Are JWs Not Too Smart? Pros and Cons...

by Seeker4 28 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Seeker4

  In AlanF's thread on whether or not Thirdson (or whoever!) is a GB apologist, there are several posts discussing the intelligence of JWs.

  On that subject, this is what I observed from over 30 years as a JW:

  There are some really bright Witnesses, but the average publisher in a congregation could not explain to you how the WTS came up with the year 1914, what the Society's blood policy is and the reasoning behind it , how the ransom sacrifice applies to the Great Crowd, or dozens of other "deeper" teachings of the WTS. In fact, I would be surprised if you could find 5 people in any congregation of 100 publishers who could accurately explain any of these teachings. I've written before how, when I went over the medical directives with publishers in the congregation, explaining to them what the Society's view was on blood fractions, an individuals choice of blood fraction usage would change instantly when I said that blood fractions were totally up to the individual. That was such an eye-opener to me. As another thread on here recently made clear, blood usage for the typical Witness has nothing to do with the Bible and everything to do with what the WTS says.

  My former mother-in-law is a wonderful woman, and has brought over 100 people into the Witnesses - but she was pregnant at 16 and never completed high school. She was typical of many, many Witnesses I knew. My former father-in-law knew nothing about science, and he was the first to admit it. Yet, as an elder, he taught a number of Book Studys in the Life How Did It Get Here? book.

  The point is made in AlanF's thread that the Witnesses, in general, lack critical thinking skills, and I would have to agree with that. When I was an elder, I remember comments made at the Watchtower study making fun of the Catholic Church because it traced it's history back to the Apostles. I reminded the congregation that the FDS does the same thing. Then there were the comments making fun of religions based on human sacrifice. Hell-o! I made the comment that Christianity is the main religion ever to be based on human sacrifice! Jesus Christ! And I mean that in both ways. When I made those comments, you'd see heads nodding like a lightbulb had just come on for some folks.

  Intelligent people can find an outlet as a Witness, but it is only by studying and becoming an expert on what the WTS has written. If you truly use critical thinking skills, you will quickly become an ex-JW. That's why the Society disparages "critical thinking" and "skepticism" in its literature.

  S4
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  troubled mind

  There were only a handful of logical thinkers in my hall . One Elder finished his college degree while still holding all his Elder duties . I actually enjoyed being in his book study group he always added information, and challenged our thinking . I am really amazed he is still a witness I would have thought he was much smarter than all that . After he moved the next conductor was , I am sorry, as dumb as a bag of rocks ! I started missing book study regularly then . He would say the most stupid things, and of course us sisters that caught it could not speak up to correct him . AHGGGG I felt no matter how much theocratic knowledge I gained it never lead me forward just around in circles .
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  fullofdoubtnow

  Great post, S4.

  I was what would be considered a "bright" jw, having obtained a first - class honours degree at university, which I then wasted by becoming a jw, amd making part - time cleaning my initial career choice, though I later worked part - time in an office.

  However, I would have struggled to explain some of the doctrines in a way that non - jws could easily understand. That might have been because they were false anyway, or maybe too fantastic for someone who hadn't been indoctrinated to really grasp them, though at the time I believed them unreservedly.

  I agree totally with this statement:

  Intelligent people can find an outlet as a Witness, but it is only by studying and becoming an expert on what the WTS has written. If you truly use critical thinking skills, you will quickly become an ex-JW. That's why the Society disparages "critical thinking" and "skepticism" in its literature.

  I did get to be an expert on what the wts has written, and I believed everything they had written was true. It wasn't until I started to doubt that I really started to examine what I believed from logic rather than blind acceptance of wts dogma. Once I did that, it wasn't long before I was indeed an ex jw.

  Linda
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  OUTLAW

  Some JW`s are as dumb as a post..Others have an average IQ..Yet others hold down professional or executive job`s..They all have one thing in common..They know little or nothing about the organization that runs thier religion..In that one area of knowledge,most Jehovah`s Witness`s are absolute morons...OUTLAW
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  Seeker4

  FODN:

  I have to admit, Fred Franz was one of my childhood heroes. I thought of him as a genius. I guess he was, in his own way. Mad genius might be more accurate.

  I heard him speak several times, and met him personally once.

  S4
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  BizzyBee

  Good thread: a topic that would require a book to fully explore the intersections of intellect, critical thinking skills, motivation, and hostage-taking elements brought to bear on the individual JW. One could come up with maybe 20 profiles of basic JW types where each is a combination of the interaction of the factors above, quantified and qualified.

  A JW without major family ties in the org, single, educated and intelligent, can't be imagined to last long. Of course that begs the question: How did he get sucked in to begin with? I've know a few of these rare creatures. As I recall, they were pulled in by very charismatic, intelligent individuals, almost a seduction, because it had a lot to do with personality, status and attractiveness.

  A JW raised in the org, with huge family ties, limited education, perhaps married into the org as well, innate intelligence or not, is more 'stuck.' Leaving isn't as easy - so much is at stake. These folks, if they are intelligent and begin to suspect they've been duped, face that difficult choice we all know so well. Obviously, many, many opt to 'go through the motions' indefinitely in order to avoid the family upheaval.

  Bottom line: there is intelligence and critical thinking, and there is choosing not to use them because of emotional blackmail.

  IMHO, anyone who is intelligent, unencumbered and stays in - isn't that smart.
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  blondie

  BTW that is

  THIRDWITNESS

  Not

  Thirdson (who is a fine ex-jw)

  Biography

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/member/6378.ashx

  Blondie
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  dilaceratus

  I doubt that a person's actual native intelligence has anything to do with their remaining a follower of the Jehovah's Witnesses. While Jehovah's Witnesses appear dull, complacent, and incurious, they do not seem to be any more so than other Fundamentalist groups.

  I suggest that people in industrialized nations remain Jehovah's Witnesses (and other weirdo Fundamentalist sects) because they are essentially incompetent. This incompetence may be caused by genuine mental slowness, ingrained conditioning, long-term mental illnesses such as depression, shorter-term mental tragedies such as the death of a loved one, troubled married or family life, loneliness, or an inferior social or economic position. When an individual-- of whatever age, or level of education-- finds themselves validated in their own minds as intellectually competent to address the key issues of their life and beliefs, no Watchtower indoctrination can hold them back. There is simply too much evidence, in any direction one cares to look, to a person with open and easy access to a newspaper, a library, a museum, or a public television station that directly counters a Fundamentalist, and particularly a Jehovah's Witness, outlook.

  It is the near-criminal task of the WTBTS, then, in Westernized lands to seek out those who are already incompetent or nearly incompetent, and then maintain and even encourage the incompetence of their members, as well as foster and demand the incompetence of their children.

  (The subject of Jehovah's Witnesses holding, or actively seeking, leadership rôles is different than those who are followers, and requires somewhat more complex analysis, as does the conversion of those who live in non-Westernized countries.)
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  BizzyBee

  dilaceratus:

  Your analysis is a valuable contribution to the archives of the dissection of the JW personality. There is no question that the validation of marginalized personalities is a strong factor in attracting that population, which may be one of the largest single factions that have contributed to the perpetuation of generations of JWs beyond all rational expectations.
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  Seeker4

  Thanks for the correction, Blondie! I was working from memory there.
  Dilaceratus wrote; "It is the near-criminal task of the WTBTS, then, in Westernized lands to seek out those who are already incompetent or nearly incompetent, and then maintain and even encourage the incompetence of their members, as well as foster and demand the incompetence of their children."
  Excellent point.
  How often did we hear how wrong it was to depend on our own thinking, that we had to "lean on Jehovah and not on our own understanding." And in reality, it was not Jehovah or The Bible so much as it was what the WTS told us.
  I also think that family members in is a big reason for the majority of Witnesses staying in the congregations. It is an odd dynamic.
  S4