at https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/8j8fj9/what_legal_requirements_have_forced_the/excircuitoverseer started an excellent thread on areas watchtower has changed due to legal pressure.
this has promoted me to gather the information into an article.
there is a number of points that i would like to expand on, and need assistance in finding information.. the article is at https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/blog/changes-due-to-legal-pressure.php.
Great post. Great thread.
I recall in coc that it was mentioned about the Mexican government at one time confiscated religious buildings. Therefore the society registered their buildings under another name. I can't exactly remember. I think ray Franz said they were some sort of community centres of sort?
i'm gonna read the new light bible front to back.
(see how far i make it).
besides wanting to read more.
I read the nkjv front to back several years ago and was astonished at what I learned. I learned far more about the Bible than the cherry picked teachings of the watchtower society.
suffice to say that i fundamentally disagree with the point of this article, a cynical attempt to boost numbers.
it goes against bible precedent and their own long standing practice.
they timothy as an example of a youthfull christian, a young man.. sure but he was not baptized young .
I was having breakfast with her ladyship and I asked her how the meeting was yesterday. She said the watchtower study was very good explaining that child baptism was discussed etc etc and that it was very balanced. She even went on to explain how the WT discussed why disfellowshiping was necessary to keep the Cong clean.
I said I understood to a degree why they want to keep the Cong clean, but that they are too extreme with this and that the rank and file follow what they put out there in their videos and literature. However in the shepherd the flock of God book which only the elders are privvy to, there is a loop hole they use if brought to court ie a person will not be disfellowshiping if they insist on associating with their disfellowshiping/disassociated relative as long as they don't discuss anything spiritual. That they will simply lose some privelages.
She says I know that! I said how did you know that? She said everyone knows that. I said they don't. And that you are one of the privelaged few that know this. I said why does watchtower tell us not even to even answer the phone or email our own disfellowshiped relatives? She couldn't answer.
I emphasised that this is a loop hole they use for legal reasons in case someone brings them to court over the issue.
Watchtower are very clever and duplituous in what they feed their rank and file. They are experts at mind control.
are they the most boring people on earth?
their music, their videos, their public speaking... all are a big yawn.
there is no life to the witness religion!.
The golden days of the JWs were in the late 60s. They had momentum, excitement, and a real purpose - "stayin alive till 75
Yeah they had a bit more spring in their step 😂😂
are they the most boring people on earth?
their music, their videos, their public speaking... all are a big yawn.
there is no life to the witness religion!.
Let me see.
You can't celebrate holidays
You can't grow a beard
You can't toast
You can't associate with anyone outside of the religion
You have to attend dull boring meetings
You have to prepare for every meeting
You have to prepare for talks/items
You are obligated to go in the ministry each week.
You have to watch your p's and q's at social events with other witnesses
You can't be seen drinking too much alcohol at social gatherings
or
perhaps none at all depending on who is holding the gathering.
Exciting? Eh nope!!
just watched ' one of us' on netflix about individuals who are trying to leave the hasidic orthodox jewish faith group (a high control group within judaism).. i found it interesting as those who rebel or leave are virtually ostracized from their community.
the documentary is an eye opener into their highly insular community.
one of the things i thought interesting is that there is a support group called footsteps to help hasidic jews wanting to leave the strict insular way of life so that they can move on with their lives.. this got me thinking.
Thanks for all the replies. I think there is most definitely a need. In relation to money, I am sure that funding can be sourced if there is a good case put forward for such support groups.
Such support groups would really need to encompass individuals from a variety of groups; for those who have either already left high control pressure groups or those wanting to leave and are in need of assistance.
Here is the link to some of the stuff FOOTSTEPS provide for its members.
In the Netflix documentary, I was particularly moved by the genuine sincere support given to the young woman who had to give up her children to her still in husband.
just watched ' one of us' on netflix about individuals who are trying to leave the hasidic orthodox jewish faith group (a high control group within judaism).. i found it interesting as those who rebel or leave are virtually ostracized from their community.
the documentary is an eye opener into their highly insular community.
one of the things i thought interesting is that there is a support group called footsteps to help hasidic jews wanting to leave the strict insular way of life so that they can move on with their lives.. this got me thinking.
Just watched ' ONE OF US' on Netflix about individuals who are trying to leave the Hasidic orthodox Jewish faith group (a high control group within Judaism).
I found it interesting as those who rebel or leave are virtually ostracized from their community. The documentary is an eye opener into their highly insular community.
One of the things I thought interesting is that there is a support group called FOOTSTEPS to help Hasidic Jews wanting to leave the strict insular way of life so that they can move on with their lives.
This got me thinking. There is no doubt there is a need for similarly providing support groups like FOOTSTEPS to assist and support indivduals wishing to leave high control insular groups like Jehovahs Witnesses.
Yes, there is exjw meetups which are great. I've been to some. But a structured support group would be incredibly beneficial to anyone trying to leave and move on with their life.
I am going to write to similiar groups like footsteps to find out their approach/their model as to how they can help individuals move on.
'ONE OF US' is worth a look. Check it out
UTC
i've noticed in the past 10 years that the social support that used to be available in the congs, a shoulder to cry on, elders to help with family/marriage issues these seem to have been purposely withdrawn.
counsel is even heard from the platform that the elders are not there to help people with their problems.. so first in the 80s-90s they take away the congregation get to getters and social events and now they seem to be going one step further in taking away the emotional support for people too.. this will take away an aspect that i'm sure was keeping alot of people in the borg, the community support.
if that's not there and its just about meetings and ministry how many will start to get their emotional support elsewhere?.
They are an all work no play, one size fits all bullshit cult/publishing company masquerading as the one true Christian religion that recruits people for their money. That's why they offer little or no support.
i know we often talk of the mind control and how jw's believe what they are taught because they are controlled as to the information they receive, but i think the mind control goes frighteningly beyond simply keeping information away from them.. the jw mind is in lockdown.
it simply cannot accept facts, evidence, reasoning or whatever that goes against what they believe.
they cannot assimilate and consider an argument, it is not that they are being awkward, or willfully blind, their minds are so shut down they are incapable of taking in what is being presented.. i am aware of how, in common with other cults and high control groups the j.w org achieves this state among its members, but how on earth do we open such a solidly closed mind ?.
They are to coin a phrase
'captives of a concept'
That is ..they view the watchtower society as God's only true religion on earth. Everything outside of the watchtower is satanic.
That's why the JW brain goes into lock down
i am in the process of writing to parliament about the practice of shunning by jehovah's witnesses.
what i need to clarify if the practice is 'specifically' mentioned in any of the books used for bible study/ recruitment leading up to baptism?.
i would be grateful if anyone could clarify this in case i get my facts wrong when writing my letter..
I am writing to the Scottish parliament to highlight that the watchtower is duplicitous in how they inform interested ones with regards to their shunning policy. What's more, young teenagers approaching baptism don't realise they are under undue influence and not capable of understanding the seriousness of their baptism and watchtower policy.
For example, in the Nov 22 1998 awake magazine, the society discusses the human rights declaration and go on to quote article 18 about how "everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and Religion: this right includes freedom to change his religion......."
Watchtower promotes this view to the general public, yet they violate this human right when someone chooses to leave the organisation by using the control mechanism of shunning.
What's more, the section in the organised book on disfellowshipping and disassociation is not really clear in that individuals are unaware that they are to be completely shunned full stop, which includes their close relatives who are Jehovah's witnesses.
I personally can't recall going through this section as got baptized shortly after I finished the live forever book!
I was oblivious to the shunning policy and only realised what this involved years after I was baptized.
