You want me to believe...

by AllTimeJeff 17 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  AllTimeJeff

  How many times did I hear this or its variations from householders and return visits as I preached the JW message:

  "Ok, so you want/expect me to believe________"

  In a nutshell, what keeps most JW's together (and the group as a religion) is the validation of their own ideas. Hey, at the meetings in those KH's, it didn't matter what anyone else thought. We all knew we believed the same thing. It validated us as different, yet, we didn't have to be alone. Yup, bad ideas frequently get momentum. At one time, we were happy to believe all kinds of crap, because we never asked ourselves deep down if it made any sense at all!

  Fast forward to our leaving, and obviously that was the worst thing we could have had happen to us. Yet, what we once accepted (for many of us) is now not acceptable. That's why the normal response to unbelievable crap starts with, "Wait, you want me to believe......"

  You want me to believe that only JW's are going to survive Armageddon and that people will be judged and destroyed based on their reaction to that 8 year old's presentation of the WT magazine?

  You want me to believe that you can be the one true religion that Jehovah and Jesus chose in 1919 and yet not believe in practically anything you taught in 1919?

  You want me to believe that the GB is appointed by Holy Spirit to lead the one true religion, and yet can get away with all their flip flops because they are only spirit directed and not spirit inspired? You want me to believe there is a difference between spirit inspired and spirit directed?

  You want me to believe that the most loving act you can do for a sinner, even if they are your own kin, is to shun them?

  You want me to believe that you can change the meaning of what "generation" means in Mt 24 three times since 1994 and still claim that you are the one true religion?

  You want me to believe that the whole point of the bible was to prophesy the existence of the WTBTS and the first 3 presidents of the WTBTS in the 20th century? That the bible was ultimately for the 144,000 and that's it?

  You want me to believe that the trumpet blasts in Revelation really foretold a series of conventions held by JW's in the 1920's?

  You want me to believe that Jehovah would rather you handle pedophiles your own way as opposed to turning them into the police?

  You want me to believe that I can't have blood transfusions, but can have medicine and fractions derived from blood?

  You want me to believe that Jehovah cares about the sexual behaviors I engage in with my marriage mate?

  You want me to believe that Jehovah will destroy me because I didn't believe the current teaching of the year by the GB?

  I could go on and on about JW's and a lot of groups. That phrase "You want me to believe... what??!!" is so powerful, it might have saved me some time if I just asked myself that sooner in my life.
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  AllTimeJeff

  Cleaned up my original post. Sorry bout that.
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  3dogs1husband

  I want you to believe I am book marking your post!
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  MrFreeze

  Love it.

  You want me to believe that a global flood happened 6000 years ago, even though there is no proof of that outside of the Bible?

  You want me to believe that an organization that has run off numerous false prophecies is God's organization?

  You want me to believe that an organization can be directed by God's perfect holy spirit but still make mistakes in teaching and Bible-understanding?
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  sabastious

  AllTimeJeff,

  What constitutes a miracle for you?

  -Sab
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  AllTimeJeff

  Miracle

  d: an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world thatsurpasses all
  known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.
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  wobble

  What would constitute a miracle to me is if just one WT prediction came true !

  Great thread ATJ.

  "So you want me to believe that Jesus is only the mediator for the 144,000 ?"
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  life is to short

  Great thread

  My husband wanted me to believe that spending the weekend with his JW friends trying to convert strangers into the cult was more important to Jehovah then spending the weekend trying to save his marriage.

  LITS
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  Awen

  You want me to believe that even though Jehovah never changed laws that he gave to his people in the OT, he now does it on a regular basis because his "flashlight" of inspiration has weak batteries?

  You want me to believe I am not capable of thinking for myself and need the GB to do it for me, even though I got through my life quite well before I met up with JW's?

  You want me to believe that God is all knowing, all powerful, parted the waters of the Red Sea, can start and stop storms at will and it master of every natural force that exists, but just can't handle money. So I need to send the WTS everything I have so you guys can send it to him?

  You want me to believe that God loves everyone on this planet, especially his own servants, but stands idly by while they are murdered, raped, tortured all for his sake because it's all for his own glory and everything will be made alright in the resurrection, unless they are somehow disqualified because they dared make a complaint about the quality of food served to them (think of the Israelites in the desert eating manna).

  In short, you want me to believe that reality is something I should dispense with and not worry too much when I hear news of the GB's under-handed and dangerous dealings with it's members...??

  You want me to believe anything the GB says, no matter how outlandish, how often it changes, to dismiss the discrepancies in their "logic" all because they are "spirit directed" and that ultimately they aren't responsible if by following their instructions we are harmed but if we don't do as they say we will be kicked out and cut off from loved ones for the rest of our lives, yet they only have our best interests at heart?

  Truly the GB believes their own rhetoric and are not only delusional but dangerous to boot.

  I think I'll skip the Kool Aid for now.

  Awen
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  Heaven

  ATJ, well put. But it isn't until after you get knee deep into the religion that some of these things are revealed to you. It's a slow process of indoctrination. As I hit my teens and more was revealed to me because I was growing up, I realized that this type of argumentation (the 'You expect/want me to believe this bullcrap'.) could also be applied to the Bible.

  In other words, you expect me to believe....

  1) That women are to blame for all the issues in the world because Eve disobeyed God and convinced her husband to do so as well. Which means that all women should be treated as second class citizens and that wives be subjugated by their husbands.

  2) That for 98,000 years, Heaven has looked upon the goings on here on Earth with coldness and indifference and then, suddenly, about 2000 years ago said "Wait. We've had enough of this." and sent some son of God to the illiterate Middle East to save us all.

  3) That slavery is ok as is beating your slave as long as you don't kill them.

  4) That sacrificing your child is ok and an appropriate test to someone's devotion to a myth.

  Yeah.... I ain't buyin' it either. "Thanks but I'm not interested" (* closes door *).