00DAD

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Posts by 00DAD

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  22

  Let's Review: It's a cult!

  by 00DAD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

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  let's review: it's a cult!

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  00DAD

  Let's Review: It's a cult!
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  9

  Do JW's need to ask permission for major decisions?

  by 00DAD in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  psychologist steven hassan writes that ""destructive mind control can be understood in terms of four basic components, which form the acronym bite:.

  i.behavior control.

  ii.information control.

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  00DAD

  Psychologist Steven Hassan writes that ""Destructive mind control can be understood in terms of four basic components, which form the acronym BITE:

  I.Behavior Control

  II.Information Control

  III.Thought Control

  IV.Emotional Control

  In reference to Behavior Control, he states among other things that people under the influence of Mind-Control " Need to ask permission for major decisions."

  So the question naturally arises, "Do JW's need to ask permission for major decisions?"

  The answer is of course a resonding, "No!"

  But why not? R&F JWs may not need to directly ask the elders or anyone else for permission to make major decisions, but consider the reality of being a JW: All your major decisions are made for you!

  The WT Study articles for the last two weeks deal with seven areas that might DISTANCE YOU FROM JEHOVAH if you make the wrong choice. The seven areas are:

  • Employment and Career - where, when and why you might want to take a certain job
  • Recreation and Entertainment - the types and time spent
  • Family Relationships - don't communicate with loved ones that have "left Jehovah," not even by email!
  • Technology - don't sell your body parts just to buy fadish gadgets*
  • Health - no facelifts, tummy tucks or boob-jobs
  • Money - I know, you thought this was covered last week under Employment and Career, but that wasn't quite enough. No investing in the stock market. We know the WTBTS invests in hedgefunds, but they know what they're doing. You clearly do not.
  • Pride - the right kind is good, the wrong kind will get you killed at Armageddon.
    • What is the right kind? Being proud to be a JW!
    • What is the wrong kind? Being proud of yourself!

  (January 15th, 2013 Watchtower, pp. 12 - 21)

  The first of the two study articles concludes by encouraging us to MAKE WISE CHOICES and asks us this thought provoking question:

  What is your resolve when it comes to your use of free will?

  While the explicit answer is NOT in the paragraphs of the article, it is implicit that the correct answer is:

  I will use my free will to do whatever the WT tells me to do!

  = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

  * - No I'm not making this up!

  "One young man so passionately desired a particular tablet computer that he secretly sold one of his kidneys to buy it. What a shortsighted sacrifice!" - w2013 1/15, p. 17, para. 3
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  32

  NLP, Subliminal Messages and the WT Writing Department

  by 00DAD in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  a few years ago i became interested in the subject of neuro-linguistic programming (nlp).

  while the core concepts of nlp have been largely discredited as new-age pseudo-science, there is no doubt that there is at least some validity to the idea.

  words and images remain the key way we communicate.

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  00DAD

  A few years ago I became interested in the subject of Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP). While the core concepts of NLP have been largely discredited as New-Age pseudo-science, there is no doubt that there is at least some validity to the idea. Words and images remain the key way we communicate. Some people are clearly more skilled at their use than others. The whole concepts of memes is based an what is essentially the same idea.

  Whether you believe it or not, there is a curious pattern of manipulative language in many WT articles, a pattern that appears to me to be influenced by NLP concepts and methods. For example, in the recent Watchtower of January 15, 2013, in the Study Article "Let Nothing Distance You From Jehovah" there is to my mind a very odd expression used in connection with the admonition to refrain from contacting disfellowshipped relatives even by email. The comment is:

  "It is not wrong to hope that a loved one will return to Jehovah." - (ibid, p. 16)

  This comment is a caption to a photograph of a very sad looking couple looking forlornly at a family photograph showing presumably their disfellowshipped daughter. A similar statement is made in the body of the article:

  "It is not wrong for you to entertain the hope that your loved one will return." - (ibid, p. 16, paragraph 20)

  Now, when I read this, it struck me as odd that this obstensibly encouraging, empathetic comment was wording as a negative. It was not, "It is RIGHT for you to hope your loved one returns ...," but rather, "It is not wrong." Not wrong. Odd word choice.

  Why would the WT Writers choose to word what should be an affirmation in a negative manner? We can only speculate, but there is some basis for our speculations.

  It is a popular axiom that, " your subconscious mind cannot process negative words. " Personally, I don't know if I completely subscribe to this notion or not. But I know educators and parents are encouraged to phrase affirmations positively rather than negatively. We are told to tell our children:

  "Do this!" rather than, "Don't do that!"

  "You can do it!" instead of, "Don't choke!"

  Why? For a couple of reasons. It's more direct, it's simpler and whether it's really true or not, we all like to hear a positive over a negative statement.

  Certainly the mind is a vast and as of yet largerly undiscovered--and in many ways still very misunderstood--country.

  Nevertheless, many disciplines have studied it intensely for a variety of reasons: psychiatrists and psychologies seek to understand and to heal, advertisers to persuade and other unscrupulous ones to manipulate and control.

  So why did the WT Writers choose to tell their follower that it is, " not wrong ," rather than to say, "It is right for you to entertain the hope that your loved one will return"?

  Have they been studying NLP and attempting to implant conflicting subliminal messages in the minds of the R&F JW's? I'll admit it, it's tempting to engage in this kind of wild speculation, but to answer with an air of certainty would be tantamount to practicing mind-reading. This is something I do not do.

  I like my evidence to be more substantianted than this. But it is an intriguing question to say the least. Given their track record and the vast amount of other evidence from their own publications which clearly demonstrate a very entrenched pattern of the deliberate, conscious application of sophisticated manipulative and controlling techniques I can only say this:

  I wouldn't put it passed them!

  00DAD
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  16

  I Got Deprogramed While Attending Kindom Hall Meetings Doing Research On My iPad 4

  by frankiespeakin in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  with the internet becoming availible almost anywhere and ipads become more and more common, do you think this scenerio will be a relatively common experience as well?.

  i'm thinking it will..

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  00DAD

  Do NOT use the internet, except to go to jw.org of course!

  The internet is an evil tool of Satan, except jw.org of course!

  There are nothing but slanderous lies on the internet, except on jw.org of course!

  Listen, Obey and Be Blessed!
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  16

  My wife buys "50 shades of grey??? How shes changed since being inactive!!

  by Witness 007 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so this morning we flirt and i tell her what a "dirty girl" she is for buying those books...but i was thinking this from a girl who broke a frying pan on my car years ago because i didnt want to go to the meetings.

  slowly i wore down that rock that she is with little facts and qoutes...i would not have stayed with her if she remained the fanatic witness she was....also she now swears like a sailor...i like that..

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  00DAD

  Her authentic self is coming out.

  I still wouldn't buy any frying pans for a while!
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  24

  Scary moment: Watchtower Study conductor got mad about answer

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  today we had a bla bla bla watchtower article: warnings for technology, money and pride.

  a repreat of a repreat of a repreat.. but now it comes:.

  one of the last summary questions one of the local simple brothers gave the answer that we have to take care for technology.

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  00DAD

  REPOSTED FROM: "WT Publications are all propaganda!" admits the Awake! magazine

  THERE is a difference—a big difference—between education and propaganda. Education shows you how to think. Propaganda tells you what to think. Good educators present all sides of an issue and encourage discussion. Propagandists relentlessly force you to hear their view and discourage discussion . - Awake!, June 22, 2000, pp. 9-11 – [Emphasis added]

  So what is it? What DO YOU think?

  1. Do the WT Publications show people how to think, or what to think? (The answer is NOT in the paragraph. You'll have to think for yourself).
  2. Does the WT Leadersip encourage or discourage open discussion and debate about ideas and doctrine?
  3. Do the WT Publications ever accept input from their members or do they only "relentlessly force you to hear their view"?

  If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, what is it?

  
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  35

  Which is your favourite single malt Scotch Whisky, and why?

  by lifelong humanist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as a true scot, i'm deeply passionate about most things scottish, any possibly one of our small nation's most successful export is my main favourite - our single malt whisky heritage.. i'm writing this while savouring a 12 year old highland park - distilled in the orkney islands, the most northerly distillery in scotland.

  it is one of my favourites - it was my late father's favourite tipple.

  yet, only 500m from my house is scotlands oldest legal whisky distillery - glenturret, in crieff.

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  00DAD

  Glenfiddich and Laphroaig are two of my go-to single malts, but my absolute favorite is Aberlour A'Bunadh:

  
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  46

  My husband MISSED the meeting today! Unheard of!

  by Julia Orwell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  he decided to take me somewhere nice in the country for a day instead, and when he suggested it last night i was amazed that he would have even thought of missing the meeting!

  he was one of those guys who only missed a meeting, literally, if he had a spinal injury and couldn't move!.

  but, i've been sharing a little of the ttatt with him, teensy tiny bits that i can substantiate from the bible or other reputable sources.

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  00DAD

  Great news!

  I suggest you back off on dropping hints for a while, let him digest.

  Enjoy your day together!

  00DAD
• 
  26

  conscious of my spiritual need, what next?

  by stillhurts in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so once you leave, what next?

  have you found anything from a spiritual standpoint that brings you happiness and satisfaction?.

  have you been so scarred by the teaching that "all religions are wrong", that you can't see the truth anywhere?.

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  00DAD

  Phizzy: "To search for truth is a good thing, but beware of the man who claims to have found it ".

  Is this a corruption of this quote:

  “Cherish those who seek the truth but beware of those who find it.” – Voltaire

  I like your version better. Who's the author?
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  32

  "WT Publications are all propaganda!" admits the Awake! magazine

  by 00DAD in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  read this lovely little admission and judge for yourself: .

  there is a differencea big differencebetween education and propaganda.

  education shows you how to think.

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  00DAD

  kurtbethel: So I wonder, is there any provision to graduate from Awake University? Or is it all a con?

  Awake U. ... I love it. How about this, "Are U Awake!"