Factual, false, or phenomenon?

stillin

This strikes me as strange. In the last few years I have met four newly associated, and in a couple of cases baptized, brothers in the congregations who say that they did long stints in secret branches of the military and that they were behind the lines, "wet work" operatives. I might have considered it exceptional that one person who served in such a capacity would even go to church, let alone join up with the likes of Jehovah's Witnesses. But four of them, coupled with the statistical unlikeliness of me not only meeting all four, but the unlikeliness of any one of them volunteering this information to me, seems a seriously improbable thing.

Yet, there it is. I'm not cutting across 40 years. This is in the last 7 years that I have met these people, three of them very recently. Maybe I seem like somebody that they can talk to and get unloaded of some guilt. Or maybe I look gullible. Or maybe they figure they will garner some respect once the rumor has spread. or maybe each of them has very real backgrounds in this sort of thing. Weird.

The Searcher

Don't question it - just validate their trust by planting seeds whenever you can.

objectivetruth

Perhaps there are other factors in play? Might your location have anything to do with it? Is there a military base in your town?

I wonder if the 4 of them know each other.

JWdaughter

It could be some macho self making myth-and esp. if there are nearby militry bases. Lets face it-The WT does EVERYTHING it can to emasculate men. They are no better to men than they are to women except on superficial bases. If one guy told that story, ( years ago you heard it) the others may have got wind of it and it seemed pretty much like they could take back their manhood by making a similar claim.

I have known military men who have really done that kind of stuff and they DON'T discuss it. The less a military guy says about his job, the more colorful it usually is. There are the charmers who say if they told you, they'd have to kill you (wink, wink) and the guys who just change the subject. Even regular wartime service is often TOO difficult to discuss for a normal human being.

stillin

JWdaughter, that's the best explanation I have considered yet. No military bases around closeby. And my own brother who served in Vietnam has never shared a thing with me, yet I would say that we're close. So, again, why should these Witness guys volunteer their backgrounds so willingly?

I have respect for those who stand up for their nation. I feel that we owe them that. Of course some go into the military with bloodshed as their aim. But I can't read hearTS so thy all get my respect and appreciation for doing something that I myself did not do.

Oubliette

Maybe it's true, maybe it's bs.

I remember reading about the Menlo Park controversy. The CO involved claimed to have been a Navy SEAL. Someone researched it and found out that he was lying.

Go figure. Many people lie to "earn" respect.

On the other hand, if it's true, then maybe they think they can get God's forgiveness by peddling Watchtowers and Awakes!

Too bad for them it's another lie.

I can't say for sure because I was never a covert operative, but if I had been, I don't think I'd go around telling people.

Magnum

It could be some macho self making myth

That was my first thought. A few years ago there was a brother in his 50's in a nearby congregation who went to nursing school. He was bragging saying that he was so smart, etc. that the school was telling him he ought to go to medical school. A few months later, he was no longer in nursing school. I was wondering why. His wife told a close associate of mine that he couldn't handle nursing school; it was too hard for him.

This brother makes up other stuff about his abilities, background, etc., too.

prologos

The 'Walter Mitty' -syndrome gone public for self-embellisment.

stillin

If you are going to be a liar, why join up with JW's?! It's a miserable religion, but at least if you try to "live it" you won't be a liar! If you want to be a liar, go for th gusto out in the rest of the world. Self respect comes frome being truthful

jws

Covert ops also tends to blend into conspiracy theory. Secret organizations, secret work.

It seems there is a subset of the relgious that also believe in conspiracies all around them (satanic orgs, etc). It probably helps them explain why the world isn't going the way they think it should. It's not because their beliefs are wrong. There must be an enemy somewhere and if one can't be found, it must be invisible or secret, but it's GOT to be there to explain why the world isn't the way they want it to be. Be it satanic cults, the gay agenda, Masons, the Illuminati, the liberal media, a war on Christmas, or whatever imagined power is out there.

The delusion required to swallow/invent these things is probably a personality match for people to accept the JWs. After all, there's a fair amount of conspiracy involved there too. Always having to be on the lookout for Satan's ploys, worldly influences, etc. The plot to remove "Jehovah" from the Bible, the plot to say Jesus died on a cross, etc. You name it.

I wouldn't put it beyond this type of person to make up such things about their past. I knew JWs like this. Not secret ops, but other unbelievable things. My own brother-in-law for one. Being a covert agent gives them self authority to make wild claims and be able to have a personal experience to back it up. Because of their secret ops, they no doubt claim to "know" things the public doesn't.

I also agree with others. You don't talk about such things. To be CIA agents, secret service, etc., you have to fit into a certain personality type. For instance, secret service agents often hear the president speaking candidly. They hear private conversations, some of the things I'm sure are top secret. They have to be trusted never to speak of these things. I'm sure that would be a requirement of any secret group. The chances of one person talking are unlikely. Of 4?

No offense, but is there a chance they are all pulling your leg on purpose?

Factual, false, or phenomenon?

Share this