Posts by TonusOH

42

WT Ruining Members' Futures

by HiddlesWife in

what i mean by the title of this thread is what has happened to a relative of mine, one who is really upset about this factor:.

this relative is a distant cousin on my mother's side of the family.

she studied as a child and got baptized at 14 1/2 years old.

True believer JWs probably are not concerned about their children's futures, because the New System is around the corner and they won't ever get old enough to worry about it. They feel this way, even when they are surrounded by JWs who are facing financial hardship because they though they would not need to save for retirement.

My mother is like that, she did not prepare for old age because she was certain she would be living in the paradise Earth by now (heck, she expected it to arrive before the 1980s did). She is fortunate that her children took care of ourselves so that she gets to enjoy a much better life than she planned for. But she is not grateful. That is what the JW poison does to people.

16

Can you answer my questions, please?

by Sandie in

i have three questions.

i would be most grateful if someone could respond for me, please.

thank you.. 1. can jehovah's witnesses practice faith with the bible as a guide, or is it crucial to include the teachings of the watchtower society?

TonusOH

Hi Sandie,

1. It is my understanding that obedience to the organization leadership remains paramount for JWs. To stray from anything they teach is apostasy. As for why: they claim that their governing body is the spirit-directed faithful and discreet slave from Jesus's parable, and that Jehovah has given them the authority and guidance to provide 'meat in due season.' In other words, without them you cannot properly use the Bible as a guide.

2. The fact that people have used the same book to promote two distinct ideas on such an important point for centuries makes me think that the book wasn't written very clearly. But I will leave it to others to make the actual case for either side.

3. The JW belief is that you must be a member of the organization in good standing in order to be saved when Jehovah begins the war of Armageddon. There is no way to guarantee salvation aside from that. If you were a loyal JW for a long time and served faithfully, but lost your faith just before the end, you will die with the rest of the non-JWs.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

I think his biggest obstacle is himself. He can recover from this, but it would require for him to stop being so aggressive and even hostile towards anyone who offers advice or criticism, as well as learning to cope with people who oppose him. He would also need to be more cooperative with others and even be willing to help others without any direct or immediate gain to himself.

I don't think he can do that. His original approach, which involved using and abusing others and always looking to come out with a net gain, worked for so long that he would have to deal with an overwhelming cognitive dissonance if he took a long-term approach that required him to make short-term sacrifices and to elevate others instead of pushing them down. He may never reach a point where he realizes that his need to be important and recognized is hurting his efforts (and ironically, is working against his desire).

But, sure. Add a higher tier to your Patreon, that should fix things.

349

Who really is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?

by Godlyman in

if anyone were to come up to you claiming that they are the faithful and discreet slave, how would you go about proving them to be false, based upon scripture?.

estephan.

TonusOH

Maybe Jackson is admitting that the GB are quite presumptuous. His appearance at that inquiry was fortuitous; you could have made a drinking game- take a shot every time he didn't give a straight answer. Tony Morris would have run out of liquor very quickly!

8

What New Projects are Financed by the Governing Body ?

by smiddy3 in

jw
friends

are these projects going to be a noose around their neck that they won`t be able to fullfill their obligations ?.

and complete these projects ?.

TonusOH

If they built and operated a distillery, that would be as close as they have ever come to performing a public service. And they'd actually make some money, for a change.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

So the reward for remaining a diehard supporter is that he squeezes you for more cash?

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

I assume he is rebuilding the list of goals.

18

The use of "Stumbled" as a Control Technique.

by Phizzy in

i thought about this when i read the expression in another thread, "someone was stumbled", they would never tell you who the person was, and simply used it to control you, or it got worse, some times it was "you might stumble someone" .. who were these stumbling loons of which they spoke ?

not only was it a control mechanism, it encouraged you to not be your real self, ever.. i liked the response of one of my jw relatives to this, where they expected him to change the person he was, he said "these people accusing me are not perfect are they ?

no, well then, they cannot expect perfection from me".

TonusOH

I think a lot of these ideas begin organically, and some are further refined when they realize how useful they are. It'd be interesting to learn when they started focusing on the concept of causing others to stumble. The WTS will print a lot of articles on a subject and mention it repeatedly in a short time frame to get the idea across. I wonder if they did that with this.

18

The use of "Stumbled" as a Control Technique.

by Phizzy in

i thought about this when i read the expression in another thread, "someone was stumbled", they would never tell you who the person was, and simply used it to control you, or it got worse, some times it was "you might stumble someone" .. who were these stumbling loons of which they spoke ?

not only was it a control mechanism, it encouraged you to not be your real self, ever.. i liked the response of one of my jw relatives to this, where they expected him to change the person he was, he said "these people accusing me are not perfect are they ?

no, well then, they cannot expect perfection from me".

TonusOH

It is intended to keep you in line by making you paranoid- you are supposed to be terrified that your actions might cause another to go astray, and Jehovah will call you to account for it. In other words, you must be a good JW at all times, even when no one in authority is watching.

Turning our conscience against us is an old tool of religion, and has been refined by high-control cults like the JWs. As a JW, you are working to save yourself, and you are working to save everyone else. And God is watching closely.

42

WT Ruining Members' Futures

by HiddlesWife in

what i mean by the title of this thread is what has happened to a relative of mine, one who is really upset about this factor:.

this relative is a distant cousin on my mother's side of the family.

she studied as a child and got baptized at 14 1/2 years old.

TonusOH

I can recall that any brothers who had even a slightly nicer lifestyle than the norm were looked upon as snobs, or people whose wealth could be an obstacle. Keep in mind that this was in a moderately poor area of New York City, so these families were not living it up!

But I think it is common in these environments for people to have these competing views- they sneer at people who are doing well (even by the low standards of their neighborhood) while also wishing that they had more money of their own. But the JW worldview makes it okay to stay poor because you can justify it by believing that it somehow makes you more righteous.