Can 'the truth' survive the Internet?

by Noumenon 41 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  slimboyfat

  1975 was a major set-back for Jehovah's Witnesses, but it was a one-off event. The numbers went in decrease for three years or so, but then they began to pick up again. The advent of the Internet is probably different.

  We could say that the Internet has been having an effect since the late 1990s when many first went online, and this has been reflected in the much slower growth in the Yearbook statistics from that time. But people are still becoming web literate all the time, especially now more so older ones. Yet other Witnesses who have been on the web for years may not have ever looked for apostate sites. At some point it is likely that many such ones will have a look for various reasons, with varying outcomes.

  But the point is that the new dynamic to the control that the Watchtower religion maintains is continually effected by the Internet year after year. It is not something that they can ignore for five years, say sorry on the fifth year, and spend the next few decades ignoring it until it is forgotten.
• 

  Pole

  Just compare the effects of the 1975 fiasco and the effects of the UN cover-up on the average witness.
  
  By "the average witness" I mean not only US witnesses but also those JWs who live in countries far away from the Brooklyn HQ.
  
  The 1975 fiasco went almost unnoticed in many countries largely becaue the feelings and opinions about it were different and watered down form one country to another.
  
  The UN thing was instantly documented and fully analysed by "apostate" sites as it was happening.
  
  People in developed countries get this feeling you can Google for any non-commercial information. Why not for "the truth" then? It's only a matter of a year or two before this new paradigm of satifying information needs fully sets in in Easten Europe, SOuth America and other parts of the world. Then, watch the service reports :)
  
  Pole
• 

  slimboyfat

  Most Witnesses have not heard of the UN thing, in my experience.
• 

  Pole

  slimbf,
  
  Great. If so, then the real effect of this is still to be known. It's more of a question of availability of information. If anyone decides to know something about the dark sides of the WTS they will go to Google and get transferred to freeminds.org with full "documentation" on every issue of interest instantly. Most WTS doctrines have carefully been decomposed and exposed for their ridiculous stupidity. The info is at every witnesses' fingertips. This has never been the case before. A Polish guy like me with some command of English doesn't have to move his ass from his place to know some of the things which have so far only been available to bethel insiders. The horror!
  
  In my experience (although it's just as much of anegdotal evidence as yours) the witnesses who may have some doubts (I'd say there are millions) and are brave enough to go to the internet (many thousands perhaps?) instantly realize they were mostly right. This is a great thing to realize which was not that easily achievable before the internet. I mean how many "apostates" could you "meet" without going into trouble with the elders before the advent of the Internet?
  
  Admittedly, the braindead will remain braindead though and so will those with heavy emotional investments. Just look at some of the trolls who hang around this den of lions :).
  
  Pole
• 

  truth_about_the_truth

  I know exactly how the vast majority of JW would react if all of stevenyc's red highlighted points were introduced as 'new light'. The witnesses would be dancing in the streets and praise the society for what a wonderful blessing it is!

  As of right now, any mention of these 'wonderful blessings' would result in apostacy.
• 

  truth_about_the_truth

  The truth will survive the internet. I don't know about the WTS though
• 

  Taylor S.

  Any essay which uses the phrase 'American Values' in the first sentence immediately gives me the willies. Because any sensible person with a modicum of honesty knows that America was built on a lot of things ... most of which, had little or no value.

  taylorS

  Ever since the Bush election debacle, every time I hear the phrase 'American Values' I hear HIM saying, in that corn-pone voice of his and see that silly expression. Naturally, I felt ill when I started the above article and fired off that statement without reading it.

  Big mistake. I broke down and read it last night and found it to be unbiased and an extremely accurate break-down of the society method of control. I once thought the internet would most certainly take them out ... but now I'm not so sure. They may in fact do whatever it takes to survive ...

  ... but that possibility, if you really dwell on it, is kinda scary.

  tS
• 

  ezekiel3

  much like the Roman Catholic Church did not survive in its then form after the invention of the printing press

  I agree, the comparison of the RCC/printing press and JW/Internet is very apt.
  

  The Reformation undermined the Church's real power = political and judicial power. Of course WTS is very small on the scale of the Reformation, but the same principles apply. WTS holds complete control over its members, with the grave threat of DF hanging over the heads of potential dissenters. WTS is called a "theocracy" with the FDS holding the power of "God" in their actions.

  JWD, H20 and other websites are posting facts and declarations on the door step of the WTS, not unlike handbills were posted on the very church doors of the RCC during the Reformation. While splinter groups and liberal JWs will keep the torch lit for years to come, the white-washed grave is about to be opened for all to see.

  Even to this day, "Protestants" are proud to call themselves such, even though the term was coined from their reaction to the RCC. Who knows, maybe someday there will be "Apostates" group just as proud of their title.

  Oh yeah, that's already happened hasn't it?

  - from the Proudly Apostatizing the WTS Class
• 

  Sunspot

  Excellent article!

  Remember how we were always told that the "truth" had a ring of truth to it, so that's why we accepted it? They had all "the answers", plus a few more.

  We were also told that if it WAS the truth, that "it" would stand? (There's a scripture that says this, I don't remember where it is) Something about if "it's" from God it will stand...whatever.

  NOW...comes the 'net. All the things we believed and dedicated our lives to----have come under heavy scrutiny. The "truth" would eventually stand, and win out over the lies.

  We were jolted AWAKE! by a series of documented findings and LOTS of WTS history that we would have NEVER been aware of---but for the internet. No wonder the WTS has suffered because of it! For all the weasel-words and couched phrases, the truth IS coming out, and people are seeing through the WTS as much as a clean plate glass window.

  There IS no place to hide any longer. TELLING their sheep not to go these "negative" sites is obviously not working. Just look at all the JWs who come here when they KNOW that "Mother says no" but do so anyway! Even to the point of racking up many posts before leaving in a snit!

  No...the WTS cannot survive the internet, at least the way they are going at present.

  Annie
• 

  EdenOne

  marked ... abeit dated (this is pre-jw.org age), it's very well written.

  Eden