by Lady Lee 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
1. They are wrong. Means I will live my life in peace knowing I don't bow to their hypocritical laws.
2. I don't see how I or anyone else could be wrong about them that know the truth about the truth. I am perfectly fine in dying with no remorse of my current beliefs.
3. It would mean that there is a god that cares, especially after all the abuse I went through being raised by an emotionally disturbed mother and her husband (not my biological father.
First of all Lady Lee - my sympathies for your loss and heartache!
I can't help but think that some of the saddest situations I've seen are those people who leave the organization because they feel they can't live "up to the standards" and then spend the rest of their lives feeling guilty about it.
You're right, of course. Asking those questions and being brave enough to look for the answers can be the beginning of a new life. Unfortunately, one of the sad realities about brain-washing is that no one can really convince you or persuade you - until you're ready to hear it. I remember many times my brother (in particular) tried telling me they were a cult and I just wasn't ready to hear it. Now he says "I told you so" and I laugh and say well, you were right!
And let's not forget that it takes a lot of humility and courage to accept that you were wrong and do something about it.
rip no problem about the name of the bold. Made it easier for these older eyes to see
That is it right. As a JW "Don't think. We will do it for you"
Keep asking the questions and proving things one way or another. Don't let anyone do yoru thinking for you - not even me. lol
What I see is that this isn't just about sexual abuse. It is about their whole body of beliefs. Most are based on the need to keep people too busy to think for themselves or that make them afraid to think for themselves.
When a person's ability to think for themselves is limited then it makes so many unethical things happen with no response from others who know about the problem. "The elders will deal with it" or even worse "Wait on Jehovah" Just those two statements are enough to make even to most contientious or concerned JW pull back and do nothing.
The list goes on and on and on. I'm sure many of you can add a few of the problems where JWs are taught to ignore their "natural affections" and shun someone.
Even after 10 years of being out I was so scared to really startted asking those questions. What if the WTS/JWs are wrong? What if I was wrong to beleive them and like a child accept every word they said even when it made no sense.
At some point you have to stop being a child and grow up and ask the hard questions.
Most teens go through a stage of life where the big question is "Who am I?" JW teens don't go through that stage. They are told they are Jehovah's Witnesses and nothing else matters.
It is hard when you are in your 30s or 40s or 50s or even more and you have to sit down and ask yourself "Who am I?"
I will tell you a secret about that. It is hard to go through but it was actually easier to go through in my 30s than it would have been in my teens. Took less time too.
What the Watchtower does to people is it moulds them into being dishonest with themselves. They make people into liars. Once you can lie to yourself, it becomes easy to lie to others. This is destructive.
When you can no longer be honest with yourself, you become disabled. For Lady Lee's sister, death followed. Same for my Mom.
Lying to yourself results in you no longer being able to identify and accept that you have a problem and that you need to do something about it. "Waiting on Jehovah" just makes your problems worse. Inaction results in degradation, disablement, and destruction.
Thanks to those of you who made comments about my sister.
Mass delusion is a tool that the WTS has used well. Teaching people to lie is exactly what they do.
Edmund Burke ( January 12 , 1729 – July 9 , 1797 ) was an Irish political philosopher, Whig politician and statesman who is often regarded as the father of modern conservatism.
Some of his more famous saying:
Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny. Speech at Bristol Previous to the Election (06 September 1780).
Power gradually extirpates from the mind every humane and gentle virtue. Pity, benevolence, friendship, are things almost unknown in high stations. A Vindication of Natural Society: A View of the Miseries and Evils Arising to Mankind (1756)
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Attributed to Burke but there is some controversy abou the real author/speaker
