by Dogpatch 26 Replies latest jw friends
As a sophomore in highschool, I was studying political campaigns and the use of propaganda. It suddenly dawned on me that what I was being fed by the FDS was not spiritual food but propaganda. All the criteria were met for it fitting the definition. It didn't take long for me to exit stage left!
carmel
"Unthinking adherence to what previous generations believed and did can, in fact, be dangerous."
* http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2001/8/1/article_02.htm
I couldn't agree more:)
gb
Here's a nice quote from the main page on their web site:
Is There a Sound Basis for Your Beliefs?
How can you minimize the possibility of believing a lie? Why, in fact, do you believe the way you do?
Excellent Randy!!! This one is a keeper for sure. Saved it to my favorites. I plucked out some choice statements the Society made ... fascinating what they say verses what they practice:
"By clever and persevering use of propaganda even heaven can be represented as hell to the people, and conversely the most wretched life as paradise."—ADOLF HITLER, MEIN KAMPF.Someone placed that quote on JWD a while back ... wonder if the Society saw it here and copied it ... fascinating how they so conmfortably quote Hitler ... and how this stirs emotions in the JWs.
"The cunning propagandist loves such shortcuts—especially those that short-circuit rational thought. Propaganda encourages this by agitating the emotions, by exploiting insecurities, by capitalizing on the ambiguity of language, and by bending rules of logic. As history bears out, such tactics can prove all too effective."WOW!!! How they can say this with a straight face, all the while this is what they do in their literature!"Some people insult those who disagree with them by questioning character or motives instead of focusing on the facts. Name-calling slaps a negative, easy-to-remember label onto a person, a group, or an idea. The name-caller hopes that the label will stick. If people reject the person or the idea on the basis of the negative label instead of weighing the evidence for themselves, the name-caller's strategy has worked."The Society uses the word 'apostate' like it was going to soon be ripped out of the dictionary ... they are guilty of labeling people, and again how they can say this with a straight face is beyond me."For example, fear is an emotion that can becloud judgment. And, as in the case of envy, fear can be played upon. The Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail, of February 15, 1999, reported the following from Moscow: "When three girls committed suicide in Moscow last week, the Russian media immediately suggested they were fanatical followers of the Jehovah's Witnesses." Note the word "fanatical." Naturally, people would be fearful of a fanatic religious organization that supposedly drives young people to suicide. Were these unfortunate girls really connected with Jehovah's Witnesses in some way?"Fear? Someone at the WTS must be reading anti-cult books and decided to employ this in reverse. They question whether these girls were connected with the JWs. They conveniently leave out the fact that they, the Society, could easily confirm or deny whether these girls were JWs. Yet they leave it open-ended ... so as to suggest these girls might not be JWs, and it is the Russian news that is using fear. What a bunch of clowns."THERE is a difference—a big difference—between education and propaganda. Education shows you how to think. Propaganda tells you what to think. Good educators present all sides of an issue and encourage discussion. Propagandists relentlessly force you to hear their view and discourage discussion."[/b]What is this? It is the Society that clearly uses propaganda to create one-sided views and brainwash the JWs ... it is the Society who discourages open and free discussion of issues ... and any who try to talk get labeled 'apostate'! What hypocrits they are!Thanks again for this link ... very powerful.
Following Bible principles, we will avoid trying to live - or demand others to live - by an extensive and rigid set of dos and don'ts that go beyond the teachings of the Bible. The Watchtower, 4-15-02, pg 22, pp 15[/b]
Well, they certainly practice what they preach with this article.
And like you say, how can they do this with a straight face?
"Education teaches you how to think, propaganda teaches you what to think."
This must have been the prime reason for discouraging college education. It's funny, I used to look up to the few JW's that had college degrees. Now I know they learned nothing about critical thinking.
I add my voice to the others regarding nausea.
WOW!!! How they can say this with a straight face, all the while this is what they do in their literature!
Could it be…because the intended audience is the uninitiated public and governments who have absolutely no idea how to interpret WTBTS definitions and to a lesser degree the harmless, intimidated Jehovah’s Witness who have been successfully taught not to recognize the hypocrisy but who's membership is the ‘ticket’ to maintaining the status of ‘charitable’, tax free revenue?
Flip
