Validation and defense mechanisms, or why it's ok for billions to die

by zoiks 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  BlackSwan of Memphis

  I was just explaining to a friend yesterday how JW imagery is so dark. Even the Book of Bible Stories much of the imagery is dark and scary. Even though the KH are fairly bland, the publications are filled with pictures of people dying horrible deaths or being chased away by exploding volcanoes. Further so much of it is heavily peppered of nonbelievers being evil drug abusing, Satanists who reject God. Of COURSE they deserve it.

  The whole notion of non JW people being for the most part, loving, kind, generous and remotely acceptable to God is so completely foreign.

  They teach Not to unnecesarrily associate with non believers. It was us vs them.

  They deserved to die because they were not one of us.

  It was pounded into our brains to see them as the outsiders, as the ones who are not worthy. There is no logic, there is no reason. There just is.

  How did we justify it? On a personal level.....

  I dont' know that I ever did. Being a JW since birth (so to speak) it isn't like my thinking was given an opposing view to consider. Plus, for me, I had a horrible time in school with the kids and I'm sure that reinforced that worldly kids were bad kids....

  Maybe that is one of the keys....... I wonder if we did a poll, how many of us had rotten experiences in life and were looking for some Utopia and so believed the JW's to be it?

  Hm, hope this makes sense, it turned into a bit of a ramble...
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  undercover

  It makes perfect sense, BlackSwan...

  Some of these subjects are hard to put down in succinct, two line posts. Sometimes you just have to ramble to get it out...but those of us who went through it as well, we get it.
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  BluesBrother

  The door-to-door preaching work creates people who are ok with genocide

  This is so right....I often look back now and wonder that I could ever have believed that. But I did. Of course I comforted myself with the thought that it was going to God's judgement, not ours. So that made everything O K . I mean, if God decided it, then it had to be right. Doesn't it?

  I know family dubs who do not accept that all non believers will die, but they dare not say so at the meetings. One is so blind as to deny that the WT even teaches it !

  When I was fading and I raised this with my then P O, he could only pause and say that God had done it before at The Flood and that was the pattern, so I had better be careful...

  
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  BlackSwan of Memphis

  Some of these subjects are hard to put down in succinct, two line posts. Sometimes you just have to ramble to get it out...but those of us who went through it as well, we get it.

  Well thank you for understanding. These topics are so often very unique to people with the same experiences and one of the things that feels good about coming back is that 'knowing' that we've (mostly) all been there.

  When you think about it, this whole topic is creepy.
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  zoiks

  When you think about it, this whole topic is creepy.

  BlackSwan - yes. I'm finding that as my mind begins to get used to thinking on its own, lots of things that I used to take for granted are creepy, wrong, and awful. I believe that it is necessary to face that fact.

  zoiks
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  PSacramento

  Well, if it is Ok for their own brothers to die from lack of blood due to a passage that referes to a dietray restictions, then it is more than ok for the "infidels" to die too.
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  zoiks