There's this great book by Anabelle Mooney called "The rhetoric of religious cults : terms of use and abuse" She analyzes a pamphlet by JWs (can't remember which one now). It is extremely interesting- she points out all the manipulative language used. Once I read her analysis, I could never read JW stuff the same again. The assumptions and generalizations made without specifying sources..."scientists agree bla bla bla" What scientists? "Logically we can conclude..." when it's not a logical conclusion at all! She goes on to state the whole guise of offering "bible studies" when in actuality you're offering a way to conversion. She looks at several cults- not just JWs. The way the literature is written and presented is very carefully planned- there is no question about that.
mentalclarity
JoinedPosts by mentalclarity
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11
The awake on my doorstep
by days of future passed ini occasionaly get a magazine left on the porch of my house.
this time it was an awake.
is the world out of control?.
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mentalclarity
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Higher Education
by Brian J injust spent 8 hours in a 1 day elders school last weekend.
clarification given: "moving forward any elder, ms, or pioneer who themselves or someone under their roof enrolls in higher education, may no longer qualify for privileges in the congregation.
their qualifications will have to be reviewed by their boe.".
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mentalclarity
I know elders in the US whose kids have gone to college and gotten 4 year degrees. In fact most the younger millennial JWs I know have some sort of degree (whether technical or 4 year) The idea (for these JWs) is that a higher level of education will allow them to work less and earn more while devoting time to preaching,etc. JWs are ever so practical. If the goal of the education is to be able to serve the organization more fully, I don't think it is frowned upon.
Obviously they aren't encouraging kids to move into dorms away from their community and study philosophy. But nowadays studying after high school is pretty much a given because it's very hard to get a job that can support a family without a degree. This wasn't the case a couple of decades ago when JWs vehemently opposed higher education. None of the people I know lost privileges. Maybe this is some isolated congregation with an overzealous elder, but the higher education ban screwed the Jws growing up in the eighties and nineties mostly.
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Tight Pants Tony and the 1st international broadcast started a chain reaction that woke up an uber pioneer
by Bad_Wolf inhopefully more are on the same path.
here is the story..... this person i know was the model jw, and them and their spouse could have really moved up.
they knew i was gone and awhile ago started asking me questions.
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mentalclarity
When I was a JW I had no clue who the actual people in the Governing Body was. Now that we see the "man behind the curtain" in all its glory I can't help but think I would have left a lot sooner. I just would have expected so much more from them - maybe like a monk a lo Dalai Lama. Instead we get this???? Worst strategic mistake JWs did- the more attention and exposure these men get, the more JWs will leave. It really leaves me scratching my head as to how people are still JWs knowing that the men they look to for spiritual guidance are this insane.
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What’s The Strangest Belief of Jehovah’s Witnesses?
by minimus inthere’s a lot.
i think one strange view is how only 144000 go to heaven.
since the number is mentioned in the symbolic book of revelation, you would expect that the number would be viewed as figurative, but jws say otherwise.
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mentalclarity
Everything in the Revelation and Daniel/Isaiah books. We studied those bible books verse by verse with an interpretation from the historical period and a modern day application......total bullshit - the 144,000 was just the tip of the iceberg.
The way demons were blamed for everything....lost your job/spouse/will to live? you kids must be watching pokemon/harry potter/smurfs or reading horoscopes or my other favorite - "secret sin" in the kingdom hall. Out of some 100+ attendees the odds that someone was not involved in some sort of "secret sin" was pretty slim- yet if congregations flourished the logical conclusion was that there was no secret sin and if a congregation was doing poorly (low meeting attendance/service hours/no new publishers) it MUST be due to secret sin (aka lack of holy spirit).
And of course the shunning policy just adds to the Jim Jones effect....
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What Makes Someone Become a JW?
by minimus inmy excuse is that i was born in the religion.
but if someone wasn’t, why would they become one?.
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mentalclarity
I'm a born-in but I know for my mom the big thing was the hope of the resurrection. From what I've observed of some of my family's studies, the community is a huge pull. Especially among newly immigrated in the USA. It's not uncommon for immigrants to become church goers and religiously inclined, even if in their country of origin they weren't too religious, because they feel isolated and lonely. It's like an instant network and since JW are so close knit and help you get jobs/housing/services/etc it has a huge appeal.
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Difficulty fading out
by Emily1987 inthis is my first post on here so i apologize that it is like an essay!.
my husband and i are currently 'fading out' of the truth.
we stopped preaching in may 2016 and limited meeting attendance in january 2017 and stopped completely in june 2017. my main reason for this was my whole life i have been doing things to please others, even getting baptized to please my mum.
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mentalclarity
Welcome! There is some great stuff here for you to consider.
Personally and from what I know of other ex JWS it is very difficult to fade while still living in your same area/territory. Elders will be relentless and push you into a corner. You always have to be looking over your shoulder in case "friends" see you doing something non-jw.
I made the decision to move and I never regretted it. Some family talks to me/others don't. But I live my life exactly the way I want to and give no explanations/lies to anyone.
The issue about defining your current JW status is because you're in an area where people identify you as a JW - this is going to come to bite you in the ass. Especially since you are a family with kids...what's going to happen when your little one celebrates holidays at school and some JW's kid is there too? That info is going straight to the elders and you'll get a visit. It's incredibly rare that you get left alone. Not trying to discourage you, but blatantly doing non-jw stuff in your area (in the elder's eyes) is forcing them to take action against you. One thing I've come to understand about JW behavior...they are just following their rules. You can have the most heartfelt person who is blindly following this religion and they won't think twice about ratting you out and possibly changing your life and your relationships with your family/friends forever. In fact, they'll think they are doing you and their congregation a favor. This is the moment you are really going to see what this religion is all about. Right. Now.
We who have decided to fade all weighed our options and decided what's best for us with a "plan". Strategy is key.
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Charles Manson Is Dead
by Bangalore inhttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/20/obituaries/charles-manson-dead.html.
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mentalclarity
Interesting article on Charles Manson's use of language and how he preyed on people who felt alienated and disconnected.
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A WTF Moment While In the WTS
by Searching inhas anyone else had a moment, while still within the organization (and before learning ttatt) that caused them to stop and go, "this is kind of messed up.".
for instance, back i believe in the early 2000's, i was attending a dc with my family.
it was announced at the beginning of the convention that there was going to be a special announcement at the end, so for everyone to please try to remain until the very end of the meeting.
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mentalclarity
I had several WTF moments that I chose to ignore...when we were studying at bookstudy about the two witnesses that die and are resurrected and somehow this related to witnesses being imprisoned and the work ceasing....it was all a little bit of stretch. Anytime prophecies were applied to JW history, I was super skeptical.
Another time an experience was given from a visiting elder giving a public talk. I don't remember the details but it involved a busload of people, a rock falling from a cliff on top of the bus and only the JW's surviving. I was like...WTF? First this probably isn't true, and second...are we celebrating the fact that the other people died???
Last WTF moment- it was the circuit overseer's visit and he must have been giving the "needs" talk. I was sitting in the back room with my kids. Sister Loving was glaring at me because I guess they were being a little loud. Meanwhile, the CO is going on and on about how we should be humble and accept the guidance from the faithful and discreet slave. I must have heard the word humble echo in my brain a hundred times.I had my AHA moment- all the doubts/unkind people/and emotional, manipulative language coming from the platform came together and shattered what little faith I had. I walked out with my kids (the talk was still in full swing) and I never have been in a Kingdon Hall since. That was almost a decade ago.
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Exjw activists protesting inside a Kingdom Hall today!
by Crazyguy inspoonfed nomore, has uploaded a video on his youtube site, of exjw activists protesting inside a kingdom hall during this sunday meeting.
several people speak out.
if some one can put a link on here that would be awesome, i can’t figure out how to do it with an i phone.
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mentalclarity
Have to agree with _Morpheus here. What is the objective here? Trying to sway other JW's with protests like this? Yeah, that doesn't happen. I remember seeing the apostates outside the assembly halls- never made me doubt/question. If anything, it probably added to my thinking they were a little crazy. If we really get into a JW mindset- they are going to spin this as Great Tribulation stuff-part of the signs of being persecuted.
Protests are a fad and not really effective imho. I can probably find a protest going on in my community in some form or another EVERYDAY. literally - no one cares (except those participating in the protest).
Twenty years ago we didn't have access to all the online info we have today. This is by far more effective. Have the info out there and "they will come" when they are ready.
