Posts by StrongHaiku

49

WT Society Makes Light of Child Abuse Crimes by Portraying them as Cartoons

by flipper in

i commented on this on another thread- but i believe this has enough importance to create a thread about this situation in and of itself.

at the current district convention as you know the wt society released a " sophie & caleb " video allegedly warning parents about the dangers of child abuse.

they don't really use the words " child abuse " in the video - but just say if " someone tries to touch you in a manner you aren't comfortable with " and portray it as a cartoon !

StrongHaiku

What breakfast of champions said...

I would add that one of the reasons JWs often couch advice in the form of victim-blaming is that they don't have a really good answer for the following:

"Does Jehovah intercede in events or not?"

If you believe that Jehovah intercedes (answers prayers) but JWs still get abused, hurt, die, etc. you have to somehow deal with that cognitive dissonance. As a JW you say to yourself "Well, he seems to intercede with the weather to make sure the printing gets done", but JWs can get killed in a typhoon. He seems to intercede to help some JWs from getting hurt/killed, raped, but not others.

Somehow, as a JW, you have to reconcile these. When it goes well, you credit Jehovah. When it goes badly, well then either (a) it is God's plan and we don't fully understand it and "time and unforeseen circumstances" and Satan or (b) put the blame on the victim.

So, when a child is raped, is it part of God's plan or did the child bring it on themselves? Which is it? Cause if I had the power of God I would make sure nothing like this would ever happen. I am better than your God. And, probably, so are you.

43

Why Is This New Batch of Governing Body Members So Stupid?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

well there are lots of reason for sure, denial, delusion, wishful thinking, ego maniac, infantile understanding of ancient writings, satanophobia, xenophobia, out of touch with reality, limited choices scrapping the bottom of the barrel,and many more.. listen to this ted talk and see if you can pick out something that helps explain why these guys are such ass holes:.

organizations are often run according to the superchicken model, where the value is placed on star employees who outperform others.

and yet, this isnt what drives the most high-achieving teams.

StrongHaiku

sir82 - Old timers like Barr, Barber (pre-senility anyway), Sydlik, Barry, etc. at least were dignified and gave the appearance of competence.

I totally agree. All dignity is gone. This current strategy of the GB for a "Cult of Personality" is both bewildering but understandable. They can't sell their ideas on merit so they have to appeal to "personality". I think in light of all of their failures to date, the current GB are desperately trying to be framed as a modern "Moses" class that gets out there and can be seen by people to keep them encouraged and build loyalty/confidence that the "promise land" is near. This desperate move is likely to backfire. A "Cult of Personality" is a two-edged sword because it requires an authentic and compelling "personality" that can deliver results. The GB have neither.

49

WT Society Makes Light of Child Abuse Crimes by Portraying them as Cartoons

by flipper in

i commented on this on another thread- but i believe this has enough importance to create a thread about this situation in and of itself.

at the current district convention as you know the wt society released a " sophie & caleb " video allegedly warning parents about the dangers of child abuse.

they don't really use the words " child abuse " in the video - but just say if " someone tries to touch you in a manner you aren't comfortable with " and portray it as a cartoon !

StrongHaiku

So, where are the cartoons, presentations, articles, etc. that provide some clear guidance to the parents/adults? This illustrates the fact that the Organization does not know how to deal with crimes. Their focus are often on what the victim needs to do, and not on what parents, adults, bystanders needs to do. This is, by definition, victim-blaming.

If you are JW, I'll make it easy:

One of principal tenets of being a parent is the responsibility to your child. Do we really need to debate that? That means, report all crimes to the authorities in order to keep your child (and society at large) safe. If you worship a God that disagrees with this, then the God you are worshipping is not worth worshipping. No respectable God would require parents to sacrifice their children to make a point. If you are in a religion that makes you choose between your responsibility to your child (and other people) vs. its rules and reputation, then you need to check your priorities.

17

If you had any doubts about the pitifully poor mental prowess of Watchtower and JWs in general ...

by Island Man in

if you had any doubts about the pitifully poor mental prowess of watchtower and jws in general then i'm sure this week's watchtower study (week of june 15-21, 2015) completely obliterated such doubts.

the study article (watchtower april 15, 2015, page 19: how real is your relationship with jehovah?

) was filled with blatantly fallacious reasoning that were outdone only by the more fallacious reasoning on the part of commenting jws.. the article, in paragraph 2, says this about a relationship with jehovah:.

StrongHaiku

What The_Doctor10 said...

Plus I would add that a God that does not answer prayers is indistinguishable from a God that does not exist.

98

Anthony Morris III goes on an eight minute rant over child abuse

by Richard_I in

jw
friends

this is in the july 2015 monthly program on tv.jw.org cedars wrote about it too.. starting at around 42:30 in the video, morris talks about the child abuse situation for almost 10 minutes.

link to video.

i'm writing a transcript right now.

StrongHaiku

What flipper said... especially the following:

But by using cartoon characters this is just so destructive and minimizes or makes a joke really out of a VERY serious crime. Shame on the WT Society. Shame on the GB. A criminal organization making light of a very serious crime.

Making a farce of other people's suffering is their bread-and-butter. Whether it's the way they call the out-group "worldly" with contempt, using news on death and violence in society as a way to warm their faith, the way they let monsters lose in the world by not contacting authorities in every case, or a nice WT picture with people dying at Armageddon. All people are to them are bricks for their yellow-brick road. And, I know this, because I used to be one of them.

Here is the shameful and terrible thing. If I was still a JW, I might come up with some brilliant justifications for all of the things that are coming to light. That's not a search for truth. That's the problem with being indoctrinated to be a xenophobe and discouraged to think critically for yourself. And, when you have unquestioning/blind loyalty, it shapes your sense of morality.

I have no doubt that many JWs are seeing the problems, but they seem frozen to do anything about it and have resigned themselves to ignore them.

6

Independence Day

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

happy independence day to those in the usa.

i can't help but think of our own personal struggles for freedom today.. "question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear."1.

--thomas jefferson.

StrongHaiku

Happy belated Independence Day! And, if you are an ex-JW no matter what country you are in, every day is "Independence Day";-)

34

Do you ever feel strangely drawn towards Conspiracy Theories?

by JW_Rogue in

after mentally awakening to the idea that jws don't have the truth i strangely found myself delving into all encompassing conspiracy theories.

not that i believed them but something about them seemed quite fascinating.

i was especially drawn to the idea of a new world order/one world government.

StrongHaiku

JW _Rogue - I was reading an older WT the other day and it said "the doctrine of evolution" I thought that was funny. Science doesn't have doctrines and people aren't forced to believe anything without proving it to themselves first. Why such hate and disdain for science?

LOL! And, there is the "doctrine of gravity", "doctrine of heliotropism", etc. I think it is a bit of "psychological projection". All religion require is faith with no evidence and an authoritative figure to follow. Science has neither and I think they often don't know how Science actually works but at the same time expect it to work like religion. When all you have is a hammer, you treat everything like a nail.

It is not until you leave (and hopefully get educated) that you realize how colossally ignorant and intellectually dishonest the Organization is. Why such disdain? Well, let's count the number of times Science has overturned a religious belief. Easy, right? Now, let's count the number of times Religion has overturned an established Scientific theory. Still waiting...

204

Candace Conti Settles

by Nitty-Gritty in

hot topic on topix seems to be candace conti settlement.

but it's all quiet here.

are you guys aware that your hero, who was not in it for the money but to change policies, settled without changing anything?

StrongHaiku

I will say it again, Candace Conti does not have to explain herself. The people who do have to explain themselves are the people who stay in (or don't speak up against) the Organization knowing full well what is going on. If you know what is going on and stay in, I assure you that history will not be kind to you. History will ask of you "what did YOU do when you learned of this?".

Next time you are sitting around stroking your ego about how you would have been so totally courageous like Jeremiah or some other prophet and would have stood up for what was right and did a "smack down" on God's organization and straighten them out, let this moment sink in. This is your time in history and if you continue to sit on the sidelines there will be no excuse.

52

Try Other Religions

by Sofia Lose in

sometimes i get a strong curiosity to start dabbling into other religions, other faiths, you know?

really different ones such as islam, judaism, hinduism, etc.. has anyone here looked into something else?

has your spirituality been satisfied by any other than christianity?.

StrongHaiku

nicolaou said it more succinctly than me. Nicely put.

Sofia Lose, I do not know your life or history, so please bear with me. I will like to share something I wish someone would have told me when I was young...

There are about 7 billion people on the planet, many in thousands of religions, with a myriad of Gods, denominations, holy books, etc. that, through "faith", all think they have the truth. Believing in a God/Religion is ultimately going to come down to faith (e.g. a feeling, personal revelation, etc.). Because faith requires no evidence or critical thinking it gives permission (and often sanctions) some horrible acts in this world.

Before you embark on your next quest you might want to ponder whether faith is the best way to find truth or if there is a better way. I think you will find that the idea of faith as a way to truth (or as necessary) is no more valid than the things you used to believe when you were a JW and no longer believe. Let that sink in...

52

Try Other Religions

by Sofia Lose in

sometimes i get a strong curiosity to start dabbling into other religions, other faiths, you know?

really different ones such as islam, judaism, hinduism, etc.. has anyone here looked into something else?

has your spirituality been satisfied by any other than christianity?.

StrongHaiku

If you are curious about religions, I would read up on Joseph Campbell. He has a number of books such as "The Power of Myth", "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", etc. Great reading in comparative mythology/religions. It might give you insight on how humans have created these beliefs over time.

As for satisfying "spirituality" with another religion/belief system, I would recommend you take one minute to think about what you are really searching for. I have learned over time that the feeling some people call "spirituality" is nothing more than the natural feeling of awe, joy, a peak experience, etc. I was indoctrinated to think that those feelings can only be gained by some religion or supernatural belief system.

I assure you, as an atheist living without religion, I still get those feelings. I get them when I look through a telescope, read the latest Scientific American, kiss my girlfriend, watch a great movie or documentary, cook, spend time with friends, help someone, etc.

Before you consider looking for a religion to fill some void, you might want to see if you can fill it with other things. You would be surprised. Just a thought.