CHAPPY SAID
Quote:
Hellpuppy wrote:
I am conscious of the criticisms that the Watchtower society recieves from exJW "apostates" and such.
I am also aware of the hurt experienced by people that were in that system.
Not to impugn anybody but that religious system does work for some people. Just because people have chosen to follow that religion does not automatically make them "brainwashed". I'm sure a good number of people are quite happy with being a Jehovah's Witness.
I was talking to a friend about this recently.
Everyone's experience is very different, and we forget that, I think.
For instance, I knew people who really had made a wreck of their lives. It seemed they responded really well to the high control of the WT and got things together. Perhaps any high control situation would have worked, even prison, but they chose this one.
Others had other needs filled, and were pretty content.
I think Anne B said that it was helpful for a while, but when she was ready to fly, they held her back. That's pretty much how I see it. For whatever reason a person needs this kind of support for a time, most will eventually (hopefully) grow past needing it. Then it's time for them to fly. But the WT does not want you to grow past that need. Everyone has to fit in a little box and stay there for good.
I wasn't around for 1975, and the story that was told to me was twisted in their favor. The older literature offered to me was quite vague and I was led to believe that some people had simply drawn the wrong conclusion. It wasn't until later that I learned that it wasn't just a misunderstanding or wishful thinking but had been part of many talks from people pretty high up. It's hard to confirm, or even know about stuff like that until enough time has passed to accumulate information.
The control kind of grows. It's done in increments. As a study, they will tell you they do not wish to force their will on you! It's okay if you smoke, it's okay if you live with your boyfriend, we just want to study the bible with you and let you come to your own conclusions!
And of course, as you progress, you learn exactly what conclusions to come to. As a study, you are pretty free to associate while carrying on life as usual, even attending other churches.
Then you get to the unbaptized publisher step. For this, you are under the same moral code as the rest of them, but it's lighter. At this point, even if you do something they consider a serious sin, or decide it's not for you, you don't get shunned and lose everyone. It's still a pretty warm atmosphere. The worst that happens is you don't get to go out in service for a while, and that means more to some than others.
Then there is baptism. When you're new, they will still be encouraging, but there is much less room to move and think for yourself.
They have a brutal routine that really exhausts a person from doing much else, especially not thinking.
Here was the routine when I was in.
Tuesday: 2 hour meeting. Theocratic Ministry School (learn to teach the bible) and the Service meeting, (learn to work at the doors.)
For these two meetings there is preparation. A portion of the bible to read, other bits of literature to read, and if you are in the school, you may have a part to prepare.
Thursday: Book Study. They go through a book a chapter or portion at a time, answering questions at the end of each paragraph.
Saturday: Field service. While there is not supposed to any chosen day, they really pressure you to go out on Saturdays and call it Magazine Day. The day you should focus on placing magazines (rather than books or tracts).
Sunday, Watchtower Study and Public Talk, and if you let them guilt you enough, Field Service afterward. Some JW's meet in the afternoon for Sunday meeting, and they will pressure that since you have to be there in the afternoon, may as well go out in the ministry before the meeting and dedicate the entire day. Also, if you didn't go out on Saturday, you may feel pressured to go out on Sunday, since they urge everyone to try and get out once a week.
So here is the routine.
Mon: Study for Tuesday night meeting.
Tue: meeting
Wed: Study for Thursday meeting.
Thur: Meeting
Fri: well, then you need to do your personal study, and your family study, prepare for field service----this could happen on Friday although I hear they have eliminated on day's meeting and now expect one evening to be dedicated to family study night, or something like that.
Sat: Field service Sat. night, prepare for Watchtower study.
Sun: Meeting.
AND you still have to work, take care of kids, clean your home, and do all the things everyone has to do to live.
Ah but there is always time! So what to do with it.
Well, I'll tell you what you CAN'T do with it. You can't think or question. They have inculcated deep fears into the members, and use strong social pressure to keep everyone in line. If you are having fun with people, they are likely JW's.
They tell you that apostates are a certain thing, and you must accept it. Can you check it out? NO! Because getting involved with apostates and listening to their stories may deprive of family cuz if you learn something and it disturbs you, they shun. While people still believe, they also tell them that it could lead to death since an apostate may convince you of something.
Can you check anything about the WT? NO! Because your information can only come from the WT about the WT, otherwise you may be dealing with opposers or apostates---in other words, the devil.
There is a great deal of information control carried out through various pressures. Is this brainwashing? I don't know if brainwashing has a real strong definition, but telling people they must believe what you say and warning them against confirming their facts could be called brainwashing by some.
It's an Authoritarian, high control group. People are afraid to question or confirm anything, because if they do and they learn something they don't like, maybe they would have to leave OR live an inauthentic life. Better not to know, because if that should happen, they will do everything in their power to destroy your family, possibly take your job, your home---it all depends on how much you depend on other JW's for these things.
Pup, if people were free to just wander in and take what they need, and then wander away because they don't need it anymore, that would be one thing. But that's not how it is. Leaving can mean losing everything, and then having your reputation absolutely destroyed, because when it comes to defectors, you are allowed to say any horrible thing you want about them, and nobody can check if it is true because they cannot talk to you or get overly concerned about what is going on in your life.
There is thought control. It is wrong to even think certain things, and if you say them outloud, the world could fall in on you.
Call it what you like, brainwashing, a club, whatever. But those are the details.
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