Help, got JW in home....need details on how to answer question (page 2)

wasblind

" The World is worse off today then yesterday "

LOL. They never lived in the South

Tell anybody who thinks things are bad now to watch documentaries on the little ice age, the dark ages, the middle ages, etc. Life expectancy was extremely short. Many, if not most, died either at birth or in infancy. Daily life was bleak - a struggle just to survive. There were no pain relievers for toothaches, headaches, etc. There was little real justice. Call the sheriff because somebody's raping your wife; he'll come out and torture the rapist on the spot and if your wife's good-looking, he'll finish the job (of raping your wife). Fail to show the proper respect for the church official and he'll have your tongue cut out.

I love modern medicine, the advancement of science, the increase of knowledge, etc. I'd rather be alive now than any other time in history. I recently made that point to two of the smartest JW men in the area (both elders) and they said the same.

NeverKnew

I have asked, "Well, which era would have worked out better for you and why?"

FatFreek 2005

Ooops! Not relevant to the original question.

Scully

Ask them what they mean.

Do they mean, for example, that people are still dying of diseases that couldn't be cured several decades ago? That's blatantly false - we have vaccines for more illnesses today than ever before, preventing deaths the world over. We have medications that can stop the progression of leprosy (Hansen's Disease) - a disease that would have caused a person in Bible times to have been ejected from their home and community and forced to live out their days destitute and disfigured.

Do they mean that there is more poverty in the world?

Do they mean that there is more unemployment?

Do they mean the world is more violent?

Each of these arguments has been proven to be false - the fact of the matter is that past centuries have been more bloody, far more violent, far more superstitious, far more impoverished, etc. New methods of warfare, for example, have made us cognizant of the potential for mass destruction, and far more engaged in peace making efforts.

The ability to save the lives of infants born prematurely, babies whose survival was unheard of just a few decades ago, has spared many families the pain and grief of losing an infant that our grandparents may have endured more than once.

The ability to control our reproductive capabilities in the last 50 years has allowed women to contribute to their families' livelihood - we are one of the most affluent societies to have ever existed. Couples can actually *plan* how many children they have, educate them, give them a standard of living that was unheard of a couple of generations ago. Women are no longer simply wives and mothers - they are appreciated for their intellect and their contributions in society.

Oh, and slavery was abolished like 150 years ago.

http://bigthink.com/the-evolution-of-enlightenment/the-world-is-getting-worse-and-other-lies

millie210

read this to your JW:

"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."

written by Kenneth John Freeman, for his Cambridge dissertation published in 1907.

So that was the thinking EVEN BEFORE 1914 (gasp)!

Finkelstein

JWs live in a mind set of ignorance and delusion upon real historical known facts.

Living was much worse for most parts of the world for humanity in the past, life expecting was shorter,

crime per capital was higher and wars were even more prevalent.

Unfortunately the WTS hasn't told the truth about much in self supporting the ever present proclamation

that mankind must be living in the last days, they propagated with deceiving intent a heap of misinformation concerning

the supposed elements of living in the last days relating to bible prophecies.

.

Lying is what the WTS. does to catch the gullible and ignorant and to provoke fear into people's minds.

This is the overall marketing strategy of the WTS., to attract attention to their publications and to

further exploit people in the psychical distribution of those publications.

Captain Obvious

Crime rates have DROPPED overall, city by city in most cases. Verify this how you like to.

Earthquakes have definitely NOT increased in number or in intensity at all in recorded history. Easily verifiable.

Medical breakthroughs and improvements in living conditions have made it possible for you to average twice the lifespan of your great great grandparents.

Improvements in technogy and communication allow us to communicate with you right now, and average people to gain volumes of knowledge right at home.

Starvation, while terrible, has improved with GM foods being more able to grow in poor conditions, and more cheaply.

Moral decline? That will be a matter of opinion.

You may have to make some comparisons with 150 or even 100 years ago (to hit the 1914 last days button) to make your point. Rest assured, it should be easy to do.

The point that this time, right now is the best time to live in human history should be a fairly easy one to make. That is not a matter of opinion.

justmom

Hello skeeter....

Love and peace to you!

As was mentioned " there is nothing new under the sun". ....

The reason it feels to them ( other than what they're taught) that things are much worse is only because of the wonderful INTERNET and social media, exposure to the world at our fingertips that we can SEE and HEAR so much at one time. it has nothing to do with the fact of it being worse.

best wishes, Kim

Help, got JW in home....need details on how to answer question