1/15 WT- Guilt, Guilt, and More Guilt ! Black & White Cult Reasoning !

by flipper 33 Replies latest jw friends

  • flipper
    flipper

    This particular article was discussed or touched on a couple months ago regarding the WT Society's statement concerning JW's putting " Jehovah above everything else- including the family bond " . So I won't address those points in this thread, but there are many OTHER points to address where the WT Society uses guilt and black & white cult reasoning to control JW's minds with this information from the article titled, " Let Nothing Distance you from Jehovah ".

    First off in paragraph 5 the WT tries to make people feel guilty looking for work and insists that if you get ANY job that takes you away from family- it will distance you from Jehovah ! ( Don't MOST jobs take us away from our family anyway ? ) It states, " Suppose you are looking for a job. If you live in a land where work is scarce, you might be tempted to accept the first job offer-any offer- that comes along. What if the schedule or traveling involved will impede your Christian activity or take you AWAY FROM YOUR FAMILY ? Should you ACCEPT the offer anyway , thinking that an UNSUITABLE job is better than no job ? " ( Who SAYS it's unsuitable ? WT leaders , that's who ! ) It continues, " Remember, choosing the WRONG path could DISTANCE you from Jehovah . " Translation : If the WT Society says you have an " unsuitable " job , believe it, you do- it will cause you to lose Jehovah's favor. Black & White reasoning.

    Then this article attacks the young people's job aspirations ! In paragraph 10 it states, " If you are a young person who is contemplating a career, how can you choose the right path ? Would training in the field that you are considering allow you to pursue Kingdom interests more fully, or would it DISTANCE you from Jehovah ? Is your goal to imitate the lifestyle of people whose happiness rises and falls depending on the size of their bank account or stock portfolio ? Remember, one path will DISTANCE you from Jehovah, while the other path will lead you to the best life ever". Says who ? Says the WT Society ! Once again Black & White reasoning is used that " if you do such and such you'll get Jehovah's disfavor" !

    Then next, the WT article attacks recreation and entertainment ! Notice these quotes in paragraph 12 & 13, " If not careful, however, recreation and entertainment could ( drum roll please ) DISTANCE you from Jehovah. If you choose to spend excessive time on recreation and entertainment, you will find that your downtime is NOT as refreshing as it could be. In fact, those who keep relaxation in it's place enjoy it even MORE . Why ? Because they know that they first took care of " the MORE important things , " so their period of relaxation comes GUILT FREE. " Once again WT Society tries to cause JW's to feel guilt for even relaxing as a normal human would desire !

    Then , it gives the experience of a 20-year old sister named Kimwho allegedly " learned " from experience. It quotes her as saying, " Every weekend something big was happening - Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Now, though, I see that there are just so many MORE IMPORTANT tHINGS to do. For example, as a pioneer, I wake up at 6:00 A.M. for field service, so I can't be socializing until one or two in the morning. I know that social events are not ALL bad ( really ? ) , but they can be a HUGE distraction. Like anything else, they have to be kept IN THEIR PLACE. " Translation : It's more important to get up at 6:00 A.M. in the morning bluury eyed and go talk to people waking them up out of bed on Saturday or Sunday mornings to place WT Society marketing literature with them than having any meanigful social life ! It's not more important in MY WORLD ! I treasure my sleep ! I work too hard during the week to kill myself for a money earning marketing cult !

    So- you get the drift of how this article is guilting JW's to feel they will be dissapproved somehow by God if they even TRY to enjoy earning a living or have a social life. It's really mind control at it's worst. I look forward to any and all comments or takes you may have on this ! Take care, have a great weekend ! Peace out, Mr. Flipper

  • 00DAD
    00DAD

    How could choosing "the wrong" job possibly distance an individual from an omnipotent, omniscient eternal being?

    Such nonsense ... Oh, I get it, it could distance you from the meetings! I almost forgot: In JW-Land The Organization IS Jehovah!

    Duh.

  • breakfast of champions
    breakfast of champions

    Even as a True Believer, I was well aware that the predominant theme of my childhood was GUILT. I mostly attributed it to my mother's shitty parenting; but after learning TTATT, it became clear that guilt permeates JW culture. There are hints of guilt in virtually everything they print.

  • wha happened?
    wha happened?

    Bottom line is the GB would like everyone to be living in the 50's. No "distractions". Just sitting in the mental compound, waiting for an ever changing day of reckonning.

  • DesirousOfChange
    DesirousOfChange

    They realize that most of the R&F have moved on to just living "normal" lives. Almost no one has any "urgency" about them. Everyone has accepted the fact that they are going to get old, retire, and die. Yeah, there's a little glimmer of hope that they'll tiptoe right into the Paradise, but most are not living like they really believe it. Most are living for the "real life". That is, the life they have right now. Just trying to make the best of it. Plan for retirement. If they regret that they passed on getting an educaton, they're making sure their kids go to college. Thus the need to guilt some back into submission.

    In the Jan 1st WT they admit to "crying wolf" so many times. Most of the R&F no longer have any confidence in them, but they're hedging their bets by keeping one foot in the door with a few hours of token service, etc.

    Doc

  • flipper
    flipper

    00DAD- Exactly. In JW land the GB is Jehovah. So they deem JW's wicked if they take jobs that make them miss meetings. Ridiculous.

    BREAKFAST of CHAMPIONS- Good points you make. Guilt as well as fear are the predominant marketing schemes that the WT leaders use to control Witnesses. As you said it permeates eveything they do and most all information they put forth.

    WHA HAPPENED ? - Very true. The GB DOES wish all Witnesses were living " Ozzie & Harriet " type 1950's lives in a mental compound. It's like Jack Nicholson in the movie " One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest " - most of these Witnesses have essentially experienced a lobotomy in their brains removing critical thinking ability.

    DESIROUS of CHANGE- You make some good points indeed. I truly feel that the GB realizes that Witnesses are NOT listening to this controlling drivel and as you mention many JW's are trying to live semi- " normal " lives to earn money, go to college, etc. I agree with you that JW's are keeping both feet in both worlds so they can get the " benefits " of both worlds. If you can call any WT thing a " benefit "

  • nugget
    nugget

    I was just remarking to my husband how lovely it is to have a Sunday morning without the need to wake up early and how lovely it is to have no schedule. As a witness you have to be focused on the task of worship and nothing else. By intruding into life outside the areas of worship the society is seeking to control every aspect of the person even when they are away from the kingdom hall.

    To suggest that a pioneer is waking up at 6:00am to preach on a weekend is just another exageration to emphasise how most witnesses fall short. In other words "do you get up early to spend the maximum amount of time on the service at the weekend?" If you don't then there is something wrong with you. So if you are too tired for the service you need to feel guilt and if you get up for the service arrangement perhaps you could have been out even earlier.

  • flipper
    flipper

    NUGGET- Very good point you make that the WT Society tries to keep JW's so busy that it intrudes into EVERY other aspect of their personal lives. There's no time for sex for married couples because instead of taking Saturday or Sunday mornings off to recharge each others batteries- married JW's are commanded to attend mind control numbing meetings which indoctrinate them to mAINLY put WT interests first in their lives. It's sick and twisted how the WT Society dominates, controls, and actually ruins people's private lives

  • finally awake
    finally awake

    I was always a bit annoyed by the constant harping on the need to be in service every single Saturday morning and after meeting on Sunday. They literally didn't want me to have a single day to myself. I'm not a morning person at all, and the ability to sleep in and not have to get moving and out of the house at least one day a week is vital to my mood and mental well being. Now that I don't attend meetings at all, I get two days per week to do as I please. Sometimes I get up and go places, sometimes I spend the whole weekend in pajamas hanging out with Just Ron

  • Found Sheep
    Found Sheep

    who are they to tell grown adults how to live there life

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