A thesis: The Discursive Construction of Freedom in the Watchtower Society

by AndersonsInfo 15 Replies latest jw friends

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  AndersonsInfo

  A thesis: The Discursive Construction of Freedom in the Watchtower Society

  
  

  https://ris.cdu.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/24632569/Thesis_CDU_24577264_Chester_H.pdf

  
  

  Be aware, this thesis, although supremely stimulating, thought-provoking, fascinating, attention-grabbing, remarkable, noteworthy, and appealing, the author made use of out of the ordinary, worthy of note, and fascinating words and statements that, for the reader of average intelligence (like me), make for laborious reading. However, in my opinion, reading it is worth the effort. Obviously, it was written by a super-intelligent individual (the evidence points to an Australian). My recommendation is to keep your thesaurus handy. (Of course, this recommendation does not apply to any super-intelligent former JW's. 😊)

  
  

  Enjoy.

  Barbara

  
  
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  cofty

  Thanks Barbara. Downloading for later.
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  the girl next door

  I was hooked at "Charles Darwin University".

  Thank you fabulous woman. Hope you and yours are safe and healthy.
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  smiddy3

  WOW ,

  I have just spent about the last hour perusing this thesis and I am in awe of the work that obviously has gone into producing this thesis ,and its going to take many more hours if I`m going to get through the whole lot.

  I think its an excellent piece of work ,and I agree with barbara have a thesaurus handy.

  As a suggestion ,maybe just pick out the chapter that first appeals to you and take it from there ,you wont be able to stop its that engrossing.
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  Giordano

  After reading through this dissertation one understands the following....it also generated my own thoughts as well: So this will be a mix.

  This is a religion where men dominate......... as all theocratic decisions are presented by men. The entire congregation and the Society is a men's club.

  Obedience is as important as faith....if not more so.

  When the Society speaks, through it's publications, it's web site, it's Elders and CO's ................the thinking is done. Your thoughts or opinions will not matter. There is no real discussions, no real objections.....try to understand THE THINKING IS DONE!

  The Ban on Blood has killed more JW believers every year....... then Jim Jones did one time out.

  That No Blood card one carries around becomes a suicide note if bad stuff happens to you or yours.

  The Society like other religions has a morbid fear of masturbation. Why?....... no one can adequately explain what the problem is. A healthy urinary tract and prostate care calls for at least a weekly release so my proctologist told me. What a nice thing to learn!

  The hatred of gay people is a mainstay of just about every religion even though people do not choose to be gay........ they are simply gay. There are 100 species of animals that can manifest as gay including lions and tigers............ if there are no female partners........so much for creation.

  The Watchtower....... as other religions like the Mormons and Amish practice the art of coercion. Coercion is a criminal act. In law it's called the crime of duress. If you don't shun a disfellowshiped person you in turn can be DF and shunned.............

  The definition of coercion refers to the act of persuading or convincing someone to do something using force or other unethical means.
  

  There are now over 100 reasons that a JW can be disfellowshiped for. Look up Shepard the Flock....... its available on jwfacts.com. Check out disfellowshiping and the reason for acting on it........ you will need to scroll down the page to see the reasons.

  It is the fear that you in turn can be be disfellowhiped......... If you don't shun family and close friends. This is an impossible situation for many JW's.

  The overall take I got re the WTBTS it's rules, changes and life time punishments is that this is a very sick religion.

  How sick do you have to be to rejoice in the death of Billions of innocent people.
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  Vidiot

  Gordano - "The Society like other religions has a morbid fear of masturbation. Why?"

  Since Jews, Muslims, and Christians are expected to "follow the example" of their respective religions' founders...

  ...they simply can't imagine Abraham and Moses, Mohammed, or especially Jesus actually jerking it.

  The mental image threatens to melt their brains.

  
  
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  Phizzy

  Thank you Barbara, for Posting this , you have given me something interesting to read during Lock Down !

  These are just my first thoughts, having read about 5 chapters, got a bit bored, and skipped to the Conclusion.

  I like the analogies used, one to the human body, and one to an org. with similarities, Alcoholics. Anon.

  The first gave me an insight in to why many of us were , and many of today's JW's are, happy to serve, for free, the " Body". I think this willingness to serve for this mainly unconscious reason, may even be a big part of the motivation of the G.B.

  The other analogy with A.A is good. To my certain knowledge the J.W org has helped a good number to break free from addiction, stay free, and make a good life for themselves. Two such people that I know well, would be dead by now had it not been for J.W's, and the org's method.

  In the Conclusion, I was struck by the two things that are mentioned as the main problems for the Org. going forward. One was the Internet, which of course Apostates contribute to, profusely, but the Net itself is a problem. Knowledge in the form of verifiable Facts and Evidence is readily available there (here).

  The other problem identified is the lack of Higher Education within the org. The suggestion is made that Study Rooms could be made available in K.H's ( when they re-open !), and even Pioneers could be encouraged to gain some Higher Education that way. I can see a problem with that, the org's penchant for rigid Control will want to make sure that the information does not rock the faith of some, and of course, they dare not encourage the development of Critical Thinking Skills. So, very different from a Uni. education.

  I will read all of it, and comment more later, no doubt.
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  Finkelstein

  Jesus actually jerking it.

  Probably not but all the GB men did a few times in their lives.

  This one particular guy must have done it a whole bunch

  
  

  ......and this guy did it few time while looking at physically attractive men wearing tight pants

  
  
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  Diogenesister

  like the analogies used, one to the human body, and one to an org. with similarities, Alcoholics. Anon.

  f NA

  I haven’t read this yet (look forward to doing so) but I’ve always said the similarities between AA , NA etc and watchtower are striking. Essentially because AA is a cult (all the ‘annonymous’es are derivatives of AA and based on its principals). Although there has been some recent attempts to remove the religious aspect from NA, replacing it with ‘spirituality,’ no rational person is seriously going to consider an effective higher power as their motorbike🤣 (although if it raises your social standing it does in effect work that way since both groups share utility for the member as social clubs primarily).

  Most people assume AA shares similarities to mainstream religion in such things as it’s tradition of confession. But the confession of AA is not like the Catholic confession because, and here youll begin to see the connection with watchtower, NA confessions will essentially end in judgement, removal from the group and shunning. Of course they will both deny this, since you may still attend “meetings”....but no one of note will associate with you and the group pressure ensures these rules are strictly maintained. Anyone who ignores these social norms will find themselves on the end of the same treatment! Oh but there is one difference connected with this behaviour - NA will claim its ‘a selfish programme’ whereas Witnesses will claim they do it out of ‘love’.

  Another nasty aspect they both share is a very subtle pressure to leave a spouse who ‘enables’ you, ie was supportive of you before you got with the programme or you were a worldly, even if that spouse has loyally been by your side for many years.

  Edit although the research tends to show AA is not very effective at keeping people clean, most of us know people who have been saved by both AA or Watchtower. Having said that, as time progresses we are developing more effective and more humane ways of keeping people healthy and safe through the ravages of addiction,
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  Vidiot

  Phizzy - "...I was struck by the two things that are mentioned as the main problems for the Org. going forward. One was the Internet, which of course Apostates contribute to, profusely, but the Net itself is a problem... The other problem identified is the lack of Higher Education within the org..."

  IMO, they're really two sides of the same coin...

  ...sources of information that successfully call WT ideology into question.