WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? Are you?

by Terry 17 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  minimus

  Ultimately, we are responsible for whatever we do. But I don't mind blaming someone else in the meantime.
• 

  bikerchic

  So, are they responsible for not being responsible? My understanding is that at the time when you become aware you've been hoodwinked, the responsibility belongs to you to make a decision to go or stay.

  The point being: at what point is irresponsibility something that excuses us? Only when you are still under their control and are buying into it hook line and sinker, ie; believing that what they say in the name of God is true.

  Faith: if we adopt it as a way of accepting what we are told without investigation; how are we, then, responsible/irresponsible?

  You are being irresponsible in not searching for the truth say if you know in your gut something is askew and yet you turn a blind eye to it relying on faith or God to make corrections time and time again. In a court of law I believe this would be guilty by association. Kate
• 

  dh

  Ultimately, we are responsible for whatever we do.

  i totally agree with that line, and i think blaming people for what has already happened is a way of hiding from getting on with things, even if someone or some group IS to blame, it is of no benefit to you to actively blame them. i think being responsible is when you consciously stop those same bad things from happening again, learning from mistakes etc.
• 

  Corvin

  I was born a victim to the cult. That was not my fault. I was raised to believe the lies; I was a victim. It was not my fault. I was cheated of an education, good relationships with friends and family; I was a victim. It was not my fault.

  I grew to the age of accountability while still under the influence of the organization. I was pressured into baptism and devoted my life to it. Because of my circumstances, I could not have known any better; I was a victim.

  I broke the rules one day, started smoking, and got df'd. That WAS my fault, I was responsible. I left the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses for good and oppose it with all my heart. I am no longer a victim, and I am responsible.

  Corvin
• 

  Frannie Banannie

  In essence, we were deceived......we trusted like children....those of us who entered into Steppfordville as adults may have had a few nagging doubts, but they were essentially quashed by the consistency of the "medicinal" doses of WT-BATS publications and rhetoric to keep us in line and to keep the overall status quo of the borg mindset.

  It is when an individual becomes AWARE and quits taking their "medicine" that that individual becomes responsible for their continued adherence to and support of that cancerous tumor on the butt of society.

  Frannie B
• 

  avengers

  I'd say that the individual becomes responsible when he or she KNOWS the facts and still follows blind leadership. Glen

  I have to go with that one.
  How can I honestly in my heart stay a Witness knowing the truth about the truth?

  He told me he couldn't leave as he had helped 61 people into the "Truth"

  Maybe he should look at it the other way around. He has more power to get 61 people out.
  That would be cool to have a congregation whith 80 % "apostates".
  Think of all the fun they can have.

  Just a thought. Maybe even wishful thinking.

  Andy
• 

  Mysterious

  Terry, that's better. I'd say that the individual becomes responsible when he or she KNOWS the facts and still follows blind leadership.

  There is also that concept they liked to throw around. The one where children were protected by their parents until they knew enough to make a decision on their own. One has to wonder about those raised in the truth that are kept so shielded, if they are not somewhat less responsible that join the organization as adults without doing their research.

  Of course that also raises the question of the witnesses preying on people at an opportunistic moment. You know the ones who read the obituaries, lurk around outdoor funerals, and visit hospitals regularly to talk to those that are seriously ill. Do we take into account the mindset of the convert in determining how responsible they are?
• 

  Terry

  How many of us were "prepared" when the first JW approached us?

  None of us, I'd reckon.

  Put a well-trained person of any pursuit in the arena with an untrained neophyte and there is no contest.

  The ministry of door-to-door work is geared toward argumentation, defense, counter-offensive and propaganda. It is smooth.

  A JW does not listen to "hear". A JW listens to determine how to counter an objection.

  There is nothing objective in the Witness ministry. It is a form of mind assault rigorously designed to disarm your own meager defenses.

  My point is this. Anybody might be said to be "responsible" for defending themselves against a Jehovah's Witness and their devilish presentation; but, the truth is, it is a task few experts could handle.

  The indoctrination of a JW is intense, relentless and all pervasive. Almost every meeting, article or assembly program is a non-stop training course in how to disarm and persuade.

  The end result of this is that the "victim" who listens and follows the messege will only have the ultimate decision of when and how to escape. That is where the real responsibility comes in to play.