How do you feel about the expression "The Truth"? (page 3)

Gayle

Actually JW "truth" is a mind-control "program." I call it "The Program" when talking to non-JWs.

I wouldn't be so hard on people who still use the term, "the truth", especially people who were born into this religion. It is very ingrained. And to them, "the truth" means the JW religion, not necessarily the TRUTH.

I was talking with a friend recently, she's DF'd, knows more than me about all the lies and subterfuge, yet when we talk, she'll still say things like, "Remember Brother so-and-so..? He left the truth, too." She was raised in the religion, and knows absolutely that is not in any way, shape, or form, "the truth", but to her, it is simply another way of referring to this religion/cult.

She gets impatient with me when I mention her use of this expression. "Well, of course I know that it isn't "the truth - it's just another term for that f'd up religion!"

So while that term grates on my nerves, too, I understand it takes a long time, if ever, to eradicate.

DJS

I'm posting this from the other thread.

I eradicated it in 15 minutes, and I was essentially a born in. It might take some a long time or never to eradicate. For some of us, it happens at the speed of light. Using it on this forum has repercussions. If I'm a lurker and I read people talking about the 'truth,' I'm wondering why they left it if it is the truth.

Finkelstein

" The Truth " is used as a alluring and self supporting metaphor by JWS as a reconfirming self expression that has been strategically and mentally indoctrinated by the WTS. as we have the correct bible interpretations and we have been chosen by god exclusively toward mankind's personal salvation etc.

So the WTS devised doctrines to not only attract attention to its published literature but as well to hold them in a state of controlling submissive fear. What comes out this is self empowerment for men which they couldn't possibly possess, as well monetary wealth as money is exploited out these allured to controlled believers.

All other practicing Christian avowed faiths are " False " religions for their unrighteous practices.

The JWS practice "True" righteousness in the eyes of Jehovah and are more appeasing to him which is critically important based of the assertion by the WTS that Judgment day/Armageddon is imminently to come.

EndofMysteries

Such a flawed concept. Even though what is taught in 1910, 1950, 1990, 2000, 2015 are all completely different they are all part of 'the truth'. Today what is 'the truth' is tomorrows apostate teachings.

steve2

In New Zealand, there was a trashy "worldly" tabloid called, "The Truth" a weekly newspaper that featured lurid new items on crime, drugs and sex. It was published for decades up until the late 1980s and then readership declined because readers could get their fill of sensationalist stroeis from their morning or evening newspapers.

Anyway, there was a joke among JWs that when friends asked you, "Are you still in the truth?" or "How long have you been in the truth?" the answer was, "Why, brother, are you accusing me of immorality or crime! I have never been in The Truth".

We local Witnesses found it very funny - and man, do we need to bring some lightness to this dumb expresion, "The Truth".

Rather than wasting energy and emotions reacting to it, roll with it. Turn it into the joke that it deserves.

BTW, at least one other religious group refers to their teachings and organization as being "the truth": Exclusive Brethren.

Hmmm, JWs aren't so unique after all.

"So, brother Steve, are you still in the truth?"

"No, I stopped my offending years ago so haven't been in The Truth for a long time".

dbq407

I still find myself saying it but try not to use any of the JW specific terms as much as i can. Such as the truth or worldly.

Muddy Waters

Haha, dbq. Or if you do express it, you put little "finger quotes" around it. But then there are those that dislike finger quotes too.

Ach ti liben.....

Reminds me of the song:

".... na na na na...

I learnt my lesson well... (na na na na)

that you can't please everyone,

so ya -- gotta please yourself..." **

...

** 'course, Jeh's got something to say about that too!

... bah!

....

If there is a god, may God damn the Watchtower...

- Muddy

OrphanCrow

steve2: BTW, at least one other religious group refers to their teachings and organization as being "the truth": Exclusive Brethren.
Hmmm, JWs aren't so unique after all.

And then there are the "Two by Twos" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_by_Twos :

Two by Twos is one of the names used to denote an international, home-based church that has its origins in Ireland at the end of the 19th century. Among members, the church is typically referred to as "The Truth" or "The Way".

...and more about "the truth": http://2x2ministry.org

Heh...there was an elderly couple who would attend the Kingdom Hall when I was a kid - they were "Two by Twos". They said that the JWs were the closest to what they believed. Lol! She used to show up for meetings with a chihuahua in her handbag - he was all old and grey and he would snap at any kids who tried to pet him.

OnTheWayOut

I was hoping to find a place to stand on my soapbox today.

Jehovah’s Witnesses use this phrase, “the truth” when talking to each other, from their podiums in their Kingdom Halls, and in front of thousands at their yearly conventions. Members say it and hear it every week. If one is converted, the phrase is repeatedly heard so that it will sink in.

A search of the 2005 Watchtower Library CD-ROM (not going to bother to update my info. but easy to do) shows that the phrase “the truth” appears 18,774 times throughout the literature. Since the phrase is
heard and said so often, the members accept it as a fact. They are confident that the practices and
doctrines of the Watchtower organization are, indeed, the truth. Since it is an established fact in their minds, anything new printed by the Watchtower is accepted as the truth.There is no room for doubt. Jehovah’s Witnesses are even told that there is no room for doubt.

Most members would never dare to question anything they read or hear from Watchtower. The average Witness doesn’t try to think and interpret the scriptures for himself, but relies totally upon the Watchtower organization.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not refer to a truth that is abstract or subject to opinion like a standard of "beauty" or "morality." They insist that the truth does not depend on whose version of facts are used, like whether Pluto is accepted as a dwarf planet, a planet, or a large asteroid. They insist that the truth is absolute and established by God, and can stand up to any scrutiny. The Watchtower claims that our perspective on truth should come from the absolute authority of the creator of all things. They teach that the creator determines what is right and what is wrong, and that the absolute truth we seek is knowledge of His will for His creation.

This is “the truth” that, unlike beauty, does not lie in the eye of the beholder, according to them. But then they just turn the whole thing into a crying shame by saying that we need humans to interpret what that absolute truth is, and to tell us what they think God’s will is for us. And they happily become those humans, and say they are the only humans that can do that.

I cannot prove there is no absolute truth, but I am actually thankful that Watchtower goes to such an extreme in insisting upon it. That is the primary reason I am free of their lies. I did not have to discover the absolute truth or even if one existed. All I had to do was realize that Watchtower didn't have it, and their lies start to crumble. Their literature of the late 20th century insisted that each member examine "the truth" for themselves and I used their own standards to judge their statements and doctrines and they did not hold up. I suspect that's why they no longer insist that each member examine it for themselves. Now, they insist that members just trust them, no matter how bizarre their statements may be.

Thanks for the soapbox. Now, back to my regular internet cruising.

How do you feel about the expression "The Truth"?

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