"All generalizations are false, including this one."

by Mr. Falcon 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Mr. Falcon

  NewChapter - Yes, it is very enlightening! It's like I'm un-learning the intolerance I was raised to believe. I still have a loooooong ways to go, but at least I'm not going any deeper in the wrong direction!

  Morbidzbaby - I had a sort of similiar occurance with me concerning the theory of evolution. As a JW all I ever heard concerning the theory was JWs making fun of it. "LOL Worldly people think we came from monkeys!!! LOLOLOLOL" When I got older and started becoming curious about things that wafted of B.S. to me, I read Origin of the Species (geez, and I thought the Bible was a long read....) and studied the theory in a few other places.

  Now I personally may not subscribe to the theory of evolution, nor am I wishing to start any arguments about creation since that is such a sensitive topic. I just wanted to state that since actually studying the theory for MYSELF instead of just going by some generalization of the theory or the people who believe in it, I have gained a lot of respect for the arguement that evolution makes. I remember going to doors and speaking to people who believe in natural selection and thinking, "oh this poor fool, how delusional." Now, even though I myself may not believe that theory, I do find the evidence it points to as interesting and I think it does invoke many logical, thought-provoking questions. Evolution is a very fascinating theory.

  The point is that one only has to look through the pages of history to see how generalizations, sterotypes and ignorance have lead to great human tradgedy and suffering. Knowledge and respect go hand in hand. You may not believe the same things your neighbor believes, but if you learn about his beliefs, you learn to respect his stance instead of seeing him as "ignorant".

  

  And knowing is half the battle!
• 

  SweetBabyCheezits

  By the way, I've discovered that the "best" JW illustrations were written by people who weren't JWs at all. The illustration of counterfeit money, and how tellers are only taught to identify REAL currency - I used to think my dad came up with that one. Only when I figured out the WT was bunk did I find out that the source was some nonJW minister or preacher who had written it decades earlier. Same goes for the illustration of the rocks, pebbles, and sand fitting in a jar. I've seen it attributed to Stephen Covey. I'm not absolutely sure that credit belongs to him but I highly doubt he stole it from a JW instead of vice-versa.

  Also, there was another one about an elder who visited an irregular publisher and sat quietly by the fire place, then moved a red hot coal off to the side, let it cool to black, then put it back among the glowing embers where it began to glow again. That one also does not seem to originate with JWs, though they will FWD emails that share that illustration as though it comes from them.
• 

  SweetBabyCheezits

  The point is that one only has to look through the pages of history to see how generalizations, sterotypes and ignorance have lead to great human tradgedy and suffering.

  Some (Heraclitus, for example) have called religion a disease or an epidemic. I think that could be boiled down to a more fundamental problem. Misinformation and counter-knowledge are the underlying disease. Religion thrives on misinformation, sure. But even without it, you'd still have ignorance breeding where critical thinking lies dormant.

  That, to me, is one of the greatest obstacles in the path of mankind's progress.
• 

  PublishingCult

  Every kitchen table has a matching set of salt and pepper shakers. Sitting upon the table of spiritual fast food served up by the WTBTS is a matching set of Generalization and Propaganda shakers.
  
  The art of propaganda and generalizations consists of establishing a world suited to compete with the real one. The WTBTS cannot survive without surpassing the elements of reality and verifiable experiences. The consistency of fiction and the austerity of the organization make it possible for the generalization to survive the explosion of more specific lies. Hitler created a false sense of superiority in the German masses, for example. The GB of JW’s does the same.
  
  Interestingly enough, the official WT website currently has a series of articles about propaganda. Because the WTBTS is exposing these propaganda techniques in other religions and organizations, certainly they themselves could not be guilty of such manipulation.
  
  “Another very successful tactic of propaganda is generalization. Generalizations tend to obscure important facts about the real issues in question, and they are frequently used to demean entire groups of people.
  
  Some propagandists play on pride. Often we can spot appeals to pride by looking for such key phrases as: ‘Any intelligent person knows that . . .’ or, ‘A person with your education can't help but see that . . .’ A reverse appeal to pride plays on our fear of seeming stupid. Professionals in persuasion are well aware of that.”
  http://www.watchtower.org/e/20000622/article_02.htm
• 

  Mr. Falcon

  ...have lead to great human tradgedy and suffering.

  SweetBabyCheezits - perhaps the greatest problem of all is that I spelled tragedy wrong.

  You are right, though. Karl Marx was right when he referred to religion as the "opium of the people." And Groucho Marx was even more right when he said, "Who are you going to believe? Me, or your own eyes?"

  
• 

  DagothUr

  I have never seen the illustration with the jar. Is it something done only in the Western countries?
• 

  Incognito

  I first read this post a few hours ago.

  Mr. Falcon said:

  ... the manner in which people in "Christendom" worship God by "flailing their arms around." I'm not sure what this meant exactly or what sect they were referring to, but the audience thought it was a hoot and yukked it up.

  I didn't know what it meant either, and then I was doing something else and it hit me. Hand and arm movements - in the Sign of the Cross.
• 

  Mr. Falcon

  DagothUr - I'm not sure where this illustration is most prevelent. But it is a staple in JW Land. In fact, I do believe a recent Watchtower article used it; had a picture of a glass jar with sand and rocks and all. But it goes something like this:

  Say you are trying to get rid of the the bodies of several dead hookers by piling them in the trunk of your '78 Nova after which you fill the trunk with concrete so that it will sink.

  Now, would you fill the trunk with concrete FIRST, then try to cram the hookers in? Heavens no! They concrete would take up all the room. The discerning "John" would place each hooker in the trunk individually, THEN proceed to fill in the concrete. Are we doing the same with how we prioritize our spiritual things? Each hooker can represent an aspect of our worship, like a meeting or study. The concrete stands for recreational/non-worship pursuits. Are we letting recreation take priority? Are we unable to fit the hookers in the trunk because we chose to make the concrete our chief concern?

  Hope this helps.
• 

  SweetBabyCheezits

  Awesome illustration! I hope to see that one in the Kool-Aid issue someday, Mr. Falcon.
• 

  DagothUr

  Now that you put it that way, I think I do remember something like that from one of the CO's speeches, some 3 years ago. But it was not about concrete and dead mafiosi, it was about plum-compote. You don't fill the jar with the boiled water, then try to squeeze the plums inside. You place the plums and allow the water to fill only the gaps. In Romania we have tradition in all sorts of fruit-compotes, so I guess he adapted the illustration to the local context.