Ding

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Posts by Ding

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  9

  Are JW's unknowingly part of a CULT?

  by The Fall Guy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  some points for awakening jw's to consider in 2020: .

  "joining a cult: religious choice or psychological aberration" by dena s. davis.

  some of the following characteristics are listed:.

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  Ding

  "All cults, no matter their stripe, are a variation on a theme, for their common denominator is the use of coercive persuasion and behavior control without the knowledge of the person who is being manipulated."

  JWs are probably aware of the following at some level, but it all seems quite normal:
  

  1. When you study with JWs and when you attend Watchtower studies, you stop asking your own questions; instead, you give the WT's answers to the WT's questions.

  2. The WT quotes only a VERY selective number of Bible verses to "prove" its doctrines.

  3. Constant repetition programs JWs to think nothing but WT thoughts.

  4. The WT keeps JWs feeling guilty that they aren't doing more for the WT organization.

  5. While assuring JWs that they are on the only "road to life," the WT keeps them in constant fear that they won't prove worthy to survive Armageddon ("he who endures to the end will be saved").

  6. While insisting that JWs aren't following men, through the concepts of "Jehovah's sole channel of communication on earth" and "the faithful and discreet slave" the GB makes sure that's exactly what they are doing.
  

  7. JWs think they are studying the Bible when they are instead studying WT literature.

  8. Despite having the worst prophetic track record of any person or group in history, the WT keeps JWs convinced that Armageddon is just around the corner and that they therefore need to set aside everything else (college, careers, etc.) to "put kingdom interests first."

  9. By poisoning JWs' minds to all alternatives to the WT ("where else could we go?"), the WT keeps even dissatisfied ones in line.
  

  10. The WT isolates JWs from anyone ("apostates," "worldly people," "Christendom," etc.) who might help them see how they are being manipulated.
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  22

  The Faithful and Discreet Slave Just "have" The Truth

  by Number 6 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  in the late 80's when i was in my late teens i used to with my then wife to be attend a monday night pre-watchtower study at a local elders house.. this guy was revered as very knowledgable and he was scholarly and interesting to listen to; so at the time it was a genuinely enjoyable monday evening spent with oftentimes discussion would veer far of the subject at hand and lasting to well after 11pm some evenings.. this particular night, the subject up for discussion was "the faithful and discreet slave" and how we should be obeying them without question.

  right in the middle of the study this elder said as a question not in the wt article; "how do we really know the current fds as lead by the governing body are the real deal.

  i mean what actual proof do we have?".

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  Ding

  "Who else could it be? is the big reason.

  The entire premise of a FDS having been appointed to micromanage JWs' lives is never questioned.

  On a smaller scale, JWs "know" the GB has "the truth" by constant repetition and by the "big" doctrines that never change:

  -- Name "Jehovah"

  -- Never-ending witnessing

  -- End just around the corner (despite constant new light on when)

  -- No Trinity

  -- No hellfire

  -- Neutrality
  
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  19

  The Craziness of an Average Bible Study

  by Number 6 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  last week i posted a thread asking about who knew any "real anointed" and got some cracking replies.. that got me to thinking, as someone brought up in the 70's and 80's in the watchtower religion, my experience of bible studeis in their homes and those who made it to the hall were mostly batshit crazy or at least people with some serious quirks.. i'll relate a few, none of whose names i remember with any clarity.. in our cong we had an older couple who were from london, but who had been in the 1950's in the circuit work in the mid west usa.

  they brought along some woman one night they had started a study with who told everyone cheerfully she was a recovering alcoholic and this was her cure (coming to the meetings).

  this went on for a few weeks until one night they brought her to the memorial and she was royally pissed, and i mean barely able to stand; and went up to the platform table and necked some wine.

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  Ding

  I was impressed by JWs' dedication when they came to my door, as well as by their willingness to answer my questions.

  I didn't know they thought they had to do it in order to avoid annihilation.

  Nor did I know that the study would quickly transition from them answering my questions to me answering the WT's questions... They handled that so well it was only years later that I realized what had happened to me.

  Looking back, I don't think I was stupid.

  I was too naive and trusting.

  The study conductors were sincere, I think. Who was it -- Ray Franz? -- who said "we were victims of victims"?
  
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  19

  The Craziness of an Average Bible Study

  by Number 6 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  last week i posted a thread asking about who knew any "real anointed" and got some cracking replies.. that got me to thinking, as someone brought up in the 70's and 80's in the watchtower religion, my experience of bible studeis in their homes and those who made it to the hall were mostly batshit crazy or at least people with some serious quirks.. i'll relate a few, none of whose names i remember with any clarity.. in our cong we had an older couple who were from london, but who had been in the 1950's in the circuit work in the mid west usa.

  they brought along some woman one night they had started a study with who told everyone cheerfully she was a recovering alcoholic and this was her cure (coming to the meetings).

  this went on for a few weeks until one night they brought her to the memorial and she was royally pissed, and i mean barely able to stand; and went up to the platform table and necked some wine.

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  Ding

  What would really be shocking at a WT "home Bible study" would be actually studying the Bible...
  
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  17

  Just a moan - regarding the latest trend in ignorance of the English language!

  by The Fall Guy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in recent months i have noticed more and more people on the net (including here) are using this latest perversion of the english language -.

  "i would of done this..........or he would of tried to change things".

  it's would've - short for would have!.

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  Ding

  Several years ago, I had an opportunity to read a number of college papers on a particular subject.

  I was shocked by the number of college juniors and seniors who couldn't write a coherent paragraph.

  Some couldn't even write a coherent sentence.
  
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  25

  Divorce/Terms of Agreement

  by SFSDGUY in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'm a first time poster and i apologize if this topic has been discussed before.

  when i met my wife she was disfellowshiped and were happy, got married, and had a kid.

  after we had our daughter she got reinstated so her family and her jw "friends" could spend time with our daughter.

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  Ding

  The WT won't honor any non-estrangement clauses you put into a divorce decree.

  If you try to enforce it against your wife, she'll say, "I'm not doing anything but practicing freedom of religion and raising my daughter in the faith. I don't control what's said by the elders or from the platform."
  
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  43

  Did You Know Any "Genuine"" Old School Anointed?

  by Number 6 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  growing up in scotland in the 1970s in scotland the anointed were few and far between, but we had one old dude in our cong who claimed to be one of the anointed.

  in the days when it was taken seriously.. i'd be curious how you viewed them.

  thing is, he wasn't an elder, or even a ministerial servant, just a plain old publisher.. but he was revered like he had a hotline to jesus.. the other week i was talking to a friend of similar age to me but who hung around the wt a lot longer than i did, and he just commented "oh him... he was a doddery old fool who used to just sit and piss himself.

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  Ding

  To me, one of the biggest non sequiturs in WT teaching is that it isn't important for the GB to know who the anointed remnant are.

  If they are so super spiritual that they have been designated by God to rule with Christ from heaven, their wisdom and counsel should be sought throughout the organization.

  Instead, anointed sisters have to be quiet and submit to the authority of any baptized male JW in good standing, no matter how young, how obnoxious, or how loony.
  
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  15

  November 2019 Watchtower Study....Exaggeration at its finest

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the watchtower—study edition | november 2019. lessons we can learn from the book of leviticus.

  16 satan and his world have done much to make the work of that faithful slave challenging, even impossible, to carry out from a human standpoint.

  despite two world wars, relentless persecution, global economic crises, and unjust treatment, the faithful and discreet slave has continued to provide spiritual food for christ’s followers on earth.

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  Ding

  Two world wars, and it's all about them...
  
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  39

  Email from JW relative/elder

  by Lynnie in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  as much as i enjoy you and pete's company, you also know our understanding of how much we want you to be reunited with jehovah and his people.. .

  we did not set the standards for what jehovah says about our associations with those who choose to not serve him.

  so we will always be there for you and pete, but it is in your hands as to how we can enjoy your friendship.. .

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  Ding

  "We love you but it's all your fault."
  
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  23

  Stupid armageddon false alarms

  by purrpurr in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  when i was 5/6 i remember being in the car with my jw mom and a jw sister.

  they noticed a yellow ish glowing cloud in the sky which really freaked them out and they both declared that it must be a sign that armageddon was here!

  they then spent the whole car trip declaring that the police and army were about to come and round up all of us.

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  Ding

  On another thread, I listed a compendium of WT Armageddon-is-almost-here quotes going back over 100 years.

  Of course, most JWs are unaware of all that.

  Even if they learned about it, most of them would say, "The GB doesn't claim to be infallible or perfect."

  JWs remind me of Charlie Brown. They're SURE this time Lucy won't pull the football away from them at the last second.

  It's one thing to get conned and buy the Brooklyn bridge.

  It's quite another to buy the Brooklyn bridge from the same guy 20 times, each time being sure it's the real deal.