by refiners fire 38 Replies latest jw friends
Do they "mystically manipulate"people joining them?
Im inclined to say they dont.
They are almost UNIQUE in this.
Practically every cult Ive joined, I could recite a litany of Manipulation techniques applied to me during my joining process.
The dubs study with people, systematically, unemotionally.
Noone else does this in my experience.
People who join the dubs join under "intellectual conviction".
Do you agree with this view or not??
Im most curious to hear opinions on this.
Isolate & indoctorate = modus-operandi of the JWs, a universal trick of most cults!
The Witnesses dont take people off into isolation at camps while theyre "studying". Studying the Bible once a week in your own lounge can hardly be called "Isolation".
Certainly they manipulate recruits. They isolate from friends and family by planting suspicion of Satanic influence, they "love bomb" at meetings and studies, they seek early on to control information by warning of "apostate" literature, they seek to control time by studying as often as possible and encouraging association and meeting attendance, their literature manipulates with lies and half truths, they target people (by the nature of their preaching work) at transitional/stressful periods - thye use just about ALL of the classic cult indoctrination techniques.
Was this a serious question?
"Belief is the death of intelligence." R.A. Wilson
"Practically every cult Ive joined"???
"Belief is the death of intelligence." R.A. Wilson
oops, make that INDOCTRINATE!
og, well said!
Refiner:
I have never been associated with any other ‘cult’ so I cannot compare. I would not personally use the term ‘mystically manipulate’ when describing the recruiting techniques of JW’s. I have many times heard people say how the JW faith is strictly ‘intellectual’ and comment on the ‘coldness’ of the believers. I was JW from my early youth on up so I have little experience with other faiths. I attended a Catholic Church until I was about eight or nine and I don’t remember seeing any emotion displayed during services. I have heard of some of the ‘Protestant’ faiths and how emotional their services can be, however.
JW’s have system. That is perhaps the most powerful of all tools. Even a poor system can be quite effective and theirs is a very good system that is peopled by individuals who are convinced that what they are doing is absolutely essential to their own salvation. Their efforts are methodical, repetitious, and consistent. Certain key factors are deliberately kept from the potential convert such as disfellowshipping, limiting association with everyone not JW, giving up his weekends and most if not all of his vacation time, being required to shun family members if then get df’d, etc. These ‘negative’ factors are carefully kept out of the study publications and if they are brought up at all, they are brushed aside as quickly as possible until the ‘interested person’ is first convinced that this is the only way.
Another ploy is to pick up strays from other faiths, people who are fed up with the hypocrisy and squabbling that is going on in their own churches and are looking for something better. (Sad to say they will find this in the congregation of JW’s as well but they will never be told this!) This is a lot like all the smaller business that hover around Sears at the mall. Sears draws a tremendous crowd and retailers long ago realized that they would piss people off from time to time or that someone would be looking for a particular item Sears does not carry. Voila! Here they are to fulfill that particular need.
Another effective method is trolling. Let your line out with bait and hook and sooner or later something is bound to be attracted to it and bite. It doesn’t matter how long it takes between bites because your fishers are people who are convinced that they have to do this and it doesn’t cost the organization one penny.
Hi Frenchy,
Well said.
neyank
They isolate from friends and family by planting suspicion of Satanic influence, they "love bomb" at meetings and studies, they seek early on to control information by warning of "apostate" literature,
They dont do those things until youre an actual member.
Except for the "Love bombing"...I suppose.....you could call it a lovebomb if you wanted.
A Witness love bomb is a pretty tame love bomb compared to most others, I can tell you.
The only thing I can think that is controlled is the actual study process ityself. The information studied is directed by them. Theyre calling the shots on what you take into your mind in terms of cult doctrine.
