Even in Christianity it applies, maybe not in survival of the one preaching , but in the meme that they are spreading.
Truth - How obvious does it need to be?
by Nickolas 55 Replies latest jw friends
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leavingwt
Regardless, those who are not yet convinced that fleeing from the Watchtower is the right thing to do maybe just haven't seen enough evidence. There's no shortage.
If ONLY it were a matter of information/facts/data/reality.
If they are HAPPY within the cult, then the evidence is rendered powerless, when confronted with the Power of Belief.
Therefore, when trying to rescue someone, we have two choices: (1) identify a sore spot that they have with the cult, or (2) CREATE a sore spot.
Once a sore spot exists, the next challenge is to help the person identify their Irrational Fears & Phobias. Specifically, help them to see that simply reading a book or visiting a website that challenges their strongly held beliefs may very well trigger a (programmed) physiological response: heart racing, sweaty palms, overwhelming guilt and fear. But, why are they having such a response? What is true will remain true. What is false will remain false.
ONLY after getting past these fears will they be able to calmly examine the EVIDENCE.
Then, it's a simple matter to acknowledge intellectually that you've been swindled by seller of false hopes and dreams.
The heavy lifting comes after this devastating realization. How does one exit? Is an exit possible? What will I gain? What will I lose? Here's another big one that many of us had to deal with, "What would Jesus want me to do?". We've all seen how answering that question can have a profound impact on our lives after our exit.
There are many legitimate reasons to remain within the cult, depending upon one's practical circumstances, IMHO. Being 'mentally' out, but physically captive is bad, but there are far worse fates.
Immediate exit was the only route, for me, but my finances and entire social fabric were not cult-centric.
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PSacramento
Even the most simplest or self evident of truths can be shown to be at best subjective, if not pure "objective desire".
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sabastious
Regardless of how we feel about it, we have to admit that truth is subjective even speculative and even what I jus wrote is just that !
Human perception wholly hinges upon our brain's capabilities in conjunction with the organs in our body that collect the physical data it interprets. So yeah, I totally agree with you.
-Sab
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pirata
I believe people tend to weigh evidence objectively, but inversely proportion to the amount of emotional investment the have in it.
The more sacrifice a person has made for their decision, the less likely they want to accept or even see any evidence that they may have been wrong.
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Nickolas
I think we all agree that there is truth in that statement that ALL people should be treated correctly, with equla rights and such, BUT that notion is NOT shared the the WHOLE of the world, nor was it shared ALWAYS in our civilization ( western) and to even say that it is a "true statment" is meaningless but it is no more true than any other.
That is not a truth but a value or perhaps a principle, PSac. Truth is factual. Truth is observable. Truth is whether or not a thing was said or a thing was done. Truth in the context I'm using is black or white with no shades of gray. Truth or falsehood. This is what the WTBTS says it is, but this is what historical fact says it is.
one might argue that Western Society merely hides their illogical views far better than preceding societies, no?
Absolutely, sab. Western Society still allows in illogical views. The former president of the United States, for example, invaded Iraq because God told him to. I get your point. Evidence demonstrates truth only to those who are not disposed to ignore it because it interferes with what they want to believe.
One can argue about the truth in "surival of the fittest".
Survival of the fittest is a dynamic. It doesn't represent truth or falsehood, right or wrong. This conversation is taking some interesting turns.
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sabastious
Absolutely, sab. Western Society still allows in illogical views. The former president of the United States, for example, invaded Iraq because God told him to. I get your point. Evidence demonstrates truth only to those who are not disposed to ignore it because it interferes with what they want to believe.
So you acknowledge the existence of truth while remaining aware that no human on this planet has it in whole?
-Sab
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pirata
leavingwt, great post!
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jay88
The more sacrifice a person has made for their decision, the less likely they want to accept or even see any evidence that they may have been wrong.
Or perhaps they need to learn how to compartmentalize, so as to not be putting all their eggs in one basket. Spread the risk.
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Nickolas
Great points, lwt, and you understand my personal context. I think that in another six months I will have learned so much about the Watchtower that it will be difficult for anyone to win an argument based on sheer fact and logic other than by simply denying that what is written in the historical records (most of them by the Watchtower itself) is factual or just refusing to hear. Somewhere in the body of knowledge about the Society and what it has said and done over the years will be something that, as you say, can create a sore spot that opens up the conversation. That doesn't mean that leaving will be easy, I understand. It only means that the need to leave will be evident.