by rebel8 13 Replies latest jw friends
Bobby Henderson of the Flying Spaghetti Monster fame posted this 2 years ago. I just came across it while looking for something entirely unrelated to jws. He has an interesting take on an encounter with jws.
Did you feel the preaching tactic/magazine topics that started out talking about something completely different than religion....were deceptive?
Bobby Henderson truly is a great prophet.
!RAmen
p.s. like the link
| Did you feel the preaching tactic/magazine topics that started out talking about something completely different than religion |
not anymore than any other sales tactic. You know... like asking about the wife and kids when you really dont give a flying flip. etc etc.
It was obvious to me, when they trained me to seel their mags/religion. I wasn't that good at tricking people, though.
S
Rebel8,
The JW recruitment process is deceptive. It's part of the Mind Control.
You're not at their door to"share an encouraging Scripture". You're there to recuit them into the cult.
Here is what Randy Watters says on the topic, and I agree with him.
Using mind control is a question of ethics in today's society; not all forms of mind control are harmful. Advertising and sales pitches seek to influence our minds daily. What we must take issue with, however, are certain methods of mind control employed that are not understood by the person seeking help. Often they do not know what they are getting into (until it's too late). Religious cults employ mind control tactics that are kept secret from the rank and file members; that is one reason why they are called cults. Cults believe that "the end justifies the means" when it comes to making converts. They sincerely believe that they have the only answers to life's problems, and since most people "don't know what is good for them," the cult leaders assume the role of "parents" to the victim, often referring to themselves as their "mother" or "father." Unlike a good parent who explains what he is doing to the child, however, the cult leader finds it to his advantage to keep the recruit as much in the dark as possible, preferring obedience and blind loyalty to making full disclosure. Cult leaders are sophisticated when it comes to understanding human nature! They know that the average person would object to the indoctrination program if they really understood the whole picture, so information is provided on a "need to know" basis only.
This reveals the underlying foundation of cult leadership--a total lack of faith in the neophyte's ability to make responsible decisions. The neophyte is viewed as a worthless individual unless their entire way of thinking is overhauled. They must have their minds swept clean of former ways of reacting to life's situations, and then reprogrammed entirely. The cult's program of mind control will ultimately only work if the person sublimates their former personality.
I have noticed that JWs are trained in some of the Dale Carnagie methods (probably unbeknownst to them) that
come straight from How to Win Friends and Influence People.
The book describes techniques to use to subtly manipulate people; i.e. how to ask questions that feign an
interest in them so they will be more likely to listen to you because you show them a crumb of "caring
attention" or give them some pretensious "compliment".
Ha...it took a minute to figure out what a Pastafarian is but I agree...we did it all the time...start off talking about excercise, depressed teens, rising cost of living, etc...suck them in...then hit them with the Jehovah-load.
Do witnesses still say they are not out to convert people but that Jehovah converts people or that people convert themselves after learning the message? Can't believe we used to spout that nonsense.
I am struck by what is going on with the Mormans today, their great offense at having their secret rooms and rituals exposed on Big Love. (Can't wait until 9 pm!)
What's the real issue? Can't be the display of a room (yawn) or the wearing of lots of yards of white fabric (double yawn). I suspect it's the fact that their real beliefs are being shown raw.
Didn't have time to finish my last post earlier.
In the vid...they said the Mormons do not like to call them "secret" rooms or rituals, they prefer the word "sacred". Well those are 2 entirely separate things, aren't they? One can have one but not the other, neither, or both? So it is not an accurate substitute word. Secret is what they are, why hide it? Oh yeah, because you like to prevent outsiders and newbies from seeing the uglier side of things.
Then the "apostle" said these rituals are not appropriate for outsiders to view because, when watched "out of context", they look like they're "unusual", but when viewed "in context", they look "perfectly appropriate". Typical cult tactic, again, preventing outsiders and newbies from seeing the uglier side of things.
Kinda reminds me of this.
If JWs can be accused of being deceptive, then so can most religions - in fact, most businesses that sell products. I flicked through a recent 7th-Day Adventist publication: From the cover, the reader wouldn't even have known it was a religious publication. The articles were about people's needs and concerns and it had a very Reader's-Digest feel about it. Was it deceptive?
One of the oldest methods of selling anything - including religious ideas - is to target potential clients' needs and wishes. Hook people in with something and pull 'em in. If clients are totally sucked in by this, then rather that complain about being deceived, they need to empower themselves and learn the tricks of the trade so they won't be so manipulated in future.
