role by decontextulalizing it. I'm sure he will be quite uncomfortable in public. But then again, if he's willing to undgergo such discomfort, I'm pretty sure he's going to make it "worth his while" ie, he will make sure you're DFd.

BTW - ask him for me what he's going to do for a living when he's put out to pasture on his 70th birthday.

18

Have anyone ask their JW family member to research "Signs of a Cult"???

by jam in

if so what was their response???

if one look at the identifying signs.

of a cult and compare that to jw organization, there is no doubt.. they score very high on that list.. if there is a satan and i said "if".

breakfast of champions

Ok, this looks about right:

Behavior Control

1. Regulation of individual ’ s physical reality

a. Where, how and with whom the member lives and associates with

b. What clothes, colors, hairstyles the person wears

c. What food the person eats, drinks, adopts, and rejects

d. How much sleep the person is able to have

e. Financial dependence

f. Little or no time spent on leisure, entertainment, vacations

2. Major time commitment required for indoctrination sessions and group rituals

3. Need to ask permission for major decisions

4. Need to report thoughts, feelings and activities to superiors

5. Rewards and punishments (behavior modification techniques- positive and negative).

6. Individualism discouraged; group think prevails

7. Rigid rules and regulations

8. Need for obedience and dependency

Information Control

1. Use of deception

a. Deliberately holding back information

b. Distorting information to make it acceptable

c. Outright lying

2. Access to non-group sources of information minimized or discouraged

a. Books, articles, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio

b. Critical information

c. Former members

d. Keep members so busy they don ’ t have time to think

3. Compartmentalization of information; Outsider vs. Insider doctrines

a. Information is not freely accessible

b. Information varies at different levels and missions within pyramid

c. Leadership decides who “ needs to know ” what

4. Spying on other members is encouraged

a. Pairing up with “ buddy ” system to monitor and control

b. Reporting deviant thoughts, feelings, and actions to leadership

5. Extensive use of group generated information and propaganda

a. Newsletters, magazines, journals, audio tapes, videotapes, etc.

b. Misquotations, statements taken out of context from non-group sources

6. Unethical use of confession

a. Information about “ sins ” used to abolish identity boundaries

b. Past “ sins ” used to manipulate and control; no forgiveness or absolution

Thought Control

1. Need to internalize the group ’ s doctrine as “ Truth ”

a. Map = Reality

b. Black and White thinking

c. Good vs. evil

d. Us vs. them (inside vs. outside)

2. Adopt “ loaded ” language (characterized by “ thought-terminating clich é s ” ). Words are the tools we use to think with. These “ special ” words constrict rather than expand understanding. They function to reduce complexities of experience into trite, platitudinous “ buzz words ” .

3. Only “ good ” and “ proper ” thoughts are encouraged.

4. Thought-stopping techniques (to shut down “ reality testing ” by stopping “ negative ” thoughts and allowing only “ good ” thoughts); rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism.

a. Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking

b. Chanting

c. Meditating

d. Praying

e. Speaking in “ tongues ”

f. Singing or humming

5. No critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy seen as legitimate

6. No alternative belief systems viewed as legitimate, good, or useful

Emotional Control

1. Manipulate and narrow the range of a person ’ s feelings.

2. Make the person feel like if there are ever any problems it is always their fault, never the leader ’ s or the group ’ s.

3. Feeling-stopping (with number 4, Excessive use of guilt). Like thought-stopping, this is the automatic suppression or blocking of feelings that are not acceptable by the group identity- such as feeling ” homesick ” or feeling ” depressed ” or feeling ” resentful. ”

4. Excessive use of guilt

a. Identity guilt

1. Who you are (not living up to your potential)

2. Your family

3. Your past

4. Your affiliations

5. Your thoughts, feelings, actions

b. Social guilt

c. Historical guilt

5. Excessive use of fear

a. Fear of thinking independently

b. Fear of the “ outside ” world

c. Fear of enemies

d. Fear of losing one ’ s “ salvation ”

e. Fear of leaving the group or being shunned by group

f. Fear of disapproval

6. Extremes of emotional highs and lows.

7. Ritual and often public confession of “ sins ” .

8. Phobia indoctrination : programming of irrational fears of ever leaving the group or even questioning the leader ’ s authority. The individual cannot visualize a positive, fulfilled future without being in the group.

a. No happiness or fulfillment “ outside ” of the group

b. Terrible consequences will take place if you leave: “ hell ” ; “ demon possession ” ; “ incurable diseases ” ; “ accidents ” ; “ suicide ” ; “ insanity ” ; “ 10,000 reincarnations ” ; etc.

c. Shunning of leave takers. Fear of being rejected by friends, peers, and family.

d. Never a legitimate reason to leave. From the group ’ s perspective, people who leave are: “ weak; ” “ undisciplined; ” “ unspiritual; ” “ worldly; ” “ brainwashed by family, counselors; ” seduced by money, sex, rock and roll.

18

Have anyone ask their JW family member to research "Signs of a Cult"???

by jam in

if so what was their response???

if one look at the identifying signs.

of a cult and compare that to jw organization, there is no doubt.. they score very high on that list.. if there is a satan and i said "if".

breakfast of champions

I've gotta figure out formatting on this.

18

Have anyone ask their JW family member to research "Signs of a Cult"???

by jam in

if so what was their response???

if one look at the identifying signs.

of a cult and compare that to jw organization, there is no doubt.. they score very high on that list.. if there is a satan and i said "if".

breakfast of champions

That was brilliant. What is next step though? - TTATT ELDER

Wait. Let it "sink in" for awhile.

It's got my wife thinking, I know that much.

22

Some Watchtower Covers.

by Beth Shan in

.

breakfast of champions

I got a paper cut and put my finger in my mouth. - FOUND SHEEP

EVIDENTLY, this is now a conscience matter.

18

Have anyone ask their JW family member to research "Signs of a Cult"???

by jam in

if so what was their response???

if one look at the identifying signs.

of a cult and compare that to jw organization, there is no doubt.. they score very high on that list.. if there is a satan and i said "if".

breakfast of champions

Okay, so here's what I did:

I pulled Hassan's BITE model off the Internet and imported it into my word processor. I then control-F'd it and searched for every occurrence of the word "cult" and replaced all of them with the word "group."

I showed the modified list to my wife the other day, actually. All I mentioned was that it was written by a counselor/psychologist who had never heard of JWs. I never mentioned the word cult, but I said it was a study of group psychology and I think it applied to witnesses. She read it.

I said, "What do you think? Anything familiar?"

"Yes, absolutely. And he didn't know who Jehovahs Witnesses were?"

"It's all part of the pattern."

22

Some Watchtower Covers.

by Beth Shan in

.

breakfast of champions

With regards to the January 2014 Awake!:

I remember my mother FREAKING OUT when I was losing my teeth because I MIGHT SWALLOW BLOOD!!!!!!!

"Spit it out!!!!! Spit it out!!!!! "

How did I ever stand a chance?

30

What does money represent to YOU ?

by new hope and happiness in

for example does money represent to you power, love, joy and much more or does money represent to you feelings of worry, guilt, anger, sadness.. for myself i have always enjoyed living largely on little, and i can appreciate that the best things in life are free.

having said that i am glad i have been fortunate and sensible enough with money to never have exsperienced the anxiety of debt.

and it may sound silly but i dont think winning it big on the lottery would improve the quality of my life nor my family.

breakfast of champions

Freedom/a tool.

I certainly would not be able to do what I'm doing now without it (putting myself through school).

Not the most important thing in life, but it sure as hell helps if it's there when you need it.

35

The GB are really going out on a limb with this DF decision

by Quarterback in

this is how a do explained the family business policy re relatives of df/da members.. he said that the expression, "necessary family business," is really not a scriptural term.

it is nowhere found in the bible.

but, out of the kindness of the gb's hearts, they have gone beyond what is written and allowed association among families for necessary business.

breakfast of champions

F*ckheads.