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Imagine getting kicked out of your church (and banned from ever talking to your friends and family again) after divorcing your spouse for fucking a dog (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/atheism@lemmy.world
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Some more context - in the 1970s the Watchtower, which is the organization in charge of Jehovah’s Witnesses, made it official policy that married people couldn’t do oral or anal. However - those acts also didn’t count as sex, so if your husband fucked another woman in the ass, or had sex with an animal, it wasn’t “adultery” and you couldn’t get divorced, until they changed that policy later.

Keep in mind too that “disfellowshipping” means that no other Jehovah’s Witnesses could talk with you - no contact with family or JW friends, who are probably your only friends because you aren’t supposed to really socialize out of the religion. They just changed that policy (and now they say people are “removed” and you can talk long enough to invite someone to church) because it’s so fucked up that the Australian government took away benefits over it.

Just imagine though. You’re raised in a culture where you’re so sexually repressed that giving your husband a blowjob would put your salvation at stake, you walk in on him fucking an animal and absolutely everyone you’ve ever known and been close to turns on you!

This is from Raymond Franz’s Crisis of Conscious which is free/easy to find online. Written by a guy who was on the “Governing Body” of the cult.

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[–] 28 points 1 year ago

I recently had someone I knew who was in a bad spot stay with me. She was a witness. She introduced me to some of her "friends" and she got in trouble for staying with me. None of them would open their doors to her but she got shunned essentially for it. They couldn't be seen talking to her in public. Despite all this, the second she moved out she ran back to the religion with open arms. They really messed with her head.

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    [–] 20 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    no contact with family or JW friends, who are probably your only friends because you aren’t supposed to really socialize out of the religion

    That is cult behavior.

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  • [–] [S] 9 points 1 year ago

    They celebrate the deaths of children who refused blood transfusions as martyrs.

    Of the “Four Major Cults” (Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventists, Christian Scientists + JW’s) they’re the most culty. Christian Scientists have more word language games/language control, and will also let children day of medical neglect but they don’t really seem to view that as good just a lack of spiritual strength.

    JW’s are seriously discouraged from doing things like going to college or getting a meaningful career. You’re not supposed to really care about worldly things, because the world is supposed to end very soon (they’ve made so many failed predictions they stopped putting a number on it. You can get in serious trouble if they know you look at “apostate” material.

    Your whole life is supposed to revolve around the church and being “Jehovah’s friend.”

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    • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    it’s so fucked up that the Australian government took away benefits over it.

    So it was part of their faith until money was involved, got it.

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    [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    I used to think militaries and religions had the best brainwashing capabilities but that was before Faux News.

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    [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    What I’m seeing is that the JWs are so pro forced marriage that they’re pro animal abuse.

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 1 year ago*

    They also are pro spousal abuse!

    “Selma recalls a lesson she learned from the Witness who studied with her. “On one particular day,” says Selma, “I didn’t want to have a Bible study. The night before, Steve had hit me as I had tried to prove a point, and I was feeling sad and sorry for myself. After I told the sister what had happened and how I felt, she asked me to read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. As I did, I began to reason, ‘Steve never does any of these loving things for me.’ But the sister made me think differently by asking, ‘How many of those acts of love do you show toward your husband?’ My answer was, ‘None, for he is so difficult to live with.’ The sister softly said, ‘Selma, who is trying to be a Christian here? You or Steve?’ Realizing that I needed to adjust my thinking, I prayed to Jehovah to help me be more loving toward Steve. Slowly, things started to change.”After 17 years, Steve accepted the truth. Watchtower 2012 Feb 1 p.29

    Pretty sure the only legit way to divorce and be remarried is if your partner commits adultery. Beating is something you just gotta be good enough to convince your spouse to stop doing.

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    • [–] -1 points 1 year ago*

    This only proves what kind of ret_ards religious creatures are.

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