Why do we say Witness teachings are idiotic - Weren't all of us Witnesses? (page 3)

BluesBrother

OK, lets put this into the first person.

I do not mind admitting that I was stupid, ignored better arguments, unable to reason, perhaps you may say brainwashed..That was me BluesBrother. Nobodys fault but mine as the old Blues song says....I personally believe that those at the top are more likely the same - rather than deliberately misleading the flock.

How come I was fooled? You do not have to be a stupid person to do a stupid thing. There are a good many psychological hypotheses as to why smart people get drawn into cults.

I was a child when I started, I was in my 50's when I left. It took something special to make me wake up. Then I could see as clear as day that it just could not be true...The Witnesses that we know have not had their "something special " yet. A good many go to the grave still believing.

reniaa

Its human nature to hate what we once loved both being sides of the same coin.

1 Samuel 18:20
Now Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased.

2 Samuel 6:16
As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.

2 Samuel 6:20
When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"

the victriolic hatred of ex-witnesses often reminds me of this story.

ThomasCovenant

Hi

To be more precise, Reniaa, and so as not to fall in the same trap being discussed, perhaps you mean

''the vitriolic hatred of SOME ex-witnesses often reminds me of this story''

I have always maintained that when people are angry with others they are primarily angry with themselves first.

Me? I'm angry with Witnesses (but not as much as I used to be) because I'm angry with myself first.

You see, I am still angry with myself when I think back to standing in a small waiting room in a hospital at 2 or 3 am waiting to find out whether my wife and mother of my two children was going to die on the operating table following complications from an earlier in the day operation.

I hadn't believed it was ''the truth'' for years and years but I still went along with it for the status quo. It was my whole life.

But in that waiting room I was preparing for what I thought was the inevitable death of my partner. And I was trying to think of what to say to my two daughters aged 16 and 14 who loved their mother.

''Girls, I've got some bad news. Your mother died last night because of major blood loss and her refusal to take blood.'' (As it was, she asked the doctors to give her blood as a last resort. In the end, they used the cell saver and as far as we know didn't give her blood).

''But Dad, she knew as well as you that it wasn't ''the truth''. Why didn't both of you stop this earlier. Our Mum would still be alive today.''

''Yes girls. I know. What can I say?''

Today both my wife and I and daughters and some in laws and cousins are all out. But I'm still angry at how close I came to letting the situation go so far.

I wish that I hadn't drifted for so long in a religion that I knew was totally and utterly not true.

If my wife had died that day and if I'm angry now, I dread to think how angry I would have been with myself first and foremost and then with ALL Jehovah's Witnesses.

Reniaa, please try and humbly understand some of the anger that SOME ex witnesses have, both with themselves and Jehovah's Witnesses. Please.

That being said I do enjoy reading your viewpoints as it takes two to tango.

Thomas Covenant (still an angry man)LOL

WuzLovesDubs

Vitriolic hatred....gosh why would anybody be angry at what amounts to rape? Or for wasting their entire LIVES on a lie? Or putting aside having children, getting an education or taking that promotion to help their family, or putting off that operation because the "end is near", or watching their child die from lack of life saving blood transfusions, or being shunned by their own children or parents and losing every friend they had on the planet because their views have changed?

Gosh Ren....WHY in the world would anybody be unhappy with any of that?

sir82

It takes effort and intelligence to learn to think critically and really reason on things, to look objectively (as objectively as possible, anyway) at all sides of an issue, weigh pros and cons, and make rational decisions based on evidence.

JWs are not only not trained to engage in critical thinking, they are actively encouraged to avoid critical thinking at all costs. "Don't be tempted to read 'apostate literature'....or books critical of the Bible....or books promoting 'non-Biblical views'....etc. etc. etc."

This is especially true for people born into the religion. They are encouraged to "make the truth their own" and "prove the truth to themselves"....by reading exclusively the WT Society's own literature!

Well duh...if you are never taught to reason critically, and you get 100% of your input about a matter from those who have a vested interest in it, guess what conclusion you're going to reach?

Witness teachings (a significant number of them, anyway) are indeed quite idiotic. But for the JWs on the inside who lack the skills & training to discern that, it's hard to blame them.

WTWizard

Even those of us who were recruited were scammed. What kept us from cross-referencing to find out for ourselves that it is stupid is the threats. They attribute anything that might be able to give us another viewpoint to Satan, and they threaten that such is designed to rob us of everlasting life. This threat is made right away, so the witlesses do not get a chance to cross-check to make sure of the more important things before getting scammed.

Once they are in, there are severe penalties for cross-referencing. You will be put out of the congregation, threatened with death and destruction, and have your family life (if any) ruined. This is usually enough to keep people in line with the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger (who is the group that bears the ultimate responsibility). That is usually enough to keep them witless, even as they read their washtowels to find out what they need to do now to survive.

beksbks

Born in here too.

Why wouldn't I hate an organization of men who had such a detrimental effect on my life? Who shall I hate? My Grandmothers and Grandfathers who were duped by these presumptuous men?

Colton

I blame myself 100%. I never researched the organization and thought it was just another Christian religion. After I became baptised, the more I starting hearing how the organization inserts itself into prophecies. "See? We were the seven trumpets of Revelation!" I started to roll my eyes on such haughty claims and I began to question the Watchtower. I never bought into the whole 1914 doctrine. Never believed Jesus returned in 1914 or 1918. I seriously disagreed with Jah God killing non-JWs at Armageddon ... and I was always suspicious of the Memorial. On top of all that, the disfellowshipping and No-Blood doctrines helped push me out of this cult.

minimus

We are embarrassed too. Now that we do know the truth about The Truth, we want to be clear that the beliefs are stoopid. The people, not necessarily, but sometimes they too are stoopid.

Narkissos

I think this is a very good question -- perhaps the most interesting and useful question to each one of us personally.

You might find the following thread interesting: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/127218/1/What-were-your-reasons-for-becoming-a-JW

Why do we say Witness teachings are idiotic - Weren't all of us Witnesses?

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