What about those INTELLIGENT JW's? Did you have any in your cong'?

by nicolaou 26 Replies latest jw experiences

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  nicolaou

  I was 'raised in'. I remember as a child being impressed by several older 'brothers' who were well educated and articulate. We had guys with degrees and one had a Ph.D in some branch of physics - a professor. Now you know as well as I do that that level of education was, and still is, mightily discouraged by the WT but these guys had managed it somehow.

  As an impressionable kid it put 'the Truth' on a more secure footing for me, after all if these intelligent men could believe . . . .

  So I was wondering if I was alone in that? It was really nothing more than taking comfort in 'authority' although I didn't recognise that for the longest time. The thing is, intelligent people can end up believing almost anything - doesn't make them less intelligent, just that their reasoning skills are lacking somewhere along the line.

  Clear, rational thinking ability has little to do with intelligence and is a skill that can be learned by anyone. I recommend Straight and Crooked Thinking by Prof R.H. Thouless - it changed my life.

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Straight-Crooked-Thinking-Robert-Thouless/dp/0330241273
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  WTWizard

  As long as you don't pxxx them off too much (like playing any funny business with their sex life or hound them to stay with abusive partners, etc.) or demand too much, intelligent people can be suckered in. If you don't give them all the information, they are as likely to join as an idiot. And, born-ins did not have anything to say about it--they are forced in whether or not they want to be.

  However, the more intelligent a person, the more likely they are to go apostate if they are mistreated or they find a blatant lie. More intelligence means more ability to integrate the facts. However, more important than sheer intelligence is having fully integrated thinking. That's why you will never see a fully integrated witless that is sincere and in it for the truth.
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  Gopher

  We had some elders who were also incredibly successful salesmen in their field (fireplaces, jewelry, whatever). I would say they were very shrewd and intelligent. They didn't make all the meetings because they had to travel frequently.

  There was also a bookish-intelligent "brother" in a hall I attended who knew how to explain all the details of JW doctrine, and even wrote a book defending it meant for non-JW's. Eventually though he tired of the whole thing, and I think he's long gone from the JW's.

  In a nearby congregation there was at least one college-educated scientist working at the 3M world headquarters, who also was a well-respected elder. He gave some of the most interesting talks.

  So yes there were definitely some very smart people who were attached to JW teaching, and many of them stayed with it for a long long time.
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  Wordly Andre

  There was one elder who could clean windows like no one else, I mean you'd almost walk through them damn it was magic
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  Eyes Open

  Yes, there was a college science lecturer in my congregation. Believing is largely down to desire to believe, not clear thinking.
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  BabaYaga

  Yes, I knew a couple. Even as a child and a faithful witness, I still wondered how difficult it must have been to know such things and have good careers and give these things up to attend the meetings 5 times a week.
  
  Then, as I got older and had doubts I could no longer suppress, I realized: It was a selective, self-imposed ignorance that kept them there. That realization was quite mind-opening for me. It was as if they had buckled their own blinders on. Stunning, really.
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  Quirky1

  At one point I thought a couple of them were pretty smart but since I have left and they are still in I realized they aren't that smart after all.
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  Hope4Others

  In various congregations I have known school teachers, a couple of Doctors, and many extremely successful

  businessmen, one I new had his own aviation company and was a servant. Of course all these people acquired these

  skills way before ever becoming a jw. An this is mostly the case now, they had the smarts before becoming indoctrinated.

  Think of it now, how smart was that????? Guess it shows anyone can be conned.

  cheers

  hope4others
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  Champion

  Intelligent JW's isn't that an oxy- moron
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  yknot

  I was born into a "service" congregation.

  The link between higher education & higher ranking within the WTS was always made clear.

  Yes having a congregation full of former Bethelites, Gilead couples, and an anointed (all college educated) did play strongly in me staying loyal.

  This said my KH was disbanded & redistricted at the end of May in 1980. Looking back the things I was told/taught eventually are the stuff that caused the clampdowns of the 1980s. I was never taught that I should obey the FDS blindly or that the WTpubs were like direct communication from God.

  When we moved to a blind faith 'watchtower' congregation I was treated awfully. I spent the rest of my youth and early adult years 'waiting on Jehovah' to restore my 'spiritual paradise'.