Absolutely sick to the pit of my stomach after watching and hearing about this.
Watchtower's New "Toy Story" - What Parents Need To Know
by cedars 166 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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cedars
iCeltic, I can truly sympathize. I was filled with rage when I saw it. The consensus seems to be that those who were raised as JWs come off worse after seeing "Lesson 2", as they can connect with their own childhoods.
Cedars
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iCeltic
I'd laugh at this if it wasn't for the fact that it'll be played to many young, impressionable minds, terrified into thinking that there's a personal god out there watching your every move and waiting to kill you if you make the wrong move. It's child abuse. And parents through fear themselves are committing child abuse to their own wee precious children.
I have a JW on my Facebook who mentions all the films he's seen, the wee plastic wizard film would be way down the list of things the GB would be concerned about. But, may as well terrify them early doors, eh!
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BluesBrother
I thought that this was classic. ......The comment is from a dub poster over on J W Talk...Yes they are talking about it too.
"I have been watching the Kids DVD and found it interesting to see the subtle reminders the Slave gives us. For example, the mother/sister is cleaning the house in her trousers, but has changed into a dress for the Family Worship evening. Clearly this is the direction the Slave wants for us - respect for Jehovah's provision. ........Looks like we are going to have to keep a close eye on the toy chests of our kids and make sure nothing inappropriate is in there. Great reminders in these last days! "
[B/Brother dissociates himself from the above remark - ]
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jookbeard
the writing committee of the WTS or whatever dept produced this garbage never seem to learn over the years and this partly must be why they hemorrhage members of all ages, over the years from demo's at Ass'emblies when council is being administered the alternative , in this case Caleb's mom says lets go and play on them there bikes after Sparlock was dumped in the trash, but the alternative makes the evil/bad/satanic Sparlock seem even more attractive! dont they ever learn, Caleb will be fishing Sparlock out the dumpster when mum and dad are in bed!
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cedars
I've emailed 3 UK Mum-oriented websites, each with editorial content. Fingers crossed!
Cedars
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sd-7
sd-7, yes my friend, I'm sad to say you are wrong.
This is where the enemy's entire argument falls apart, as it hangs upon false reasoning. Granted, it is true that on occasion we have made adjustments to our understanding of some minor matters. However, is it reasonable to conclude that we are totally incorrect in our understanding and therefore need to "start over", as it were? No, as that would undo the spiritual progress we have already made! Rather than focusing on imperfect men, let us humbly keep pace with God's unfolding purpose, never attempting to run ahead or place our own thinking ahead of Jehovah's.
Your Brother,
sd-7
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Amelia Ashton
I have re-done the description because it never occurred to me there would be over 11,000 views in total so far for all 4 clips when I originally posted it.
Also, I have put in links to the JW Survey, the e-petition for Charitable Status to be revoked in UK and 3 links for any JWs finding the site and needing support.
And I changed my avatar!
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jws
I wasn't calling you an ignoramus. But I do wonder how you think this is some new position from the JWs. That was the way it was in the 70's and 80's when I was growing up. We wouldn't have been able to have a wizard toy, or anything with guns for that matter. We weren't allowed to watch shows like Bewitched, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, or Escape to Witch Mountain (although if the original was like the new one, it was aliens, not witches). Although we were allowed to watch magicians because magic is just a trick, not anything supernatural. And we were all told watching shows with the supernatural or having objects (books, toys, etc) containing the supernatural (Bible and other JW publications excepted) could invite demons into your home. Haven't you heard of the demonic Smurf toy coming to life (or in some versions, the Smurfs on the curtains come to life)? It's a famous JW urban legend. Because Smurfs were created by a wizard, so they're demonic.
Sorcery is no more real than witchcraft or magicians. Maybe that's why the Bible really condemns it because it is just people tricking others, many times like in the case of fortune-tellers or mediums, to bilk money out of them. The real reason little Caleb won't grow up to practice sorcery is that it's equivalent to growing up to be Superman. There's no such thing. But there are people who grow up and pretend. Or maybe even believe they have powers.
Let's call this wizard what it really represents, Harry Potter. And in case you haven't heard, there are a lot of Christian groups that are against Harry Potter. I know a few Baptists who won't let their children have anything to do with Harry Potter toys, books, or movies for the same reason Witnesses won't. One sucn guy I know goes to a mega-church called Potter's Field. When I joked and said, "You go to Harry Potter's Field?", he shot me a very cold glance as if I had uttered the worst form of blasphemy.
What influence might the toy have? After all, the toy is a good guy. And while spells and such aren't real, there is a real study of it and people who believe it is real. Pursuing it is a possibility. I knew Dungeons and Dragons fanatics who investigaged that sort of thing as a result of their interests in their game. Where I live, there was a pagan community center that I went to once for a party. Those people did believe in magic symbols, magical items, calling upon spirits, etc. - what most people would call witchcraft. In certain circles, these beliefs seem more common than Christianity within the group. There was a group called CMA, Council for Magical Arts, that had hundreds of members. Their campouts drew hundreds where many sorts of rituals were performed that would freak the hell out of most Christians. And while I believe it was no more real than people who believe they are vampires, these are the sorts of things people believe in and are the sorts of things people can pursue.
Let's say you're one of the conservative Christians who think homosexuality is the end of civilization and gay marriage would ruin the institute of marriage. Would you let your kid have a gay doll? A gay Barbie, gay Ken, or a don't-ask, don't-tell G.I. Joe? I'll assume the answer for these people is a huge NO! Why? Well, if you're paranoid, you might think your child might grow up to be gay. But the other effect is it normalizes it. If you have a gay doll, gay might become OK. It's just another variation within our cultural diversity. And while the child is unlikely to grow up gay over a doll, heaven forbid, the child might grow up not shunning gay people. I believe a toy can shape your opinions and what you accept.
If a wizard toy is OK, might the child pursue the supernatural? Or might the child just become accepting of those who practice such things? Is a medium or fortune-teller OK? Is it OK to have friends that perform supernatural rituals? If you're a Christian I would say no. Whether or not it's spelled out in the new testament, I think most Christians would agree. At least in principle, if not in practice.
BTW, my kids have Harry Potter Lego sets, play the Lego Harry Potter video games, and watch Harry Potter movies as well as shows like Wizards of Waverly Place. And I teach them there's nothing wrong with gay people. To me, wizardry, sci-fi, and super heroes all fall into the same category. Just with different explainations for the "magic".
As far as the parent not quoting scripture, so what? If you tell your kids it's wrong to lie or steal, do you quote scripture and verse every time? Can't you remind them that god doesn't approve (if you even have to call it to that level) without quoting scripture? I'm sure if he's a good little JW kid, he's been over this stuff time and time again. You don't need to quote a verse to remind him. Anybody who pulls out a bible for everything is some kind of freak.
As for the other video about obeying, it's interesting the parent just says he knows what's best for the child. I'm sure this is a direct reference to the JW leadership. And at a certain age, don't many parents tell their kids that? Caleb looks old enough for explainations. When I tell my kids something, I'd rather let them know why so that they learn why. Pick up those so that somebody doesn't trip over them and hurt themselves, for example. "Because I said so" doesn't teach the kids the logic of why.
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cedars
Hello jws, thanks for having another go! Nowhere did I say that the Society's approach to wizards is a "new position" per se. They have made it clear in their literature down through the decades that they are firmly against the occult. Occasionally there will be an assembly item where a certain film or book is mentioned or strongly hinted at as being questionable or out of bounds. However, for the most part, parents have been left to their own devices in the extent to which they enforce the Society's perceived views on the occult.
Therefore this "unspoken rule" of non-interference on the part of the Society in private parental decisions has now been brought to an abrupt end. For the first time, a publication of theirs (yes, a DVD is still a publication) has expressly forbidden a SPECIFIC TYPE of toy, and branded any children who own such a toy as disobedient. If you don't think that's a first, then you and I have been involved in completely different versions of the same religion for the past few decades.
You say that sorcery isn't real, but I'm sure there are many posters on this very forum who will disagree with you there. I've had my fair few run-ins with witches and wizards during my time as a J-dub, so maybe that's an area in which I'm not the one who's clueless. Talk to wtwizard if you don't believe me. I'm sure he'll tell you just how much of an "illusion" witchcraft and wizardry is.
As to not quoting scripture, of course it isn't incumbent on a parent to quote scripture each and every time they need to make a point. The issue here is that the mother makes an assertion about Jehovah that is not based on scripture (i.e. that he hates toy wizards), and in so doing teaches her son that scripturally-based explanations are irrelevant in determining what God does or doesn't like. This is a blatant attempt by the Governing Body to get across the message that they can tell people to do whatever the hell they want without providing good reason. What I strongly object to is that they trample all over the criticial thinking potential of millions of impressionable young ones in order to make this point.
I'm sorry if I haven't answered all your objections, I will do so shortly. I'm juggling a few things at this time.
Cedars