Jehovah's Witnesses pamplet titled awake

Horseofadifferentcolor

Horseofadifferentcolor

Jedi Council Member
I was pumping gas at the gas station today, when a young lady walks over to me catching me by surprise and hands me a publication. She quickly walked away and said thank you and that it would be great if I could find the time to read it later. Normally this would go in the fire kindling box without a second thought, but the cover caught my attention.

In large bold letters its says AWAKE!. Under that shows people protesting. Front and center their is a black man and a white guy wearing a grey hoodie. So, this did peak my curiosity, so I just sat down to read it.

" The bible offers a solution to injustice, corruption, and oppression. It describes a government that God has set up in heaven that will replace the failed political and economic systems that lead to protest.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that God's Kingdom is mankind's only true hope for a peaceful world. Thus, Jehovah's Witnesses do not engage in protest. But is the idea that a government by God could eliminate the reasons for protest unrealistic? It might seem to be. Yet, many have developed confidence in Gods rulership. Why not look into it yourself? "

Again do nothing because only God can save you. Their was more to this but I did not have the stomach to repeat it. They even had a picture of colored people picketing by a bus. The caption under that read "Although some protesters may accomplish their aims, Gods Kingdom offers a better solution." :huh:

I just thought I would share because it is not something you see everyday with religious publications.
 
I studied with JW's in the 80's looking for this Cassiopaea group. How ironic is that? LOL, when SOTT was more Signs of The Times and this group I was searching for, it was confusing as I thought this was a JW site. I hesitated to read till one day I began reading the transcripts
in order to make a final decision on the information presented. My socks were blown off rather than knocked off.

I came to the conclusion that these people were as confused as every other religion, with regards to what we need to do. They were good people but very brainwashed into their discipline. I had studied the bible reading it through twice before this. It was like they didn't want to hear many of the questions I was asking and told me to just believe what they said and eventually I would come to think like they do, which for me was like mind control.
 
WIN 52 said:
I studied with JW's in the 80's looking for this Cassiopaea group. How ironic is that? LOL, when SOTT was more Signs of The Times and this group I was searching for, it was confusing as I thought this was a JW site. I hesitated to read till one day I began reading the transcripts
in order to make a final decision on the information presented. My socks were blown off rather than knocked off.

I came to the conclusion that these people were as confused as every other religion, with regards to what we need to do. They were good people but very brainwashed into their discipline. I had studied the bible reading it through twice before this. It was like they didn't want to hear many of the questions I was asking and told me to just believe what they said and eventually I would come to think like they do, which for me was like mind control.
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Same for me in Bible class when I was little. I was the girl always asking why? But why? Just believe! I was very sad for many years because I had not found God in my heart. I thought something was wrong with me to not understand.

Funny thing happened when she handed the pamphlet. The pump switched off because the tank was full and the nozzle went click. I ignored it for a minute as I looked in disbelief at the cover. I then pulled the nozzle out and about 2 cups of gas spilled all over my feet and side of my car. Ya, Gods protecting me alright. Thanks for the pamphlet, I was just going to go protest but now I see that God will save me. After all I am a human that is born in sin. :rolleyes:
 
Horseofadifferentcolor said:
Again do nothing because only God can save you.

I just thought I would share because it is not something you see everyday with religious publications.
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You hit the nail on the head there. I was raised very religious still struggle with being passive. It's something that was drilled into me at an early age. Even though I no longer practice or believe that God will save me, I still don't act when I should.
 
Back in the day, when a van full of them would knock on my door, I told that I would accept their pamphlets if they would trade them for some of these here Mormon pamphlets... They never took me up on the offer. I think they saw me as cloven hoofed with horns on my head...
DEVIL%20SOUTH%20PARK.JPG
 
I grew up in the WT, recently woke up from it...you guys have no idea what they do to people mentally.
 
Oogie said:
I grew up in the WT, recently woke up from it...you guys have no idea what they do to people mentally.
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Welcome to the forum Oogie. It is recommended for newbies to write an introduction in the newbies section, nothing personal has to be shared, but if you like you could tell us how you found the forum or if you read already some wave books for example.
 
My very first initiation into the path of the seeker was during my school years when I met a friend who was a JW. He introduced me to the Bible and showed me all those 'truths'

And while I soon discarded the JW's strict and dogmatic interpretation, the Bible itself has always stayed with me as one of the guiding beacons in my search for omnitranscendental truth.
In an early stage I became aware that perhaps some of those holy words were meant to say rather different things than most major religious denominations accepted as given, even if I was not yet fully aware just how profound those words could be.
 
Teresa said:
Horseofadifferentcolor said:
Again do nothing because only God can save you.

I just thought I would share because it is not something you see everyday with religious publications.
Click to expand...

You hit the nail on the head there. I was raised very religious still struggle with being passive. It's something that was drilled into me at an early age. Even though I no longer practice or believe that God will save me, I still don't act when I should.
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Not exclusive to JW's, the brainwashing & passivity instilled by religious institutions is shocking, psychologically debilitating & character deforming - free will is abdicated when one is a 'believer'. I think I'm still reversing reverberations of a religious upbringing - the ability to act without all-consuming concern from external 'repercussions'.

Thinking about the above statement "Again do nothing because only God can save you", from the Safe Relationships Newsletter titled External Locus of Belief (written on pathology but applies here too osit):
Statements like this are related to people who have external locus of belief. They don't really believe it themselves, they are hinging their belief system to someone else's belief systems...

[...] external locus of belief stands in the same jeopardy - that someone else can't be responsible for what you do with what you know (or what you don't come to accept).

[...]

Holding the belief system steady is the challenge of overcoming cognitive dissonance.
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Lobaczewski's book Political Ponerology has some good points on this too.
 
I have just a few short questions on JW, as they try to visit us and talk to us since a few months now. It's quite scary as they seem to appear out of nowhere sometimes being really persistent: What do they want, except dragging one into their belief system? Is it about money? Do they really think they want to save us and how dangerous are they?

When I was about 12 years, there was a fancy book with golden letters lying on our kitchen table. It looked good so I just started to read it without questioning where it had come from. After a few days reading after school, I started feeling bad, guilty and a sinful human shame. I felt worthless and had a hard time coping with daily life. As I couldn't handle these feelings anymore, I finally decided to ask my parents where the book actually came from. My father told me someone in town gave it to him for free which encouraged me to stop reading instantly. It still took me a few weeks to recover mentally and integrate myself again into normalcy. It was a real brainwashing experience.
My friend also had some encounters with them during his student times. First they appeared with 2 guys, later came a guy and a beautiful woman. They were playing the love bite game I think.
My friend is always quite patient, so he doesn't bother to talk to them occasionally. They never really say what they want, and talk about how ugly the world is but don't come up with a solution. This afternoon they called again. Maybe I'm a little paranoid here but I suspect they somehow think we are rich, or is it only that we were too friendly at the beginning?
 
Hi Kamino,

From experience I know they will keep coming back as long as they perceive the slightest chance of getting through to you, which usually means they can swallow you into their creed and organization, as a paying and actively proselytizing member like they themselves are. Once you have politely, but firmly and convincingly told them they are wasting their own time as well as yours, they usually back off pretty quickly and don't come back.

In case you haven't read it, there's a wonderful parody on this proselytizing mindset available in the Wave books somewhere (wave 13a, in the old format), entitled Kiss Hank's Ass. Couldn't locate it quickly enough in the new format, but I found it referenced here in stead: Programs.. and how to get rid of them.

Learning can be fun!

Hope this helps a bit. :)
 
Kamino said:
This afternoon they called again. Maybe I'm a little paranoid here but I suspect they somehow think we are rich, or is it only that we were too friendly at the beginning?
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I think that if you are not really clear from the get-go with them that they're wasting their time, they think you're sitting on the fence (or they're think you're a pushover), so they keep on trying.
They are known for their persistence, occasionally literally putting their foot in the front door to continue talking. This used to make my grandmother really mad and she would just close the door on their foot until they removed it! :lol:

A polite but firm 'No, thanks!' and continuing on your way (or closing the door) is usually sufficient, I found. Do not answer any of their questions, the best is not to engage at all. It's a waste of time and energy.
 
Kamino, in a perfect world, this would work: _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6TeDM-wlZ4
However, it is best to ignore them and make sure they understand that they are wasting their time. You can also have a big dog LOL
 
Mrs. Tigersoap said:
mkrnhr said:
Kamino, in a perfect world, this would work: _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6TeDM-wlZ4
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Oh, I love that scene!
'It's nice in here... indoors.' :lol:
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Hilarious! I didn't know this one, so thanks for sharing mkrnhr. Had a good belly laugh over it. :lol:
 
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