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chockfull

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chockfull last won the day on March 22

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  1. What I found in TWI is that so much was governed by unspoken rules so that people had to know these unspoken rules or face consequences. The politics side of that is one of those scenarios. You have little lemmings pulling up to little voting boxes and all pulling the same levers because that’s what good lemmings do. There was no diversity of opinion or thought. This is the biggest travesty - environments for producing Stepford robots with no propensity for freedom of thought or opinion. That describes the Ways vision of Christianity. Not a worldwide body of Christ composed of members in particular with different ideas and talents, but rather a uniform stamped copy of the perfect “believer” not Christian because that’s a bad word. They all vote the same way, hold the same opinions and it is all masked under what they call being “likeminded”. It is a mental hold on people starting with “the class” and driving towards “likemindedness” And all of it is unspoken from stages to avoid the threat of paying taxes on earnings.
  2. Thx for the note from an experienced perspective. Maybe it’s a phenomenon with the grass being greener on the other side and the lack of options we have here that’s influencing my feelings on that front. I guess our choices are crooked party backroom deals and insurrection. Politics is messy. Thx mods for bending rhe rules to accommodate a civil conversation that discusses government and politics as related to TWI.
  3. Ok so before this gets banned out of the gate let me set the framework. In the US of A, sometimes otherwise referred to as ‘Murica, we have a two party political system. Some other free republics also have this construct. I personally would prefer a four viable party system so that we have more options and aren’t restricted to a Tweedledee vs Tweedledum choice in geriatric medicine like we are currently. However, while I was in TWI I totally noticed a complete affiliation that was unspoken to a single political party. This was all done hush-hush and never from a stage or teaching platform. Why? Political affiliations would ruin a non-profit tax status and be grounds to disqualify TWI. I remember being on staff at TWI and the undercurrent of “suggestion” which is ever present was to get out and vote for our preferred political party. Why does TWI present a complete falsehood to our government that they are politically unbiased? How can they get away with it without losing tax exempt status? Mods this isn’t a political discussion so consider merits before ban hammering it. It is not presenting a one party opinion but discussing the attachments politically of a cult.
  4. Yes I have a relative living at one. It’s a bit like the TWI staff. Very controlled and patrolled environment with respect to what can and can’t be said. Mostly carpentry and production for Watchtower. Education is discouraged as Jesus is coming back any minute now. They have Bethels in many countries. It is a high honor among them to live and work there. The next governing body comes from Bethel workers and the succession to those positions. Saying “I was a Bethelite” among JW gives them advanced status in a group.
  5. Congratulations to you and your family. That’s awesome news. Godspeed brother and drop me a note from time to time. Thanks for your testimony about departing from false doctrine and making Jesus Lord again. One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One Body
  6. https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/s/BMLDktDe1b Hallelujah y’alls. Sisters are now permitted to wear slacks! Advancing in 2024! Also the ASL interpreter is Curious George!
  7. Sorry to box you in. It’s all good people will eventually add in their perspective after a bit.
  8. On the numbers as you expounded I was going for any reported high water mark. As you detailed reality is somewhat lower. Like the benefits to being in a cult….
  9. How can I not be deceived by other cults? I don’t want to join another one. https://www.reddit.com/r/cults/s/Mh6incJZ98 Reddit thread on this question. Some insightful commentary. For me it was partially self delusion. I traded free will and compliance for an emotional sense of security, belonging, and purpose. All those 3 tangible benefits were 100 percent delusional and false. There is no security and belonging in a high control environment where questioning or presenting a different opinion results in shunning. Obviously there is tangible negative emotional impact with shunning. And any purpose was masked with the true hidden purpose of elevating certain individuals in stature and position. There are emotional lies that people buy into and trade their freedom for.
  10. Hey mod, With all of those quote sentences do you think you could make a form out of them with checkboxes? This way we could easily select one or multiple of them that is most appropriate to the convo?
  11. He is playing out his false vision of himself as Paul, persecuted, imprisoned, but still putting out content. Except he lives in a free country with a lot of opportunity. And he is only imprisoned by the Way paying him a hush money stipend. YouTube is free. YouTube “entrepreneurs” need about 250k subscribers to even make a partial living, which is about 150k more than the greatest reach the cult ever had. He is at 500. The “reverend” title in practical application in today's society is certainly not one that commands the type of narcissist fawning over that VP or LCM envisioned. It more is on par with “shaman, or guru”. In mainstream Christian circles “pastor” carries more significant weight. In the Way that term carries little weight except for one of the “gift ministries”. That term in the Way is every bit as convoluted as the rest of their interpretation of the “one body” section of scripture in Corinthians. It is a magical quality bestowed by the top Machiavellians to those who say nothing but “yes” to every sycophant command. “Pastor” including the varying degrees and positions in mainstream Christianity (I.e. Associate Pastor, Head Pastor) at least describes an analogy of the job of taking care of people, something that the Way will never figure out because they have other priorities, like trademarking WOW. LCM is isolated out on his own island stranded by the political play of those closest to him. He won't escape that reality. He is not an isolated instance either. Paul talking about the family faith being made shipwreck, you probably have even up to a hundred other mini moglets from a Way background with their own little isolated mental realities teaching their version of Way interpreted scripture, paying homage to “the doctor” and trying to carve out their own little subsistence off of shipwrecked tithes.
  12. https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/s/q202RXmiNV So they are starting out younger and younger targeting the kids. Here’s the Mormons with a Stake President writing letters to 11 year olds. The next generation is where the cult interest is.
  13. https://thespeakerlab.com/blog/what-are-ethos-pathos-and-logos/?utm_content=adwords&utm_term=&utm_campaign=NB-DSA&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=6969354497&hsa_cam=20941585374&hsa_grp=159420316202&hsa_ad=687905008745&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=dsa-19959388920&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAABVcvFRQ2sprRVBs1aCKeTnb6tkDr&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz6fz0-PYhAMV3jmtBh2BEwKqEAAYASAAEgLgz_D_BwE Here is a little more content on logos pathos and ethos from a speakers perspective. Aristotle postulated that all convincing dialogue originates from these elements. If you consider them also as elements of how people make decisions it gets interesting. The mind (rationale) the authority appeal or credibility appeal and the emotional appeal. It also seems like it might provide some context to investigating “how I got involved with this cult” type of thought patterns.
  14. Looking at some writings by Aristotle, I came across a method for rhetorical analysis of writings, speeches, texts, etc. https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/rhetorical-analysis/ Since we are analyzing the Bible and various other works I thought it might be interesting to introduce this angle of analysis. It leads to such questions as what is the logical appeal? Emotional appeal? Or appeal to authority? This might be also helpful in an analytic discussion.
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