the answer is no way if they are very diehard JWs.
Can you successfully debate with a Jehovah's Witness?
by digderidoo 16 Replies latest jw friends
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leavingwt
Unfortunately, unless they WANT to leave the organization, you're not actually having a debate. They already have a CONCLUSION. Namely, that they are right and you are wrong.
It's all about the Trump Card -- The Faithful and Discreet Slave. If the Slave says it, it's RIGHT, no matter what the facts are.
You may stop talking to them at any time. No need to feel as though you have lost. The Internet will preserve your conversation for more reasonable/open minds to digest.
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AuldSoul
No. No one can. But that does not mean debate serves no useful purpose. Lurkers read. People wondering whether they might have made a mistake read. People who just met JWs and want to check out the religion read. How THEY perceive JWs is affected by what you write. Your arguments always reach them, always have an impact on them.
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AudeSapere
dig wrote: Am i just wasting my time? Can you ever win an argument with these people? In all honesty i was probably just like them some years back, so i think i already know the answer.
I think you are wasting your time. Most JWs do not know how how to have a fair and balanced discussion, let alone a debate. And when cornered about their beliefs, they tend to attack and/or revert to circular logic.
I stick to simple subjects and let them make their own decisions. Just not worth it to me to get into it with them.
Moral Level: DF'g teenagers is heinous. And to shun them for life is absurd. They are labeled as 'dead' and abandoned by all known support at a time when they need love and reasonableness the most.
607; Malawi vs Mexico; UN. 3 strikes and I was out. The DF'g of teenagers was already not sitting right.
If a jw will even consider arguing these three points from a pro-jw position, they are not ready to accept a different opinion.
Just my opinion. Good luck with your debate.
-Aude.
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Finally-Free
Can you successfully debate with a Jehovah's Witness?
It depends on your perspective. If you view the JW changing their minds as success, then it's unlikely. But the more a JW talks, the more stupid he sounds. You may help to open the minds of readers who aren't active participants in the debate.
W
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easyreader1970
It is not possible to hold a debate with a hardcore Jehovah's Witness.
The reason is that a Witness will refuse to listen to many statements you may have against their belief system. They are trained by the WBTS to shut down completely and disengage.
The FDS will say that this is for "protection", so your mind will not be poisoned. The real reason is that most of the official JW positions are not really defensible outside of Watchtower literature.
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isaacaustin
If their trust in the WT is there and they do not have the courage to face their doubts (which all JWs have regardless of what appears to the eye) then regardless of what proof is presented it will go in one ear and out the other.
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hamsterbait
Witlesses are TRAINED NOT TO LISTEN.
They are trained to see where they can drop their cleverly crafted shit on top of your head whether in debate or conversation.
I remember reading the testimonhy of a professor of NT greek. THis young witless was rabbiting on about Christs Invisible Presence, and how it didn't mean "coming" or "arrival" - even after he showed the twit from the books and NT he was wrong, the young fool continued to try to push his point home by reciting the crap he had been primed with.
The professor actually asked the guy if he had studied NT greek. Guess the answer.
If there is a Hell and they are sent there, they will turn round and say Jesus is a fool for not listening to them.
HB
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insearchoftruth
I have noticed that, when I have tried to make any points to my wife they look for any little way to enter back to their doctrinal discussions......get a JW out of their comfort zone, they either shut up or do all they can to get back to that zone.......
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Farkel
Virtually every comment in this thread is spot on! I just might add that JWs don't even understand the meaning of the term "debate." Most of us know that a legitimate debate is where one party presents arguments and evidence for those arguments. The other party is expected to either agree with those arguments, defeat those arguments using evidence or pointing out fallacies in the arguments, and/or present an alternative argument with a different conclusion using supporting evidence. Dubs give speeches, not arguments. They HEAR opposing arguments, but they do not LISTEN to them. They rarely even acknowledge other arguments, and when trapped, either change the subject, or attack their opponents. Ergo, under those conditions it is impossible to successfully debate with a dub. When I was a dub and when I faced someone who completely and honestly trashed my beliefs, I did the same thing dubs do now. After I departed, I forced myself to forget what was actually said, so I could continue to be sublime and continue to be braindead. Farkel