by metaspy 181 Replies latest jw friends
This is amazing! Don't bother to do your own research, we'll gladly do it for you, and by the way, we'll also instruct you in what to think, what to wear, what to say, how to say it, etc.... Don't bother looking at the Bible for information, look at our wonderful publications, that's all you'll need. Now take your pills and be good boys and girls for us now, won't you?
BP
OH MY GOODNESS!!! Heaven forbid anyone uses the brain god gave them!! WOW!! This really hits home how much of an impact the internet is having on the organization with those doing research and finding the truth about the "truth"!!! HOLY CRAP!! I just cannot believe it!! Thank you for posting this as a scan for all to see!! Just another addition to my collection of unbelievable literature!!
Sincerely,
Lady Liberty
"we have provided amply now, so eat your dinner and shut up!!"
I am still in shock, but did you notice..if you want to do Bible research and study..they never mentioned using the Bible at all!! Like my husband just said the reason they don't want you to have study groups outside the arranged meetings is they want any discussion to be in a controlled environment!!
Guys..looks like the organization is running scared!!
Sincerely,
Lady Liberty
Does this mean Furuli will be cancelling the publication of his second volume on Bible chronology in a few weeks?
Slim
I'm just getting in.
I haven't read all the posts.
I know we often get overly enthusiastic about such developments, but I think this is huge.
May many of our brothers and sisters wake up thanks to this oppressive choke hold.
It's sick that they would come out with a km like that.
In Romans 12 Paul said to prove to yourself to good and acceptable will of God.
1thess. 5 says to make sure of all things and the Boreans in acts 17 were commended
for studying the scriptures daily to make sure what they were hearing was scriptural.
Of course the majority of the JW, as i was personally reminded will jump off a cliff
if the GB tells them to do so.
If any have any doubt that this is cult behavior, look at this check list, keep in mind the old saying,"If it looks like a duck walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck!!" :
Janja Lalich, Ph.D. & Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.
Concerted efforts at influence and control lie at the core of cultic groups, programs, and relationships. Many members, former members, and supporters of cults are not fully aware of the extent to which members may have been manipulated, exploited, even abused. The following list of social-structural, social-psychological, and interpersonal behavioral patterns commonly found in cultic environments may be helpful in assessing a particular group or relationship.
Compare these patterns to the situation you were in (or in which you, a family member, or friend is currently involved). This list may help you determine if there is cause for concern. Bear in mind that this list is not meant to be a “cult scale” or a definitive checklist to determine if a specific group is a cult. This is not so much a diagnostic instrument as it is an analytical tool.
? The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
? Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
? Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).
? The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).
? The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).
? The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.
? The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).
? The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).
? The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt iin order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.
? Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.
? The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
? The group is preoccupied with making money.
? Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.
? Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.
? The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.
This checklist will be published in the new book, Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships by Janja Lalich and Madeleine Tobias (Berkeley: Bay Tree Publishing, 2006). It was adapted from a checklist originally developed by Michael Langone.
Thanks for that, Lady Liberty.
Talk about paranoia and scare tactics!!!
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