Thanks to JWFacts who helped me out. Please feel free to advise me of changes, or additions. Please keep in mind that my speech is supposed to be 6 minutes or less so I don't think I can add a whole lot. If you see something that should be changes let me know, and perhaps I can take something out. Also, I have to add some more PowerPoint Pictures so if anyone has any suggestions I'm all open. Hopefully I can give a GREAT anti-witness to my wife and her dub family (some of them) as well as inform my professor when I send her the video tape. Thanks!
**Alright how to I paste a Word doc to this site? I keep getting an error when I paste it and then submit it. Thanks!**
OK, Finally got it.
Topic: Religion can breed intolerance.
General purpose: To persuade.
Specific purpose: To persuade my audience to evaluate their religion and beliefs.
Central purpose: To persuade my audience that religious belief’s can be divisive and breed intolerance towards others.
Introduction
I. Attention material
A. Twenty three years ago, a young man of twelve was told that he could no longer speak to his grandfather, and that his grandfather would no longer be allowed to associate with his extended family.
B. This young man did not see or speak to his grandfather for another eight years, even up until the time his grandfather passed away.
C. That young child was me.
D. You might be wondering what sort of crime was committed to handout such a harsh sentence.
E. The crime was that my grandfather chose to use tobacco products which were against the doctrinal teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, for that he was excommunicated.
II. Orienting material
A. Let’s look at a few examples of religious intolerance.
1. Did you know that the Thirty Years’ War that began in 1618 was started due to a Protestant leader throwing two Catholic emissaries out of a window and into a dung heap?
a. The result was 14,000,000 deaths.
b. Deaths were due to war and starvation.
2. Or how about the ten year old girl who had to watch her mother get beat to death by two pastors from the Church of the Kingdom of God, in Brazil.
a. What was the reason?
b. The reason was that the mother refused to enter into the church.
3. Further, what about Jean-Claude Lavoie who was only 26 years old and suffered from a curable intestinal tumor.
a. Jean-Claude Lavoie did not die from the tumor.
b. Jean-Claude Lavoie died because he refused a simple blood transfusion, due to religious doctrine, that could have saved his life.
4. Finally, who can forget about the tragic events that unfolded during the morning hours of September 11, 2001, where 3,000 Americans died?
B. These events, and countless others that are very similar, take place all over the world on a daily basis.
C. Each of these events show the grim side of religious intolerance and misguided beliefs, it is with us every minute, of every hour, of every day.
(Show Slides of Religious Wars and Affects - Slow)
D. Gay activist Harvey Milk once said, “The fact is that more people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, THAT my friends, is true perversion.”
E. Do YOU belong to a religious organization that shuns or persecutes its members or those on the outside because of differing beliefs?
F. Have YOU really stopped to think about what YOUR religion teaches and how it affects YOU or those around you?
Transition (Let’s examine this issue in more detail)
Body
I. Many people truly believe that they are doing Gods will, through the practice of their religion.
A. Most religions have a set of core values that are similar, such as love yourself, love your neighbor and love your god.
B. Unfortunately, each religion interprets its holy books differently which can lead to a set of doctrines that exhibit intolerance.
C. The examples mentioned above indicate that those individuals truly believed that their actions would elicit God’s elation by adhering to their religious doctrines.
D. How can people be so blind?
E. It is because religion controls people based on faith.
F. Faith is a belief based on things that cannot be proven.
G. Sadly, displaced faith has led people to shun, kill, or be killed.
H. Although you may not kill someone else because of religious intolerance, you may adhere to beliefs that go far beyond the momentary pain of death.
I. Can you think of a doctrine that you adhere to that could potentially cause family or secular tension and intolerance simply because of their differing beliefs?
J. If so, how can YOU overcome this?
Transition (Now that we have seen the problem, let’s look at the solution?
II. Educating oneself on religion can lead to enlightenment.
A. The more we know about our beliefs the more we realize, as I mentioned before, that most religions have at their core the same fundamentals.
1. The first fundamental is love of yourself and neighbor.
2. The second fundamental is worshiping our creator.
3. The third fundamental is a belief in an afterlife.
B. We need to educate ourselves and promote the education of others to see that religion should not divide, but unite us.
C. This can only be done if we concentrate on our religious similarities and not our differences.
D. Can you imagine a world where people do not live in terror because of religious extremists?
E. Can you imagine not having to live a lie for fear that you may be shunned by your family or friends if you let it be known that your beliefs do not coincide with theirs?
Transition (Religion can be a beautiful thing, if you so choose, and if you keep an open mind and show tolerance for everyone)
Conclusion
I. Summary
A. Religious wars have plagued almost every century of mans existence.
B. Change, however small, can eventually eliminate this problem.
C. To be successful in your religious life, you must not belong or tolerate religions that promote bigotry or intolerance.
D. You must analyze your religion, educate yourself about your religion, and focus on the core principals of your religion.
II. Clincher
A. They say that the truth, or truth about religion, will set you free.
B. This can only be done if we remember the words of French Mathematician and Religious Writer, Blaise Paschal, when he said, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”
Bibliography
Visual aids