Posts by defender of truth

17

help needed....cult question from watchtower

by goingthruthemotions in

so i was looking at the boards not too long ago and saw a list of questions that were related to whether or not a religion was a cult that looked like it came from the watchtower.

i've been trying to find those questions again so i could find the watchtower and hopefully one day show this to my wife who is still asleep to the troof of the gb.. .

the help would be greatly appreciated.. .

defender of truth

Nice find, Bart. This link may work..
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/280517/1/Are-Jehovahs-Witnesses-a-Cult-alternate-title-Balls-Cuts-and-Dudes-Oh-My#.U_Szz12t-o8

17

help needed....cult question from watchtower

by goingthruthemotions in

so i was looking at the boards not too long ago and saw a list of questions that were related to whether or not a religion was a cult that looked like it came from the watchtower.

i've been trying to find those questions again so i could find the watchtower and hopefully one day show this to my wife who is still asleep to the troof of the gb.. .

the help would be greatly appreciated.. .

defender of truth

I've asked Atlantis for the January 22nd 1990 Awake!, in case it's the right one. Will you let us know how your wife reacts? Take care.

17

help needed....cult question from watchtower

by goingthruthemotions in

so i was looking at the boards not too long ago and saw a list of questions that were related to whether or not a religion was a cult that looked like it came from the watchtower.

i've been trying to find those questions again so i could find the watchtower and hopefully one day show this to my wife who is still asleep to the troof of the gb.. .

the help would be greatly appreciated.. .

This could be the list you were referring to, with the exact reference in the footnotes...
"References:
1. Awake!, published by Watchtower, January 22, 1990, p. 10."
http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2012/04/watchtower-identifies-brainwashing.html
...

And from Jwfacts...
"The Watchtower acknowledges that it is possible to persuade people to act in a certain way and shows it is well aware of methods that can be used to influence people to act en masse."...
"The person most easily brainwashed is the "normal," average individual. Such a one is already conditioned to accept opinions of others rather than to form strong convictions of his own."
Awake! 1980 Jan 8 pp.13-14 Has Mass Persuasion Affected You?...
"The following quotes on propaganda are excerpts from the Awake! 2000 June 22 in the articles "The Manipulation of Information" and "Do Not Be a Victim of Propaganda!"
"The cunning propagandist loves such shortcuts-especially those that short-circuit rational thought. Propaganda encourages this by agitating the emotions, by exploiting insecurities, by capitalizing on the ambiguity of language, and by bending rules of logic. …
Certainly, the handiest trick of the propagandist is the use of outright lies. …
Another very successful tactic of propaganda is generalization. Generalizations tend to obscure important facts about the real issues in question, and they are frequently used to demean entire groups of people. …
Some people insult those who disagree with them by questioning character or motives instead of focusing on the facts. …
The sly art of propaganda can paralyse thought, prevent clear thinking and discernment and condition individuals to act en masse. …
Emotional appeals are fabricated by practiced publicists, who play on feelings as skillfully as a virtuoso plays the piano. For example,fear is an emotion that can becloud judgment. …
THERE is a difference-a big difference-between education and propaganda. Education shows you how to think. Propaganda tells you what to think. Good educators present all sides of an issue and encourage discussion. Propagandists relentlessly force you to hear their view and discourage discussion.Often their real motives are not apparent. They sift the facts, exploiting the useful ones and concealing the others. They also distort and twist facts, specializing in lies and half-truths. Your emotions, not your logical thinking abilities, are their target. …
The propagandist makes sure that his message appears to be the right and moral one and that it gives you a sense of importance and belonging if you follow it. You are one of the smart ones, you are not alone, you are comfortable and secure-so they say. …
So we need to be selective. We need to scrutinize whatever is presented to us, deciding what to accept and what to reject. …
Also, if possible, try to check the track record of those speaking. Are they known to speak the truth?"
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/fear-cult-mind-control.php

31

SoCal meetup

by Dagney in

jw
friends

we have a visitor from far away with us, "hopscotch" as she is known on the board.. we would to put out a "shout-out" for any and all who would like to join us for a meetup this coming weekend, august 21 or 22. we are open to suggestions for where and when.

i would like to encourage any in the area, and even if you are not, to join us.

i cannot tell you how wonderful it is to meet up with the kindred spirits of those who are on the journey we are all on.

defender of truth

Hi all. This member lives in California.
Just trying to see if anyone wants to arrange a meetup in the area, or just speak to him, if that's what he wants?

...
"It would be nice to talk to some of you and hear your voice...I try to make friends but it would be easier to get to know ones that have had similar experiences to mine."
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/282808/2/Thats-it#5076435

45

Northern/Central California meetup ~end of June/Mid July???

by Kudra in

jw
friends

i will be coming out to the sierras/reno/lake tahoe this summer from the end of june through mid july.

don't know my exact dates yet- depends on the dates for snowmelt in the high sierra.. anyone up for a meet-up then??

we had such a blast last year .

defender of truth

Hi all. This member lives in California.
Just trying to see if anyone wants to arrange a meetup in the area, or just speak to him, if that's what he wants?

...
"It would be nice to talk to some of you and hear your voice...I try to make friends but it would be easier to get to know ones that have had similar experiences to mine."
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/282808/2/Thats-it#5076435

387

Active JW's, can you defend "THE TRUTH?"

by DATA-DOG in

as of yet, no member of the jehovah's witness faith can defend their unique beliefs.

when the dust settles, it all comes down to blind faith in men's ever-changing ideas.

this "unique belief" was not a "true teaching of the bible.

defender of truth

I said: "I then realised there was no reason to believe in a theistic God at all."
Should I add 'in my view' to that sentence, so as not to annoy people further?
Anyway, thanks to Simon for letting me post here.
Hope I've contributed something that was useful to someone, in between having a go at people's ideas of a loving God. I also hope that anyone I was rude to will forgive and forget.
I mostly try to be polite, but the drive to look for answers with supporting evidence is strong, and it's hard to just accept any unsatisfactory answers and apparent contradictions, without questioning them.
We all did that, for a time, as believing JW's..
'Jehovah is loving, he'll always look after you like a caring Father'
'You'd better get baptised or you're for the chop at Armageddon'...
'Jehovah cares about all the animals'
'Why did He drown all the animals in the Flood then?'
'Well, He doesn't protect them individually, and He had to destroy all those wicked people.'
'What about the babies and little children?'
'They would have grown up to be bad.'
Etc..
In order to awaken mentally from the brainwashing, at some point we had to stop accepting unsatisfactory answers.
Ok, I'm done.

387

Active JW's, can you defend "THE TRUTH?"

by DATA-DOG in

as of yet, no member of the jehovah's witness faith can defend their unique beliefs.

when the dust settles, it all comes down to blind faith in men's ever-changing ideas.

this "unique belief" was not a "true teaching of the bible.

defender of truth

For someone who asked.. This is the thread that got me started, in terms of posting and becoming 'apostate' in my views..

(Page 2)
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/275576/2/Active-JWs-can-you-defend-THE-TRUTH#.U_RfT12t-o8
...

I always had doubts I tried to ignore, but I was emotionally blackmailed into getting baptised.
I'm stuck being an active Jw due to living with family and being dependent on some JW's in terms of work and finances as well as for emotional and physical support.
Please don't ask for more details, I am a private person who gets a bit short-tempered if anyone tries to push me to do something or asks a lot of questions. I'm not that important, anyway. My hatred for animal abuse and love for animals had always caused me difficulties in reconciling a loving God with one who drowned all those innocent creatures in the Flood. The following thread made me think seriously for the first time whether I could love such a God. I then realised there was no reason to believe in a theistic God at all. No reliable evidence of a caring being or even an afterlife. So now I'm just another atheist that gets on people's nerves by attacking beliefs.
But it's time for a break. I don't need to feel as though I have to reply to every arrogant comment that is made, and I don't have much left to say anyway.
Peace to you all, and apologies to anyone who got annoyed by my forthright style.
I just don't react well to people judging other people or telling them what they should do or believe. I'll try to be less confrontational in future, I guess.

Anywho, here's the thread that led to me becoming atheist, if anyone cares. I haven't seen a satisfactory answer to this question yet, and I don't really expect to hear one...

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/222352/1/Theists-why-does-God-allow-suffering#.U_Rf5F2t-o8

44

That's it......

by whathehadas in

this might be my last post.

i've had quite a few things on my mind over the past few years, mainly my belief in god.

i've tried to move on from the jw past but that's really being foolish.

defender of truth

If you are still in or near Southern California..(only trying to help)

http://www.sccc-la.org/get-help-now.php

57

"Millions Now Living Will Never Die" was told to be literally true

by VM44 in

in the 1920's the watcthower had the "millions now living will never die".

in the proclaimer's book there is a photo of a bible students book booth with a sign that said in large letters, "millions now living will never die!

this is literally true.

defender of truth

Lurkers.. Here is something to study during Family Worship evening..
(This weeks service meeting requires the section from the Proclaimers book mentioning Millions Now Living WILL Never Die, to be READ)
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/1925.php

34

"Millions Now Living Will Never Die"

by drewcoul in

i understand that the judge's book "millions now living will never die" has undergone a slight of hand change of title to "millions now living may never die.".

where could i find the new title in print in any wt publication?

i do not have a wt library anymore, and would like to show my mom how they have changed the name of the book in their references to it..

defender of truth

Lurkers.. Here is something to study during Family Worship evening..
(This weeks service meeting requires the section from the Proclaimers book mentioning Millions Now Living WILL Never Die, to be READ)