Definitely describes the WT doctrine very well. I've often said that the doctrine is intentionally impossible to understand and make internally coherent as a way to train people to give up on trying to understand it and just believe in it. It also, as the quoted passage eludes to, minimizes the self when you find that even the smallest piece of doctrine becomes incomprehensible upon examination. When you find problems with something small but look around and see that everyone else appears to understand it and embrace it, it instills self-doubt. This self-doubt then serves as motivation to seek further safety in the group and it also trains you to dismiss misgivings about the group.
OneEyedJoe
JoinedPosts by OneEyedJoe
-
3
"The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements" - a book by Eric Hoffer
by OrphanCrow ini have just finished reading "the true believer: thoughts on the nature of mass movements" by eric hoffer.
the book was published in 1951, during the cold war, yet the theories and principles, that hoffer proposes to explain the phenomena of mass movements, are as relevant today as they were then.
(there are several threads on this forum that discuss aspects of hoffer's statements and theories.).
-
-
-
32
God does not desire any to be destroyed?
by stuckinarut2 inso if the idea is promoted that god doesn't want anyone to be destroyed, why does he make it so confusing for people to learn about him?.
why are there thousands of differing religions?.
why has "his only true organisation" even taught so many varying doctrines?.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Even better - if he doesn't want us destroyed, why destroy us at Armageddon?
-
27
Bunker Video: Why No Concluding Scene?
by Wild_Thing ini was wondering why they ended the "bunker video" as they did ... with an armed militia finding the jws huddled in the corner of the basement ... fade to black.
the jws watching don't know what happened after that.
did they kill them?
-
-
OneEyedJoe
As has been said - leaving it to the imagination allows the viewer to fill in what they are most afraid of happening in that situation. What one person fears may not bother another, so this allows them to have the largest impact on the greatest number of people.
Additionally, it allows them an out - if they showed a particular event happening they may receive criticism for claiming that governments are going to shoot JWs or imprison them. Leaving out the conclusion allows them to claim that they've never indicated what would be done in this scenario.
-
14
Having No Political Opinion Is Bull Crap
by Ame SF inhello, i'm ame and after such heartwarming feedback last time from my other topic sharing my current situation, i felt the urge to just share an experience of mine that accrued a few weeks ago.. i was at mcdonalds with my mother and little brother, eating our food and in the background was the news playing on the tvs they had in the dining area.
and what were they talking about on the news?.
gun control.. now, i love the news.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
I think the debate regarding gun control is a little beside the point of the thread from what I gather. Obviously that's a contentious issue, and seems to rarely go anywhere useful. Sidestepping that, I think the main thrust of the OP is quite worthwhile in examining: political neutrality in JW parlance is just a way of saying "you're not allowed an opinion." Some cults mandate a strict political ideology that must be followed, but I think the JW method may be perhaps an even stronger form of control. Instead of imposing a political ideology and stating that any ideas contrary to this are bad, they go a step further - they state that any ideas you have on the matter at all are bad.
And our friend here has seen precisely what happens when you express "bad thoughts" to someone in the cult - you're reprimanded and threatened with more study as punishment. Indeed in this case, the study serves two purposes - thought reform (i.e. beat her over the head with the idea that her opinion is worthless) and public shaming (bring her in front of the whole family and make her talk about how she erred). The use of family worship to enforce the cult mentality is also effective because it's typically several people against one outlier, and the outlier experiences extreme social pressure to conform, whereas in a 1 on 1 setting there is significantly less intrinsic pressure.
This is all typical cult control - honest discourse cannot be tolerated. You can only interact in the cult prescribed manner and any deviation will be punished. Honest discourse and exploration of other ideas is tantamount to suggesting that it is possible the cult ideas are not correct. This is a concept that is extremely uncomfortable to the indoctrinated mind and it causes the cult defenses to go up. The cultist switch flips and you're no longer dealing with the person you know but with JWBOT-2000.
All that said, I think it would be a much more profitable approach for you to find an alternative outlet for your views on politics/religion/LGBTQ/etc type topics. Maybe finding another place that you can talk about things and really debate/discuss in an honest manner - this will help you to hold in things that will only cause discord with your parents but it will also allow you to really grow and develop as a person by exploring alternate ideas and opposing views. There's little to no benefit in engaging your parents because they have lots of power to make your life miserable and they are unlikely to fold based on anything you say at this stage.
-
4
Strange doings at the Market
by ctrwtf inso i recently made a trip back to my home town to visit some extended family still in.
the whole trip was very awkward.
for a whole bunch of reasons i won't bore you with, we stayed in a hotel near where the family lives, maybe as kind of a barrier to being in constant contact with the cult mentality.. being a very early riser, i went to the grocery to pick up a few things.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Does she know you're not a JW? If she's left, i can see her denying knowing you just to avoid getting sucked back in to a JW conversation - if she thinks you're a JW she'd probably be expecting to get questioned about the congregation, etc and all the standard nonsense JW talk. Depending on how much trauma she's left with from the cult, it seems entirely possible that she just wants to leave it in the past and not have someone dredge it back up.
-
11
SCRIPTURE TO READ TO JWs
by somebody intwo jws came to my door recently.
i asked one of them to read ecclesiastes 9:5 for me.
i then asked them if all living jws are knowing or believing or are conscious that they will die.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
My plan for if I'm ever called upon by JWs is to ask if they believe that Jesus has returned, and if they believe the end to be near. Then I'll have them read Luke 21:8 and say "well it sounds to me that Jesus himself commanded me not to follow you"
-
39
$40,000.00 USD, and counting.....
by DATA-DOG ini'm not sure if anyone is keeping track, but as of today, the wtbts has spent $40,000.00 usd to avoid releasing sensitive documents to the superior authorities.
that's $40,000.00 usd of "dedicated funds.
are you a born-in jw?
-
-
OneEyedJoe
No, the $120,000 fine is just the first round. If they don't comply, the court will likely increase the fines going forward. It only gets worse for them.
-
39
$40,000.00 USD, and counting.....
by DATA-DOG ini'm not sure if anyone is keeping track, but as of today, the wtbts has spent $40,000.00 usd to avoid releasing sensitive documents to the superior authorities.
that's $40,000.00 usd of "dedicated funds.
are you a born-in jw?
-
-
OneEyedJoe
How long will this go on? They will not reveal and have an endless pot of money to dig into. Their actions are in the 'contempt' class (!) and needs be treated as such.
My understanding is that this is only the first round of fines meant to motivate them to comply with the court order. They get this for a month (so $120,000 in fines in this first round) and then the court will reassess if further action needs be taken. If they don't comply, the fines will likely escalate up until the court gives up and the last sanction is basically to bar them from making a defense, which previously resulted in a $13.5 million judgement against them. The previous judgement was shot down on appeal because the judge didn't try lesser sanctions first. This time they'll have much less chance of winning an appeal due to the slower progression of the penalties.
-
39
$40,000.00 USD, and counting.....
by DATA-DOG ini'm not sure if anyone is keeping track, but as of today, the wtbts has spent $40,000.00 usd to avoid releasing sensitive documents to the superior authorities.
that's $40,000.00 usd of "dedicated funds.
are you a born-in jw?
-
-
OneEyedJoe
There's a fine counter on this page:
http://jwsurvey.org/news/news-bulletin-watchtower-found-in-contempt-of-court-hit-with-4000-fine-per-day-until-it-complies-with-court-order
-
24
Open discussion on "Spiritual Intelligence"
by Fernando init was a surprise to learn that there are quite a number of si books, and si tests, out there.. what are your thoughts on si?.
-
-
OneEyedJoe
Does spiritual intelligence determine one's ability to convince people to believe absurd things by making impossible assertions/promises about the afterlife?
Or is it just the ability to spin a satisfying load of BS to explain things without actually bothering to do due diligence and come up with a real explanation?