Are You Surprised That Some "Intelligent" People Still Are Witnesses? (page 6)

John Doe

I'm equally as surprised that some intellgent people purchase extended warranties.

TheSilence

Forgive the Harry Potter quote, but I always think of this particular quote when this topic is raised:

I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being--forgive me--rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger. ~ Albus Dumbledore

My dad is one of the smartest people I know. He is also the least able to admit his own mistakes of anyone I've ever met. Therefore once he decided the witnesses had it right there was really no going back for him, ever. It is simply not possible that he might have been wrong. And being exceptionally smart he can be very creative in his rationalizations. And he convinces himself as well as anyone else... in fact it's his own belief in his rationalizations that make them so believable to others.

Now, what made him jump to the conclusion that the witnesses had it right to begin with? I think, really, it was simply a combination of things that appealed to his personality moreso than his intellect. He knew it would piss his parents off as they are devout catholics and pissing his parents off is a high priority for him whether or not he realizes it himself. The misogyny appealed to his desire to have complete control over his wife and children. The 'us' and 'them' mentality is a part of his makeup so the witnesses 'us' and 'them' mentality fit right into that. The 'we are right and the rest of the world doesn't have a clue so we're special' mentality definitely appealed to his ego. And being able to see himself as the family martyr was the icing on the cake. So for something that felt so emotionally right for who he is I imagine rationalizing the witness logic in small steps was easy to do with his creative mind.

Jackie

Morbidzbaby

My soon-to-be ex-husband is one of them. My father is another. Dad converted when I was 21, and although I can understand his belief in God, I wish he would really examine the JW religion itself. If I have the hope of reaching anyone and making them think, it's Dad. He's level-headed and he listens. Mom is just another sheeple, sadly. And my ex... *sigh* he is SUCH an intelligent man in so many ways. He even went so far as to question the religion and do his own research and wrote a letter of disassociation. At that time, I was scared crapless that I would be shunned because my husband had DA'ed himself and I still thought it was possibly the Truth, so I used the same stinking "DUBble"-speak and convinced him he was wrong and he retracted his letter. After that, there was no stopping him. He was forceful with his beliefs and went so far as to impose his conscience on me and told me what I could and could not do/listen to/read/watch, etc. Begging him to retract his letter was the worst thing I could have done. Now he is stronger in JW than ever and because I don't believe in it, I'm scum...I'm not trustworthy (well, I did have an emotional affair on him, so he's kind of right in that sense), I'll bring bad elements into the house, I'm a bad influence on my children, the list goes on. So...he kicked me out and because I had been unemployed for pretty much all of our marriage, I had no means to support myself or my children, so he kept them and sent me away. I really feel that if he would really LOOK at things, really try to understand the truth of it all without using JW literature, that he would see and MAYBE we could be a family again. But there's no reaching him at this point in time. I truly wish there was, though.

leavingwt

My dad is one of the smartest people I know. He is also the least able to admit his own mistakes of anyone I've ever met.

That statement really rings true for me, too.

Thank you.

Open mind

Mentalists who perform cold readings say that the more intelligent a person is, the easier it is to get "hits" which make the mentalist appear to have psychic powers.

om

steve2

Intelligence, defined as having the ability to successfully solve problems in everyday life, is not highly correlated with the ability to think rationally about religious beliefs. On a purely rational level, it is amazing that anyone could ever suspend their doubt to believe the Bible's myriad fables.

snowbird

So...he kicked me out and because I had been unemployed for pretty much all of our marriage, I had no means to support myself or my children, so he kept them and sent me away. I really feel that if he would really LOOK at things, really try to understand the truth of it all without using JW literature, that he would see and MAYBE we could be a family again. But there's no reaching him at this point in time. I truly wish there was, though.

MorbidzBaby, I'm so sorry.

Welcome to the forum.

Sylvia

TheSilence

That statement really rings true for me, too.

Thank you.

I'm glad that it does, and you're welcome ;)

Jackie

undercover

My dad is one of the smartest people I know. He is also the least able to admit his own mistakes of anyone I've ever met.

That statement really rings true for me, too.

I think you're mistaken...

TheSilence

lol

Are You Surprised That Some "Intelligent" People Still Are Witnesses?

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