World wide ban on the WT

by vitty 23 Replies latest jw friends

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  vitty

  What would the WT do if it was the governments started banning the organization, along side other "cults" throughout the world. Would this be proof that it was a false religion, by there own words? Would they go underground or would they disappear.

  One is allowed to dream Id like it to be a slow painful death with lots of humiliation, (my family being the first ones to leave)

  Just think if all their money and property started being seized, im just drooling thinking about it. They could talk about persecution, but wouldnt it be a lovely way to go..................they would have correctly prophesied their own death.

  "The end of false religion is near"
• 

  Gill

  I think, Vitty, that such a scenario would be the WTs fantasy!!!

  Can you imagine the boredom of meetings and service being replaced by the 'cloak and dagger' of secret meetings and incognito FS!

  ATtendances would soar through the roof and you'd have trouble getting down the road without some JW getting in a bit of 'informal'!

  The Watchtower would love it and most of all the JWs would love it!

  I've been to a country where the 'work' was banned and punished by a good beating and length of time in jail. It was brilliant!!! We had to sneak through the woods at night and meet in a brothers shack by the light of an oil lamp and a few candles. The brother had been picked up on several occassions by the police and severly beaten. Most of his fingernails had been pulled out. But!!! they bloody well loved their cloak and dagger stuff, I can tell you!
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  compound complex

  Dear Vitty,

  From a purely human viewpoint - from Joe Q. Public to government agencies - there are actual moves being made against destructive cults. Cry persecution all they want, the WT in Europe is seen as a threat and the clamps are being put on. It is not persecution for righteousness' sake. And for those of us who sincerely believe that Jesus is in charge, he did speak of an evil slave who beats his fellow slaves and will be dealt will harshly upon the Master's return. Whatever means eventually are used against false religion, the WT is in for a big surprise. The 1st Century Jews claimed divine protection and their temple as an outward show of such. Today, JWs claim their properties, the so-called global coverage of the Good News and the Organization as proof of Jehovah's blessing. We shall see.

  Compound-Complex
• 

  Gill

  CoCo - I understand that France have been very hard on the Watchtower for quite a while now.....even daring to demand taxes for the distribution of the Wagtower and Awake!

  Since the French mags are published in the UK now, the French government have been denied their 'due'.

  I noticed that my mother has been keeping up her anti French propaganda describing their government as the most arrogant on the planet!!!

  Whether other governments would be able to do the same, we will have to wait and see!
• 

  sass_my_frass

  Are you kidding? Every book study group would form a sleeper cell. Every inactive member would be trying to get into one. They'd love it! Fewer publications to read, even. The leadership would be a bit miffed at letting go of their power and there would be less new 'By The Book' instruction but anybody who had been in a few years would be considered a walking encyclopedia of WBTS folklore. It is their favourite daydream.
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  Junction-Guy

  If it were banned worldwide, it would be a nightmare for the WT Society, because in this technological age, there would be no way for them to make money, even on the sly, as cash is eventually being replaced by debit and credit cards. There may be some splinter groups left over, but without any organization left, it would fall apart, and without means to rake in money, the WT Society would have no reason to try to exist. Take their money and its over with. Without a central organization and funding, there would be no need to follow the Society, people wouldnt have to choose between getting shunned and losing their family members.
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  kittyeatzjdubs

  I remember when I was in the Borg growing up, whenever attendence was down, they elders always made it a point to remind us that what if the great tribulation began tonight....we would be the only ones who knew where the next secret meeting would be held and those not here would be left outside ''gnashing their teeth and weeping''.

  ~luv, jojo
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  jgnat

  I am anti-ban. Governments always get these things wrong. Besides, as others have pointed out, the JW's would love it! People's faith becomes STRONGER under opposition.

  The best way to weaken the WT is to provide an easy exit for doubters. This should be a groundswell movement, privately managed.
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  Junction-Guy

  Ok JGnat, I respect your position, but what if governments instead of banning cults outright, made it harder for cults to take in money. What if the government provided funds for X cult members to organize and help others. What if you could see commercials on TV that reached out to help those suffering under the JW system? It takes alot of money to expose cults effectively, perhaps there should be some kind of fund for X members to go to college. What if a portion of the WT Society's profits were required to be put into a fund to help molested children, to provide psychiatric counseling, to help with career planning, to help former members to adjust to society. We live in a competitive "dog eat dog" world, and people raised under the WT rules have several strikes against them from the get go. Maybe outright banning isnt ethical, but cults shouldnt be allowed free reign to destroy lives, they should be required to help pay to mop up the mess they created.
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  undercover

  Banning religion, any religion or all religion would be like banning terrorism. Hows that working out?

  I'm against the banning of religion. I believe people should have the right to believe whatever religion they choose, just as I should have the right to not believe in religion at all.

  Banning a particular religion like the JWs would only fuel their fire. They would scream "persecution" and their numbers could actually increase. Don't make a martyr out of them.

  What I'd like to see is a true seperation of church and state. No religious influence on politics, no prayers, no Bibles, no Korans no Ten Commandments, nothing.

  In addition I'd like to see that religions lose their charity status. They should have to pay taxes as would any other business. Because religion is a business. Any charities they do run could be run under another charity name and receive tax exemption but the main part of the religion, the donations to the church, the buildings, the publications, the salaries, all would come back under the tax laws.

  Churches should also become liable to the zoning laws that they currently are exempt from (in the US anyway). Many churches are becoming mega-churches and building huge buildings, schools, daycares, gyms, libraries...all in quiet neighborhoods and the neighborhood can't fight it because churches don't fall under the zoning laws.