How do they do it?

Trevor Scott

I've been out of "the truth" tm for a few years now. My exit was the direct result of so-called "apostate" information on the Internet. I literally stumbled upon an "apostate" website while Googling something and thank God resisted my initial (programmed) response to RUN FOR MY LIFE.

I spent the next 6 months researching using every website, book, and individual I could get my hands on before finally sending in my DA letter; but the fact is, that first website contained the real truth about the Watchtower religion and in all honesty, I recognized it almost immediately.

So what I wonder is, how do those "JWs" that frequent sites like this do it? How do they go about their lives, continuing to defend the Watchtower Society, whilst constantly encountering the REAL truth about this religion? How do they continue to go to meetings and distribute literature for what they MUST know is a false religious cult run by liars and hypocrites? (Granted, some do not go to meetings, etc; very likely the trolls we have here don't... but some that I have encountered elsewhere I believe do.)

I've seen countless of these JWs get owned in discussions with former JWs and yet they keep at it. Getting owned doesn't even seem to phase them. I really don't get it. What's with these people? Can someone explain it to me?

Oh... and on an unrelated note, my mouse is broken and MAN is it frustrating!

bluecanary

Was your initial web experience in a forum like this or on an information site? I think that makes a difference. JWs can convince themselves that the things they see here are just people's sad personal stories, unique to the individual rather than indicative of anything wrong with the organization as a whole. As long as they steer clear of informational sites they can cling to faulty beliefs with impunity.

mrsjones5

I have to post this because it explains so well what we see all the time here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

"Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The "ideas" or "cognitions" in question may include attitudes and beliefs, the awareness of one's behavior, and facts. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, or by justifying or rationalizing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. [ 1 ] Cognitive dissonance theory is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology.

Dissonance normally occurs when a person perceives a logical inconsistency among his or her cognitions. This happens when one idea implies the opposite of another. For example, a belief in animal rights could be interpreted as inconsistent with eating meat or wearing fur. Noticing the contradiction would lead to dissonance, which could be experienced as anxiety, guilt, shame, anger, embarrassment, stress, and other negativeemotional states. When people's ideas are consistent with each other, they are in a state of harmony, or consonance. If cognitions are unrelated, they are categorized as irrelevant to each other and do not lead to dissonance.

A powerful cause of dissonance is an idea in conflict with a fundamental element of the self-concept, such as "I am a good person" or "I made the right decision." The anxiety that comes with the possibility of having made a bad decision can lead to rationalization, the tendency to create additional reasons or justifications to support one's choices. A person who just spent too much money on a new car might decide that the new vehicle is much less likely to break down than his or her old car. This belief may or may not be true, but it would likely reduce dissonance and make the person feel better. Dissonance can also lead to confirmation bias, the denial of disconfirming evidence, and other ego defensemechanisms."

Trevor Scott

Hi bluecanary,

My first exposure to "apostate" material was on an information site as opposed to a forum like JWN...

I hadn't considered the difference between the two. But do you suppose that persons such as reniaa haven't checked out those sites too? It seems like these people are looking for debates...

mrsjones, great point. I guess our resident trolls have opted for "justifying or rationalizing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors" as opposed to changing them.

Still, it amazes me that one can see outright lies and manage to justify them. How someone can accept a religion as "the truth" tm when presented with evidence of blatant lies by that religious group is beyond me.....

lifelong humanist

They can do it Trevor because that is what they want to do. JWs can be exposed to countless facts that prove that they belong to a nasty cult, but if they don't want to accept the evidence, then they'll conveniently ignore it and continue on as if nothing happened . As many former JWs can testify, the consequences of acting responsibly to the facts and quitting are often very difficult to cope with. I believe that a large percentage of current JWs acknowledge that they do not have the 'truth', but don't want to rock the boat. If DFing and DAing were no longer JW policy, perhaps 75% would quit overnight! Now there's an interesting scenario to contemplate!

palmtree67

Bookmarking for later. Josie's post needs deeper thought than I am capable of right now.

OUTLAW

Trevor Scott..

Some of the biggest supporters of the WBT$ on the internet,are not Jehovah`s Witness`s..

They pretend to be..

But..

Can`t be bothered to do any of the hard work,that is expected of real Jehovah`s Witness`s..

Example:

Reniaa publicly admits to not following the WBT$..

Yet..Reniaa will defend the WBT$ until we are all sick of reading his/her posts..

Crazy?..You bet!!..

........................LOL!!...OUTLAW

bluecanary

But do you suppose that persons such as reniaa haven't checked out those sites too? It seems like these people are looking for debates...

Exactly, they are looking for debates, not a learning opportunity. People like that usually tell you up front that they are here only to defend their faith, not examine it.

How do they do it?

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